Grado Fan Club! - Page 387

If you try them you will want them...

It's okay, Grado is doing fine, albeit having cut round some corners (square gimbals, metal rod tips, wooden button and box) in order not to increase their MSRPs due to inflation and increased the size of the cable which's original size I preferred.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chughes13x 

Hello everyone,

 

Just purchased a pair of MS1i's as a Christmas present for myself. Now I knew before buying them I'd have to replace the cups with some woodies, any recommendations as to where I get them from? I'm thinking of getting the classic vibro cups from turbulent labs, but am open to recommendations!

They're the only ones "selling wooden cups" ;), the others are made to order and custom, by MartinCustomAudio.com, Headphile.com, and will cost you more (like twice, thrice as much or even more). Some wood-working Head-Fiers can also make Grado cups.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stacker45 

 

Since i have no way of knowing for sure, i don't really care wich kind of wood Grado uses, much less where it comes from, what i do care about and can know for sure is, if it works, and i'm happy to report that as far as i'm concerned, it does work, especially when combine with metal cups like on the PS500/1000.

The Canadian Grado site states that Australian jarrah wood is being used in the Statement and Reference series headphones, and the PS1000. Although it's unclear as to when exactly the change from mahogany to jarrah was made, it appears to have been introduced for the the "i" iteration or some time afterwards.

I find the choice of jarrah interesting because it is a very tough, heavy hardwood, which is extremely durable. When seasoned it becomes so hard that conventional wood working tools are rendered useless. It's generally used for outdoor furniture, decking, general and heavy timber construction. It's even used for railway sleepers. It's also prone to splitting. Grado has chosen a surprisingly heavy duty timber for use as a material in headphone construction, but it does look beautiful.  

I went from owning SR80i's to purchasing alessandro MS2i's about 5 weeks ago, wich are the equivelent to the 325is, just a bit laid back a touch. Awesome headphones!!! Just do it!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by joseph69 

I went from owning SR80i's to purchasing alessandro MS2i's about 5 weeks ago, wich are the equivelent to the 325is, just a bit laid back a touch. Awesome headphones!!! Just do it!!!

The thing that is holding me back is that people are saying that the 325i's sound to harsh without a tube amp. Therefore, I wasn't sure because all I have is a fiio e11 and I pretty sure that won't help the 325i's highs. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I think the alessandros are more refind than grados. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dubstep Girl 

 

i downloaded skyfall the other day and after i saw this comment i decided to listen to it, and i agree, the quality is really bad. compressed and lacks any soundstage or any feeling of a live recording.

 

if you do a spectral analysis (yes, this is the lossless version as well), you can see the loudness/distortion, as well as the better sounding intro which due to the lower volume, has more dynamic range. most new recordings are like that unfortunately, especially mainstream stuff.

 

I don`t know but I find this version a bit better than Tom Coyne's CD mastering of Adele`s Skyfall.   =)   The Original CD went downhill when the chorus start..... =(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7MDa04N4bI

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlobHobNob 

The thing that is holding me back is that people are saying that the 325i's sound to harsh without a tube amp. Therefore, I wasn't sure because all I have is a fiio e11 and I pretty sure that won't help the 325i's highs. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I think the alessandros are more refind than grados. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

I wish I could give a definitive answer, but I had a copy that sounded like it had no highs... it was strange so I had it serviced and it came back sounding much better - but still not as nearly has harsh as I was led to believe ( I did briefly audition them at a store). With good recordings, they are my favorites. The only genre they aren't suited for are ones with sub-bass. They're even pretty damn good for movies.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlobHobNob 

The thing that is holding me back is that people are saying that the 325i's sound to harsh without a tube amp. Therefore, I wasn't sure because all I have is a fiio e11 and I pretty sure that won't help the 325i's highs. Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I think the alessandros are more refind than grados. Correct me if I'm wrong though.

I had a pair of SR325is's on loan from a local stereo store for one week while owning my SR80i's, I burned them in for 72+ hours they are awesome. I personnaly did'nt mind the high's but on some recording they can hurt at a moderate to high volume (I only listen to cd's) out of sony cdp-c701es to a meridian 203 dac through a adcom gtp400 pre-amp/tuner. The reason I went with the alessandro was they were supposed to be a little more laid back in the highs and a better balanced headphone, wich they are in my opinion, this made it easier to listen to for longer periods of time for me. By all means this does not make one better than the other just different. With that being said they are both awesome headphones. My alessandro's sound beutiful to my ears, and they are definitly a touch warmer in the highs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by talisman42 

 

I wish I could give a definitive answer, but I had a copy that sounded like it had no highs... it was strange so I had it serviced and it came back sounding much better - but still not as nearly has harsh as I was led to believe ( I did briefly audition them at a store). With good recordings, they are my favorites. The only genre they aren't suited for are ones with sub-bass. They're even pretty damn good for movies.

Thanks, I had the assumption that the highs really aren't as bad as people are saying. I'll probably end up gettting them after the christmas season.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Awgd8 

I had a 325is for a week and exchanged it to ps500s and never looked back. I would try the RS2i first before getting a 325is. 325 is good for acoustic or any string instruments and vocals, but it lacks a bit of bass which RS2i has with smoother highs/mids but the PS500 bass is what i prefer. ;-)

And I did just the opposite, but it took me ten months to decide.   The 500 bass was just a little too much for me and I don't mind the highs of the 325is.  Our mileage did vary.

I've been happily using my SR80's for a few years, trying to justify (to myself) purchasing a higher end model after lustfully auditioning them a few times a year, every year.

My wife just shocked me with an early Christmas present, PS-500's, so I'm feeling pretty fantastic at the moment! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sculpin 

I've been happily using my SR80's for a few years, trying to justify (to myself) purchasing a higher end model after lustfully auditioning them a few times a year, every year.

 

My wife just shocked me with an early Christmas present, PS-500's, so I'm feeling pretty fantastic at the moment! 

In my opinion, the SR80s and the PS500s have very different sound signature, therefore they complement each other very well, your wife is definately a keeper,

Awesome!!! Enjoy. You married the right women!