Grado Fan Club! - Page 415

getting round to modding a pair of sr 80's

so far ive only done the basic stuff (replaced grilles, a few holes punched each side,  replace pads with L-cush, etc) 

but maybe ill get some wooden cups

its fun so far

i can see why people say its addictive ;)

I have purchased my first two significant pieces of Headfidom gear.

 

I Just had my first HP's delivered-Grado 225i. And, have ordered the Schiit Asgard on back order. Still debating a DAC.....thinking hard about the Fiio e17 so I can use as a portable as well...but am open to suggestions

 

On a side note, I have a generic adapter to plug into my Ipod and the connection is weak...I have to wiggle it around a lot. I'm going to pick up Grado's specific adapter. I hope that take care of the connection. Curious, if anyone else has that experience.

 

I love the sound and am looking forward to comparing the sound with amplification!

Congrats, I have SR225i as well and they are great. About that adapter - I have Grado's adapter, that I changed in local store because connection wasn't perfect. Neither it was in new one, so I started testing. That adapter works like a charm with every other headphone jack than the ones I have with my DIY headphone amp or dac/amp (neutrik). Every other headphone with 3.5mm plug works perfectly with my amp and dac/amp, so nothing is broken, they just don't fit. It's not that bad anyway, totally useable, just sometimes if adapter moves, I can hear that the problem exists.

Thanks...I'll pick one of Grado's adapters and see. It's pretty annoying now as I find if I start moving around a lot....it's touch and go.

Another congrats. If I could only have one set of my headphones, those would be the ones I would keep. If the Grado sound is right for you, you'll really enjoy them

Thanks! This is a new hobby for me....amplifiers and the like. But, I'm really enjoying these headphones!

Quick follow up-I picked up Grado's mini adapter last night and listened this morning while getting for work-maybe 20 minutes. With the generic adapter, the connection was loose...I would hear music, then lose all sound, or just hear out of one HP, fuss w/ the connector, sound again, lose it again.

 

With the Grado specific adapter-I had zero problems.  Clear connection. No more fadiing in and out sound as the I moved around.

 

So, I would definitely recommend anyone just purchasing Grados 225 and up to get the Grado  adapter and stay away from anything else.

Edited by markm1 - 1/31/13 at 9:43am

The Grado style adapter, with short cable between the male/female plugs puts less stress on your amp's headphone jack. This is especially good as some portables aren't that robust there. Also useful given the weight of the 225i big cable. 

Edited by parbaked - 1/31/13 at 10:43am

I have a question for the Grado fans. I owned the RS2i before, eventually sold it because the sound especially the treble was too harsh, but I thought the upfront presentation and tonality works for some kind of music. Since then I have been looking forward to trying other Grados, namely the RS1i, PS500 and MS Pro.

 

Based on the comments I came across so far, it appears that the RS1i and MS Pro are very close to one another, but MS Pro works better for classical while RS1i for most other genre. PS500 would have the smoothest sound and treble easiest on the ear, but a little less detailed and diluted tonality.

 

Am I mistaken in my impressions, and which do you think would be my best bet.

 

Thx.

I know this isn't the forum, but I wanted to get a sense of "source" criteria from other Grado listeners....

 

I've recently purchased a Grado 225i and a Schiit Asgard.

 

I've got a 20 + year old Pioneer DC-Z83 double cassette with amplifier system I'd like to use with my headphone as a designated rig and stereo. It originally had a six CD cartridge that is not working. I'm going to purchase a new CD player for the system.

 

I'm trying to wrap my head around the notion of a good "source", and what that means exactly. Specific to HP's, my question is, with my G 225 and Asgard, how important is the source and how much money do I need to sink into a CD player? Do, I need to sink $ 300 or more into a CD player and how much difference will it make?

 

It's not that I'm unwilling to spend several 100 $, but I also would like to upgrade the speakers, look into a portable amp/DAC....you guys know how it goes when your audio wish list begins to expand.

 

I would love some recommendations. I do a good bit of my HP listening on an Ipod which totally takes dedicated components out of the equation. But, I like to sit down and and spend quality time listening as well.

 

 If I could find a comparable CD player to combine w/ my old Pioneer system, my Grados and schiit amp, I would content....

 

well, at least until the next obsessive purchase :-)

No. It won't make a significant difference. Most name brand DVD/CD players today have decent digital to analog conversion. You shouldn't need to spend more than $100.

I'd be more worried about the quality of the preamp section in the Pioneer unit you have. When you get the CD player, compare it with everything plugged in through the Pioneer, versus the Asgard plugged directly into the CD player. You may find that Pioneer unit is the weak link. Or it may be OK. But try it.

Quick question. I am looking to buy some used either 225i or 325i headphones, but I know there were some earlier models without the i . Is there a way to tell if any given headphone is the older non-i version or the newer improved model. This would be in a photo as I am shopping on-line for the most part. Or would you have to actually have the hp in your hand to tell?
 

The older SR models (non-i) versions cups are straight on the ends, where as the newer (i) versions cups are mushroomed at the ends.

From my experience, the RS1i has slightly more bass presence than the RS2i, and seemingly smoother treble. I too thought the RS2i had sharp treble, but I thought the RS1i's treble was good.

 

I haven't heard the MS Pro.

 

PS500 still has a peak in the treble, but it is smoother than the RS2i. The mids are less forward. But the bass is what makes the PS500 stand out. It has a thicker sound than all the Reference Series. For some, it's to die for. For others (myself included), it's too exaggerated. I don't know about less detailed though, and I'm not sure what diluted tonality means. It sounds thicker and fuller than RS1i, so if anything I'd say the opposite of "diluted".

 

Probably any three of those headphones would please you more than the RS2i. For what it's worth, I like the RS1i better than the PS500, and the RS1i's bass is the best I've heard on any Grado (I haven't heard GS1000i or PS1000).

Cable is also thicker, and on the SR-325 they're a different color (original SR-325 is black (these are rare), 325i is gold (these were in production until a few years ago), 325is (current version) is silver (can be matte or shiny)).

Some examples:

SR-225i:


SR-125 & SR-225:



It also looks like the screens on the 225 changed color and pattern (from black holes to silver grids).

If you're also looking at the SR-125; modern 125i will look more like the 225i pictured above, but they come with the "comfy" pads (so the entire earpad is black foam, there's not a visible white center). Old 125 is pictured in the second image. You can get the "bowl" pads (like the 225i picture shows) for any modern Grado headphone - they are an improvement (sonically) imho, but may not be as comfortable for everyone. *shrug*