What happened to Grado's reputation? - Page 35

I heard Grados have an in-your-face type of soundstage and full of treble energy. That is why I never consider them especially when I cannot audition them anywhere.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiggawhat 

There's multiple reasons why I never considered a Grado:
1) Reputation for sibilance and harsh highs
2) Reputation for no bass. Literally, no bass.
3) Reputation for being one-genre headphones.
4) It looks kind of cheap, and I want an over-ear headphone.

1) That can be remedied, and it varies from model to model - extremely well documented on Head-Fi for anyone willing to take the time to do some reading

2) Total and utter ********, unless your concept of 'bass' is having twin subwoofers strapped to your head. I'm sure Skullcandy has something for those folk.

3) Sure, they are 'one genre' if your genre is 'music that is dynamic and exciting'. Do you know how many of the early rave reviews of the SR60 came from people who listen almost exclusively to classical and jazz ? The 'rock headphone' thing is largely courtesy of Head-Fi.

4) If you dont like the pads pressed against your ears, there are options. Any concerns about 'cheap' looks disappear when you put them on and listen to music. End of the day, does it really matter ? I wouldn't be seen dead in public with my AD900s, but at home they are fantastic for what they were made to do - transfer music to my ears.

I haven't owned every Grado model - only SR60i/MS1/SR80i and SR325is, but they all had stellar pluses and, admittedly, some minuses. Would Joe Grado be doing things differently if he hadn't handed over the reins ? Probably, but thats life and we need to deal with it. Selling enough headphones to remain in business means that Grado can still potentially knock our socks off at a future date - without a crystal ball, thats a chance we'll have to take.

Someone told someone else that something didn't sound good. LMAO

 Yes, it is rather disappointing to see more 'Oh I heard this from so and so' - nothing wrong with sharing that

 information as a quotation from another party but when this directly influences your actions concerning a

 product you've never heard for yourself...well...erm - let's just say credibility is hitting the skids.

i love them but my ears hate me after i wear them so eh. I have to have SQ>Comfort>Build. Grado  sound=great, comfort=ew, build=decent.

So if you have small ears or somthing they are phenomenal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

 

 

 Yes, it is rather disappointing to see more 'Oh I heard this from so and so' - nothing wrong with sharing that

 information as a quotation from another party but when this directly influences your actions concerning a

 product you've never heard for yourself...well...erm - let's just say credibility is hitting the skids.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/574437/grado-soundstage

http://www.head-fi.org/t/137608/thoughts-on-the-grado-soundstage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

Some of the threads in which I see people complaining about Grado's closed in soundstage.

Not to throw a wrench in the works, but the Grado headphones that I spent the most time with (the SR-225) were absolute darlings for rap/hip-hop; rivaled only by my HD-580s. That's entirely my opinion, but it is what it is. I don't listen to very much rock music, and I found the Grados ill-suited to the chamber music I like. Point is: people are going to disagree but that doesn't inform what you will or won't like. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jiggawhat 

Hey, well, everything I listed came from here on Head-Fi. Don't think I haven't read literally EVERY thread about potential headphones on this forum. And asking u guys about Grado headphones would be a selection bias - the reasons why people on these forums have most commonly recommended against Grados were as I listed.
Have I tried them? No, my Guitar Center doesn't carry them, I don't know of any other local places to try them, and the feedback here on Head-Fi seems to indicate they are not the appropriate type of headphones for a dance music + hip hop listener such as myself who does not listen to a SINGLE rock/metal track whatsoever (and classical sparingly) .
You asked a question "What happened to Grado's reputation" and I gave an answer...

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikp 

Some of the threads in which I see people complaining about Grado's closed in soundstage.

 

 Greatly exaggerated in my opinion - my SR80i's on bowls have a more spacious sound stage than these Beyerdynamic T5p's

 I've got for the day.

 Closed versus open you say - well yes, but the T5p is also a $1000 headphone.

 Oh and the PS1000 has a massive sound-stage - K701 and HD800 rivalling.

I'm pretty new to headphones, and like what others have said, I very nearly didn't even give Grados a chance because I had read some very negative remarks about the sound. Well, to make a long story short, I happened to get hold of a pair of SR80is and fell totally in love with them. I was drawn to the open, airy sound and I was thoroughly impressed by the instrumental separation and imaging. On top of that, why some bash them for comfort is beyond me...I can barely even tell they are on my head. The earpads are slightly scratchy at first, but if you just wash them once that is easily remedied.  I have every intention of moving up into higher end cans very soon, but I had no idea I would be this fond of a $99 pair of headphones. As for the bass, I find it very crisp and non-boomy/muddy. As someone else said, it's not like having two subwoofers strapped to your head, but the bass is very cleanly reproduced. I didn't find it to be a weakness at all. Additionally, I have found Grado customer service to be very responsive. I had sent them an email with a few questions and received responses within the same day both times. I think people often get caught up in the "latest and greatest" mentality and maybe the idea of getting a pair of Grados isn't as exciting as they would like. For those of us who are able to look past such things and are interested in how our MUSIC is reproduced, Grados have proved to be an excellent choice as far as I'm concerned. I can't wait to get my hands on a pair of PS500s!

Nothing, zero, nada, zilch can tell you what phones will sound like to you except your own ears. What you read here is opinion, not fact. Never make a decision based on other peoples opinions, you're cheating yourself.

Have heard GS-1000, not PS-1000, but agree even in that context about the soundstage; very good headphone overall - bloody expensive though. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gwarmi 

 Greatly exaggerated in my opinion - my SR80i's on bowls have a more spacious sound stage than these Beyerdynamic T5p's

 I've got for the day.

 

 Closed versus open you say - well yes, but the T5p is also a $1000 headphone.

 

 Oh and the PS1000 has a massive sound-stage - K701 and HD800 rivalling.

I have always had a love/hate relationship with Grado headphones.  If you can get over the build quality, and believe me it's pretty atrocious - worse today than in the past - the sound quality that you get is really very good.  I'd take the RS-1i over the HE-500 in a heartbeat and put it on a similar playing field to the LCD-2 as a headphone that is not perfect for everything but is well suited as a flavor for different genres.  On the low end I liked the sr80, hated the sr60. 

I don't see many prominent reviewers posting super positive reviews for X Grado paired with X amp very often though.  Magnum fans and modders are also all over the place -- I don't think their reputation is as bad as some might think.  Grado has always been somewhat of an underdog though, I don't think that's changed much.