What specifically makes grado good/better than everything else for metal

Bass impact is pretty nice up from a stock non modded SR60.

 

They have a pretty peculiar sound signature. Try before you buy.

 

You'll either love or hate the presentation.

 

Lastly, they do guitar reproduction like few other phones

There not, it is just some people's opinion and opinions vary. I personally can't stand listening to Metal or Rock through them.

The AD700 shares a similar basic sound signature (not much bass, lots of midrange and treble), but lack the coloration Grados have.

 

AD700

SR60i

 

You'll see their sub-bass is similar, but the AD700 has no mid-bass hump which is what kills its perceived bass impact. The Grados do have a mid-bass hump, which makes kick drums hit harder. The AD700 has as small peak in the mid-range at 1kHz, and the Grados have a big, sudden peak at 2kHz. The higher peak will make guitars sound brighter and more aggressive. The typical treble spike is at 9kHz on the Grado and treble in general is higher, while the peak is at 10kHz on the AD700. Cymbals will probably sparkle more with the Grado because of the wider treble peak.

 

They're both colored, but the AD700's coloration is better for music that uses the whole mid-range, like vocals.

Generally the 'speed' and upfront the presentation with a strong midrange are generally considered ideal for metal. 
They're basically perfect (for me) for percussion and distorted guitar (apart from some sibilance). 

The midrange of Grados are actually fantastic but similarly AT tend to have decent mids so that might be the reason for you find them recessed... ATs tend to have a wide airy soundstage which is great for classical/acoustic but not so great for the upfront sound you need for metal.

Besides, i'm almost certain there are absolutely shed-loads of threads relating to this... If you're new you need to start searching! Afterall this is what this whole site is about compiling everything you need to know, not just asking the same questions over and over.     

The only Grado that sounds good on metal/electric instruments (to me) is the MS-2/325. The metal cups give a firm platform for high energy genre. They are generally defined as bright as an all-rounder but that's the tradeoff. Going to plastic or wood cups won't give same performance for those genre. The RS-1 does acoustic rock like few others.

IMO
Edited by Happy Camper - 8/18/11 at 8:41am

Like the above posters have said, not everybody agrees that that is actually true. The grado love has been diminishing on head-fi lately.
I happen to be one of those people who loves their grados for fast aggressive music. The aspect that I find to have good synergy with stuff like metal is that they're "quick". This is in reference to transient response. Attack and decay are pretty fast, and it's noticeably faster than something like the hd-650 that's voiced to be warmer and seems like it's less involved. But the grados really never sound like they can't keep up with the music, especially when amped. The other aspect is detail in the treble. A lot of modern metal is really focused on drums (especially cymbals and double kick) and guitars. The grados seem to bring out the best of these instruments to my ears. In the end I don't know if open cans like grados have the impact that a lot of metal heads crave (not that this is good for your ears or recommended by me) but metal is a surprisingly deep and sub-divided umbrella genre so it also really depends on what you're listening to. My sr60is are heavily modded though and have pretty terrific left-right sound stage which I think helps with well mastered metal. I put on the Animals As Leaders full length and did a quick mini-audition with the cans I have on hand here to better respond to this question and the grados were the clear winner in most regards even when going up against some much more expensive cans.

 

edit: hooray 100th post.

Edited by acticulated - 8/18/11 at 8:29am

I think he means that the cans have a lot of "attack" where things decay very quickly so that music notes don't "blur" together so everything can be represented as accurately as can be. Some headphones are not good at fast music for example.

I disagree. Grado drivers are slow and congested. It only appears to be quick because the treble+upper mids emphasis and complete lack of sub-bass makes it seem less congested than it actually is.

 

I'm also of the opinion that Grados are terrible for metal.

What headphones, in your opinion are good for metal? I would be interested in trying them out.

Are you happy with the MS Pro for metal?

 

Grados are lively. 

 

Sennheisers are slow.

 

imo. 

I can only speak of my experience with MS Pro and AKG K702 currently. Yes I like the MS Pro for metal enough.