[christoph1]

Hello guys and gals,
 
I recently purchased the B&W P3 headphones. I chose those as they seemed one of the best on ear headphones for under £200, according to reviews. I am happy with them bar 2 things:
 
1: They hurt my ears after 2+ hours of listening, due to being on ear. Maybe I have just funny shaped ear's as the reviews all stated they were very comfortable to wear for long time periods.
 
2: I feel they lack punch. I don't mean deep low bass, but punch. I used to play the drums and I loved that snappy sound and I was hoping to hear a small bit of that with my headphones. You start to get it when the volume is super high, but not at a comfortable prolonged listening time.
 
So, I have been shopping around and for a similar price, I could get a set of Grado 125i's. So here are a few questions regarding this.
 
1: Should I expect a big boost in sound quality as they are full cans?
 
2: Will they have a bit more "punch"?
 
3: Are they likely to be significantly better than the B&W P3 headphones?
 
I am listening to these on my Android HTC oneX+

 

[GREQ]

The Grados will have the 'punch' you are looking for.
IMO the Grados also have a lot more clarity and resolution and slightly better soundstage. 
 
I would save some money and get the SR80i though. The difference between the 80 and 125 doesn't justify the money (but the 225i is worth it).
 
What you might NOT get is an improvement in comfort - some find Grados to be unbearably uncomfortable - HOWEVER if you simply bend out the metal headband until it's a loose fit, the comfort gets dramatically better.

 

[christoph1]

Hi,
 
Thanks for the response. I took back the B&W's and tried a few headphones in the John Lewis store and found a set that perfectly fits my needs:
 
Sennheiser Momentum
 
I spent some time listening to them and decided they were worth splashing out the extra money on. They really fit the bill of having that punchy sound to them, yet still have outstanding all round sound quality.
 
They are very comfortable as well.
 
Very pleased.