Call me the skeptic believer. I'm a Grado guy whose second Grado (after the SR80) was the SR325i. I jumped past the SR125 and SR225 because, for $300, I wanted to hear the best of Grado's Prestige Series. I didn't have the $700 for an RS1, didn't want to spring $500 for an RS2, and was impressed that the 325 had all of the major features of the top Grado cans - minus the wood:
--larger air chambers;
--metal grills instead of plastic;
--UHPLC wiring in the voice coils; and
--UHPLC wiring in the connecting cable.
Notwithstanding the fact that Grados most highly-coveted headphones (the PS1 and the HP1000) were encased in aluminum, the SR325 weathered a love/hate split between Grado lovers. Some hailed it as a coup de force; others complained about its metal highs, complaining that it lacked the warmth of the woodies while overwhelming the listener with treble.
To my ears, it was a great headphone. Out of the box, I still preferred my SR80s, which had had so much TLC that I'd burned them in and then some. But by the time I jumped to the RS1 (about five or six months later), I was already so stuck on these that the RS1 didn't impress me. It would take the same degree of use and burn-in for the RS1 to surpass these as my favorite Grados (Of course, by then, I'd gotten lucky, landed a GS1000 and then run screaming into the night because its presentation was so different from what I'd expected).
If you want the conventional answer, the SR225 is considered - by many - to be the true top of the Prestige Series. Many like it better because it's more restrained than the 325. Of course, it has to be, given the plastic shells it uses as air chambers. The 325 got no respect from those who said wood was the way. Only now, after the triumph of aluminum in the hybrid PS1000, are people really giving the 325 a second look. If you ask me, much of the crying about the 325 and its piercing highs, was psychological. People saw those metal chambers and assumed this baby would be one cold monster.
I loved my 325, the way RS1 lovers love their RS1. I though its sparkle was out of this world. Did I ever think it could be shrill? Yes, with certain tracks, it could be quite shrill. But that's where you discover that all recordings are not equal. Not only are some bitrates better, but the contrast in tonal balance between different recordings can be like night and day. The Eagles' "I Can't Tell You Why" is so warm (like a lot of early Linda Ronstadt) that it might as well be playing in the living room, in front of a Christmas tree and a roaring fire. It feels like somebody left the heat on and it's time to take a walk in the snow. On the other hand, Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" and "Runnin' with the Devil" are cold and distant, as if they'd been recorded in the men's room (with no fire and no Christmas tree).
I use my iPod a lot, and the track levels on it are constantly forcing me to adjust the volume. Whenever I felt the music a little grating, I'd cut back the volume a little. It's easy to unwittingly crank the volume in an effort to repeat the high of that first song. I've trained myself to do the opposite now. I let the first song ring loud, then judiciously cut back a little as I listen longer. It makes for better sessions and fewer worries about my hearing.
Whatever you do, don't pump the 325 through a really good, powerful, amp. My M^3 with the variable bass boost may not impress anyone, but when I'd give the 325 a little extra bass, it would surprise me at how much it had to offer. I could swap out the pads and dress it in jumbos and be blown away by its full sound.
The reason not to recommend the 325 as a first headphone is simply risk avoidance. Since there has been a certain amount of controversy over this phone - with some Grado lovers throwing rocks at it - it might not be the best place to introduce the Grado line. On the other hand, of all the Prestige cans in the line-up, this one - to my ears - blows all others away. Mind you, I firmly believe you can make an SR60 sing, if you do the right things to it, but if you're looking for something great right out of the box, I'd forget what the crowd is saying and let the 325 do its thing.
