[ProtegeManiac]

 
 
I'm puzzled by "distorted bass." The bass on those - and Prestige series Grados in general - might be weak, but I never drove any of them to the point that distortion was immediately audible. Maybe that one time my portable amp ran out of juice and I plugged it straight into an iPod Video but even then it wasn't that bad. Slow, maybe, considering that the Little Dot MkII at home could have reasonably articulate double pedals and bass lines at the same time, but never "owww switch it off now!" distorted.

Unless...the weak bass is getting compensation by boosting too much bass EQ at the source (a computer)? If yes, try switching off the EQ and other sound processing software first; if no, and the MS1 sounds fine, look into the possibility that there might be something wrong with the drivers (like grattle, etc). Then again, if you have to ship them back anyway, getting a replacement unit might not be economical if you already have the MS1. I can't think up how to explain "lifeless" aside from amp mismatch as @chrislangley suggested, but from my time owning the SR225, it was anything but lifeless, even with just a portable source; you might lose bass and percussion but the "bite" to the guitars (vs other cans) was always audible.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Yeah, the E9 is not a good match impedance wise.
 
Quote:

So what do you recommend?
 

Use your E7 directly.

 

[marts30]

Sold my 225i's ages ago, MS2i is probably what you wanted

 

[Enter Darkness]

Well, it's broken. 6 hours of listening later and the right side no longer works. Gentleman don't buy grado. I was actually starting to love these to.
 
That is the shortest i have ever had a pair of headphones last. I got 6 hours of usage and 4 hours of fun for $250. Now i have to pay for shipping to get a new one. I'm not even gonna bother.

 

[Melvins]

maybe you are just listening to the wrong metal. Lol I know this doesn't help at all...and perhaps getting an amp that is better fixated towards lower imp?

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

Well, it's broken. 6 hours of listening later and the right side no longer works. Gentleman don't buy grado. I was actually starting to love these to.
 
That is the shortest i have ever had a pair of headphones last. I got 6 hours of usage and 4 hours of fun for $250. Now i have to pay for shipping to get a new one. I'm not even gonna bother.

 
I'll pay the shipping, if you send em to me. 

 

[Melvins]

wow, what a waste of money. Don't blame the product for your miss carryings. I can assure you that it wasn't the product but the means of which you handled your headphones. I've had my grades for over a year, have done some serious modifying to them, and they work like the day I got them

 

[Shike]

Quote:

wow, what a waste of money. Don't blame the product for your miss carryings. I can assure you that it wasn't the product but the means of which you handled your headphones. I've had my grades for over a year, have done some serious modifying to them, and they work like the day I got them

Err, they could have easily been a defective pair.  Unless you know for a fact how another user handles their headphones that's pretty presumptuous to say the least.

 

[Melvins]

same can be said about blaming the entire grado company.

 

[chrislangley4253]

probably a defective pair. 

 

[Enter Darkness]

Quote:

wow, what a waste of money. Don't blame the product for your miss carryings. I can assure you that it wasn't the product but the means of which you handled your headphones. I've had my grades for over a year, have done some serious modifying to them, and they work like the day I got them

All i did was listen to music. They are in mint condition.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

I am a metal head myself, and was considering the Grado SR81i.
 
After reading through here, I am kind of skeptical now because I have the fioo e7/e9 combo. Guess its time to go back to thinking on this one. 

scrap the e7/e9, acquire grado.

 

[Melvins]

Quote:

All i did was listen to music. They are in mint condition.

damn. well sorry to hear that man

 

[Enter Darkness]

Quote:

damn. well sorry to hear that man

I should have listened to the negative amazon reviews. They warned this exact thing would happen.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

Well, it's broken. 6 hours of listening later and the right side no longer works. Gentleman don't buy grado. I was actually starting to love these to.
 
That is the shortest i have ever had a pair of headphones last. I got 6 hours of usage and 4 hours of fun for $250. Now i have to pay for shipping to get a new one. I'm not even gonna bother.