plonter
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2008
- Posts
- 3,446
- Likes
- 34
Hello fellow head fiers, Good to come back !
it's been a long time since the last time Ive been here, took a few years break from HI-FI. My story in short:
didn't have the time and money(was needed for other stuff) so I sold almost all the gear I had (Denon AHD-5000,Grado RS1,senn HD650, Shure se535,PK1,PK2,headroom ultra micro dac.. to name a few).
fortunately,I was smart enough to leave some gear for a future comeback: headroom ultra micro amp (with astrodyne PSU), ATH M50, I even have Ety's HF5 but I am not so much into iem's right now.
For a long time I was listening to music through the galaxy s2 with the cheap earphones that come's with it, and mainly enjoyed the music..dreaming of HI-FI every time. And the thing I missed the most was the GRADO sound !
So now, settling in a new apartment, I have a little time for relaxing after work and listen to music. I have a laptop , a dedicated amp, and my M50 but no dac.
I got myself a budget Hifimediy sabre (asynch) usb dac just to bypass the pure pc signal path and feed my utlra micro a clean signal. as much as I love the M50 , I just had to get some GRADO sound injection !
So within my budget I got the SR80e . I thought about putting some more cash and get the SR225e, but it is harder to find in my country right now due to import problems with the main grado importer.
So here I am, listening to my "bang for the buck" rig and SR80e's. first Album: Dire straits - Brothers in arms, a sound bomb ! actually , this album have a special connection for grado sound for me, as it was the album that the seller
demonstated me the RS1 when I bought them a few years ago...And I was overwhelmed by the sound. (it was my first encounter with Grado sound).
I am really surprised with the SR80's sound. the bass is very much present and tight just like I was expecting, But even more in quantity than I expected (which is not a bad thing for me). and the highs are not piercing at all! extended and nice.
The pads are really comfy, IMO much more comfortable that the bowls.
There is a peak somewhere in the midrange but it is tolerable. In this price range, I wans't expected the mids to be refined as in the RS1.
But suprisingly I am getting more bass right now than I got with my RS1 .. I was always suspicious that they were seriously lacking in bass and too piecing, even for a grado. Actually, I am getting more pleasure right now than I remember getting with the RS1.. I was really fighting a little with the piercing treble they had. even did the "tape mod" once out of desperation just to squeeze more bass out of them.
I am getting a really good amount of bass right now with the SR80's. It is mainly because of the pads I guess. I wonder how the SR80 will sound with bowls.
So, I am not making an interview here.. just wanted to speak from the heart
From someone that had some experience with headphones before, the SR80e are very (very !) good value for their price (and they are even pricier in my country!)
I am enjoying every second, I am listening as I am writing this. I guess that there will not be a long time before I get the SR225e (or higher grado). The SR80 are absolutely one of the best bang for the buck headphones I heard ! Up there with the M50 in the value for money category.
Dire straits - Brothers in arms has arrived to the last song, and its time to move on and test other rock / metal albums. I think the next one would be: R.E.M - out of time, which I think has a great sound also.
Thx for listening . And its nice to come back. Waiting to hear your thoughts
it's been a long time since the last time Ive been here, took a few years break from HI-FI. My story in short:
didn't have the time and money(was needed for other stuff) so I sold almost all the gear I had (Denon AHD-5000,Grado RS1,senn HD650, Shure se535,PK1,PK2,headroom ultra micro dac.. to name a few).
fortunately,I was smart enough to leave some gear for a future comeback: headroom ultra micro amp (with astrodyne PSU), ATH M50, I even have Ety's HF5 but I am not so much into iem's right now.
For a long time I was listening to music through the galaxy s2 with the cheap earphones that come's with it, and mainly enjoyed the music..dreaming of HI-FI every time. And the thing I missed the most was the GRADO sound !
So now, settling in a new apartment, I have a little time for relaxing after work and listen to music. I have a laptop , a dedicated amp, and my M50 but no dac.
I got myself a budget Hifimediy sabre (asynch) usb dac just to bypass the pure pc signal path and feed my utlra micro a clean signal. as much as I love the M50 , I just had to get some GRADO sound injection !
So within my budget I got the SR80e . I thought about putting some more cash and get the SR225e, but it is harder to find in my country right now due to import problems with the main grado importer.
So here I am, listening to my "bang for the buck" rig and SR80e's. first Album: Dire straits - Brothers in arms, a sound bomb ! actually , this album have a special connection for grado sound for me, as it was the album that the seller
demonstated me the RS1 when I bought them a few years ago...And I was overwhelmed by the sound. (it was my first encounter with Grado sound).
I am really surprised with the SR80's sound. the bass is very much present and tight just like I was expecting, But even more in quantity than I expected (which is not a bad thing for me). and the highs are not piercing at all! extended and nice.
The pads are really comfy, IMO much more comfortable that the bowls.
There is a peak somewhere in the midrange but it is tolerable. In this price range, I wans't expected the mids to be refined as in the RS1.
But suprisingly I am getting more bass right now than I got with my RS1 .. I was always suspicious that they were seriously lacking in bass and too piecing, even for a grado. Actually, I am getting more pleasure right now than I remember getting with the RS1.. I was really fighting a little with the piercing treble they had. even did the "tape mod" once out of desperation just to squeeze more bass out of them.
I am getting a really good amount of bass right now with the SR80's. It is mainly because of the pads I guess. I wonder how the SR80 will sound with bowls.
So, I am not making an interview here.. just wanted to speak from the heart
From someone that had some experience with headphones before, the SR80e are very (very !) good value for their price (and they are even pricier in my country!)I am enjoying every second, I am listening as I am writing this. I guess that there will not be a long time before I get the SR225e (or higher grado). The SR80 are absolutely one of the best bang for the buck headphones I heard ! Up there with the M50 in the value for money category.
Dire straits - Brothers in arms has arrived to the last song, and its time to move on and test other rock / metal albums. I think the next one would be: R.E.M - out of time, which I think has a great sound also.
Thx for listening . And its nice to come back. Waiting to hear your thoughts
