GasMaskMan
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2011
- Posts
- 176
- Likes
- 11
Quote:
The SR-80i is not that great at jazz. This is because of the one dimensional soundstage of most Grado headphones. For rock and metal the SR-80i does a pretty darn good job. Another thing I do not like about most Grado headphones is that they are really uncomfortable. They rest on your ears and the driver filters be it comfy or bowl place too much pressure on your outer ear. After about 1 hour it really hurts and you will ask yourself "why am I doing this to my ears?"
In the $100 range you can go with the Audio Technica ATH-M50 or the Sony MDR-ZX700. Both can be found for around $100 and I can speak for the ATH-M50 being worth up to $150. You get a little better separation with the M50 or ZX700 compared to the Grado. They are much more comfortable.
The comfort "issues" are hardly anything. I've used SR60is in the past (flat pads) and never really had issues, and now I use the SR325is (L-Cush/smaller bowls) and they are quite comfortable. After a few hours of wearing them the pads really soften up and they hardly feel like they're there.
Also I found my Grados to be good for more than rock and metal, they may not have much bass response, but I find them great for most kinds of music.