Grado Labs SR225e

First, a big thanks to Todd The Vinyl Junkie for making the 'e' series loaner program possible. To the next guy in line: sorry I kept them for so long.
 
The very first pair of 'high-end' headphones that I listened to were the Grado SR-60s. It opened my mind, my ears, and my wallet to all the possibilities of high fidelity audio. So thank you, Grado Labs. From the bottom of my bank account. In any case, this was before the advent of Head-Fi. Perhaps if the stereo shop closest to my alma mater's campus had Senns, I would've been a Senn guy. But here I am - a fan of the Grado house sound. No matter what headphones I listen to, I always keep coming back to my trusty first-gen Alessandro MS-1's. Unfortunately, I don't have an 'i' series 'phone on hand for this review, though I did manage to squeeze in some time with an Audeze LCD-3 for a brief comparison. More on that later.
 
The SR-225e's that came in the mail were packaged in a smaller Grado pizza box than I'm used to. I won't get into the particulars of the ergonomics, the styling, or the materials used - all apparently largely unchanged from earlier generations. Yet the headphones that lay inside are quite beefier than their first-gen cousins, or perhaps more accurately, uncles. The earcups from the start of the bowl pad to the end is about 0.5" deeper. The diameter is larger by about 3/8". The connecting cord is also thicker, though whether the wire gauge increased is something I cannot verify. Physically, the SR-225e is heftier - but what does that do to the sound?
 
Fortunately for the Grado faithful, it hews close to the familiar, yet also offers improvements in several key areas. First, it leaves the Grado sonic signature largely intact - an overall vibrant, lively tonal character with incredible rhythmic drive. However it now adds a surprising level of bass quantity and articulation that is largely missing in the MS-1's. It also expands the soundstage (headstage?) seemingly past the ends of the earcups. Finally its clarity and resolution preserves the attack in transients and enhances the sense of air between instruments within the recording space.
 
The newcomer's impressive bass is most apparent in "Demons" on the National's latest album "Trouble Will Find Me". The kick drum and the bass guitar are convincingly weighty. The drums are given a particularly tactile quality that is wholly lost when listening to the MS-1's. The overall sound is also more layered and expansive. Whereas the backing vocals and a french horn are buried in the mix on the Alessandro's, I had no trouble picking them out on the SR-225e's. Matt Berninger's husky baritone becomes a flatter, less expressive reproduction on the old Grados, lacking the SR-225e's clarity.
 
Leslie Feist possesses a singularly haunting voice and it's rendered with more delicacy given the SR-225e's. On "1234" from her album "The Reminder", the improved drivers capture the microdynamics of her performance beautifully. The plucked banjo at the beginning of the track has a heightened sense of realism - the harmonics from the body of the instrument contribute as much to the tone as the sound of the strings.
 
Switching things up a bit, I popped in Telarc's Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 "Organ". I wanted to get a sense of how the new Grados played with material that's been somewhat of an Achilles' heel in the past. Telarc made a rather interesting choice for the recording venue - Saint Francis de Sales Church in Philadelphia - and the accompanying reverberations associated with such a space make it somewhat difficult to reproduce the performance without having the reflected sound overpower the orchestra. The SR-225e handled this situation with aplomb, anchoring the orchestra within the nave and delicately blending in the enveloping echoes. The improved bass response and expanded soundstage lent a sense of majesty to the entire ensemble. Overall an excellent and satisfying presentation.
 
The 'phones could also handle the more intimate setting of "Getz/Gilberto". It was apparent when comparing the SR-225e's against the MS-1's that the latter sounded more distant and tonally darker. Cymbal and brush work on the snares were less present and the inner detail from Getz' eminently graceful and lithe performance went missing.
 
Just for giggles, I trekked on down to Gifted Listener Audio in Centreville, VA. Tom Unger, the sole proprietor, was quite gracious and allowed me to compare the Grados to a pair of Audeze LCD-3's with an Ayre CX-7eMP and a Bryston BHA-1. Surprisingly, I felt that the LCD-3's were more of a tonal match to the MS-1's than the SR-225e's - a bit more relaxed and just a tad more tonally dark. However, it also highlighted an area of weakness that Grado Labs has yet to address, perhaps. In modern rock recordings where dynamic compression rears its ugly head, the SR-225e takes no prisoners. It will faithfully reproduce the mix and make your ears cry uncle. The LCD-3's sallied forth with a smooth presentation of "Little Shadow" from the Yeah Yeah Yeah's 2009 release "It's Blitz!". On the Grados, my ears wished somebody at the studio had turned the gain down just a bit on Karen O's vocals. Ditto on the cymbals. A similar thought popped in my head when I listened to the same track on the MS-1's, though to a somewhat lesser extent.
 
Clearly, I believe Grado is on the right track here. Anybody who has an original generation set of Grado headphones should do themselves a favor and audition the corresponding pair out of the 'e' series - if not the SR-225e's. There's really no doubt in my mind about that. I also believe that these headphones are great. Not just in terms of value or within a particular category of transducer. But great. Period. They deserve to be at the top of a very short list of headphones anybody would consider purchasing. I'm not sure I'm going to send these on to the next guy after all.
 
(Just kidding.)
 
Equipment used
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Headphones: Alessandro MS-1, Audeze LCD-3, Grado SR-225e
Headphone amps: CIAudio VHP-1 / VAC-1, Bryston BHA-1, AudioQuest DragonFly v1.2
Sources: Ayre C-5xeMP, Ayre CX-7eMP, AudioQuest DragonFly v1.2

I am placing this review of the Grado SR225x in the SR225e review because there is still a lot of love for the now discontinued e-series drivers.

Grado SR225e vs. 225x

I bought myself a 6 weeks old pair of SR225x to see if they were an improvement over the SR225e. I was not sure if they had been used a lot, so I started by giving them some proper break-in time with 48 hours of my speaker break-in CD.

After the first listen, I was wondering; where are all the micro details that I have loved in 225e? The SR225x is definitely a darker sounding headphone but they have lost the edge. Even bass heavy music sounded lifeless and too mellow. 225e sounds more delicate and faster overall at the first direct comparison.



When switching directly from the 225e to the 225x there is a veil over the music. The sparkle and treble edginess is gone. I think they have lost some of their Grado-signature openness. I know this is caused by my ears not adjusting to the darker signature. But this is my first impression.

I have kept the original pads on both 225e and 225x and I think the majority of the difference is in the two different pads. But even when switching them so the 225e get the flat pads the midrange sounds strangely off and vocals are lifeless. The soundstage is smaller and the sound is more in-your-face with the flat-pads. With the 225e stock pads(L-cushions) the stage is bigger and more space between the instruments. I did prefer the L-cushions on both 225x and 225e soundwise even though 225x lacks something in the midrange with the L-cushions. So, back to stock pads on both headphones again for the sake of listening to them as Grado intended.

No doubt they are trying to follow the same signature as the Hemps and the SR225x is not far behind the resolution and transparency of the Hemps. It is almost like the Hemps are tuned for the flat pads where 225x sounds brighter and more to my taste when I used the 225e stock pads (the L-cushions).

The flat pads are the most comfortable on my ears. They add more bass to the 225e but some of the sparkle is lost as well. I like the slam and punch in 225e with their stock pads the best.

Those who find 225e too bright will like the 225x better. I was hoping the new 225x would be significantly technically better than the former model but to me they sound technically on par and to my ears they are not a revolutionary new driver that makes it worth it to upgrade from the older models. They do probably have the same speed and resolution but tuned with less upper mids and treble presence. Because of that they come out as if they have less resolution and less air around instruments. I also feel like the 225e have a tiny bit more power to handle all genres with ease. Every time I shift back to 225e the music feels more free and less constricted.




I think 225e does snare-drums and kick-drums with better authority and definition and can be more agressive when needed. There is a more defined punch and kick in them that just hits harder than both Hemp and 225x. I hear more room-decay in 225e and 225x sounds more dry with less decay. Which should indicate that 225x drivers are more controlled but I like the 225e a bit better.

As I said I just love the slam and punch in 225e. The two headphones have about the same bass impact and 225x goes deeper. The difference is not a matter of bass impact but more a rhythm and pace thing. Electric guitars and acoustic guitars are oh so satisfying and defined with 225e. If I only had the Hemp or 225x I would not notice that anything was missing but in direct comparison I do prefer what the 225e can do so well.



The “new” flat pads on 225x are more comfortable and I can wear them longer than the stock pads on 225e. The new cable…hmmm.. I am not sure it is any better than the old cable. It looks better though and it is probably even less flexible. Maybe the new fabric makes it more durable in the long run? I never had any problems with Grado cables except the normal twisting when the cups are turned around over time. The new soft headband feels like cheap plastic and is a very disappointing for a headphone in this price range.





That airy and edgy sound that I have always found so satisfying with Grado and could ONLY be found in Grado’s is no longer there to the same extend in 225x if you ask me - a long time Grado fan because of that. I will keep my 225e as a memory from old days but the 225x will not find much use and I am sorry to my headphones-heros in Brooklyn, that I turn out to be a conservative and somewhat disappointed old fan.

During the comparison of 225e and 225x, I sometimes threw in the Hemps and I have to admit that I prefer the brighter 225e even over the Hemps because of their more airy and edgy signature. I can definitely appreciate the Hemps all the way but there is a deeper satisfaction to some music with 225e.

This is the first time I hear one of the new x-series. I understand most people like the x-series better than the e’s. Some users said they found the soundstage bigger with the x-series drivers. I hear the opposite with 225x. The 225e soundstage is definitely bigger - using stock pads on both.

I hope that my thought, that have almost turned into a review of the SR225x can serve the Grado community and help people decide if SR225x is a candidate for them. It will be loved by many. I just prefer the old Grado-signature and I am one of those people who cannot get it bright enough. My intention is not to say 225x is a bad headphone because it has all that one can wish for from a Grado in this price-range soundwise. Now I wonder if this is the same picture in the rest of the x-series? My favourite Grado of all time was the gold SR325i because of its VERY edgy metallic and crisp Grado-sound (I know that model was a hate or love signature, so take my impressions with that in mind) and the RS1i because of how it made music open and flow like no other headphone I have ever heard.

I am looking forward to listen to the new RS-xX-series with new x-series drivers and hope they turn out to be combining both the original Grado-soul, sparkle and speed, and the depth of the X-series. But my hopes are low. They sure look awesome but I am not sure they are where I will invest my money.

I used the following tracks played from Apple Music for comparing the 225x to my other Grados:


Music was played from USB to the EarMen TR-Amp which, with its two headphone plugs made it easy to quickly switch back and forth between two headphones from the same source.