Grado SR60 Headphones

I love the cheapest Grado headphones. Unfortunately I have never listened expensive ones .. Comfortable on my head and the sound quality is very intimate, delicate and pleasant. I think it is very sensitive to the source, always got better and better when the quality of the DAC improved. Very impressive how many quality reserves the headphones have. I found that, with cyrus soundkey it has very good synergy. Very impressive with this tiny little sound card.

This is the very early version of SR60 I got . These are the best SR60 I ever had in terms of packing /sound / build quality!
It came in the White Box with Blue foam (HP1000 box replica similar to SR100/200/300) and has the early John Grado manual too!
 
The headphones have the famous "pink" drivers and are fitted with Flat Pads (as pictured).They do sound really great and smooth with Flats instead of using S or L pads.
 
The headband is plastic  but is stitched all around (like the leather headband). The later are not and that looks more cheap imo.
 
The cable is quite different than the later SR60s SR80s as this is more flexible (more silicone feeling) and the conductors (red-blue-white) are looking more glossy and more "transparent", overall feels better quality.
 
The drivers are the famous "pink" ones ,they were "de-stressed" (not so precisely but they were) instead of the later ones but one thing I like to add here (and probably will dissapoint some dudes) is that the "pink" colour is a faded "black" over the years. John had the idea to paint the cheesecloth black so it will look similar to the HP1000 driver..The early Johns driver have a "gold" magnet , black glue at solder pads and a more clear diaphragm. And YES this driver (pink or not) sound more sweet,smooth and I really like it more than the later "i" driver!
 
The cups are plastic of caurse and gives a "cheap" feeling but and again just think that other Hi-End 'phones (from other famous companies) are almost 100% made of plastic and cost much more than the SR60!
 
Generic Thought: I noticed that at the early 90's John's Grado company was giving more attention in details of each product (packing, pads, assembly - Look early Prestige series and early Reference packing and assembly quality). By time they stopped the wooden boxes of the Reference phones with funny excuses, changed the Flat pads with S-cush and stop stitching the plastic headbands to increace their profit as the price tags remain the same!
 
Anyway I really enjoy these phones now!

I was really shocked by the amount of clarity you get in these cans for the price after snagging it for only $30 on eBay, which normally go for $79 online. These are definitely the best for the price for what you get. Compared to the SR-80s, cans I used to own about a year ago, these are without a doubt, warmer than the latter, but I found them much easier on the ears compared to the shrilling highs of the 80. This makes for a much more comfortable and pleasing listening experience. I wish the highs were a bit more detailed, but for the price, I can't complain.
 
The soundstage in these is great. And being able to hear small details like cymbals crashing or the intricate details of a guitar picking is really extraordinary. Definitely recommend!

I have a pair of vintage SR60 with pink drivers dark driver cloth. They also have a black magnet. These headphones simply at the best value headphones I've ever owned.
 
Vintage SR60 sound smoother than current day SR60i and SR60e yet still maintain the same engaging sound. I found the best pads for these are the original comfie pads and these pads put my ear closer to the driver opposed to today's comfies which create a greater distance making them sound more similar to bowl.
 
Using new bowl pads will make the highs sound a little strident. It is more obvious the highs have some roughness and edginess to it. The bass impact will be reduced and the bass slam is gone from comfies. The midrange sounds will sound thin with new bowl pads. Once the pads are broken in, they sound closer to comfies except comfies still excel in all areas related to bass and the midrange is full on comfies.
 
On first listen I thought it sounded oh so similar to my vintage SR325 however upon further listening I found the biggest difference between the two is refinement and bass. High end grados will sound higher resolution meaning there is less sibilance to voices and cymbal hits while retaining the same signature. It will be like going to 128kbps mp3 to flac with more bass and stronger impact with a slight hint of a warmer / colder sound depending whether the upgrade is to wooden housings or aluminium ones.
 
Cannot go wrong with the SR60 if you want to hear what Grado is all about.

I ordered from an online without listening firsthand.  Plastiky feel ran through my mind when i opened up the box.
 
Straight from my Cambridge amplifier, no matter what I did, they sounded boring.  
 
 
I know neutrality is a good thing but mine did not improve after 2 days burning in with pink noise.
 
 
 

If you are looking for an affordable upgrade, they still beat the hell out of any earpod and cheapo set of ‘phones. Plus they work with your portable player/phone giving you enough sound level.  Many player software options offer an equaliser that can be used to tame the wayward treble and to even out the bass. In this case the clean and natural midrange may well work its magic well. 
 
These are the phones if you have a rather high quality system with a headphone connection and occasionally want to listen either very loud or loud late, but you do not want to spend money for a real set of headphones. If you can spend a little more, do so and look at another brand too.

Read the whole review:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/648968/a-headphone-shootout-from-a-speaker-listener-testing-eight-headphones-from-80-to-1-200#post_9114790

I have enjoyed the SR60s for many years. Like, maybe 20+. They have excellent fidelity expected from the Grado line for a reasonable price at the time. It has long been time to replace the foam covers as they fell apart after 10 years or so.

I was always interested in the Audiophile world, even since i watched High Fidelity a few years ago, i know, the movie is focused on the records, but i don't know, there was something there. 

I first heard of the Grados a few years ago, when i searched for then, i fell in love. The WWII-sh design, the simplicity, even the typography on it.
 
Now i'm a grown man, i got a job and a beard, i thought it was time to finally meet the world i saw on High Fidelity. I got them 2 weeks ago, i'm still getting used to the whole new world of sound that these babies can delivery, and i'm loving it.  

Now my music has details that i didn't know that existed, and the mids are so clear, and i have a soundstage, even with my piece-of-dirty onboard sound-card.

I have a long way to go, the SR60i are not even fully burned in, and my ears have a lot to learn, and i have a lot of 192kb music to replace with FLAC, but i will get there, the same way the Grado got to me.

 

Everyone should have one to go back to when your ubercans are sent for re-wiring etc. They surprise me again and again...

These cans are fun!! Flatout FUN to listen to!!