Grado Fan Club!
May 27, 2017 at 1:38 PM Post #35,611 of 64,913
I just have too many Grado headphones and I really haven't been using any of them much at all due to my Stax headphones. I burned-in the GH2 for +/-120hrs and unfortunately never just listened to them again.

Well (speaking very self righteously), I am so glad that I don't have too many Grado headphones. I just cannot understand how joseph69 got himself into the pickle of having too many Grado headphones. Sad!

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(From L to R):
Row 1: Joseph Grado HPA-1, HP1000, Grado GR10e, RA1

Row 2: PS1000, PS1000e
Row 3: GS1000i, GS1000e
Row 4: Bushmills X, HF1, PS500, GH1
Row 5: RS2e, RS2i, RS2, RS1
Row 6: RS1i, SR325e, SR325is, SR325i
Row 7: SR125, SR125e, SR225i, SR325
Row 8: SR80, SR80e, SR60i, iGrado
Row 9: Grado Wooden Box (Over Ears); Grado Wooden Box (On Ears).
 
May 27, 2017 at 10:26 PM Post #35,613 of 64,913
Well (speaking very self righteously), I am so glad that I don't have too many Grado headphones. I just cannot understand how joseph69 got himself into the pickle of having too many Grado headphones. Sad!
LMAO.
I know, I have nothing compared to you, but for me, I just can't justify having
headphones I don't use.
I do plan on keeping all of my other Grado headphones, though. I just shouldn't have bought the GH2. Even though I'm dying to hear the PS2K, at this point I'm not too sure I'm even going to purchase them. I will deftly borrow them from TCC, and I'll take it from there.
 
May 28, 2017 at 7:27 AM Post #35,614 of 64,913
LMAO.
I know, I have nothing compared to you, but for me, I just can't justify having
headphones I don't use.
I do plan on keeping all of my other Grado headphones, though. I just shouldn't have bought the GH2. Even though I'm dying to hear the PS2K, at this point I'm not too sure I'm even going to purchase them. I will deftly borrow them from TCC, and I'll take it from there.

there's a chance you might sell your stax system :D
 
May 28, 2017 at 8:10 AM Post #35,616 of 64,913
pretty much sr60,sr80,sr125,sr225,sr325,rs2, it's depend on your preferences and budget

usually it's sr60 or sr80(if you can stretch your budget a little bit) for low end. sr225/sr325(depend on your sound preference) or rs2(if you can stretch your budget a little bit) for mid end
 
May 28, 2017 at 8:28 AM Post #35,617 of 64,913
Hey! Might be an odd question but what's the general recommendation for a lower-mid tier pair of Grado's?

I usually recommend the SR225e as the best bang for the money but as @ruhenheiM noted if you can get to the RS2e it one of my favorites, even before I modded mine.
 
May 28, 2017 at 8:55 AM Post #35,618 of 64,913
Thanks for the advice! @ruhenheiM @DavidA

pretty much sr60,sr80,sr125,sr225,sr325,rs2, it's depend on your preferences and budget

usually it's sr60 or sr80(if you can stretch your budget a little bit) for low end. sr225/sr325(depend on your sound preference) or rs2(if you can stretch your budget a little bit) for mid end

I think I'll take a deeper look into the SR225/SR325, they are right around what I'd be willing to spend for now.

I usually recommend the SR225e as the best bang for the money but as @ruhenheiM noted if you can get to the RS2e it one of my favorites, even before I modded mine.

Whew the RS2e look great but it's a bit pricey! I'm also especially quite scared of buying something that expensive and trying to mod it... However I'll try to find a place to demo them, who knows, maybe it'll woo me over enough that I'll shell out the money for them :)
 
May 28, 2017 at 9:19 AM Post #35,619 of 64,913
@Dulalala, the SR225e is what got me to get the RS2e. I've since modded my SR225e with dynamat in the cups and on the back of the driver, really helps with the bass and cleaning up the over all sound. I also installed SMC connectors for making the cable removable and use cheap G pads from ebay for comfort and a little better sound IMO.
 
May 28, 2017 at 9:22 AM Post #35,620 of 64,913
@Dulalala
assuming you already have a system like dac/amp or a decent dap, going for mid end grado is pretty much okay. grado headphones are efficient but start from mid end to high end using better system going to make different for sure but at least you need to have a decent system so it would perform right. while the low end grado you just plug them in, with or without better system is not going to be a night and day differences however modding them going to make big difference
 
May 28, 2017 at 9:44 AM Post #35,621 of 64,913
Hey! Might be an odd question but what's the general recommendation for a lower-mid tier pair of Grado's?

I always recommend the SR 125e from the Prestige series. IMO they’re the gateway into the higher end Grado sound, within that entry level range..
Comfort wise, I like the pads that they come with. And if you want to experiment, they also sound good with the pads that come with the higher end models.
I also have the RS2e - they have a lot more detail and wider stereo image. Generally, as you go up the Grado line, the soundstage becomes wider. One would think that due to the open back design, even the entry level Grados would have a wide image, but that’s not the case. What that design does do, is remove that coloration one gets with a closed-back headphone - and that’s whey even the least expensive Grado sounds so great. Anyway, the 125e improves in that area, and sounds less closed in than the 60e and 80e. Side note, on some recordings I prefer the 125e to the RS2e. The 125s are warmer and more forgiving of lesser/brighter mixes. But with a great recording, those RS2es are really something.

Hope that helps!
 
May 28, 2017 at 9:52 AM Post #35,622 of 64,913
@Dulalala, the SR225e is what got me to get the RS2e. I've since modded my SR225e with dynamat in the cups and on the back of the driver, really helps with the bass and cleaning up the over all sound. I also installed SMC connectors for making the cable removable and use cheap G pads from ebay for comfort and a little better sound IMO.

I was planning on doing the some of the reversible mods. I'm much too afraid of doing something that isn't easily reversible as I won't know if I'll like the difference it'll make! One of the main reason I decided to go for a Grado was because I wanted to play around with some easy mods on them.

@Dulalala
assuming you already have a system like dac/amp or a decent dap, going for mid end grado is pretty much okay. grado headphones are efficient but start from mid end to high end using better system going to make different for sure but at least you need to have a decent system so it would perform right. while the low end grado you just plug them in, with or without better system is not going to be a night and day differences however modding them going to make big difference

I currently use the WA8 as a majority. I'm not sure how the Grado's will pair with it or how Grado's pair with tube amp in general but I'll try to bring my WA8 with me to the store to demo.

I always recommend the SR 125e from the Prestige series. IMO they’re the gateway into the higher end Grado sound, within that entry level range..
Comfort wise, I like the pads that they come with. And if you want to experiment, they also sound good with the pads that come with the higher end models.
I also have the RS2e - they have a lot more detail and wider stereo image. Generally, as you go up the Grado line, the soundstage becomes wider. One would think that due to the open back design, even the entry level Grados would have a wide image, but that’s not the case. What that design does do, is remove that coloration one gets with a closed-back headphone - and that’s whey even the least expensive Grado sounds so great. Anyway, the 125e improves in that area, and sounds less closed in than the 60e and 80e. Side note, on some recordings I prefer the 125e to the RS2e. The 125s are warmer and more forgiving of lesser/brighter mixes. But with a great recording, those RS2es are really something.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the info! I'll add the SR125e to my list of Grados to research about also :)
 
May 28, 2017 at 10:48 AM Post #35,624 of 64,913
I was planning on doing the some of the reversible mods. I'm much too afraid of doing something that isn't easily reversible as I won't know if I'll like the difference it'll make! One of the main reason I decided to go for a Grado was because I wanted to play around with some easy mods on them.

I currently use the WA8 as a majority. I'm not sure how the Grado's will pair with it or how Grado's pair with tube amp in general but I'll try to bring my WA8 with me to the store to demo.

if you already planning to modding them going for sr125/225 is probably a great move. sr325(the gold one anyway, i don't know the current version) won't change/improve a lot with modding so it won't be worth the effort and cost. sr60 and 80 are super great with mod but the drivers have their limitation, at certain point you won't get anymore improvement just another different sound tuning and adding dac/amp won't make big different. other than that options, you could get third party drivers

it's probably nice pairing.but from my experience based on with sr60.sr80,sr325 mod or stock.the prestige series lines are not that sensitive with dac/amp.but that's from solid state amplifier anyway.i never tried tube. anyway good luck and keep us posted


Being I haven't heard the PS2K I can't say. I can say that I pushed my 009 a bit last night and was just completely blown away, but still can't wait to hear the PS2K. Sounds like you might have heard it already?
hahaha no. i was joking perhaps ps2k sounded very impressive that it might make you sell your stax system after you demo it :D
being a grado fans and in this journey for the last 10 years.i highly doubt it though, probably ps2k going to be another typical grado headphone... which bring me to these question for all grado fans

if grado release a headphone that doesn't have a grado signature sound as we know or basically just a another flagship headphone trying to beat every competitor in every technical aspect, do you guys like that?
 
May 28, 2017 at 10:55 AM Post #35,625 of 64,913
if you already planning to modding them going for sr125/225 is probably a great move. sr325(the gold one anyway, i don't know the current version) won't change/improve a lot with modding so it won't be worth the effort and cost. sr60 and 80 are super great with mod but the drivers have their limitation, at certain point you won't get anymore improvement just another different sound tuning and adding dac/amp won't make big different. other than that options, you could get third party drivers

it's probably nice pairing.but from my experience based on with sr60.sr80,sr325 mod or stock.the prestige series lines are not that sensitive with dac/amp.but that's from solid state amplifier anyway.i never tried tube. anyway good luck and keep us posted

Thanks for the heads up! Once I've done my research and found some spare time I will head down to the store to demo them. I will update when I make my decision :grin:
 

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