[whirlwind]

I think its the amp, the Espressivo is a OTL amp designed for higher impedance headphones like HD650, HD800 and T1, it will make most Grado headphones warmer sounding and give a bass boost so its a more euphoric sound at the expense of some distortion/muddy bass. The LCD-2 doesn't sound good on most OTL amps since most lack the current for driving a planar design properly. I think the Espressivo is similar to a Valhalla2 and the Valhalla2 was not a good pairing for any planar headphone that I tried.

I agree with this. I do not have an LCD-2, but I do have an ZMF Omni/Ori and i was listening to it with my OTL amp, which I thought was pretty good with the right tubes.
A new amp definitely changed the level that my planars are at now, i just thought the bass slam was good before, man these things need some current and then they will sound there best.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

I use an Espressivo with my Grado SR60e in wood cups, I did use it with the HE-500 but it was not powerful enough.

The Elise by Feliks audio is a great match with the HE-500, but the Audeze have a warm tilt to them anyway so would work better with a more neutral amp.

 

[ruhenheiM]

did anyone ever try rupert neve rhnp or microzotl 2?

 

[DavidA]

did anyone ever try rupert neve rhnp or microzotl 2?

The MicroZOTL2 is great for the HD800 and other higher impedance headphones but was not an amp I would pair with a Grado if I had a choice since it makes most sound overly warm and the sparkle in the highs is missing to me. With the HD650, HD700 and HD800 its one of the better pairing IMO, better than the Elise when I tried them both at the same time.

 

[ruhenheiM]

The MicroZOTL2 is great for the HD800 and other higher impedance headphones but was not an amp I would pair with a Grado if I had a choice since it makes most sound overly warm and the sparkle in the highs is missing to me. With the HD650, HD700 and HD800 its one of the better pairing IMO, better than the Elise when I tried them both at the same time.

thanks for the reply! i was wondering if the microzotl 2.0 would be great for grado headphone.how about the dragon inspire iha 1 tube headphone amp? did anybody have try these with grado?

 

[HungryPanda]

I love my Grado headphones but the only Audeze I bought/wanted was the LCD-X and I'm so glad I did

 

[ruhenheiM]

this is probably going to change the manufacturing process. imagine a headphone chasis build like this

 

[ScareDe2]

this is probably going to change the manufacturing process. imagine a headphone chasis build like this

That car looks like it wants to dive into the road. Slick and fishy curves. Leno looks like he is driving a monoplace submarine.

 

[ruhenheiM]

hahaha like leno emphasized it's not about the car, it's about the manufacturing process.

 

[ScareDe2]

I received a brand new sr325e. Well the drivers are brand new the other parts are used. Not much a problem I can live with that.
Out of the box the sound is nasal, congested, forward, grainy and aggressive. After 50 hours of burn in it's mostly OK but: The center image is still very poor, singers are taking the full center without being precisely focused. Rock music still sound very forward and aggressive. Will give them an additional 250 hours of burn in then I will decide if I keep it.

Bass is quite fine though. I expected less, but it's a very decent mid bass it doesn't leave me on my appetite at all.

 

[ruhenheiM]

try sr225e or rs2e maybe it suit you better than sr325e

 

[DavidA]

I received a brand new sr325e. Well the drivers are brand new the other parts are used. Not much a problem I can live with that.
Out of the box the sound is nasal, congested, forward, grainy and aggressive. After 50 hours of burn in it's mostly OK but: The center image is still very poor, singers are taking the full center without being precisely focused. Rock music still sound very forward and aggressive. Will give them an additional 250 hours of burn in then I will decide if I keep it.

Bass is quite fine though. I expected less, but it's a very decent mid bass it doesn't leave me on my appetite at all.

If you mean the upper mids or lower treble being too forward and aggressive then I would suggest looking at another headphone, its the reason I returned the SR325e. I would suggest like @ruhenheiM the SR225e might be more to your liking since the upper mids / lower treble is not as aggressive or forward like the SR325e. If you like the basic Grado sound then you might also want to look at alternative drivers from Nhoord, Symphones, and Elleven Acoustica

 

[ScareDe2]

No I was posting this message relative to the burn in. I am sure it's a good pair of headphone. It's just crazy how bad it sounds out of the box. I mean very unlistenable.

 

[DavidA]

No I was posting this message relative to the burn in. I am sure it's a good pair of headphone. It's just crazy how bad it sounds out of the box. I mean very unlistenable.

I had the SR325e for 3 weeks and it didn't change one bit, just has harsh from day one to 150+ hours later before my return window ran out.

 

[joseph69]

No I was posting this message relative to the burn in. I am sure it's a good pair of headphone. It's just crazy how bad it sounds out of the box. I mean very unlistenable.

If you find the 325e "very unlistenable" then chances are these may not be for you, so you may not enjoy them, even after sufficient burn-in but only time will tell. For me, my 325is is the Grado I reach for when I want to hear forward vocals.