I think the general consensus around here is that Grados work well for metal. I personally just love them but I know some people just cannot stand them due to their bright sound signature. Esp. Grado SR60i should fit your budget well considering you are located at the US. They are way more...

No idea of brands... Use whatever you like and equalize if you have to (makes a big difference!). As ex0du5 mentioned psychoacoustics have a significant role. Each person perceives higher frequencies differently due to the shape of ear canals etc. Headphones having a flat response curve won't...

I guess their overseas policy hurts them a bit. Paying a hefty premium for a pair of Grados doesn't probably seem that appealing to people outside US.   I'm personally really happy with Grado products. They got me into this hi-fi thing. :)   I suppose it might have something to do with...

Try equalizing first. Dampen the highs a bit (max dampening around 2k-4k?) and see if it does the trick. I just set up foobar this way and it made a huge difference with my SR325is (no more sibilance, more comfortable sound overall).

I haven't listened PX100. I do prefer my quarted modded iGrados (cut pads a bit to get rid of "veiled" bass) over PortaPro, though. Compared to my SR325is it gives me about ~80% of full Grado experience. It's definitely feels bassier than SR125 though mids seem less detailed.

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Quote: iGrados don't quite match the performance of their other models (I've used SR-125 and SR-325is actively). Quarted modded version seems way bassier than vanilla SR-125. No idea how it compares to SR-125is...   In this case comfort may be an issue as well. I just can't wear them...

Be sure to loosen up the band. This might help with the comfort issues.   Note that you can try to "quarter mod" the pads. In principle this means just cutting small holes to the pads. This helped immensely with my pair of iGrados. Before the mod bass felt veiled. Dunno how it affects SR-60...

I just got NVA SSP interconnect. Really solid construction! Interestingly it seems to have helped with bass a little bit. I like it!

What would you think of an iGrado based build? As mentioned earlier in this thread it should be easy enough to extract the drivers from those. Of course rest of the parts would have to be fabricated. With the exception of headband and pads those should be fairly straightforward in case you are...

Check out Koss Porta Pro (~$30). They look kind of retro but sound surprisingly good! Nice and portable option. :)   I'm sure that's not the best option given the ample budget. Still an option worth checking out. :)

At least quarter mod should be relatively safe. It definitely helped a lot with my pair of iGrados. I do agree that some of them look kind of difficult. :)

Note that you if you want you can mod SR60 quite a bit! Of course this will void your warranty and takes a bit of effort. Start out with simple mods (quarter mod, just cut pads :) ) and work your way to others if you dare. :)   I'm currently using uDAC (mine's v1) (~$100) + Little Dot I+...

Thanks for the vids! Really instructive.   Btw your "Part 2" link seems to point to the wrong vid (part 1). Might want to fix that. :)

amcananey: Thanks a lot for help! I ended up ordering that particular cable (a bit expensive but probably worth it). :)

I just recently received Little Dot I+ hybrid amp. Previously I drove my headphones (SR-325is) directly from uDAC (v1). Now the amp is between uDAC and phones. I rigged uDAC to my amp using a standard RCA (male-male, 50cm) interconnect. The solution looks kind of ugly, though.   Since uDAC...

Just got my Little Dot. It seems to sound a bit fuller than my previous setup (placebo effect?). I guess the sound will change a bit given some burn in time.   I still need to upgrade my RCA interconnect to something nicer. After that I think I'm going to settle to this setup for a while...

Does anyone have any experience with using Nordic woods (ie. pine, spruce, birch and such) for chambers? I wonder how those compare to the more commonly used (mahogany ie.).

M^3 looks like a great project. I might want to give it a go someday (got skillz :) ).   I ended up picking Little Dot I+ with WE408A tubes. No idea if the tube upgrade made any significant difference but I rather take it than not. Now all I have to is just to wait for it to arrive. :)

Thanks. I guess Little Dot I+ it is then. I can always upgrade to a nice Meier or some other alternative later. :)

Hi,   I must admit I'm quite avid fan of Grado. I got my first pair of SR-125's a few years ago and I've been a Grado guy ever since. I upgraded to SR-325is around a year ago and paired it with NuForce's uDAC (v1). I also use quarter modded iGrados every once in a while.   Compared to my...

I think Grados provide good bang for the buck, especially in the US. It will get you good mids and highs. Not so sure about comfort, though, as this really seems to depend on the individual (remember to loosen the headband!). The cool thing about Grados is that they are relatively easy to drive...

Quote: Thanks. I just found a local retailer.

Any idea where to get G-cushions in EU?

I went from SR-125 to SR-325is a while ago. At first 325 felt really bright compared to 125. Since then (>100 hours I reckon) it has settled down to comfortable levels. Though 325 is considerably heavier, I have found that to be a non-issue. I really like the bass extension it gives compared to...