The goldies are gorgeous, wish they were still available. As for the grados (325 in particular?) being harsh and sibilant...they aren't either, at all, to me. I am certainly no bass head, and the 325 is on the bright side of dark, for sure. Sibilant? Never. My DT880s show sibilance far more...

Quote: Mine stayed in the ear guides without issue.  I did decide not to use the guides at all though, once I found proper chin slider use makes the guides useless.  They are more comfortable like that too, imo.

That would depend on the cans, more than the amp really. An analytic can, or one with a severely rolled of low end will likely never please a bass head. And an E11 wouldn't fair any better there. No Amp out there will really change that, and EQing that heavily will likely hurt the rest of the...

If you are using an Apple device, an LOD is the best option. If you are using another player, the cables that come with it will do. Most common players, besides Apple and a few others don't give a line out option.

That's not correct, the E6 is far better than the E5 in every way. The bass boost on the E6 on EQ2 is very prominent. On EQ1 it is even more so, but it also effects the treble, and leads to muddy sound in all but the brightest headphones. The E11 isn't a bass boost so much as it is a sub bass...

Meh, go with the Fiio E6 for <$30. I don't think your cans need the power the E11 has, and the E6 has different EQ options. The E11 has two very decent, non-bleed sub bass bumps. The E6 can actually add warmth by boosting sub and mid bass, or play flat with no EQ, so works with different cans...

Those beats have batteries because they are active noise canceling. They actually create sound waves to counteract ambient sound. It's different from passive isolation, like most headphones, which just try to seal out outside noise. The active noise cancelation does change the sound of the music...

Congrats man. I'm really excited to place my order now. Your description of early impressions sounds exactly how I hoped they'd sound. And it's really nice to see those came with the sticker on the box.

Did you really just state the best quality/value is on a DAC that isn't even available yet? I smell fanboy, and nothing backing it up. I guess I could say Fiio provides the best bang for the buck sound, but that would be just as much fanboying. Honestly, most of your posts in this thread are...

A really good brick and mortor dealer does allow you to try before you buy, with in store demo sets. IEMs excluded usually, for obvious reasons. Our local dealer (mine and Focker's) has demos for all the Grados they stock. Actually, when I bought my 325is, he didn't have a demo opened. He opened...

Now I await your impressions even more, since the 500 is the way I'm leaning.

I hear ya. I was just letting you know what D2K was, not recommending. I haven't heard them. :)

Denon AH-D2000

Haha, couldn't even wait to get a listen first, eh? Let us know your impressions. I have a strong feeling a PS500 is going to be ordered by me in the next week or two as well.

Man, Beyer makes my head hurt with their model lineups.  Pro/Premium/M/LE, 16/80/250/600 Ohm....I don't know how they keep them straight, much less expect us to.

Depends I guess. If you are trying to drive something that needs the extra juice, I think so. It's also good to have if you ever do need it. Amps can be like headphones though, and people just keep buying. I actually am waiting on a Meier Audio 2Stepdance to arrive right now. Did I need it? Heck...

Fiio is pretty cheap affordable. I own an E11 myself. If it's a little much, with your can purchase, I recently got a free E6 with a pair of iems I bought. It isn't quite as powerful as the E11, but would add plenty for 80 Ohms and sounds pretty good. It also offers a couple of EQ options. The...

I can drive my 150 ohm RE-262s to decently loud volume from my iPhone/Pod. They are iems, not full size cans, but shouldn't matter as far as impedance goes.

Yes sir, that was me. I wish Audio Alternative was a bigger volume shop. They are really small. If they sold more, I'm sure they'd carry the pro series. Oh well. It's really nice to have a Grado dealer in driving distance anyway. And they have some quiet audition rooms too, no small thing with a...

I have been feeling the same way about the PS500. If we both pull the trigger (we know it's coming), after we have had them a while, we should arrange an in home audition trade. I am having a rough time choosing the RS1 or the PS500, but the 500 just seems to be calling me. Nice to know what...

+1 for Vsonic GR07. I only recently got mine, but they sound great with every genre I have thrown at them. They sound great from my iPhone and laptop headphone outs too.

I'm fairly new myself. Best advice I could give you is to check jokers portable shootout thread. It's a huge wealth of information, from a guy that has put a ton of work in, and does great reviews. I rely on his reviews a lot. Check it out of you have some time to read...

That was the original package/accessories. Less tips and a clamshell case. They added a lot more tips, and switched the hardcase to the softcase. I think the originals were black too. What you have is legit, I believe, just a beat up package. EDIT: Oops, you were the one of the 3 or 4 of us...

@zazex- I agree with most of what you say about the 880s, aside from them not being laid back. I guess this depends on what they are compared to. I like them very much with rock, and think they are more versatile then my Grado for different genres. My point was only that I took it the OP meant...

My order was through Amazon, from Gateshop Inc. It did not come with the paper wrapper, but the plastic packaging was also badly scuffed up. Everything appeared to be there, and undamaged though. I don't think I'll be ordering from that seller again, but don't plan on a return, since everything...