Oh, and given that I have never tested Marantz, I am immediately suspicious of that kind of markdown.  In retail, to avoid getting stuck with too much old inventory, we always marked the goods down to get them out the door.

I have no experience with the Marantz, except for the excellent amps and tuners on the '70s.   For my hearing, the eq of which is inverted, these Grados are all I will ever need.  Simply delightful.

Because you will, at this level of expenditure, be using your new headphones for years to come, you would think about "doing it right."   I climbed the Grado ladder from Sr225i to Sr325i (only a 15 % improvement over the 225s for $100 more) to ultimately the PS500, little brother to the...

No Higher Grados in Nashville?   Try UPS...I think they still deliver there.  LOL...Good luck your'e going in the right direction.

Having owned Senheisers and sr225i's in the sub $200 group, and a nice pair of the obligatory Bose, I worked my way up, in dollar increments to what this trained, veteran ear was listening for.....the ultimately affordable Grado PS500's.   As an old guitar rocker, and longtime Sony and Koss...

Having owned Senheisers and sr225i's in the sub $200 group, and a nice pair of the obligatory Bose, I worked my way up, in dollar increments to what this trained, veteran ear was listening for.....the ultimately affordable Grado PS500's.   As an old guitar rocker, and longtime Sony and Koss...

Enjoying my new sr225i's.  Am here now to prevent myself from spending unnecessarily on sr325i's.   Mission accomplished.  Thanks guys for saving me some scarce (these days) money.   I am sticking with the 225ers.   Man's gotta know his limit....economies of scale, or should I say...

Grado sr225i. $200.  Nothing touches 'em for the money.  Balanced, smooth, mids not muddy, or invaded by bass or treble. Crisp presence without being harsh.  The i is for improvement over the famous sr225.   Cord insanely thick. Cannot walk around the room with these.....cord is short, but...

Ah once again the Sennheiser pokes its persistent head.   2 Ears Up!