I have been reading about these headphones online for a few days now so I wanted to go take a listen to them unfortunately the closest Grado dealer was an hour away so I took a drive. I tried out the 80i and then the 225i through my own iPhone with apple lossless files and I could hear a teenie tiny difference with the 225i being a little more crisp and spacial but I am talking a very little bit but I don't think its double the price different or better. They both sound awesome. Then I had the guy throw a cd into a 1000 dollar Rotel CD player playing through a 2000 Rotel integrated amp and the difference between the 225i and the 80i was even less than being played with my iPhone they both sounded even more clear and amazing. So I asked the guy to try different pads on the headphones and he took the pads off of the 225i's and put them on the 80i's and they sounded just like the 225i's so i bought the 80i's and the L-CUSH pads and saved some money and have some amazing headphones.
As for comfort I personally dont know what anyone is talking about when they say they aren't comfortable. I am currently listening to mine as I'm typing this and I'm at a little over 4 hours and my ears don't hurt at all. Also I guess these are on ear headphones but my entire ear fits into the cups and I would say I have an average ear size.
All kinds of music sound great through these. I have tried rock, hard rock, metal, pop, alternative, indie, electronica and rap. The bass is just right, plenty of bass but not boomy or overwhelming like my fiance's sons beats are.
As for comfort I personally dont know what anyone is talking about when they say they aren't comfortable. I am currently listening to mine as I'm typing this and I'm at a little over 4 hours and my ears don't hurt at all. Also I guess these are on ear headphones but my entire ear fits into the cups and I would say I have an average ear size.
All kinds of music sound great through these. I have tried rock, hard rock, metal, pop, alternative, indie, electronica and rap. The bass is just right, plenty of bass but not boomy or overwhelming like my fiance's sons beats are.
I'm not suggesting the novice should go out and spend $ 400 for a 1st set of hp, but don't squeeze your budget so much, that soon you'll " outgrow " your hp, and wish you spent just a little bit more, when you start noticing those sound deficiencies you first wrote off to " not that big a deal "...with time it will irk you more and more every time you listen.