Grado SR80i Headphones

With no break-in, the 80i's were an immense improvement from my previous headphones (some 30-or-so-dollar over-the-ear headphones).
 
I carried these loose in my bookbag with a laptop and schoolbooks and they didn't break. The whole semester I had owned them, too. They're very well built! They're open backed, with all the pros and cons of that.
 
The sound is pretty interesting. It's hard to describe - It's Grado sound. The bass is punchy (not wubwubwub) and the highs and mids are great, too. Rock sounds beautiful - The Who, The Beatles and Los Lonely Boys have never sounded better.
 
Jazz is great, too. Apparently, the SR-60i struggle with jazz, but it's so clear and nice with the 80i's that it feels like I'm in a bar listening to the band. It's not an "in your head" sound, it's wide and open and it's really like you're there. Live performances literally sound like you're on stage. It's brilliant.
 
Electronica sounds okay - It's just not enough bass for something that's meant to go wubwubwub, so "modern" electronic music sounds pretty lackluster. Basshunter and Pendulum both sound great, but deadmau5 isn't so great. Not bad, by any means. Trance is fun with punchy bass, in my opinion, so I enjoy it. Stuff like speedcore still has your ears vibrating like it should, so that's good.
 
All in all, these headphones are the best 80 dollars I ever spent and, to be completely honest, I'd be comfortable having payed twice that for them. At the retail price of 100, they're a bargain and an awesome pair of headphones to own and enjoy. They sound great, and they look great, too.
 
They have another plus - Grados are very easy to mod, and there's an active community of modders messing around with them making sure you can get the fullest out of 'em.

This were my first "real" headphones and now I'm building a Mosfet Mini Max tube amplifier and DAC, buying parts, modding my headphones, etc. All in three short months. These will turn you into an audiophile.

The clarity from these are just wonderful. Rich, full mids, wonderful treble response (perhaps too wonderful...at times they can be very bright and tinny, but usually not) and a good low end too. This is, of course, pre-modification. With the drivers vented, new grills, new headband, custom wood cups, G Cushions and the driver cloth removed, these headphone dominate.

That's probably one of the coolest things about them, the amount of known mods! These are so much fun to play with, mine look nothing like they used to, sound totally amazing and are very comfortable.

My two cents? Get some cans from the Grado Prestige Series, modify the hell out of them and have fun listening to some amazing headphones for the price.

So, I'm an audiophile noob, relatively speaking. I bought these about three years ago for $180 (I'm Canadian so everything good costs more for some reason even though our dollar is higher than US right now). These were my first good pair of headphones approaching audiophile status and they changed how I listen to music forever. Since I bought them, I've been on a never-ending mission to convert as much of my music library to FLAC and apple lossless because I had no idea what depth and detail there can be in music played on headphones until I bought these.
 
Maybe I don't have as good an ear as others claim to, but based on my non-professional opinion:
 
Lows: not too much emphasis on bass which I find can be overwhelming with some HP's at the expense of other frequency ranges. The bass is great though. Very punchy and it hits the very lows well with no distortion. I haven't been able to cause distortion in these yet.
 
Mids: Well, clear I guess.
 
Highs: I feel as though the highs are emphasized a little more than lows and mids, but they're still clear and great.
 
Overall: I love the headphones. They introduced me to the way music should be heard by everyone.  And now all I want is more headphones. I'd love to get another Grado model, but I also want to explore other types of headphones. I can say that I've tried several pairs of Monster beats (I know that they're different because they're closed back but...) and none even come close to the audio quality of Grados. I fell sorry for people who spend their money on beats just because they look cool or something.
 
After buying these, I went for a pair of Monster Turbine in-ears, that I like but are a totally different thing than the Grados, and obviouisly not as good, but still quite nice for small and portable. I also have a pair of white Audio Technica m50's on the way, and I'm looking forward to comparing them to the Grado SR80 soon.

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. 

So I wanted to buy some better-than-average headphones for listen to my music at night.
 
On my search I found this forum. I read and read and read. Beyerdynamic - maybe too much bass, Sennheiser - too expensive, AKG - require a too expensive amplifier and so on.
But Grado - made for rock and obviously not that expensive. But wait, here in my homecountry they are about 3 times the price as in the US.
 
So I tried to find some used SR225i and I found them. But remembering that I maybe would have to pay 20% extra when I import them into the EU they still were too expensive.
 
So I asked for a pair of SR80i. And I got a reasonable offer from a "neighbour" in the Netherlands, so no extra taxes.
 
 
And now I have them - and I think they are more than good enough for me.
They have a very clear sound, accurate highs, clear voices and thigth basses. And to be honest I do NOT know what people mean when they say they have not enough bass - for me it already is at the border to too much bass! Really!
The build quality is pretty good for the fact that they are made of plastic for the biggest part. The comfort is - well, not too good due to the simple design, but still comfortably enough as though you can bend the headband if it fits too tight.
 
So my final conclusion is that they really are good enough to listen to your music at night! And that I say as one who has a pair of real high-end speakers for normal listening!
 
 
Greetings,
Maxx
 
 
P.S. I amp them with a pretty accurate RA-1 clone, which I got "for free" with my CD-Player!
 

If you're thinking of jumping over the fence then you will notice a very big difference in your music.
 
When you're like me a casual music listener who likes rock, metal, 80's music, twee pop, shoegazer, and basically most music that is good to listen and relate to and you just have some mediocre source and setup then what will happen is this thing will change all that!
 
I can say I have some decent amount of sources mostly mp3's and I don't bother with its bit rates but now I'ts like a BETAMAX to VHS all over again!
 
You will gonna need to find/buy new HD sources to get the most out of it. In my case I'm thinking to replace all my current files so you will gonna need a bigger external HDD to store all of these. So additional cost plus since I already take the RED PILL then it open a new whole world for me which is very frustrating because of some funds problem. There is so much to learn and hear in this hobby.
 
This is like the "METALLICA" of headphones!!! Many people love 'em some hate 'em but when you like it the first time then there is no looking back and you will gonna look for more! 
 
 
 

I am not an audiophile.
I'm just a regular guy who decided to buy a pair of headphones that had great sound and were affordable.
When I posted here in Head-Fi that I needed help deciding between some headphones and wrote my options, the Grado were not listed.
I specified that the music I listen to, is metal... Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Symphonic Death Metal, Trash Metal, Progressive Metal, Folk Metal, Viking Metal... Metal.
 
So... someone said "If you listen to rock, check out the Grado headphones"
Glad he said that. Plain and simple, I love them.
 
First the bad: Ergonomics.
No, they are not comfortable at first! I wish they were as comfortable as my Sony MDRXD200 but they are not. I have to be honest.
I bought the yellow pads and the difference was not that big in my opinion, BUT, but everything you read around the internet about the headphones becoming more comfortable as time passes by is true. No, they are not still as comfortable as the aforementioned Sony headphones but they cause me discomfort less frequently than when they were new.
 
UPDATE 13-Sep-2012
About the comfort and the yellow pads: I've been wearing them for some time now and I feel they are indeed more comfortable than the stock pads (I can wear my grado phones for about 2-3 hours without any issue). My yellow pads are by no means modded.  Ithink all you need is some patience and let them break-in (Expect itchiness and discomfort during the break in period).
If I had to guess why is that the yellow are more fomfortable than the stock pads, I would say that's because the yellow pads are thinner and that makes you to pull appart your phones a few millimeters less when wearing them, and this causes less clamping force.
Basically, what I'm saying is: What you read around the internet about [comfort+yellow] pads and advises to make the grado more comfortable is all true (Still not as comfortable as my Sony headphones but I don't care since the sound makes it up for it)
 
The "debatable" bad: openback headphones.
Sound leaks from them AND sound leaks through them. Not recommendable if you intend to use them in a place where there is a lot of noise, but if you WANT to be aware fo your surroundings then this are ideal for the task. Also, since the sound leaks, if you turn up the volume and listen to music at very high volume levels then people will listen to what you're listening.
I have an iPod touch 3rd gen and at 2/3 of volume everyone listens to what I'm listening... but at 1/3 they won't.
 
The "debatable" good, the look.
I love the look. I just love it. The headband could be better but it does the job... but the overall look is great (in my opinion). Very retro, very stylish.
 
Now, the good. The Sound!:
Sound is great. So far I've listened several hours of music and just as another reviewer said, my music listening time has increased considerably. I love the sound. It feels more "alive", the metal sounds better than in my Sony headphones because I feel the sound is not obscured bu an unnecessary amount of bass. It feels natural.
 
The bands I've listened the most through this headphones:
Amon Amarth, Battered, Behemoth, Catharsis (Russian band), Death, Demonoid
Diablo Swing Orchestra, Einherjer, Gammaray, Haggard, Halford, Megadeth, Mercenary
Moonspell, Nocturnal Rites, Opeth, Pantera, Primal Fear, Summoning, Testament, Therion
Wuthering Heights.
LOVE THE SOUND
 
I specially love listening to Demonoid, Haggard and Wuthering Heights with my Grado SR80i.
The music feels free, alive! My Sony had great sound, but the grado make things sound different, as if they had a little more spice, om nom nom.
 
Also, it's worth to mention the construction is not as flimsy as it could feel or look at first. Yes, they are made of plastic and it is a lighweight plastic but that doesn't mean it's cheap or not sturdy.
 
Now... This is not part of the review of the headphones but I thought it was also worth to mention. I bought the headphones at GoodCans.com store. I feel obliged to mention them here and give them 5 stars because the buying proccess was very smooth and even personalized as I contacted the seller and he politelly helped me with all my inquiries and issues. The store might be a little behind other stores but the service he gave was top notch in my opinion, and he is a certified Grado headphones vendor
 
That being said, I LOVE my grado headphones and if you (like me) are looking for an affordable option
 

Great headphones.  I have only had these for a month, but I totally love them.  I purchased them based off of the reviews seen here, so I don't think there is a ton I can add to them.  All I can say is that all the good things you hear about these headphones are true!

 
Packaging
It's the happiest I've ever been to get a pizza box.
 
Audio Quality
My only other pair of okay headphones being the Monoprice 8323, these headphones are just amazing. I'm a huge Led head, and every song just sounds so in my face on a whole new level. Each song is incredibly clear and distinct sounding, and I don't have to play the "volume equals quality" game with these headphones. Some where in their advertising for the SR80i, they make a claim that you don't need to crank the knob to get a good sound out of these cans, and it is oh-so true. Many Zeppelin songs have a long fade out, with what was usually a couple extra seconds of silence with my previous headphones. But with these Grado headphones the song gets quieter at the end, but it sure doesn't mean I can't still hear what's going on.
 
At the end of No Quarter, I'm hearing the last few lines of lyrics I never heard before without changing volume, and the at the beginning of The Ocean I used to always have to crank up the volume a whole lot to hear "We've done four already but now we're steady", but with these headphones the lyrics rang out clearly in my ear without ever hurting 'em.
 
Comfort
As for the comfort issues that many people mention, it's all personal on how they fit ya, but unless they feel like angels are holding the things against your head while giving you a neck rub, you're bound to hear more about how they're uncomfortable then you are that they are comfortable. I'll throw in my two cents to the side saying they feel just fine. The comfies these things come with are at least one damn thing: COMFY. The headband ain't some giant block of Tempur-Pedic foam and neither are the ear pads, but for the first damn time of listening through all the Zeppelin studio albums in one go, I never felt any fatigue (regarding comfort or hearing) and genuinely felt great after taking them off, rather than relieved to be able to massage my ears like past cans that have either had a bad headband or aren't completely circumaural and end up smashing my ears.
 
Build quality
The very simplistic design of not having a bunch of useless crap hanging off my head appealed to me very much, but I wasn't sure how durable these would turn out to be because of this. Well, they might be mostly plastic, but they steel feel pretty damn solid. I'm not about to go on the edge with these, but I think they'll be able to survive for a while (or at least through my hands when modding them).
 
Design
Now as for picking on the design, if it sounds great and feels great, to hell with what they look like. But because that's not the world we live in (Hey! They're not Beats!), let me just say that they are nice looking and very low profile (which I can't say the same for many other cans). Plus, the simplistic nature of their design makes them very modifiable (I'm sure I'm not the only one with a folder full of threads on Grado mods).
 
Customer Service
No problems here. Paying for Saturday delivery with FedEx might have been one reason .
 
Overall
I'm not the biggest audiophile out there and I don't have the most respectable references/experiences/glossary, but I know that the money spent on these was well worth it, and my only regret was that I didn't buy them a day before when shipping would have been cheaper.
 
These are gonna be my favorites for a long time to come.

Ive read about 1000 reviews before purchasing the Grado sr80i- been listening to them for about 5 hours now...and they are PERFECT! The bass is there, BUT if you want it to REALLY PUNCH, plug these babies into your amp. Without the amp, they are fine, they have nice tight, clean bass. As far as highs and mid tones, id say they are spot on. I do not need to use any sort of EQ with these, as they represent the music accurately and there is no need to distort....perhaps only a little bass boost since i prefer a nice boom to my bottom sound.....anyway if you have 100 bucks to spend and don't care about portability, GET THESE , STOP READING ALL REVIEWS AND JUST GET THEM you'll be more than happy. Oh...and...everyone says how these things leak sound...I don't think they leak any more sound than a regular closed back headphone would....they are fine in the car with people talking- with the volume up you can't hear anything so they tend to block out sound to some degree...its not like they TOTALLY lack this capability.........HIP HOP sounds superb....house/techno sounds awesome.....rock sounds good too....they are NOT ONLY for rock...EVERY genre will shine with these puppies............GET EM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As someone already had stated- the Grado SR80i gets left in the shadow of its less costly sibling- the SR60i. For me the choice was quite easy- I had a hundred bucks to burn for my first serious headphone, so SR80i was the best thing that I got in my sights. I had heard that the SR60i is a great performer and the SR80i should be all that plus more- the choice was easy.
 
First thing that I liked about them even before listening was the cable- it was nice and thick about the same diameter as a normal AC cable. When I looked at the grills it was apparent that if needed the resoldering should be a breeze. The 1/4 to 1/8 adapter is the most solid I've ever seen- when plugged on it seems like a natural extension to the plug. Other than the wire build quality seems sufficiently well, construction is light so these headphones won't break if dropped. Just try not to step on them. When reading about the Prestige Series Grados one thing did upset me- many people complained about the comfort. For my average sized head the clamping isn't too much though sometimes after longer (4+ hour) listening sessions my pinnae seem to press through the stock foam pads. But after a little rest it's all good again. I don't have very thick hair but the metal band pressing on top of my head was never a problem.
 
Now about the sound. First of all these headphones do benefit from burn in for about 50-100 hours. When listening for the first time my jaw positively fell in my lap but now I'm confident to say that at first they sounded a bit thin and harsh. After the burn-in they get a bit more gentle and the bass blooms too a little. Bass wise they are a little too tame though you can hear the stated 20Hz low end and it will be more than enough to get that great PRAT for rock and jazz. One thing you must keep in mind when feeding these phones- as higher end headphones sound terrible when not properly amped, these sound terrible when fed with the wrong records. The SR80i absolutely hates the loudness war. If you dare to listen something compressed you WILL feel like in a war! Your teeth will clench and you will tire and think about running to the hills. When I first listened to some of recent pop-rock I felt like fighting. Since then I've listened to just about everything Steve Hoffman has laid his hands and ears on. For some time I thought that from now on I won't be searching music by artists but by audio engineers. But there are many others who aren't sacrificing dynamic range for fast sales. And those are the ones a Grado listener must have. You must keep in mind that Grado is (in)famous for tuning his products to his ear, so in some sense your taste must match to his. The SR80i does not have the wide genre bandwidth of some closed phones or IEM's but when at it's best it sure does not sound like 99$.
 
The SR80i is a higher fidelity headphone in sense that it does not try to cater everyone. It IS a highly polarising headphone and that is visible to anyone who has read more than a few reviews. If you like to listen to 60's rock, blues, jazz, funk these might be all that you need. The sensation is closest to using a guitar amp for a pillow.

The Grado SR80 is a classic headphone. It has a classic style, like a old radio ham. It has been around virtually unchanged for donkeys years. It is a superb entry to audiophile headphone listening.
 
Often overshadowed by the baby of the range, the SR60, which has won numerous awards. The SR80s can be had for only £20. When I auditioned for my first headphones, the first to go were the SR60s. The SR80s had more dynamics, detail, everything really. I preferred them to some similarly priced Sennheisers, which did not retrieve the same detail.
 
They are know as the rock headphones because of their dynamics and attack. Attack is the speed that a note is started. So if a track goes quiet and then starts again, the Grados can startle with how suddenly the new passage begins. This also creates strong dynamic swings, which work well for rock and orchestral music. Their open backed design makes for a wide sound stage, where instruments feel as if they are around you and not trapped inside your head.
 
Some may find them too bright and not a relaxing mellow listen. I think that they do acoustic and vocals in such a way that you feel you are there, with the singer.
 
The only, issue and it is for some is the foam pads sitting on the ears. There are two types, bowl with an open centre and flat, like Mickey Mouse ears. I prefer the latter. They also leak a lot of sound and let in a lot as well. So they are no use as portable headphones to be used on public transport.
 
The cable is fixed and goes into both sides and is prone to twisting. I hang mine upside down every so often, so the weight of the headphones (which is not much) helps to pull out any twists.
 
By the SR80s with confidence that you are already 90% of they way to serious audiophile headphones. Classic.

[size=11pt]Distorted guitars sound nicely abrasive. Listening to Immortal's At the heart of winter is like cleaning your ears with sandpaper. It's even more pronounced with the L-cushes. And I love that.[/size]
 
[size=11pt]The « stage » sounds somewhat flat, as if the band or anything was « projected on a screen ». It's not flatty flat, but we're far from the HD600's presentation, for example (I know they are different headphones from different price ranges, it's just for the comparison).[/size]
 
[size=11pt]What happens when I switch from the S-cushes to L-cuches :[/size]

1. [size=11pt]the volume lowers and I have to turn it up,[/size]
2. [size=11pt]the bass and mids lower more than the highs, thus the highs are brought out,[/size]
3. [size=11pt]because the drivers are farther from the ears, the « stage » sounds a tad wider – but remains somewhat « flat ».[/size]

[size=11pt]Plus, I just can't wear the L-cushes with my glasses, and, even without, I find them less comfortable than the S. So, as for me, $36 (here in France) are too much for what the L-cushes provide. At least I can tell what the L-cushes actually do on the SR80i.[/size]

Compared to the old SR-80s they sound better, but the foam pads, they don't seal against your ears as the older foam pads.

These are one of the best purchases I have ever made on headphones. They are so clear, especially the vocals. The bass is okay. They are "bright" and they can be described as "in your face". A recommended modification you can do is the "quarter mod", which will make it sound clearer, but still retain the comfort of the pads. For what you're getting, these didn't cost that much.
Now the cons to these headphones outnumber the pros, but the sound quality outweighs all the cons.
These have a really really long wire! To make matters worse is they have double sided cords!
These come stock with comfy pads, which are pretty comfortable, but only for a short while. After about maybe an hour, they feel uncomfortable so you may have to adjust it or take a little break.
As all Grado owners know, they leak hell of a lot. At medium to high volumes, it's like they have their own mini speakers. They sound like when you listen to something from the speakers on your phone. To avoid these noticeable sounds, you can listen to it at low volumes, but then it wouldn't be loud enough for you to enjoy and you could also hear outside noise more easily.
 
I highly recommend everyone to buy these headphones, but only to listen at home, somewhere quiet or some place that doesn't bother anyone else.

These headphones are amazing !!! I first got a pair of Grado RS1i's i was hooked at how amazing they sounded . listening to them on my ipod 5th gen (30g) & varoius portable amps (cmoy from ampedup 18v ra1 clone ,Fiio E07K amp , little bear b-1 portable mini tube)  .Wow , I must say the quality of sound was apparent right from the beginning . My first set of headphones Sennhieser HD 558 open back sounded great but still lacked something . the RS1i were amazing the exact sound i was looking for similar to listening to my home stereo (full sound ) , everything was there presence of low end (not over powering but there ) smooth silky smooth mids , and crystal clear highs  perfect !!!
So that's where i got curious as to how would the low end model of grado's sr80i sound ?? well I must say that they are just as amazing as the $700 RS1i's , more bass ,nice mids and clear highs . These are good headphones for just about all types of music . I must also say these sr80i's were used when i bought them ($65) , and beat up looking but the sound omg !!! soon after reading about modding on head-fi I decided to liberate and put these drivers in cherry-wood cups . They are more amazing now , tones that come from cherry-wood is awesome rival my RS1i's .
So to conclude I would say that for price compared to more expansive sennhieser HD-580 ($179) this is an amazing value sound and affordability wise ($99) .
Also upgraded to little dot 1+ tube amp and they are even more amazing both RS1i's and SR80i's highly recommend this amp (even the HD-580's too).

As a young audiophile and broke college student I wanted a pair of headphones that sounded great and were relatively inexpensive; these Grados were perfect.
 
They have a full, detailed sound and the high frequencies are very crisp. The bass could be a bit more responsive but after some modification should be up to par.  I also like that there are a lot of ideas and tutorials on how to mod these.
 
The downsides however, are that they leak sound which make them difficult to listen to in public (both because you can hear outside sound and others can hear your music), the vinyl headband and plastic cups make them look and feel a bit cheap, and the stock pads make the ears sore after a few hours of listening.

Grado SR80i
 

 
Intro Thingy: I was wondering if I should even review the SR80i because Grado's e series cans came out not too long ago and I was thinking noone would heed my review 'cause the e series is said to be a fairly big improvement over the i. So, instead of writing a review that'd be putting the SR80i in one of those "great can, I suggest everyone go off and buy it" lights, I'm going to write something more along the lines of a tribute and a tip of the hat. So, without further delay, here we go! 
 
Background Crap:
Having got back from my uncle's place in Portland Oregon and hearing his Magnepan 1.6 speakers hooked up with two very good subwoofers, I learned that the Beats headphones gifted to me were absolute crap in comparison. He is not a headphones guy, and in fact the only cans he has are a pair of Sony somethingrathers that I can't recall the model of. They sounded pretty bad as well, at least straight out of my phone, so I started on my head-fi journey then and there. I actually registered on this site while I was still in Portland, sitting on the couch listening to damn good music out of those sweet sweet Maggies... Erm. Maybe that's why I like my HiFiMANs so much, I'm destined for the planar worldview. Or something. ANYWAY. My budget at the time was pretty pathetic and I was learning a whole lot through my dorky loser noobish posts in the help section of these forums which I am intensely grateful for. I wanted something new that would shame my Beats and sound great, and I was first introduced to the idea of open-back headphones then. Well, I was introduced to them while listening to some SR125s with mismatched pads at another relative's house while there. I absolutely loved the sound, so much more.. open? Well duh, it just makes sense, doesn't it? When I got back home it took me about a month or two to scrounge together spare bills and change from here and there and I drove right up to the only store in town that sells anything hi-fi related at all and handed the guy a fat wad of $10, $5, and $1 bills. I drove home and popped em out of the box, plugged them into the hilariously terribly ancient Technics CD player my dad got for HIS birthday like forty years ago or something, tossed in Yes: Classic Yes, and my favorite song of all time, Heart of the Sunrise came through like I had never heard it before. And I haven't turned back since then in my quest to get the most value and emotion out of my system. 
 
Impressions: Bass Reproduction: The SR80is can't reproduce one note bass. Now we've got that out of the way. What they do good though is electric bass in tons of rock, jazz, and fusion. Acoustic bass isn't terribly good, but it isn't bad at all. The huge midbass hump shown on many frequency response graphs shows something I do like about the grados. They're very aggressive sounding, which is cool for a lot of the progressive rock I listen to. Kick drums really smack down pretty hard, but if they're tuned to go pretty deep they won't give you that much impact. (Think John Mclaughlin & The 4th Dimension) Rolling bass drums don't really have the size they need in classical music or soundtracks. Like in Vangelis' Blade Runner soundtrack, the pieces with rolling bass drums just don't feel big and expansive. The sound is there, just not in the quantity or quality needed in my opinion. Tubas, bassoons, tympani, low piano notes, and bass strings just don't feel as airy and powerful as they can be, which is why I don't think the SR80is are great for acoustic concert music. They do shine in rock which is what I like them for. However, the infamous grattle is a thing if bass gets too powerful, which it usually doesn't for me.
 
Midrange: The Grados do midrange pretty well in my opinion. Vocals are especially nice, as well as guitar, both acoustic and electric. I actually don't have a whole lot to say about midrange because the Grados don't do too much wrong.
 
Treble: Treble, consisting of those ultra high guitar solos, Maynard Ferguson's obscene wailing on the trumpet, Cymbals, and assorted other sounds like breath and the tapping of impatient instrumentalists in the background are all pretty sharp. Sometimes they can get overpowering on brightly mastered recordings where every crash of the cymbal is a smack to the face. But this is really where the aggressive nature of the Grado house sound comes into play. This attacking treble gives rock an energy I don't find with other headphones I've listened to. The sound you do get is almost a little synthetic at times when the splash of a cymbal gets a little too loud and screechy, or Maynard's solo starts to sound like a thousand babies screaming for food, but I hardly ever run into these problems now that I.. well.. don't listen to them very much anymore. I never thought the treble in the Grados was overpowering until I had heard other cans to compare with, and even then, so long as I don't crank the volume up they don't do anything wrong in the treble.
 
Conclusion: Getting the SR80i was the best decision I've made in my audio career. Not only did they start me off on this wonderful site, but they started me off on the path to enjoying my music much more than I ever did before. I used to get home from work at 12:30 in the morning and plug in the cans to listen to some Kansas or Pink Floyd. I've had a lot of fun with these awesome cans and I can't even begin to list all the things they've helped me with. Oh wait. 
1. Introduced me to the world of hi-fi
2. Gave me a sense of accomplishment as my first purchase at $100
3. Converted me to the sound of open headphones 
4. Bla bla, shaddup, they're great headphones for the money and I suggest the SR80i and any of Grado's lower priced cans as an entry level into either open backs, hifi, or just to get people to know what the fuss is about the Grado house sound. 
Neutral? Give me a break. Flat? HAH! Grados aren't meant to be tools of music snobbery, they're for people who want to jam out, have fun, and give less than a Schiit about extreme fidelity. I love my Grados for what they do, and they're coming with me no matter where I go, not just as a reminder, but a good ol' pair of cans to show people what they're made of and something to come back to to show me what a $100 headphone is capable of. 
 
Damn you Grado family for getting me started in this escapade, and thank you for giving me insight into how music is really supposed to sound. Thanks to all who helped me decide on my first headphone purchase. 
 
FIN

I've had these headphones for about a week and a half now, and all I can say is wow. These have doubled or tripled my amount of time spent listening to music. I came from a pair of Klipsch Image Ones, and the Grados blow them out of the water in nearly every respect. My first thoughts on unboxing were the nice long, thick sturdy cable that comes with these. At first I thought it would be too long, but when wearing the phones, it's just the right length that I don't trip on it, but it's still able to reach my amp/phono combo.
 
Let me say, I'm not exactly an audiophile, but these headphones have definitely got me moving on that course. Coming from the Klipsches where the bass was sometimes very muddy and had a tendency to ruin other frequency ranges, these feel extremely accurate. I hear sounds in songs that I never heard before, despite repeat listenings. My current source is a Technics SL-BD22 turntable connected to a Technics SU-G75 amp. Just recently got into the vinyl scene, but I can say that these headphones accurately represent music across such a wide spectrum of genres. The majority of what I listen to is punk music, so I'd say that the most distinct thing I notice about that is the clarity of the vocals and especially the hi-hats and cymbals are very clear and crisp. Phil Collins and Elton John both sounded great through these as well. The sound stage on these is very robust, and I feel a huge difference from the closed environment of the Klipsch headphones. Definitely never going back to closed headphones again.
 
One thing that I have to say about these phones, is that if you listen to a lot of dubstep or Skrillex or similar artists, these headphones may be bass lacking for your tastes. As I'm writing this review, I'm listening to Glitch Mob's "Drink the Sea" album. The mids and highs are extremely accurate, and the bass is accurate as well but it's just not the boom that you really need for this type of music. For everything else though, including other techno artists, I've found the bass to be more than adequate for my needs. Was listening to Discovery by Daft Punk yesterday and can't remember the last time I've heard it sound so good.
 
Another complaint I have is that I can't listen to these for more than maybe 3 hours at a time without discomfort. If I take them off for an hour, though, I can go right back to listening without any issues. Should also note I wear glasses and this seems to affect this also.
 
I'm a poor guy in my mid-20s, so for me, these headphones absolutely cannot be beat for the price. I'd say anyone looking for headphones in the 100 and under price range, don't even bat an eye, grab these Grados in a second. I'm EXTREMELY pleased with my purchase and would do it again in a heartbeat.

Based in the reviews I read here I purchased the SR80i last July 2012.

I thought they were way to bright, or as someone else said "ice picks" in the ears.

I thought perhaps I needed an amp - and over the course of several months used Fiio E6, Fiio E17, and JDS O2. No improvement!

I continued to listen with a Senn Px100 (original latest versions) and most enjoyably the VModa M80.

Through all these experiences my confidence in my listening opinion grew.

So, based on all the fine reviewers and reader comments on this wonderful website, I am going to send the to Grado for evaluation and repair. I'm convinced they are defective. I thought of selling them here or on Amazon - but since I think something is wrong with them, that wouldn't be fair to the buyer.

We will see if Grado can turn these into something resembling what others have described.

I will be back when they return from Brooklyn!

THEY'RE BAAAAACKK!

The only note provided by Grado was "serviced." And they sound radically different than what I sent to Grado. (6/3/13 Grado advised that they replaced the drivers.)

They now are quite listenable and sound like others have glowingly described them. It will take awhile for me to get their measure but my impression so far is very positive.

So what have I learned through this experience?

1. Trust what the bulk of Head-FI reviewers have to say.
2. Trust my judgement and my ears.

And now I have another valued pair of cans!

Thanks again to all for your help.