[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barleyguy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The source is the hardware that provides the music. The medium is where the source gets that music. I didn't say it wasn't important. It's still the medium though.

Well the important point about amping has been made, but in the game of semantics, you're off target.

A medium is something that transports or disseminates something. Music files can be stored on storage media such as thumb drive or CD, and carried via the medium of cables, but they ain't media or mediums themselves, because they don't carry out any transportation function. They are a source of information to be carried and decoded by a source of data conversion.

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drubbing /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well the important point about amping has been made, but in the game of semantics, you're off target. A medium is something that transports or disseminates something. Music files can be stored on storage media such as thumb drive or CD, and carried via the medium of cables, but they ain't media or mediums themselves, because they don't carry out any transportation function. They are a source of information to be carried and decoded by a source of data conversion.

True. You could think of digital music files as the information stored on the medium, which is actually a hard drive, flash drive, etc. A medium is not necessarily a transportation mechanism. The word came from the art world, in which a medium is paint, or pencil, or ink. And also a piece of paper, or a canvas. Its first use in the music world AFAIK was to describe vinyl records vs. magnetic tape, or possibly wax cylinders before that.

 

[SethSil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ice Nine /img/forum/go_quote.gif Check the FS forum. Mfaughn has a pair of recabled SR225's for sale for $160. These include two pair of pads (bowls and Senns) and a J-Money leather headband (very nice aftermarket headband). IMO a very nice price as I paid $150 for a used pair that was recable to a mini plug for protable use but only had the stock headband and no extra pads.

Hey guys, thanks for all the input, you guys rock

I decided to go ahead and buy the SR225s from mfaughn.
it was the recable (to 3.5mm--very convenient) and the extras which really sold me. If I was to buy the ms-1s, I would also be paying for bowl pads, etc. If I could have found the MS-1s for 85 dollars with bowl pads, I would have gotten em, but I couldn't find any. It was such a fair price, that if somehow I don't like them I figure I can resell them here without losing much. I have heard great things about both, maybe I was profligate, I think it might have been worth it.

Anyway, I am very excited about listening to some sly and the family stone with my first pair of grados

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SethSil /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey guys, thanks for all the input, you guys rock I decided to go ahead and buy the SR225s from mfaughn. it was the recable (to 3.5mm--very convenient) and the extras which really sold me. If I was to buy the ms-1s, I would also be paying for bowl pads, etc. If I could have found the MS-1s for 85 dollars with bowl pads, I would have gotten em, but I couldn't find any. It was such a fair price, that if somehow I don't like them I figure I can resell them here without losing much. I have heard great things about both, maybe I was profligate, I think it might have been worth it. Anyway, I am very excited about listening to some sly and the family stone with my first pair of grados

Cool. Congrats. I think you'll enjoy them.

 

[purrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SethSil /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1. apparently a lot of people prefer the bowl pads over the stock "comfys". I will want to try out the bowl pads, in fact, it was one of the intriguing things to me about the 225s. Some say they sound better, but I'm gonna want to try em out, I'm sure. This would increase the price 15-20 dollars.

Personally, I like bowl pads because they provide a little bit of extra soundstage. The comfys I don't like because they place the driver too close to the ear resulting in reduced treble and airyness, and muddled congested bass. I use bowl pads taped with electrical tape (increased bass) on my SR-80s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SethSil /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. The cord seems to be shorter than the 225s, some say unusually short. A cable extender would put me up a few bones. like 10 dollars if I went with radioshack, but im not a big fan.

I've always felt the cord was about 1 foot too long with the older non "i" Grados.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SethSil /img/forum/go_quote.gif 3. I have seen written that the MS-1s really need to be amped (while people say the 225s perform really well unamped). I don't know how much I value these opinions, but I would much prefer the versatility of being able to go amp-less and get comparable fidelity.

No MS/HF/RS series Grado really needs to be amped. They sound good from iPod out. But then again, iPod out is actually pretty decent. A good amp for Grados will do the following: extend, tighten, and possibly slightly increase the bass; smooth out the high frequency harshness; and provide more liquid midrange. A mediocre amp will do all of the above but with less transparency and less details. Grados respond less to other headphones from good amping (but it doesn't mean they don't respond well).


Quote:

Originally Posted by SethSil /img/forum/go_quote.gif 4. small things: a lot of people are selling MS-1s compared SR225s, which worries me a little bit. also, MS-1s are supposed to sound better with jazz/etc but I really want to listen to rock, etc. these incremental differences in sound quality are probably least important. but I do value the affection that people here feel for certain headphones, cuz while its totally subjective i think it can also be an indicator of a good pair of cans, and I dont know if people like their MS1s (they're always upgrading, thinking about the MS2s or whatever) like people value their 225s. this seems stupid, i know.

This is a problem that many of us have here. I had actually moved away from Grados for a while only to come back. The differences between the Grados are not huge - they have a good reputation for rock (guitars) because of the elevated high midrange and treble. But even the models with toned down treble such as the HF-2 or MS series are still good for rock. You still cannot mistake the HF-2 or the MS-1 for something other than a Grado!

The reason people are selling their MS-1s is that they are entry level models and folks are upgrading to SR-225s, MS-2s or RS-1s. The SR225 bass will extend further down, be a bit tighter, the treble will be smoother (but possibly be more pronounced - it's not an MS), and midrange will be more liquid, and will be much more detailed along with better separation of instruments compared to MS-1.

 

[SethSil]

arrived today, mfaughn shipped on monday. USPS is great.

initial impressions:

yes yes yes yes. I'm keeping these. They feel like they might fall off my head, but they don't, which is awesome, and which makes them very comfortable, even with the bowl pads, though granted I haven't had a long listening sessions. I don't know about these extra pads, there is some quarter mod with the 414s that a might try out just because I have them, and it came with some additional pads as well which I can't identify.. One has painters tape, which won't come off without ripping the pads apart, but I knew about that in advance. The leather headband is classy and in good shape. Thee cable is nylon at first and then merges into rubber, and ends with a 3.5mm neutrik plug.
I like the kind of refined expansive sennheiser sound for a lot of things-- movies, I'm sure classical (if I listened to it), comfort, etc, but the sr225s is how I want to listen to music. When I listen to my Senn's for some rock music, I often thirst out and turn up the volume to almost unsafe levels, as if my mind wants to get closer to the stage or something. I don't get that phenomonon, but I have no such desire with the sr225s. The mids are right there, and the bass is just the right amount. Anyway, these cans have made their last stop.

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/3108/dscf0705i.jpg
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1276/dscf0706.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/4655/dscf0709q.jpg

floor is clean.

 

[wallace]

Enjoy those phones,keep the bowls on and don't look at headfi for a couple of years.Even a cheapish Dac/amp will make a big difference on a pc.PS I like your wood block floor.

 

[sampson_smith]

Good on ya'! Glad that you like the SR-225's. Definitely look into the 'reverse quarter mod' of those new yellow HD414 pads that you have. (The hole that you cut using the quarter as an outline is the part that attaches to the headphone, leaving the pre-cut opening against your ear and allowing the treble, especially, to be unobscured.) It's a very easy way to make your Grados comfy while still sounding fantastic. Cheers!