[Emon]

The Bose QuietComfort 2? No. Try the Grado SR-325. The more I listen to these the more I realize how much these little Koss clip-ons blow them away. I liked them at first last week, but that was coming from my ER-6s. The more I listen the more I realize how terribly congested they are. They completely lack any kind of fidelity. I do not believe you could at all call them "hi-fi" as their sound is the complete opposite of the definition of the word.

Then of course there's the comfort issue. What were they thinking when they designed these? Yeah, the supra-aural design with the bowl pads help Grado achieve their desired sound. But why would your desired sound be such garbage?

The only thing good I can say is that they are a little "fun." But not much. The KSCs are more "fun," and infact put out considerably more bass before equalization anyway. This "eye-blinking" Grado impact? Yawn. Where is it?

No offense to Grado fans, but I do NOT understand how these could ever be considered good. I realize the 325 has been discontinued in favor of the slightly better 325i, but comon. This "Grado" sound has been a complete dissapointment. And before anyone asks, I'm using an E-MU 1212m as my source and a Millet Hybrid, so called "Grado's best friend." So I doubt that's a problem.

 

[Svperstar]

ewww that is sure to bother some peeps

It is all preference and like all things price != quality always.

There is some music I perfer my $30 Senn 457s and $80 AKG 240s over my $350 SA5000s so hey.

 

[Emon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Svperstar There is some music I perfer my $30 Senn 457s and $80 AKG 240s over my $350 SA5000s so hey.

Fair enough, but in my case it's ALL music, even rock, classic rock specifically.
When I listen to a band, I like hearing all the members play their instruments with their individual expertise, not listen to some idiot pluck a guitar with his left, a bass with his right and sing off a lyrics sheet while kicking a bass drum. That's what the Grados do to my music.

 

[legcramp]

god, this makes me wanna hurry up and recable my KSC-75's so I can use them again.. i bought all the supplies but I lost the clips for the phone on one side.. and I had it last night in my room too...

I spent the last hour looking for it.. this is pissing me off really badly.. GREAT

 

[AdamWill]

I'll just point out there's probably a reason the 325s were discontinued and are the least popular Grado phones, well, ever.

 

[Emon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWill I'll just point out there's probably a reason the 325s were discontinued and are the least popular Grado phones, well, ever.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but they have the same drivers as the 325i, which ARE rather popular. Their housing is a little bigger, but that's not going to magically turn them into something I should spend $300 on.

 

[PsychoZX]

Have you tried different pads? Might be worth trying the bowls reversed before completely discounting the grados. The SR-325 is known as one of the brightest grados and the bowls don't help this.

 

[dhp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emon Correct me if I'm wrong, but they have the same drivers as the 325i, which ARE rather popular. Their housing is a little bigger, but that's not going to magically turn them into something I should spend $300 on.

Maybe you should've known that 325s are the least liked and tried Grados better suited to your taste?

 

[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emon Correct me if I'm wrong, but they have the same drivers as the 325i, which ARE rather popular. Their housing is a little bigger, but that's not going to magically turn them into something I should spend $300 on.

I'm pretty sure that John Grado designed a new driver for the SR-325i.

 

[Rickio]

I discovered this forum because of the ksc 75's. I had ksc 50's and loved them. Got the ksc 75 and went wow!

I got curious did a search and found this site. I saw all the love these and ksc 35's were getting from people who know good cans.

I got some ksc 35's and grado sr60's

I like the ksc 35's but dang the grados sound better to me. I also got what I consider some a starter Senn HD555 but prefer the grados for now

I for the life of me cannot understand how you can think the ksc35 is better. It's great but not better. Clarity and bass are so much stronger in my grados and they are bottom of the line.

 

[Emon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoZX Have you tried different pads? Might be worth trying the bowls reversed before completely discounting the grados. The SR-325 is known as one of the brightest grados and the bowls don't help this.

Bowls, reversed bowls, comfies, Senn 414 pads. They all sound a little different, but nothing major. The brightness isn't even what bothers me.

If the SR-325is DO have new drivers, then maybe Grados aren't that bad - but I still stand by very much disliking the Grado sound. It's not even the lack of soundstage that bothers me, since I love my Etys. It's the lack of separation. I can't tell what's what, it's a rather confusing and fatiguing sound. I have to focus on the sound way too much to know what's happening.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

I just sold my 555 because of comfort issues. I think the 555 sounds better than my KOSS 75 but I found the 555 feel like a boxed in feel for long movie sessions. I found the KOSS 75 to be much more comfortable and more open in size and weight and allot cooler to wear. Less heat buildup than the 555.

The KOSS 75 also sound great for movie listening and the very small size of them is just what I want in a TV movie listening ear phone at a fantastic price to boot. I now prefer the 75s to all my other headphones for movie listening at 16.00 a great price.

I find the 75s to be a fun sound and no fatigue at all. Now I have owned lots of better sounding headphones over the 75s but great comfort is a must have for me and the 75s have just that.

 

[cheechoz]

The so called harshness of the 325's, might be throwing you off. I know nothing I say will change your attitude towards them, but I beleive if you ran them in a different setup, you might think differently.

 

[Beach123456]

I doubt a change of pads is really going to change his opinion if he hates them that much...

Well, if you are happy with the Koss, then I wouldn't worry about it, you just saved a bunch of money without switching to Geico.

 

[Enverxis]

I enjoyed the KSC-35 more than the stock MS-2, tried all the pads as well so dont lecture me on that (bowl pad user as well).
MS-Pro .... heh, the KSC-35 may be good, but not that good