[Ricky112]

Because all im hearing are the highs and bass anyone have any opinions on them?

 

[Walie]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/jus...o-325i-289835/

 

[Gradofan2]

My guess is... like the Senns... they must need a carefully selected set up to achieve there full potential.

You're impressions were similar to mine... but... I likely didn't give them time, or mate them with the right set up.

I wonder... how many people... "blow off" some phones... because... they've never really heard them in the right set up???

 

[wae5]

One nice thing about Grados is they're not amp dependent. A long time ago someone said here that they have an affinity for Gary's PA2V2 ($60) amp and I know they sound damn good driven by just a Shuffle. This is not to say they don't sound better with better equipment but you don't need better equipment to be happy listening to Grados. Grados are very tricky phones. The problem is their cheapest one, the SR60, isn't that much different than their $300 phone, the SR325i. I spent a week driving myself crazy straining to hear the $200 difference between the Alessandro MS1s ($99) and their MS2s ($299) which are the Alessandro equivalent to the SR325i. I told myself that if I could hear even the smallest difference I'd keep the MS2s because I love the way they look -it was that simple, but I couldn't, so away they went. During the same period I bought Sony MDR-F1s and immediately heard an enormous positive difference so I bought another pair just in case Sony discontinues them.

 

[Mortalcoil]

Ricky, if theyre new give them some time to settle down a bit. Give your ears some time to adjust to the Grado sound.

 

[milkpowder]

The SR325i are some of the brightest sounding headphones in the whole of headphone-dom. You will need to get used to the sound, or get another pair of headphones. But don't give up just yet. It is tremendously competent: highly resolving, fast, aggressive, energetic and deep, solid bass. Having said all that, the SR325i is not a very well-rounded headphone. The rather biased sound signature is not suited to all genres unlike the HD650, which when properly amped, sounds good with just about any type of music.

What sort of music do you listen to? I found the SR325i superb for guitars, acoustic and electric.

 

[en480c4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One nice thing about Grados is they're not amp dependent.

That's an interesting opinion... And one I disagree with completely. Just because Grados are low impedence doesn't mean they don't benefit from robust amplification. They love lots and lots of current, and can improve dramatically when paired with the right amp. Just because they sound OK (to your ears) with minimal amplification doesn't mean they aren't amp dependent.

 

[headphonejunkie]

But senns can be boring in comparison. At least my 580's were.

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SR325i are some of the brightest sounding headphones in the whole of headphone-dom. You will need to get used to the sound, or get another pair of headphones. But don't give up just yet. It is tremendously competent: highly resolving, fast, aggressive, energetic and deep, solid bass. Having said all that, the SR325i is not a very well-rounded headphone. The rather biased sound signature is not suited to all genres unlike the HD650, which when properly amped, sounds good with just about any type of music. What sort of music do you listen to? I found the SR325i superb for guitars, acoustic and electric.

 

[pataburd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One nice thing about Grados is they're not amp dependent.

x2 in my disagreement with this statement. Even with the SR-225, the performance improvement between mediocre sources (e.g. Walkman/JVC mini-component system) and better-sounding source gear (e.g. RAM-modded HD-841/Denon AVR-1905 receiver, EVS-modded Oppo 970HD/Bada PH-12 head amp) was immediately discernable. I do agree, however, that the Grados I've tried perform better than their peers with lesser sources.

IMHE, that goes extra for the MS-2 and even more so for the SR-325i.

The 325i sound fantastic with the Oppo/Bada combination and a judicious selection of driver and power tubes: extended, detailed, silky--almost ethereal--treble energy, with excellent bass contrast, excellent rendering of dynamics, great resolution of massed instruments/vocals and nimble management of complex rhythms. : )

I'm listening to Gordon Lightfoot sing "Minstrel of the Dawn," from the If You Could Read My Mind CD. This vocal is smooth, complex and involving all at the same time w/the 325i!

True. The 325i are colored, in the sense that the midrange is subordinated to extension at the top and bottom ends, but it's a well-executed sonic signature/design never-the-less, IMHO, and perhaps the least "frequency-disparate-sounding"--and most enjoyable--of the Grados/Alessandros I've tried to date (SR-125, SR-225, MS-2, SR-325i).

 

[Cankin]

SR60-SR125, MS-1 : unrefined, sound close in
SR225: warm, more refined, still sounds close in
SR325i: bright, refined and decent soundstage
RS1, RS2: really refined with good soundstage and instrument separation.

to my ears

 

[twsmith]

From the standpoint of amplification, I agree that like most of the Grado line, the SR325i's can be driven by almost any amp (or none at all) and still sound "reasonably" good. However I contend that you really do need the right amp to bring out the best in any phone, Grados included. I use my SR325i's in conjunction with a HeadAmp AE-2, which is actually an excellent match -- the highs and lows seem to be in better balance with the midrange using this amp, and the soundstaging and smoothness/detail retrieval of this particular amp complement the SQ of the SR325i. Not all amps do this, and indeed with a Headroom amp that I have, the SR325i's are way too harsh and trebly. My favorite cans are the AKG 701s, and the SR325i's, while not the equivalent in overall SQ, actually do some things (like bass) better the K701s. So in summary, I would give a strong heads-up to the SR325i - I think they're very good indeed.

 

[Traddad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by headphonejunkie /img/forum/go_quote.gif But senns can be boring in comparison. At least my 580's were.

Exactly...at least for me. I've owned the 60, MS-1, 125, 225, 325i's, HD600s, K701s, ER4Ps, and I liked the 325i's the best by far. Period. No contest. I actually hated the HD600s and sold them within days of purchase (they were already burned in).
The detail, the shimmer of cymbals, the sound of a finger changing position on an upright bass, the touch of a brush to a snare, the tinkling of ice in drink glasses....The feeling that you are sitting right in the middle of the band (you know...like the microphones actually were). That's what you get from the SR-325i (and to a certain extent, all Grados)
The down side is that they hurt my ears. That said I wish I were wealthy enough to own a pair just for live jazz recordings.

 

[tjumper78]

grado lovers will love grados with all their hearts. i introduced grado to some friends, and they cannot listen to anything but grados now.
i tried to love sr325i for 3 months. too much treble, too much highs, too forwarding, etc for me. some people love those qualities of grados.
i eventually gave up and went back to sennheisers and beyers.

 

[wae5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by en480c4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's an interesting opinion... And one I disagree with completely. Just because Grados are low impedence doesn't mean they don't benefit from robust amplification. They love lots and lots of current, and can improve dramatically when paired with the right amp. Just because they sound OK (to your ears) with minimal amplification doesn't mean they aren't amp dependent.

I have a good, powerful tube amp, the LD MKIV SE, so I know the importance of excellent amplification, but when I wanted to blow minds I'd have someone listen to SR325is (gone) without knowing the phones were powered by a Shuffle. When I revealed my little secret they were always amazed that this big, powerful sound was coming from a postage stamp sized Shuffle. Of course Grados improve with excellent amplification but what phones don't? It's taken for granted that AKGs and Senns need a good amp to sound great but this is not equally true for Grados and I think it’s somewhat misleading to tell Noobies otherwise. To reconfirm this I'm listening right now to my MS1s powered by Gary's $60 PA2V2 amp and it's making them sound wonderful.

 

[majkel]

Actually I agree. While most Sennheisers sound far from their full abilities when driven by portable equipment, the Grados
can amaze even hooked up to a decent mp3 player. It's actually one of those false legends about i.e. HD595's saying they can play from anything. Yes, they do, but it's further from their well amplificated sound then both the 250 ohm DT880's and 32 ohm SR325i's, from my humble experience.