BEST HEADPHONES FOR METAL/ROCK
Jun 19, 2013 at 9:34 AM Post #31 of 57
Quote:
greq said:
Living in Germany I know this problem very well.
There are not many headphones in the price range of sr225/325i that have a very close to Grado sound. 
 
In my limited experience the closest sound to Grado I found was in two vintage AKGs - K240 Sextett and K241.  The sextett has the flavour (and a little more bass), and the K241 has the speed but an airier soundstage, but both need decent amping.
Also vintage SFI orthodynamic drivers can be tuned to have a similar level of crunch and sparkle, and similar speed/attack, but they don't have the same overall flavour and also require a capable amplifier.
 
I found there were only incremental differences between most of the SR line of Grados apart from the 325i which seems to have a far more piercing treble presentation. 
Have you considered simply getting an SR80i? That's probably the closest sounding to the SR225i (and RS2i) but has a tiny bit less detail, air and bass control. 
It's probably the best value for money Grado there is. 
Click to expand...

 
 
I have considered the sr80, but i am an OCD with aesthetics. Therefore, i liked the sr325 far more.
 
Anyway, thanks a lot for the info. I will probably give the sr80 a try.
 
Jun 19, 2013 at 5:38 PM Post #33 of 57
Quote:
cheesewithworms said:
 
 
I have considered the sr80, but i am an OCD with aesthetics. Therefore, i liked the sr325 far more.
 
Anyway, thanks a lot for the info. I will probably give the sr80 a try.
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Have you thought about modding? If you love aesthetics, check out the grado mods thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/119314/post-your-grado-mods/3165#post_9534467
There are quite a few folks there who will sell you their home made wooden cups, or mod the headphone for you. It's cheaper than a 325i and you get to chose how it looks if you find the right craftsman.  
 
Quote:
scaryfatkidgt said:
Alessandro's?
 
http://www.alessandro-products.com/main.php?p=headphones
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They're even harder to get in Europe. 
 
Jun 20, 2013 at 6:48 AM Post #35 of 57
Quote:
scaryfatkidgt said:
They are? I thought grado was US where Alessandro's are for international?
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Afraid not - Alessandro take Grados headphones and tune them. So they're kind of like an auto-tuning company that can sell branded cars but under their own brand because they're tuned differently or have plenty of bodywork done etc.
Alessandros have a more neutral presentation compared to Grados.
 
Jun 20, 2013 at 1:27 PM Post #36 of 57
Am I going to notice a huge difference between the SR80s and the SR325/225? I too listen to metal heavily and am intrigued by the Grados. The SR80s were definitely easier on the bank, which is why I asked.
 
Jun 20, 2013 at 1:49 PM Post #37 of 57
If you're just starting out your journey in higher end audio, you may not even notice ANY difference between the SR225 and SR80. Even the most experienced of us don't hear big differences between them.
 
The SR325 is easier to distinguish with a more abrasive treble presentation which picks out details like a razorblade. 
 
Jun 20, 2013 at 1:54 PM Post #38 of 57
Quote:
greq said:
If you're just starting out your journey in higher end audio, you may not even notice ANY difference between the SR225 and SR80. Even the most experienced of us don't hear big differences between them.
 
The SR325 is easier to distinguish with a more abrasive treble presentation which picks out details like a razorblade. 
Click to expand...

SOMEWHAT off topic, but while I have your attention...
 
If I own a Creative Soundblaster Z that my PC360s are plugged into, would it be wise to buy an alternative soundcard for my Grados to plug into so I don't need to mess around with switching around the PC360s and SR80s whenever I want to game/listen to music? 
 
Jun 20, 2013 at 4:03 PM Post #39 of 57
Jun 20, 2013 at 4:40 PM Post #40 of 57
cheesewithworms said:
Whatever i try to mod myself usually ends up being completely disintegrated. :frowning2:
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I understand. I have the same fear. :)

One mod you can do without causing damage is upgrading the SR80i ear pads to the L-Cush pads. This will get you 80% of the way to the SR225i sound, and it's very easy to switch them out.

Also, you might ask in the Grado fan club thread for recommendations on where to get the best price in the EU.
 
Jun 20, 2013 at 4:46 PM Post #41 of 57
Quote:
cheesewithworms said:
Whatever i try to mod myself usually ends up being completely disintegrated. :frowning2:
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You could send it to a modder if you have the coin. Most of us here do it for the fun of the hobby, not for serious business. The rates are usually more than agreeable. 
 
Quote:
sdub said:
SOMEWHAT off topic, but while I have your attention...
 
If I own a Creative Soundblaster Z that my PC360s are plugged into, would it be wise to buy an alternative soundcard for my Grados to plug into so I don't need to mess around with switching around the PC360s and SR80s whenever I want to game/listen to music? 
Click to expand...

I'm not even sure you can run two soundcards simultaneously. At least I know on desktops with on-board sound, you need to disable the on-board sound in the bios to allow the installed PCI card to work. 
Maybe there's a more techy oriented headfier who can clarify that. 
 
Doesn't the Soundblaster Z have some software bundled with it that lets you easily set different modes? Gaming/Music/etc... I had an XFiMusic a few years back, and it was pretty simple to switch between modes. I would expect the software to get better over the years.
 
Jun 30, 2013 at 8:18 PM Post #43 of 57
I found the grado SR80i to be great for heavy music, but the 225i doesn't seem to do it for me in that department. They're obviously much better headphones, don't get me wrong (I use my 225's 90% of the time),  but to my ears a lot of metal becomes muddy and the low end is cut off once things start getting complex & fast (lossless audio). Acoustic and classical pieces are out of this world, but the 225 doesn't seem to handle metal well for me, and that's the only genre it doesn't do well. It's so weird to see everyone loving theirs for metal when that's the only genre I can't seem to appreciate using them. What amps are you guys who love them for metal using?
 
Jul 22, 2013 at 7:58 AM Post #45 of 57
Quote:
cheesewithworms said:
I attempted to buy the sr80 only to have my order canceled due to sale restrictions. Damn you grado.
 
Are the ath ad900x similar enough to grados? Or good for metal in general?
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Where in the world are you?
It can't be that hard to acquire an SR80.
 
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