Darn you SR60's!

[Malus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyfrenchman27 LOL, everyone hears things differently. For me, Bowls spank Flats and I own them both (unless you like smeared mids, hyped bass, and a compressed soundstage). -Matt

This man speaks the truth. I have a pair of flats that I never use and I sold my C-pads. Nothing, for me at least, compares to the bowl pads. I guess I love those Grado highs.

 

[6seal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 the flats will change the sonic signature of any grado you slap them too. compared to the bowls and flats, it makes my sr-80s sound like to totally different headphones. every thing is sonically altered. the bowls are just flat out crappy sounding, theys ound good with classical and stringed instruments, but I hate them for everything else. use them for a song that has a cymbol in the back and forget about it, it sounds like the band is faded away and the cymbol is the only thing that runs into your ears like nails on a chalk board. I cant comment on comfies since Ive never used those. but the flats beat the bowls by a landslide. either way the grados Ive listened to are far too colored for my tastes, I dont know about the ms1s, but if you listen to live music and want sound to sound like the actual recording look elsewhere, I got a hold of a pair of akg 240ms which are studio monitors and also cheaper then the sr-80s and they blow away the grados and every grado Ive listened too, in terms of neutrality and sound stage imaging. ie. Grados are hard left and hard right with a severely unbalanced frequency response, the akgs stock were neutral right of the box and had a very flat frequency response.

I've been reading you guys and listening to my 225's with bowls... I have to agree and disagree I suppose. I'm listening to Bach and it is just about perfect. So we agree on classical music through bowls. I have flat pads too and have found them pretty uniformly awful. You get great bass but the middle and high end just disappear (to my ears anyway). I keep trying the flats since they're so popular but the only good thing I can say about them is they came from Toddthevinyljunky and he gives excellent service!

So if anybody want flats I've got a pair that I wish I didn't.

 

[appar111]

see, with all these varying opinions on bowls vs. flats, that just makes me want to stick w/ stock SR60's w/ comfies, since that's what sounded the best to me in the store...

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by appar111 see, with all these varying opinions on bowls vs. flats, that just makes me want to stick w/ stock SR60's w/ comfies, since that's what sounded the best to me in the store...

appar111,

good! now stay there and dont end up like me with rs-1's and 2 HP-2's!

 

[saturnine]

Whatever sounds best to you, is the best for you. Dont bother with $30 pads when you like the stock better. IMO, comfies are best with SR-60s. Today at the NC meet I tried flats, bowls and modded senn pads with them, and only the comfies sounded right. The rest either had too much bass, or the highs were way too bright.

Me, I cant stand the bowls on my RS-2. Flats bring out the bass, and kill the brightness of the highs.

 

[cmirza]

I was in a simmilar situation as you. I had the SR60s and felt that the bass was a little lacking. I returned them and ordered the MS-1s. The MS-1s still had the Grado mids and highs that I was loving and had the extra bit of bass that I felt the SR60s were lacking. As far as the pads go, I've only tried the comfies, and they felt great to me. I didn't feel they were deficient in sound at all. I have a pair of HD414 pads on order that I plan on center cutting. To me the $40 difference between SR60s and MS-1s is totally worth it. The only reason i'd get SR60s is if I couldnt stretch the budget to fit MS-1s.

 

[SNR]

I have both the SR-60s and the new gold aluminium SR325i.

I have owned SR80s, SR225s and silver aluminium SR325s in the past

silver aluminium SR325s is the worst pair of all the grados I've ever owned

the new gold aluminium SR325i has a day and night differences compared to SR60s which I have owned for 7 years.

no harsh, lush mid, revealing and the bass is simply awesome

I only use bowl pad and nothing else

 

[wwap]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR I have both the SR-60s and the new gold aluminium SR325i. I have owned SR80s, SR225s and silver aluminium SR325s in the past silver aluminium SR325s is the worst pair of all the grados I've ever owned the new gold aluminium SR325i has a day and night differences compared to SR60s which I have owned for 7 years. no harsh, lush mid, revealing and the bass is simply awesome I only use bowl pad and nothing else

and better soundstage too

I love the cymbal sound on 325i

 

[chesebert]

sr325i after proper break in is night and day better than my old sr80 which i still use. I can now use the sr325i for classical, although not the best is def useable and has a rectangular soundstage...lol..more wide than depth....but most sound stage are rectangular..

 

[superjohnny]

When I first auditioned the Grado line I preferred the SR60 as well. Later, I learned about headphone amplifiers. Without properly driving the other models they don't sound enough better than the SR60's to justify the cost (to my ears of course). It's when you get an RA1 and decent source that they really shine. I do miss my SR225's, but in an un-amped system the SR60's hold their own against some very expensive competition.

 

[seeberg]

All this talk about bowls and flats and no mention of HD414 pads? Hmmm... I find them to be an excellent alternative to flats or bowls, and ratshack 33-379 pads as an alternative to the comfies. Both are inexpensive, comfy, and sound great.

,
Abe

 

[Covenant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 I loved my sr60's, to my ears they are the 2nd most balanced sounding of the current grados with the rs-1's being the most balanced - i went through every grado, and each step up boosted that treble more and more, the sr60's had a balanced and less harshy sound but was somewhat grainy but it was nice, the rs-1's return to that balance but in much more refinement.

That's a comment i heard many a time when i was doing my Grado-shopping, and i have to say its readily believable. I only had the oppertunity to listen-test the SR60's vs the SR80's in the store i went to, but the difference was immediately apparent. The 80's just sounded like an EQ'ed 60, with (to my ears at the time) a much more fatigueing sound. At the time i also attributed it to the fact that the SR80's had the holes cut out of the centre of their pads, but since modding my SR60's comfies likewise, i have to say, to me, the 60's are simply BETTER. A little grainy, certainly, and still quite fatigueing after a few hours, but with a lovely immediacy to the music, and good overall balance. And to those who remark that the 60 lacks bass, i respond unto ye: this is what EQ is for. A little bass-boost on my iRiver, and i have all the bass i could want, and i do listen to alot of rock/rap/electronica.

My main qualm with these things is their fatigue factor. They're perfect when i'm out and about (or would be if they provided a smidgin of isolation, anyway. Damn Sydney noise), but for home listening they get tiring.

 

[rhooper]

After owning my Grado SR-80s for a while now, I find them very comfortable with the stock bowls, even for lengthy use. I can often be found playing games and listening to music for 4+ hours. Eventually, though, I need a break from any headphone -- the grados outlast everything I have ever used, including my finally broken in Senn PX-100s.

Compared to my SR-80s (amped, by the way), I find the PX-100 to have too much bass, muddy mid, and a lack of highs. They are still my 2nd best cans

I do not regret getting them. They are ideal for work.

I must be a sucker for the SR-80 sound, because I liked them in the store even unamped. I listen to all sorts of music, and find too much bass to be irritating. Admittedly, the SR-80 could use just a tad more bass. I'll be building a new amp with some form of tone control soon that will be able to help with that ... oh, and a discrete output stage to give the Grado cans the current they need for the extra bass.

It really seems that you either love Grado phones or hate them.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhooper After owning my Grado SR-80s for a while now, I find them very comfortable with the stock bowls, even for lengthy use. I can often be found playing games and listening to music for 4+ hours. Eventually, though, I need a break from any headphone -- the grados outlast everything I have ever used, including my finally broken in Senn PX-100s. Compared to my SR-80s (amped, by the way), I find the PX-100 to have too much bass, muddy mid, and a lack of highs. They are still my 2nd best cans I do not regret getting them. They are ideal for work. I must be a sucker for the SR-80 sound, because I liked them in the store even unamped. I listen to all sorts of music, and find too much bass to be irritating. Admittedly, the SR-80 could use just a tad more bass. I'll be building a new amp with some form of tone control soon that will be able to help with that ... oh, and a discrete output stage to give the Grado cans the current they need for the extra bass. It really seems that you either love Grado phones or hate them.

u might want to try 325i which in my opnion is sr80 with smoother high and lower bass and a bit more soundstage. but I still keep my sr80 for the "rough-it-up" applications

 

[apostate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RnB180 use them for a song that has a cymbol in the back and forget about it, it sounds like the band is faded away and the cymbol is the only thing that runs into your ears like nails on a chalk board.

This was my biggest problem with bowls on my Woody 225s. The presentation combined with the accent on the highs makes cymbals, in particular, stand out above everything else on some songs. I never found it overly harsh (Woody/recable might have helped with that) but they were way over-emphasized. To me that really ruins some songs.

Currently using flats (which I find pretty good) but see C-Pads in the future.....

Ant