Do Grado's hurt your hearing more?

[LanMan_themovie]

I'm new to this headphone stuff, and I'm narrowing my choices down to the Senn HD495's, Grado SR-60's, and the Sony MDR-V6.

I'm really having a hard time making the decision. From what I've heard, I might find the Grado's higher sense of impact or whatever. But some mentioned something about Grado's being more related with ear ringing and fear of hearing loss. I don't know if it's ridiculous or not to wonder about this. but I know that I have a tendency to boost things too loud.

So what's the general concensus? Am I going to go deaf if I go with Grado?

 

[Gluegun]

Okay...

uh, why don't you read most of www.headphone.com and the articles at http://headwize.com/library.htm

??

A good, quick, education can be found there.

 

[jlo mein]

The only trouble is recommending headphones is that you want to use them for music AND dvd....and i think ppl look for something different when listening to dvd....

 

[DanG]

JLo, I don't think that's necessarily true. With DVD it's usually more important to have good imaging and soundstaging as well as deep, clear bass, but these things are good in music also. I'd recommend the Sony V6 for several reasons. First, it doesn't need an amp the way the Sennheiser HD-495 does. Second, it's more rugged than the Grado or the Sennheiser. And third, it has deep, clear bass. The 60 lacks bass somewhat; I've heard it only briefly, but going by what I heard and what others have reported, its bass may not be what you need for DVD movies.

 

[fredpb]

I have not heard that particular Sennheiser. But I do have Sony MDR7506's and have had the Grado SR60's. I think the better of the three would probably be the Sony model.

The Grado's would be the last choice. I dumped mine. They have excellent mids, highs, and detail, but are a total zero on decent bass, which you need for your movies. The Grado's are very impressive at first listen. They are great for some types of music, especially classical chamber music. But movies? Nah.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Some reasons Grados might more easily cause hearing loss:

1. They're all open, so you might crank them up too loud without knowing it if you try to listen to them in noisy places

2. Most Grados peak in response in the treble. Thus the treble will play louder relative to other cans at the same general volume. The hair cells in your ear responsible for picking up high frequencies are the most sensitive and most susceptible to damage. Thus phones like Grado that hype the treble are more likely to damage your hearing.

(OTOH I can never stand the sibilance added by treble-heavy phones and probably won't be able to stand it long before I crank the music up to damaging levels

The only way I can listen to music loud is with warm / dark phones or EQ to cut the treble)

 

[fjhuerta]

I think any headphone can cause hearing problems if misused...

That said, the definition would include Grado, Sennheiser, AKG, everything.

I find the Grado sound a bit on the painful side, but only because they make me crank the volume a lot. They have a very dynamic sound to them which makes you crave for *more*

 

[Beagle]

No headphones hurt your hearing. Only distortion and stupidity do the trick.

 

[KR...]

Stupidity can damage your hearing more than any headphone can.