[juggernaut303]

Im currently using my beyers DT990/250 ohms, paired with an ibasso D10 portable amp, i like the sound but its horribly cumbersome considering I usually only use these when traveling.  I wanted something that did not REQUIRE an amp (using iPhone 4s), but was not a downgrade. I love the rich and deep sound of the beyers but I don't like how they travel as well as my inlaws. (they don't travel well).  I heard that the Grado sr325i's are blissful and considering the cans can swivel flat in my bag I'm nearly sold.  
 
I love deep lows and bright highs, i could care less if the cans are open or closed, I'm no skeptic audiophile i just love listening to music, good music played well.
 
my budget is about $400 or less.
 
thank you in advance for your assistance, i can't explain how helpful everyone on this forum has been!  
 
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL BTW

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
The 325 will not have deep bass like that Beyer. But it will have natural sounding bass.
The highs will definitely be bright.
Open air cans for travel is odd to me. I think of in-car and in-plane and just leaking every where and everyone wanting to stab you for it. But maybe you mean in a hotel room or cafe or something.
A Grado would be great with no amp.
It's not a downgrade at all, it's a sidegrade. Going for a different sound.
Also, you'd be going to on-ear, instead of over-ear, I hope you can deal with that comfort change (or lack thereof).
 
Suggestion: Ultrasone HFI 580 or PRO 650.
Alt: Another on-ear, the Vmoda M80.
 
Very best,

 

[juggernaut303]

interesting, the beyers i have now are open and i don't mind how leaky they are, I'm actually not a huge fan of blastage music anyway, but thats a good thing to keep in mind.  I heard that the MS2's are more balanced in terms of bass response, if I'm used to the bass of my beyers would going for the MS2's be a good idea?
 

 

[loopfreak]

If you mean transportable, sr325 can be used indeed. Grado sr325 is headphone with wow clarity in the sound, good soundstage because I am not bothered when switching to it from akg k702. Bass does not go deep but it have sharp punch in the mid bass region. One thing I noticed with sr325is it has emphasized highs but they are forgiving, because when I go to heavier and heavier metal music they are even better. 
 
You know that Grado is not all a round 'phone, rock(harder the better) primarily and jazz maybe.

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

If you mean transportable, sr325 can be used indeed. Grado sr325 is headphone with wow clarity in the sound, good soundstage because I am not bothered when switching to it from akg k702. Bass does not go deep but it have sharp punch in the mid bass region. One thing I noticed with sr325is it has emphasized highs but they are forgiving, because when I go to heavier and heavier metal music they are even better. 
 
You know that Grado is not all a round 'phone, rock(harder the better) primarily and jazz maybe.

 
Interesting take.
 
Grados to me are grainy sounding and have very small sound stages, like mini-stereos, compared to something like... the K70X.
 
Very best,
 
 

 

[loopfreak]

I sad I had no problem when switching to grado but not that they are similar in size. I guess what pleases me in sr325is is natural way that the soundstage is presented, it has plenty of layers. Had ultrasone pro 550 and sloundstage, layering sucked in many ways. 

 

[juggernaut303]

Interesting, what about the ms2? I hear they are more balanced, would that make them a little better on the low end without sacrificing clarity?

 

[loopfreak]

If you want bassy grado maybe you should do a little research about ps500, they are "new" but have plenty of impressions here.

 

[juggernaut303]

I looked into them, they look amazing! Are they really that much brassier than the sr325i's?  Would you consider them worth the moolah?

 

[juggernaut303]

I was also introduced to the Hifiman HE-4 and other low impedance models that are mid pricing.  I liked how they looked and they seemed easy to drive with an iPhone but I'm not sure on their sound signature.

 

[loopfreak]

I did not tried Hifiman headphones but I don't think that they have similar presentation, grado aggressive like, but some of the models can have extended highs. Did not have a chance to try ps500 so I can't be a much of a help here.
 

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 They complement each other quite nicely ~ still think the 325i is the more detailed of the two, especially with the mids which are slightly
 dipped on the DT990's, this is in regards to the DT990-600ohms which should sound a little less forward to your 250ohms if the
 DT880 250ohms are anything to go by, they're certainly more forward.
 
 It's a nice combo but good luck with putting up with the weight and rubber hose thick cable on the go 

 
 The forward Grado sound will either wow you or have you ripping them off your head.

 

[Chris_Himself]

It's an upgrade for the most part but it's all dependant on your listening preferences. The Grados will have an obvious lack of really hard hitting bass compared to DT990's.
 
I don't like the bloated highs and lows for serious listening.. but it's fun in short spurts... I listen to headphones for hours at a time so it's just Grados at low volume for me.
 
It's a matter of preference but for the most part more people like the 325 than the DT990. The 990 gets pushed aside by the DT880/250ohm since thats the analytical "purist" option.
 
The 325 should give you less sibilant and grainy treble, less soundstage, more refined, yet less boomy bass, and the mids well... they're going to actually be there in stead of overshadowed by thunder and lightning haha.
 
 
By the way, the comment about Grados having soundstage is waaay off... the only ones with soundstage are the PS1k and GS1k due to them being so large. Soundstage is mostly an illusion created by distance from driver to ear anyway. There isn't some magical 3D array created by headphones in between that. But then again, thats just what I have to say about it.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

It's an upgrade for the most part but it's all dependant on your listening preferences. The Grados will have an obvious lack of really hard hitting bass compared to DT990's.
 
I don't like the bloated highs and lows for serious listening.. but it's fun in short spurts... I listen to headphones for hours at a time so it's just Grados at low volume for me.
 
It's a matter of preference but for the most part more people like the 325 than the DT990. The 990 gets pushed aside by the DT880/250ohm since thats the analytical "purist" option.
 
The 325 should give you less sibilant and grainy treble, less soundstage, more refined, yet less boomy bass, and the mids well... they're going to actually be there in stead of overshadowed by thunder and lightning haha.
 
 
By the way, the comment about Grados having soundstage is waaay off... the only ones with soundstage are the PS1k and GS1k due to them being so large. Soundstage is mostly an illusion created by distance from driver to ear anyway. There isn't some magical 3D array created by headphones in between that. But then again, thats just what I have to say about it.

 Perceptive mini impression Chris ~ was this with the 600ohm DT990?
 
 It's a really material dependent can, sometimes with some recordings it can sound quite splashy and ill behaved ~ eg, mids disappear and the bass just takes
 over.
 
 On the plus side, it's made the Chilli Peppers and Oasis listenable again ~ the 325i was dissecting those and the presentation was too forward. The DT990
 makes their material a fun listen again.
 
 Definitely not a 'one stop shop' can the DT990 unless you call DeadMau5 and DJ Tiesto the mainstayers in your music collection.
 
 It fares alright on some of the better recordings in my Chesky vocal track collection though.

 

[juggernaut303]

These are all great points, i am a fan of larger soundstages, but I am willing to make minor sacrifices if it means I don't have to lug around an amp, 9 foot cable, and a big leather case for the cans.  Btw I will be selling my dt990s and my D10 cobra amp here in the next few days. The beyers are custom order manufactur all black with red accent and chrome venting