[HeadRushFan2112]

Ive only owned IEM's (Shure se530) till I had the itch to try out some cans (Grado 325is & Senn hd 595) 595's didn't impress me and the 325's were so uncomfortable. Despite their awesome sound! I'm thinking about Senn hd 650 with a decent amp. Any advice?

 

[mark2410]

you may wish to look at the HD600, if you like the grado brightness the 600 may be more to your tastes

 

[HeadRushFan2112]

To be honest, I really loved the Grado sound. But the comfort issue was unbearable! how can  headphones that sound that amazing be
that pain full to wear. Do you think the hd 600's are closer in sound signature to the Grado's then the hd 650's? I'm also leaning towards
a Creek obh-11. What are your thoughts on that combo?

 

[Dave-J]

Thats the reason ive avoided Grados all these years, comfort! or rather lack of... they really need to come up with a new design to make them more comfy, that "retro" look is all well & fine but its at the expense of comfort.
 
I no longer own the 600's but they were brighter than my 650's for sure, this also comes across on the headroom graphs.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

The sound signature of the Grado SR series (especially the SR325is that you heard) is not at all similar to the sound signature of the Sennheiser HD600 or HD650.  They are close to stark opposites.
 
If you like the excitement of the Grado you're going to have to look elsewhere than the HD600 or HD650 no matter how good of an amp you pair the Sennheisers with.
 
The SR225 is lighter and more comfortable than the SR325.  Also demo Grados at the shop may have the headband bent wrong or stretched out wrong or all sorts of other things.  And shops generally don't like it if you start bending the headband of their demo cans yourself to make it more comfortable.  If you buy a Grado you can bend the headband to suit your own head.  You can wash the pads to make them softer.  You can do other mods to make them more comfortable.  But they're still not going to be comfortable.  You may be able to make them tolerable where you can wear them for several hours or more, but they're never going to be what most people would consider comfortable.
 
The HD600 and HD650 are better in terms of being an all-rounder headphone that can play all sorts of genres and styles in an audiophile manner.  The Grados are not that flexible.  They match well with some music not so well with other and are capable of being absolutely atrocious with some music.
 
The Senns are best with classical, folk-rock, blues-rock, jazz, and similar.  They're a little less suitable for energetic rock (frankly they're a bit boring and overly smoothed).  So it depends on what you're after.

 

[HeadRushFan2112]

Thank you for the advise, the search continues.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

uhhmm... maybe ATH? when I compare MS2i and AD1000PRM, I feel that AD1000PRM has better detail, better staging, and only slightly lack of energy than MS2i.