[Fiends]

I bought some Grado SR 80's and these things are the flimsiest headphones I've ever seen... Real garbage design, anyway the cord on the left phone is pushed up against a sharp piece of plastic and it keeps losing connection whenever I move my head... This is really sad, they even did a very poor job soldering the wires... I took advice from this forum on Grado and I'm starting to regret my purchase, not blaming you guys because some people have good or bad experiences with different places, blah blah blah.

Any suggestions on other good brands when these ones finally piss me off enough to buy new ones? I listen to Progressive Rock and Metal mostly, any ideas what makes those sound great?

Thanks!

 

[subtle]

Grado didn't do a poor job soldering the wires. Your friend handled them improperly and the wires were pulled loose eventually.

Just curious though, why would you even have bought them from him if they were a "real garbage design"?

 

[Palpatine]

My SR 60i are built quite durable.
Did you buy them second hand?
I'm sure new Grados wouldn't have this problem...and if they did, it'd be a fluke!

 

[EddieE]

I didn't spot the reference to buying them off a friend, although since he says SR80 rather than SR80i I guess they must be second hand.

@ Fiends
If you bought these new and the cables are loose, return them to Grado. If you bought them off a friend, have a go at him for selling you phones he'd already broken and ask him to give you your money back.

I have two sets of Grado 'phones, one old bought second hand, one bought factory new - I have never had any issue with their build quality and both perform perfectly.

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddieE /img/forum/go_quote.gif I didn't spot the reference to buying them off a friend

He made a quick edit to his post. The first sentence originally began:

"I bought some Grado SR 80's from a friend and..."

 

[AudioDwebe]

It's unfortunate that the wire came loose. If new, like others have suggested, return and get them repaired.

For your genre of musical preference, I feel it's going to be difficult to beat the Grado sound at that price. Grados take a bit of getting used to if you've only experienced more of the "normal" kinds of cans; however, once you get past the whole weird "Grado" thing (retro look/feel/cables that get irritating as all hell) the sound can become quite addicting.

Rather than simply discarding them, I'd suggest getting a pair that works and living with it for a while to see how they grow (or not) on you.

Cheers.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

My SR80s are 9 years old and are still going strong. Sorry OP you bought a broken pair. I agree with recommendations to get your money back off your friend and get another pair.

 

[DayoftheGreek]

I've been cramming mine into a backpack for almost 3 years now and mine are still in great condition. The wires get twisted up every now and then, but that is easy to fix.

Flimsy is a word I would use to describe headphones with brittle hard plastics that crack when twisted. I can bend my Grado's into whatever shape I want and they always work.

 

[fjarle]

My pair of SR80's are three years old. They're still brilliant. It's not a bad design at all. Actually it's quite good - as there is heaps of space to solder new wires on to inside them. I'm quite poor at anything that requires presicion - and these are the only headphones I've had that I've been able to successfully replace the cord of. I've done it two times in three years. My cord always breaks at the connector - because I use them with my ipod, so they get pushed against my pockets and eventually break. Not a design flaw... Never had the cord break where it enters the headphone.

 

[Fiends]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grado didn't do a poor job soldering the wires. Your friend handled them improperly and the wires were pulled loose eventually. Just curious though, why would you even have bought them from him if they were a "real garbage design"?

My friend? Where the Hell did I mention anybody else? I bought them brand new and I took them apart when this cord issue popped up. I work at electronics store and I've been fixing electronics for over 20 years, this is a very poor soldering job.

 

[Fiends]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif He made a quick edit to his post. The first sentence originally began: "I bought some Grado SR 80's from a friend and..."

You are lying, I never edited the post, take a look... I didn't edit it at all, are you high?

I never said once I bought them off a friend, I am the only person I know who buys headphones for more than $30. These are SR 80i's I believe and I got them in the only town that sells them that is even close to me, and that is like 12 hours away. I can't "bring them back" it would cost me more to travel there and I would probably get fired for missing work.

I have been extremely careful with them too and yes, the cords get twisted but that is an easy fix. When this issue started happening I took them apart to look and the soldering job was horrible, and the phones were held in by glue. This was bought brand new in a sealed box and I can guarantee it was directly from Grado.

I'm not sure where this guy is coming off saying I edited my post, can't an admin or mod check to see if I've ever edited it? I haven't touched it and was he is saying is extremely confusing and kind of screwing up this thread.

I just noticed this when I edited THIS message, look, it says below when I edited it. My original doesn't have that, get bent subtle.

One last thing, I enjoy the sound, the sound is awesome but compared to some other phones I've had, which were much cheaper, these ones just feel flimsy and when this cord issue popped up I decided to post.

 

[Palpatine]

Too bad about your bad experience with the Grados. I listen mainly to hard rock and metal with mine... and they are perfect for them. If you're into the Ultrasone sound, perhaps the Pro 750, or the Sennheiser HD 25 I II. Both are closed designs... and have good bass. You'd need at least a portable amp for the Pro 750.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fiends /img/forum/go_quote.gif You are lying, I never edited the post, take a look... I didn't edit it at all, are you high? I never said once I bought them off a friend, I am the only person I know who buys headphones for more than $30. These are SR 80i's I believe and I got them in the only town that sells them that is even close to me, and that is like 12 hours away. I can't "bring them back" it would cost me more to travel there and I would probably get fired for missing work. I have been extremely careful with them too and yes, the cords get twisted but that is an easy fix. When this issue started happening I took them apart to look and the soldering job was horrible, and the phones were held in by glue. This was bought brand new in a sealed box and I can guarantee it was directly from Grado. I'm not sure where this guy is coming off saying I edited my post, can't an admin or mod check to see if I've ever edited it? I haven't touched it and was he is saying is extremely confusing and kind of screwing up this thread. I just noticed this when I edited THIS message, look, it says below when I edited it. My original doesn't have that, get bent subtle. One last thing, I enjoy the sound, the sound is awesome but compared to some other phones I've had, which were much cheaper, these ones just feel flimsy and when this cord issue popped up I decided to post.

This is because inexpensive hand-assembled products tend to be much more difficult to be well-built than computer/machine-assembled products of the same price. The three pairs of Grado headphones in my possession are not as well-built as many of the headphones of other brands that I also have. Even so, the only significant issue that I have experienced with Grado headphones is the Y-cord being twisted more readily than that in some other headphones.

 

[sampson_smith]

I have never had a problem with the cables of my several Grados, either--twisting or connection-wise.

 

[EddieE]

Fiends,

Sounds like you had some bad luck and got a rare dud pair. I guess even with the best standards all it takes is one employee to have an off-day and let something out without proper quality checks.

If you liked the sound, I'd really advise you to get a replacement, as has been said Grados and your stated music tastes are a match made in heaven so it'd be a shame for you to miss out because of a freak bad experience.

As you can see from this thread it's pretty rare for Grado owners to complain about build quality. EDIT: The Y-chord issue is obviously due to their design - that the cups spin 360. That could only be fixed by changing the classic grado design and I don't think many would want that (I certainly don't, I love their retro look).