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Hi! Just bought Grado SR80e, using for about a month now.
Its a better listening experience than my beyerdynamic dt770 pro but I cant listen to it for 2+ hrs straight due to (i think high end/treble fatigue)

Do you think its worth the upgrade to RS2e if I’m just using it with Spotify? No amps or whatsover
I have no plans on buying headphones amp too. Hehe

So you do not have an amp, are you using your phone or a DAP to feed the SR80e? As to the pads you can order a pair of the Grado original flat pads (HP1000) and find the balance change to better suit you. They might likely feel more comfortable once you have properly adjusted the headbad for optimum fit. The flat pad idea is based on an experiment I and a good friend of mine did trying the old style flats on several of the midrange Grados and got some interesting and good results.

I agree with Paraphernalia that considering an inexpensive amp would make a lot of performance sense unless that would be cumbersome in your set up. The one he mentioned is just as he described. The Cavalli HTC that Drop did at least one run already is now priced down to $175, a steal for a tube hybrid that gets a good amount of positive feedback. By chance I did a trade with a buddy for a NecoSoundlab model Portable-V5. It is a dual mono design that can swing 20 volts. I got it for about $100 in trade and it really surprised me how overall very nice it is. Find one and I really think it is another that will make you happy. If you decide to upgrade phones in the future the amp would be a boon to getting the most out of those.

Congrats and Good Luck....

PS I currently own all three of the above mentioned amps although my HTC is the original Cavalli, not the Drop.

 

[Joaquin Dinero]

Haha. It's very tempting. I love both of the Grados I own and those Hemp headphones are beautiful.

1) you would probably be able to sell them and get your $$ back if you didn't like them.

2) Gippy has demonstrated upthread that they do not hold up well to the mtssss mtssssss mtssss of dance music. This is a feature not a bug in my book.

3) Pair them with a Schiit amp and you'll never run out of corny jokes

(They sound great with my Modi / Magni stack for realz)

 

[Damien Grief]

1) you would probably be able to sell them and get your $$ back if you didn't like them.

2) Gippy has demonstrated upthread that they do not hold up well to the mtssss mtssssss mtssss of dance music. This is a feature not a bug in my book.

3) Pair them with a Schiit amp and you'll never run out of corny jokes

(They sound great with my Modi / Magni stack for realz)

Glad I don't listen to dance music.

I've been super happy with the Schiit stack since I bought it years ago now. Haven't even remotely felt a desire to upgrade to anything else.

 

[Joaquin Dinero]

Glad I don't listen to dance music.

I've been super happy with the Schiit stack since I bought it years ago now. Haven't even remotely felt a desire to upgrade to anything else.

Yea, I've been ogling some tube amps for awhile, just for the tube experience, but otherwise the Modi/Magni meet all my needs. (But yet I have a bunch of other USB DAC / amps anyway)

 

[Hopeless Audiophile]

Will try changing pads first.

Currently I'm just using Spotify on iPad and a few Led Zeppelin Flac which is really good on the SR80e. Thats why my initial thought was "Amp is not important since I'm just using Spotify"

I can set aside $200-300 but I'm only seeing ifi and fiio in my area.
Also much easier to buy RS2e than researching for Headphone amp. hehe!!

ATTACH]

So you do not have an amp, are you using your phone or a DAP to feed the SR80e? As to the pads you can order a pair of the Grado original flat pads (HP1000) and find the balance change to better suit you. They might likely feel more comfortable once you have properly adjusted the headbad for optimum fit. The flat pad idea is based on an experiment I and a good friend of mine did trying the old style flats on several of the midrange Grados and got some interesting and good results.

I agree with Paraphernalia that considering an inexpensive amp would make a lot of performance sense unless that would be cumbersome in your set up. The one he mentioned is just as he described. The Cavalli HTC that Drop did at least one run already is now priced down to $175, a steal for a tube hybrid that gets a good amount of positive feedback. By chance I did a trade with a buddy for a NecoSoundlab model Portable-V5. It is a dual mono design that can swing 20 volts. I got it for about $100 in trade and it really surprised me how overall very nice it is. Find one and I really think it is another that will make you happy. If you decide to upgrade phones in the future the amp would be a boon to getting the most out of those.

Congrats and Good Luck....

PS I currently own all three of the above mentioned amps although my HTC is the original Cavalli, not the Drop.

 

[40760]

Would getting the SR60e or SR80e as a first Grado a better choice?

 

[Joaquin Dinero]

Will try changing pads first.

Currently I'm just using Spotify on iPad and a few Led Zeppelin Flac which is really good on the SR80e. Thats why my initial thought was "Amp is not important since I'm just using Spotify"

I would say its not so much about where your music files come from, but whether the power output of your device is enough to drive your headphones to the volume level that you want. My Hemp and 325e have no trouble running from a tablet or laptop. But I use amps because I like having cool toys.

ZEP RULES 4 EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Damien Grief]

Would getting the SR60e or SR80e as a first Grado a better choice?

The SR80e is a slightly better headphone. If you can budget for it, it's worth it. If not, the SR60e is still a great headphone and will get you most of the same sound. You really can't go wrong either way.

 

[Joaquin Dinero]

The SR80e is a slightly better headphone. If you can budget for it, it's worth it. If not, the SR60e is still a great headphone and will get you most of the same sound. You really can't go wrong either way.

This ^.
I would add that 60s and 80s are available on Ebay all the time and its not hard to find an excellent condition 80e for less than a new 60e.

 

[bmn1251]

Looking at possibly getting my first par of grado. Havent heard any grado before, but have heard a lot about them. It seems like the hemp could be worth checking out. For referance, i like a warmish sound, but with still a good amount of detail,space, and depth. What other options are there like that for grado?

 

[Gippy]

Hemp with the Geekria "LL" pad which is the larger donut pad. If you want it less warm, go with the Geekria L pad which I feel is the best pad for it. The stock F pad doesn't give much depth at all.

 

[elvergun]

I can set aside $200-300 but I'm only seeing ifi and fiio in my area.
Also much easier to buy RS2e than researching for Headphone amp. hehe!!

I think you will get greater improvement by getting the RS2e instead of an amp.

The SR80 is good...the RS2e is great.

 

[elvergun]

Looking at possibly getting my first par of grado. Havent heard any grado before, but have heard a lot about them. It seems like the hemp could be worth checking out. For referance, i like a warmish sound, but with still a good amount of detail,space, and depth. What other options are there like that for grado?

The PS500e, from what I've read (I have not heard one myself).

 

[TooFrank]

I would say its not so much about where your music files come from, but whether the power output of your device is enough to drive your headphones to the volume level that you want. My Hemp and 325e have no trouble running from a tablet or laptop. But I use amps because I like having cool toys.

ZEP RULES 4 EVAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FWIW: and an amp makes the sound so much better....but of course YMMV (BTW a DAC may add to the experience too.....)

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Looking at possibly getting my first par of grado. Havent heard any grado before, but have heard a lot about them. It seems like the hemp could be worth checking out. For referance, i like a warmish sound, but with still a good amount of detail,space, and depth. What other options are there like that for grado?

GS3000e !