You bunch got me all doubtful and confused so I ended up trekking to a store and auditioned the SR80x, 225x and 325x. I had a similar expectation to
@hikaru12 I’m quoting below.
Guys - I know nothing about Grado's except they get a reputation for being bright and in your face. I like a more warmer, natural sound with resolving micro detail (with respect to price) - which model should I go with to get that? My LCD-4 is my flagship so I'm just looking for something for a small desk setup that acts as a opposite compliment. I love how little weight and amp requirements Grado's have. My LCD-2 (as much as I love it) has started to create hot spots on my head. I normally have no issues with weight at all but if I'm going to deal with 500/600g of weight on my head it needs to be worth it (luckily my 4s are so I'm willing to put up with it). So I be looking at the SR2E's?
More specifically I dreaded a lean tuning, with thin bass and shouty, over-emphasized high mids and lower treble. Also that they would leak sound like some Hifiman do, where you might as well walk around with a portable speaker strapped to your chest or hell, just bust out the ol’ boombox.
Boy was I wrong.
I thought the 80x would be tuned more mainstream and immediate since they’re cheaper and carry the legacy of an entry-point classic. They’re the opposite; the most polite, almost restrained of the bunch. Maybe it’s just the distance between ear and driver. Yet I was struck at once by the fullness and balance of the sound, supported by technical chops I didn’t see coming in a $150 pair.
The 225x are closer to what I feared - except it’s done well. They would be fatiguing for me in the long run though, there’s quite a bit of aggression in their upper mids.
The 325x are insane. Incredibly meaty sound from highs to lows. Music rendered as a stream of emotion. So expansive, so expressive. Tamino’s « So It Goes » was almost unbearable. And detail retrieval is impressive. On A.A. Williams’ piano-voice cover of NIN’s « Every Day Is Exactly the Same » the early seconds showcase uncannily realistic floor cracks, chair noise, and the piano pedals sound exactly like they would bottoming out next to you in the room. Adds a lot to the ambience. Decay isn’t the quickest but that’s the price for natural, lifelike resonance.
Look into these
@hikaru12 ! Coming from the über-reference LCD-4 it’s a nice change of pace.
You guys pointed me to EU stores that carried them for much less than the French, so I looked some more and found out they could be had for 360€ from the fricking local Amazon, through a nice Spanish marketplace seller (would’ve ordered from them directly but they added 60€ for shipping…).
There’s a like-new open-box set going for 330-340€ on Wifimedia.eu wink-wink.
To answer my own question, the jump from 4 to 8 cores does double the cable gauge. It’s quite the monster on the 125x and up.
.
