[newphones]

Quote:

Hey,
I have a pair of iGrados, they are one of my favourite small, cheap, portable 'phones.
I've gone into a couple of shops to find a small pair of phones, my favourites were the iGrados and the Senn PX-100 ii.
Unfortunately I can't remember all the 'phones I didn't like, but everything else sounded second best.
My only compliant is they go around the back of your head, NOT the top of your head.

Thanks! I have no doubt they are quality 'phones.
 
However, I have to stay away from any headphones with boosted treble, which is a signature of the grado's. Is this the case for the igrado's also?

 

[semicoln]

Thanks! I have no doubt they are quality 'phones.

However, I have to stay away from any headphones with boosted treble, which is a signature of the grado's. Is this the case for the igrado's also?

I would go with Porta pros from your list then

 

[newphones]

Quote:

I would go with Porta pros from your list then

I've got portapros already. Also have apple earpods. Koss dj100 arriving next week.
 
But grado is a major name, and I am quite curious to hear if they can deliver accuracy and detail without being fatiguing or whether they'll be so similar to the bassy, fun portapros as to be a redundant pair. 

 

[Chris J]

Quote:

Thanks! I have no doubt they are quality 'phones.
 
However, I have to stay away from any headphones with boosted treble, which is a signature of the grado's. Is this the case for the igrado's also?

 
Nooooo.
Not at all.
They actually sound slightly dull.
The bass is quite full.
 
No, I'm not being the least sarcastic.  These are my honest impressions!

 

[newphones]

Quote:

 
Nooooo.
Not at all.
They actually sound slightly dull.
The bass is quite full.
 
No, I'm not being the least sarcastic.  These are my honest impressions!

Thanks. I've read a bunch of reviews now and it seems that you are right. I will hold off on the grado's for now.

 

[apollo11]

Quote:

 
As always, a well written, objective and non offensive post, you've got class my friend.
 
That is a nice change of pace from what i have read in another thread, where someone reffered to the PS500 as P.O.S., sorry but someone who writes this kind of comments as ZRERO credibility in my book.

What's P.O.S? can you PM the meaning if is offensive? Thanks. People sometimes become to expressive that probably trigger those kind of reactions.
Quote:

Right Wormsdriver,
 
I did bend my headband and I modify my flat pad too (DIY cut myself).
 

 

 
You can see very clearly from this pix, either Bowl or S-cushion the "donut" shape doesn't have anything to support. When wearing, you are pushing out the "donut" in and driver out against your ears. At least the unmodded S-cushion have a layer of foam there for it is more comfortable but didn't sound as nice as the bowl or my modded S-cushion.
 
Maybe you can post your experience too

Why do yo need to mod the foam? What will happen if you do this? And what happen to the phone if you use L cushion? Will this affect the sound signature of the phone?

 

[whoelse]

I have a MS2i and MS1i. I like the L-cushion better on both the headphones. The MS1i came with the S-cushion so I modded it.

 

[stacker45]

Quote:

Thanks, brother...I really appreciate that! You are one of the biggest contributors to this thread and one of the main reasons I enjoy participating here, as well. I always look forward to reading your posts 

   We're lucky, cause the Grado thread is typically one of the most civil on head-fi based on what I've seen...we have some really good folks taking part here. 

 
I agree with what you're saying about the Grado fan club being one of the most civilized. David Mahler's wonderful thread has turned into a pissing contest, and It's too bad because, not only has he put a lot of time and effort in is comparisons, i find that his comments are always, objective, and, non offensive.
 
I was at the Montréal Hi-Fi show last weekend, and i was lucky enough to audition a few flagship headphones from, Audeze, Hi-FiMan, Sennheiser, Stax and Beyerdinamics, and not suprisingely, i came away with the conclusion that they all make good or great sounding headphones, so what credibility would i have is i started bashing them.
 
I try to step back and look at the big pictrue, wich helps me see that we all have something in common wich is the love of music reproduced through headphones. And we all have the same goal, wich is, to reproduce that music as much to our liking as possible. The only difference is that, we take different routes to arrive at our common destination.

 

[Focker]

Quote:

 
I agree with what you're saying about the Grado fan club being one of the most civilized. David Mahler's wonderful thread has turned into a pissing contest, and It's too bad because, not only has he put a lot of time and effort in is comparisons, i find that his comments are always, objective, and, non offensive.
 
I was at the Montréal Hi-Fi show last weekend, and i was lucky enough to audition a few flagship headphones from, Audeze, Hi-FiMan, Sennheiser, Stax and Beyerdinamics, and not suprisingely, i came away with the conclusion that they all make good or great sounding headphones, so what credibility would i have is i started bashing them.
 
I try to step back and look at the big pictrue, wich helps me see that we all have something in common wich is the love of music reproduced through headphones. And we all have the same goal, wich is, to reproduce that music as much to our liking as possible. The only difference is that, we take different routes to arrive at our common destination.

 
Wow, I totally forgot about his thread...you're right, that was one heck of a lot of work he put into that, and it's a shame that it's turned out as you described. I exchanged a few PMs with him shortly after I first read through his comparisons and I agree that he's a class act. 
 
That must have been a blast gettign to hear all those phones! Did you have a favorite that really impressed you? 

 

[jaywillin]

focker,
i noticed you're from n.ga.
i was in helen until i moved to bama 2 yrs ago , boy i love the mountains
now to a headphone question
i've heard the sr60i, and really liked the grado sound, the rythm , the pace, the mids !
i ultimately returned them, wanting to see if i could find something a little warmer
my first cans were the senn hd203, which i got for the stepson, but he wanted skullcandies so
i kept the senns, they are what started me wanting better phones.
the budget is less than $150
the alessandro ms1i's have been suggested and i'm curious about the senn hd518,
which i see you've had before, i'm curious about your experience with them,
and if you had any other thoughts, suggestions

 

[Focker]

Quote:

focker,
i noticed you're from n.ga.
i was in helen until i moved to bama 2 yrs ago , boy i love the mountains
now to a headphone question
i've heard the sr60i, and really liked the grado sound, the rythm , the pace, the mids !
i ultimately returned them, wanting to see if i could find something a little warmer
my first cans were the senn hd203, which i got for the stepson, but he wanted skullcandies so
i kept the senns, they are what started me wanting better phones.
the budget is less than $150
the alessandro ms1i's have been suggested and i'm curious about the senn hd518,
which i see you've had before, i'm curious about your experience with them,
and if you had any other thoughts, suggestions

 
 
I'm honestly determined to get a Sennheiser back in my collection, but when I was very new to the headphone side of the hobby back in late 2011 I really had no idea what I was doing. I don't even remember my rationale for buying it, but the Sennheiser 518s ALMOST prevented me from continuing to find a headphone I can enjoy. Based on my research since then, it looks like I was almost there, as the 598s, 600s, and 650s have stellar reputations. But the 518s, ended up getting sold off not long after I bought them for a few reasons: First of all, I could only wear them for maybe like 20 min before my ears would overheat and even start sweating. They weren't uncomfortable in terms of fit, but just way too hot. My other main issue was the low end. I'm used to planar bass since I have owned Magnepan speakers since 2005, so I like the lows to be nice and crisp and clean. The 518s were very boomy and bloated, which just wasn't my preference. 
 
That being said, I've seen many people who like them, so I wouldn't put any more weight in my opinion than theirs...I just have different tastes and preferences than what those phones offered. 
 
I need to try one of the Alessandro headphones, as well...I really couldn't quite understand what those were until someone explained it to me recently lol. Seems like many folks on here give them high marks, so at some point I'll probably pull the trigger. 
 
Helen is beautiful! I got married at Anna Ruby Falls back in 2002....what an amazing part of the country! 

 

[streetdragon]

Having the MS1i, HD558 and having tried the HD518, i would say that the HD518 is really a step down from its other 2 brothers. Flatter presentation, less details and depth, boomy bass, and the earpads. Yes the earpads on the HD518 are terrible being super stiff and scratchy, though the HD558 and HD598 have the same nice earpads except the HD558 one is black and stiffer.

And for the MS1i, i found the grado sound a little too agressive, i like laidback sounding headphones afterall. 
So if you want to shoot for an alessandro, get the MS1i, it has the best value just like the SR80i and SR60i. (if you get the MS2i earpad [that mini bowl earpad i forgot what it's called, Lcush?] it will improve the sound a lot too)

 

[gefski]

No point in ripping 24/96 - that's a waste of space (the CD is only 16/44.1; there is zero point in forcing SRC). 16/44.1 @ lossless is the absolute best case scenario. 200-600MB per TRACK is absolutely screwed up (do you mean 200-600 per DISC?); I rip WMA-L (same difference) and expect ~20MB per track (some more, some less, depending on length and what the VBR does).

Here are some sample file sizes, which would help me see if my ripping is out of whack. If I can save some space, great! These are all cds, ripped to 16/44 flac, using Poikosoft Easy CD DA. I'm including complete detail, though just a ballpark comparison of the numbers would be great. Thanks!

Alejandro Escovido 'A Man Under the Influence'. 325 mb duration 50:16
Bill Evans 'Sunday at the VV' 439 mb duration 1:08:25
Miles 'Sketches...' 331 mb duration 1:00:44

 

[jaywillin]

Focker:
"My other main issue was the low end. I'm used to planar bass since I have owned Magnepan speakers since 2005, so I like the lows to be nice and crisp and clean." 
 
yeah, i'm not looking for bloated, boomy, thats not my idea of warmth.
 currently, i have the ath ad-300, liking it more everyday, it was just $46 on amazon, i may go further up that line, and has just been updated,
but first i'm going to try the alessandro's, or the sr80i's.
a question for y'all : i'm confused, as i've seen conflicting opinions, as to which of these two,is warmer tonally ?
 
i know my ears will be the best judge of what sound pleases me, and i plan on buying where i can return if needed.
or, maybe it would be better to delay gratification, and wait until i can spend a little more $$$
ahhh, decisions, decisions !!
 
yeah, anna ruby falls is great focker, i worked at the hampton inn there in helen, i sent many folks up there!!
the wife and i hope to move back one day, we both don't like the flat land !!
 

 

[jaywillin]

Quote:

Having the MS1i, HD558 and having tried the HD518, i would say that the HD518 is really a step down from its other 2 brothers. Flatter presentation, less details and depth, boomy bass, and the earpads. Yes the earpads on the HD518 are terrible being super stiff and scratchy, though the HD558 and HD598 have the same nice earpads except the HD558 one is black and stiffer.

And for the MS1i, i found the grado sound a little too agressive, i like laidback sounding headphones afterall. 
So if you want to shoot for an alessandro, get the MS1i, it has the best value just like the SR80i and SR60i. (if you get the MS2i earpad [that mini bowl earpad i forgot what it's called, Lcush?] it will improve the sound a lot too)

so the ms1 is more laid back in your opinion ??