[Focker]

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If you like Live Album try Center Stage from Tommy Emmanuel. I also discover him last summer with my Grado and I'm a fan now.

Wow, great call! I listened to some of the clips and I want to hear more of House of the Rising Sun!
This looks to be a fantastic album...

 

[Focker]

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it's just a shame that they are so expensive because they have got a unique sound to them..these are the ones that i have got http://onemansblog.com/.../mcintosh-mxa60-review-or-why-you-... 

 

A McIntosh car system?? I had no idea...wow!!
 
 

 

[Focker]

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this is who i use to listen to who was the best guitarist i have ever seen play live..

heres one of mine that i did with jamie woon it was done on a martin sound system in the ministry of sound the subs were turned off it was done in the early hours of the morning but i still managed to make a tune out of them..
 

Grado fans have some great taste in music! I love when others share good stuff like this...thanks!
 
And Martin, you have me drooling over the idea of getting the Red Wine piece...I've admired Vinny's products from a distance since I first came across them at Audio Circle (where he has a very loyal following). That Red Wine headamp looks sweet!!
 

 

[Focker]

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Ok I tried my grados on the go today with the flat pads and wow what a difference it made! I could put the volume lower and still hear my music without others hearing it. Was great! I can't find a closed headphone that can replace the famous grado sound....

I heard a bunch of people say that you can't really get "Grado sound" with anything but Grados, and initially I didn't really buy it. But honestly, they were right. I have gathered a small pile of headphones over the past few months, and even my flagship T1s could never replace my Grados. That's actually the best compliment I could pay my 325s right now, is that I had to go all the way to the T1s in order to get a headphone I loved as much as the Grados. I pretty much felt compelled to have at least two headphones in rotation that were my favorites, one of which was always going to be a Grado, but the Beyer DT880s just couldn't get me there. The T1s are 4x the price tag of the 325s, yet I can honestly say that I enjoy them both equally. The T1 is the better technical headphone, but in terms of enjoyment my 325s are their equal.
 
When the Grado sound captures you, it's just not possible to find it anywhere else

 

[Focker]

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What amp would you recommend for PS500 in  $200 - $400 category based on your experience?

I definitely agree with Martin about the Little Dot amp...I hvaen't heard the Woo stuff, but they are some NICE looking amps and I've heard they are fantastic. As for LD, I am very happy with the pairing of the LD I+ tube hybrid amp with my 325s. It's built like a little tank and it sounds really good even with the stock tubes. I upgraded to a Telefunken NOS pair, and I'm very happy with them, but the stock tubes are fine to start. I don't see how it can get any better given the $109 price tag...it's a sick value and David is a great guy to deal with.

 

[our martin]

 heres a few more..

another one of mine you can here were i got my influences from..i never could play guitar so i ended up playing piano and keyboards..

 

[detoxguy]

Which woo exactly is in the $200 to $400 range? The WA3 is the only one that's close and its an OTL which are not known to pair well with low impedance headphones. The Little Dots are in the budget range but the only one that pairs truly well is the hybrid LD1+ as the rest are also OTL. 
 
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woo audio or the little dot amps would be about the best..i use an adl gt40 dac/headphone amp with my hd800 but they are not getting enough power so i will be getting myself a woo audio wa6 it's just the right size for the space i have left in the loft..

 

 

[Heathen999]

Finally decided to break down and order a set of Grado's. They will be here Monday and I cant wait. 
 
I currently have FiiO e7/e9 dac/amp and Beyerdynamics dt880 600ohm headphones. I love them for gaming but they lack a little in the music department for me. I listen to metal and classic rock. For metal is mainly 80's thrash, Traditional and Progressive. So with some searching around here the last couple months and reading almost every post in this thread, Grado's seemed the way to go for that. 
 
I was originally going to upgrade my dac and amp trying to get the dt880's to sound the way I wanted but decided against that and just get a different set of headphones and upgrade that stuff later. So I decided on Grado's, then came the hard part in trying to decide what pair. Was going to just go with the 80i since I have not heard Grado's before and no one around me sells them. Then on the other hand I knew if I loved the sound I would be mad I didnt get something better from them. I finally decided the heck with it and got the 325is. I figure if I dont like them, I can always sell them on here and not be out to much. 
 
Well anyway I cant wait to get home from work Monday and listen to these and hopefully do it most of the night!!

 

[Focker]

Quote:

Finally decided to break down and order a set of Grado's. They will be here Monday and I cant wait. 
 
I currently have FiiO e7/e9 dac/amp and Beyerdynamics dt880 600ohm headphones. I love them for gaming but they lack a little in the music department for me. I listen to metal and classic rock. For metal is mainly 80's thrash, Traditional and Progressive. So with some searching around here the last couple months and reading almost every post in this thread, Grado's seemed the way to go for that. 
 
I was originally going to upgrade my dac and amp trying to get the dt880's to sound the way I wanted but decided against that and just get a different set of headphones and upgrade that stuff later. So I decided on Grado's, then came the hard part in trying to decide what pair. Was going to just go with the 80i since I have not heard Grado's before and no one around me sells them. Then on the other hand I knew if I loved the sound I would be mad I didnt get something better from them. I finally decided the heck with it and got the 325is. I figure if I dont like them, I can always sell them on here and not be out to much. 
 
Well anyway I cant wait to get home from work Monday and listen to these and hopefully do it most of the night!!

Congrats! The 325s are fantastic with classic rock...you're in for a treat. Some folks find Grados too bright, but IMO that's really only an issue when you listen mostly to some of the compressed, over-processed pop songs. Most classic rock that I've listened to is recorded much cleaner, and you shouldn't have any brightness issues with that genre. I spent a good three hours listening to Zeppelin these past few days and it's been fantastic. The Who, Pink Floyd, the Stones, etc, etc...hell, even the BeeGees pre-disco stuff from the 60s will just knock your socks off. I love my 325s

 

 

[Music fan 8888]

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I heard a bunch of people say that you can't really get "Grado sound" with anything but Grados, and initially I didn't really buy it. But honestly, they were right. I have gathered a small pile of headphones over the past few months, and even my flagship T1s could never replace my Grados. That's actually the best compliment I could pay my 325s right now, is that I had to go all the way to the T1s in order to get a headphone I loved as much as the Grados. I pretty much felt compelled to have at least two headphones in rotation that were my favorites, one of which was always going to be a Grado, but the Beyer DT880s just couldn't get me there. The T1s are 4x the price tag of the 325s, yet I can honestly say that I enjoy them both equally. The T1 is the better technical headphone, but in terms of enjoyment my 325s are their equal.
 
When the Grado sound captures you, it's just not possible to find it anywhere else

yep well said!  I totally agree!  Grado is superb for rock music which is main genre I listen to
 
 

 

[Music fan 8888]

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Congrats! The 325s are fantastic with classic rock...you're in for a treat. Some folks find Grados too bright, but IMO that's really only an issue when you listen mostly to some of the compressed, over-processed pop songs. Most classic rock that I've listened to is recorded much cleaner, and you shouldn't have any brightness issues with that genre. I spent a good three hours listening to Zeppelin these past few days and it's been fantastic. The Who, Pink Floyd, the Stones, etc, etc...hell, even the BeeGees pre-disco stuff from the 60s will just knock your socks off. I love my 325s

 

How different is the 325i to the 225is?  I love my 225is .....does the 325i have bigger soundstage??

 

[Focker]

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How different is the 325i to the 225is?  I love my 225is .....does the 325i have bigger soundstage??

I actually haven't heard the 225s, my knowledge of them comes from research only. I would doubt that the sound stage is much different because there's not a huge difference in that department between my 325s and 80s. I've heard many people say that there is very little difference between the 225s and 325s, to the point where some coulnd't justify the price difference. I wanted to go to the top of the Prestige line though, which is why I went with the 3s....I think you'd probably just have a slight bit more refinement in the 3s, and they also might be a tad more bright than the 225s are. I think most people consider the 225s to be the sweet spot in the line, though, in terms of value.
 
The biggest difference I notice between the 80s and 325s is the layering of the sound stage. They both image exceptionally well, and the overall size of the sound stage is similar in both, but I find the 325s to have a bit more delineation and separation among instruments, and I also feel that the presentation is a tad bit more layered, which I like. I would expect the 225s to be pretty similar to the 3s in those areas, though. But I don't think you'd notice a difference in the overall size of the sound stage.
 
I'm sure others who have heard both will chime in and be more specific, but if you're wondering if an upgrade to the 3s is worth it, I'd highly doubt it. You'd probably be better off moving up to the RS1 or PS500s.
 
EDIT: Never mind, I see you already have the RS1s....lol

 

[Focker]

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double post....sorry!

 

[Music fan 8888]

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I actually haven't heard the 225s, my knowledge of them comes from research only. I would doubt that the sound stage is much different because there's not a huge difference in that department between my 325s and 80s. I've heard many people say that there is very little difference between the 225s and 325s, to the point where some coulnd't justify the price difference. I wanted to go to the top of the Prestige line though, which is why I went with the 3s....I think you'd probably just have a slight bit more refinement in the 3s, and they also might be a tad more bright than the 225s are. I think most people consider the 225s to be the sweet spot in the line, though, in terms of value.
 
The biggest difference I notice between the 80s and 325s is the layering of the sound stage. They both image exceptionally well, and the overall size of the sound stage is similar in both, but I find the 325s to have a bit more delineation and separation among instruments, and I also feel that the presentation is a tad bit more layered, which I like. I would expect the 225s to be pretty similar to the 3s in those areas, though. But I don't think you'd notice a difference in the overall size of the sound stage.
 
I'm sure others who have heard both will chime in and be more specific, but if you're wondering if an upgrade to the 3s is worth it, I'd highly doubt it. You'd probably be better off moving up to the RS1 or PS500s.
 
EDIT: Never mind, I see you already have the RS1s....lol

thanks! I am pretty new to the grado and only bought my first Grado 60i 2 months ago, I then was eager to try the upper models and got the 225i and then the RS1i's in the expanse of like a week!  I was totally addicted to the sound and found it was the perfect headphone I was looking for that suited my music taste.  I see that the 225is sound similar to the RS1's so have no idea how the 325i's come in - i find that the soundstage with the 225i is wider than the RS1s and have a more fatiguing sound due to the harsh treble (which I toned down with my equalisers and amp).   I do miss my 60s though because it was so light and perfect for travelling! 

 

[Focker]

Quote:

thanks! I am pretty new to the grado and only bought my first Grado 60i 2 months ago, I then was eager to try the upper models and got the 225i and then the RS1i's in the expanse of like a week!  I was totally addicted to the sound and found it was the perfect headphone I was looking for that suited my music taste.  I see that the 225is sound similar to the RS1's so have no idea how the 325i's come in - i find that the soundstage with the 225i is wider than the RS1s and have a more fatiguing sound due to the harsh treble (which I toned down with my equalisers and amp).   I do miss my 60s though because it was so light and perfect for travelling! 

haha, I can totally understand that...I wanted "more of a good thing" as soon as I heard the 80s  
 
If you find the treble a bit harsh on the 225s, you definitely wouldn't like the 325s...pretty sure they're a tad brighter. I find a lot of it is dependent on the recording itself, but also that tubes tend to really tame the highs a bit. I prefer a more forward sounding headphone anyway, so for me the tubes get the 325s right where I like em.
 
And I totally agree about how light the lower Grados are. After washing the pads on my 80s and making a very small adjustment to the headband, I honestly cannot tell when these things are on my head. That's why I'm dumbfounded when someone mentions that the 60s or 80s are not comfortable. They feel as if I have nothing on my head at all...and on top of that they sound fabulous