[Cousin Eddie]

I'm trying to decide between getting the SR-60's and the SR-80's. The SR-60's are $65 and the SR-80's are $85 at www.nax.com. This looks like a good place to buy Grado headphones because those prices include shipping.

I will be using them mainly with my computer. I have a digital I/0 card - the Sound Blaster Live Drive. I don't really mind paying the extra $20, but I just want to find out if the SR-80's will sound as good as the SR-60's with the computer.

I've done a little research here and other places on the web. Headroom says that the SR-80's sound murky without an amp, but most people here seem to be saying that the SR-80's don't need an amp to sound good. But would the SR-60's sound a little better if I don't intend to use an amp? MacDEF says that the SR-80's won't live up to their potential without an amp, but does that mean they will still sound as good as the SR-60's if not using an amp? From KurtW's Grado shootout post, it sounds as if the SR-60's may be the best of the SR's because of their neutrality, only surpassed by the RS's in detail.

 

[wab]

I have been wondering about this myself too, I want to get the sr60's or sr80's but since I am in Europe I cannot audition them.

I have read a lot about these phones and I have found there are way more people recommending the sr60's than the sr80's.

You already mentioned Headroom and KurtW's post. I also found reviews from the respected english HiFi Choice magazine:
HiFi Choice SR60 review
HiFi Choice SR80 review

They favour the sr60's, Here's their conclusions about the sr60's and sr80's:
Quote:

For sheer musical enjoyment these 'phones are hard to beat. Retro styling may not be to every taste.

Quote:

Clear, open and dynamic, if almost pedantically accurate midband. Crude physical design, lumpen bass, and a rather unsophisticated treble.

But then again, there's also the sr60 vs sr80 review from Goodcans:
Goodcans SR60 vs SR80

which concludes:
Quote:

So let’s re-cap: If your budget minded, but want to hear the detail audiophiles prefer from their sound systems, the SR60’s are a great headphone buy. If your musical tastes include quite a bit of music with lots of bass, a step up to the SR80’s is recommended.

You might also want to check this thread:
Just how good are the Grado SR60?

Anyway.. Based on what I read I think I will go with the SR60's

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

MacDEF says that the SR-80's won't live up to their potential without an amp, but does that mean they will still sound as good as the SR-60's if not using an amp?

I think they will sound just as good; my opinion is that their potential to be better than the 60s will most likely not be realized out of a portable or soundcard, so why spend the extra money if you never intend to get an amp?

 

[Deuce_Bigalow]

But if you like a little bit of bass or listen to some bass heavy music then maybe you should go for the SR80's. I know if I was gonna buy either, i'd get the SR80's.

 

[Rotareneg]

According to Grado's site, the only difference between the two is that the SR-80's got a better cable.

 

[joelongwood]

Cousin Eddie and wab, I'm going to have to agree with Deuce here. My first foray into the wonderful world of Grado was in March of this year. I auditioned 3 'phones for over an hour........the SR-60, SR-80, and SR-125. To my ears at least, the SR-60s sounded a bit lacking in both the high-end and the bass, compared to the other two. The SR-80s and SR-125s sounded close enough where I felt a $55 difference in price was not worth it, so I got the 80s. The $26 ($20 in your case) price difference, IMHO, between the SR-60s and SR-80s is well worth it.
BTW, the audition was conducted straight out of the jack of a CDP, no headphone amp. All 3 headphones sounded great.
I'd go with the SR-80s...........come to think of it, I did!

 

[wab]

Argh! This is getting confusing!

Well, I have till christmas (when my sister is going to the US) to decide..

 

[KurtW]

I have a used pair of SR-80s coming my way, so I can post some obvervations verses my SR-60s after a while, using them straight from portables and with amps. I got the SR-80s to use with the Total Airhead. I thought the SR80 is a little too bright but I'm hoping it's a good match with TA with it's crossfeed processor on, since it's a little dull that way.

I don't know anything about the sound from the Sound Blaster Live Drive, so I can't comment on what would be a good match for it. System matching is the key; what sounds good on one setup may not sound very good on another. I think what makes the SR60 so good as a general recomendation is that they are so neutral that they work with more systems than a lot of other headphones.

 

[Gluegun]

Well, I use my SR-60's out of my SBLive, both with and without my Total Airhead.....uh, are you going to be doing games? I would really suggest something closed that's more comfy for games...

 

[Braver]

wab, I might consider selling my sr60's if you give me a reasonable offer. they got holes in the pads (they're very nuffled with comfies-without-holes), they might be a bit big (not for me, but you never know). If you don't like em, you could sell em on marktplaats.nl or somthing for about the same price as you paid me. If you like em, might get a new pair of pads or something and you're settled, if not, you're save.

Give me a mail if you're interrested (it's in my profile somewhere).

 

[wab]

Braver, I send you an (well actually two

) email.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

Thanks for all the great replies! I intended to come back here earlier, but I still don't have anything.

I decided to get the Grado SR-80's. I ordered them about two weeks ago from nax.com but never got them. I called a couple days ago and got their answering machine. They were on vacation. I cancelled my order. So then I was planning to order them from soundseller.com, but I just found out I can get the Etymotics for $225 at www.sagearts.com (the sale ends July 31), so I think I will get the Etymotics instead.

Here's another article for anyone trying to decide between the SR-60's and SR-80's: http://www.soundstage.com/entry10.htm

The old SR-60's come with the comfy pads that cover the driver. The newer SR-60's come with the same kind of donut pads that the SR-80's come with. The writer of that article seems to think that the pad makes a lot of difference. Since most of the reviews of the SR-60's are reviews of the old SR-60's, it didn't seem to make a lot of since to get them just because of their reputation. Based on that information, and what was said here, I decided to get the SR-80's.

Here's a quote from that article:

Quote:

You can pick up a pair of Grado headphones for not much more than decent cheap headphones go for. Whether they are worth the extra money is a somewhat complex judgment. There are a couple of trade-offs involving sound quality, compatibility, and comfort to consider. When I first tried out the two pairs of Grados, I started with the SR-60 phones plugged into the Little HeadRoom. These sounded pretty good, but nothing really spectacular, I thought. Switching to the SR-80's gave a much better impression; those sounded great. Unfortunately, they didn't feel nearly as good. The SR-60's come with a full-size ear pad that covers the entire driver, nicely cushioning your ear. Stock SR-80's have a donut shaped pad that leaves the center of the driver open; this doesn't feel nearly as pleasant. Since the pads are removable, I decided that suffering with the SR-80 donut was hardly necessary, and I swapped the pads. A few weeks later, I decided to compare the SR-60 and SR-80 units again. Oddly, I didn't notice nearly as much difference between the two this time; the SR-80 wasn't a big jump in quality anymore. I thought at first I was just misremembering the magnitude of change, but further investigation revealed the real cause: the big comfy cushions sound noticeably worse than the donut pad, sucking much of the life out of the sound. The bass impact is gone, the midrange isn’t as clear, and the dulled top-end makes imaging suffer. There is almost as much of a qualitative change between the two pads as there is between the models themselves. Ranking the different combinations, SR-80s with the donuts are the best; SR-60's with the donut and SR-80's with the comfy pads are almost equal, with a slight nod toward the SR-80; and SR-60's with the comfy pads are the worst. So there are really two things you get when moving up to the SR-80 from the SR-60. The more expensive driver is more dynamic and has deeper bass. You also get better sounding ear cushions to go with it. After trying both pads, I really can't pick one over the other as a clear winner--for critical listening, the donut is the way to go, but I hate to wear the phones for long periods when using it. If you buy Grado phones, I'd recommend getting a sample of each to try out for yourself. One compromise suggested by HeadRoom HeadHoncho Tyll Herstens is to cut an approximately nickel sized hole in the center of the full ear cushions, which keeps them comfortable but lets the higher frequency material pass unimpeded.

 

[KurtW]

I got my SR80s now and like them. They do have more bass than my older SR60 and are slightly brighter, but otherwise sound very similar. I switched to the comfy pads and this reduces the brightness slightly which is okay with me, but I didn't get any reduction in bass. I bought an extra set of comfy pads ($10) so I could cut the middle out of one set and compare, but I'm happy with them the way they are.

I also tried the SR80 with a Panasonic portable CDP and didn't get the murkiness that Headroom complains about. The bass is usually one thing that suffers from portables but I found the SR80 bass to be better than the 60s even from the portable.

If you get Etys, I suggest you get them from a place that has a good return policy. The ear seal that is required for these is a very personal thing. They didn't work for me at all.

 

[KurtW]

This weekend I used the SR80s with the Total Airhead and the Panasonic portable and found they had too much bass when the crossfeed processor was turned on...NOW I get the murkiness! In this mode I prefer the SR60.

 

[Cousin Eddie]

When I was trying to decide between the SR-60's and SR-80's, of everything I read I think that Headroom was the only one that said the SR-80 was murky without an amp. Now that makes sense - because of course they probably do their reviews with their amps and crossfeed turned on.

I went ahead and ordered the ER4S's from Sage Arts. I have both the Koss Plug and the Sony EX70LP. They both work really well with my ears, so I'm hoping the ER4S's will work well too. I really like the isolation that you get with them. Both of these have a lot of potential, but the problem is that they just don't have enough detail. I'm hoping the ER4S's will take care of that.

Looks like I will have to wait a few more months to get Grados...