Grado SR125 with comfy pads: mini-review

[arspy87]

I haven't seen a thread about this, so I thought I'd offer a few comments. I ordered a pair of comfy pads and they arrived yesterday. Remember, this is my opinion, not fact!

I haven't done a side-by-side comparison; I'm just using my first impressions (psychological or not) here, which means my analysis could be inaccurate.

The first thing I noticed is how comfy they were. I've been known to have my SR125's on my head for close to 6 hours at a time, and the bowls aren't ideal for this (although I've become used to the discomfort for the most part, it's still a bit of an inconvenience). The comfy pads feel very soft, and the foam on them doesn't bother my ears at all (yet).

Now, for the sound. There weren't any huge differences, but I did notice a few small changes. Probably due to the fact that the porous foam covers the front of the transducer, the highs seems very slightly toned down. I haven't, however, noticed any significant loss of detail. What I have noticed is that in some places where the treble may seem harsh or fatiguing with the bowls, this doesn't seem to be true with the comfies. While I'm a big fan of Grado treble, the SR125's have more than enough in many cases, so I was pleased with this. I also got the feeling that there was a little bit more bass with the comfies as opposed to the bowls; this might be due to the fact that the treble was very slightly reduced, though. If I wanted to generalize about the overall sound with the comfies versus the bowls, I'd say that with the comfies, the sound is just slightly more neutral.

Remember, these are my opinions, so don't take them as fact!

 

[enemigo]

I hated the comfies with my MS-1's

Next up you should try the flat pads, or get the yellow Sennheiser 414 pads and cut a 1 inch-ish hole in them. If you grow tired of the comfies, you could cut a hole in them as well, that's what I did to mine. This solution improves the bass and brings a bit more detail to the highs compared to comfies, without becoming as bright as the bowls.

IMO...

Knut

 

[cmanc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by enemigo .. If you grow tired of the flats, you could cut a hole in them as well, that's what I did to mine. This solution improves the bass and brings a bit more detail to the highs compared to comfies, without becoming as bright as the bowls. IMO... Knut

The flats already come with holes. My order of preference is: HD414(modded)>Bowls>Comfies(Modded)>Flats for the MS-1.

Although Bowls>Flats>HD414 for the MS-2 (classic). The HD414 pads seem to really muddy/distort the lower midrange/bass on the MS-2 more so then the flats would muddy MS-1's mids/bass. Although I think this is due to the fact I haven't bent the headband back to relieve some of the clamping force as I have done to the MS-1, whereas the firmness of the flats helps prevents the driver from getting too close to the ear? The extra weight of the MS-2 makes loosening the headband too much a bit more of trade-off though.

Another thing is the MS-1 with modded HD414 pads has the closest tonal balance to the MS-2 with Bowls of all the pads i've tried. I'm supprised how close they actually sound to each other and how nuetral the MS-2s are with the Bowls considering how bright the MS-1s where with them. There's no severe sibilance with the MS-2 at all.