[freethetree]

Picked me up some Grado SR225s about a month ago to use portably with my iPod but I havent gotten around to ordering a 1/4->1/8" adaptor (actually I havent been able to find one id really be happy with, I want nice wire and the 1/8th plug to be right angle) so its been hard to listen to them. Ive had one listening sesh so far, probably for about 3 hours. Yall are gonna laugh at what I had em plugged into: some random Aiwa mini-system I found in the den (only 1/4" jack I could find in the house) -> random rca/miniplug adaptor (ive been using this to plug my laptop into my speakers, I think it came with the Bose acoustic wave music system I used to have so its probably crap) -> headphone out of my iBook -> iTunes -> various bit rate MP3s of live concerts, most likely recorded by kids spun out of their minds jumping around with little mics taped to their hats plugged into portable dat recorders. Talk about a high-fidelity source! Anyway I planned on writing this up a couple weeks ago when I listened to the phones but I just couldnt. Every time I told myself "this is the last song" another great song would come on and I couldnt stop listening. Damn, now I remember why I loved my old Grados so much. I tried to find the best quality MP3s to listen to but for the most part it didnt matter as long as they werent super screechy, worbly crap recorded in the 60s/70s. I hadnt heard that quality of sound in over a year and it felt gooood. Its was especially magical to listen to shows I attended. Brings back memories, emotions, and vibes like nothing else. It took me over two weeks to finally write this because im the king of procrastination. I manage to procrastinate myself out of sleep for multiple days at a time (not kidding). To be fair I dont want to review the exact sound that came out of them until I get my super pimp equipment because obviously the crap I had them plugged into wasnt lettin em sing like they should. Ive read about people complaining that the SR225s are too bright. With bowl pads thats probably the case for some people, I remember my SR80s and Music Series IIs being kinda bright. They could both come accross as harsh depending on the recording but the MSIIs had a sparklyness that was a little more pleasant. But wait, whats that I see? Old school flat pads! I never listened to my other Grados with flat, comfy or Radio Shack pads but I definitely should have. Harshness? Where? Certainly not here. Go check somewhere else. I might buy some Rat pads, cut holes in them and put these flats aside until I get my RS1s and hopefully HP1000s. Thats it for now, I was in a writing mood tonight. Ill be back with a real review once the good stuff gets here.

 

[ll357515]

get the grado adapter - its worth it, and doesnt put too much stress on the player.
not right angle though.

 

[JaZZ]

Just solder a 1/8" plug onto the Grado cable, like I did! The shorter the conductor, the better. You may even shorten the cable a bit for that purpose. Btw: congrats to the SR-225 – it's a great headphone: accurate, transparent and extended. I use trimmed flat Sennheiser pads.