[amartignano]

What? I've searched for it in the advanced search function but I can't find a SR80 appreciation thread!
So here it is!

I have mine since a week, and I think they are just wonderful for the price. 100 eur for an headphone which can deliver great sound.

IMHO, they are:
- balanced
- very dynamic
- quick as only a Grado can be
- clear and sharp sounding without going too far with he highs
- extended
- they have good air and breath in the sound
- I always hated the bowls (especially with the SR125), but the SR80 with them is damn good
- good bass, articulate and punchy

In the end, I think it's maybe one of the best taste of audiophile sound in headphones at a "cheap" price.
Paired with the 200 eur Corda HeadFive, the system delivers great sound.
I have much more performant systems in my rig, but you can say that a cheaper system is really good, when it won't disappoint when you're listening to it, although you are used to a better sound, but it make you feel the music and tap the feet

And SR80 can deliver this.

Thumbs up for this little great headphone!

Andrew

 

[krmathis]

I am with you on this one!
The Grado SR80 is a bargain at $100.00. At least I have not heard a headphone which provide better sound for this small amount of money.

 

[mcpig]

These are the first headphones I’ve owned that I don’t cup with my hands and make them a little tighter to hear the music just a little more intimately. After having used OEM Sony’s and a couple of generic IEMs, I’ve had my 80s for just short of 2 years and truly enjoy them. I wear them daily for hours. The sound stage and presentation is first rate for such a hard working pair of phones.

I personally love the simple design; it works very well for me. I wear mine non-stop at work and need to be able to slip them off at any moment and still be able to use my hands. The rotating cans allow me a lot of freedom as they collapse flat at my neck and do not inhibit further unlimited head movement. The cups are uncomfortable at times, but they are easy to remove and replace. I wash and dry mine regularly, and they do not look ragged yet. The original cord is about worn out, but it has endured a lot abuse.

These are a couple of notable issues.
The cord to headphone connection could be improved with connectors at the phones to save the kinks and twists in the cord, but that would add another oxidation and wear point, it’s a toss up issue. The look could be improved on since they look like a ford van on your head compared to other headphones that look a lot sportier.

 

[Archer]

Congrats!

The SR80 I bought were lying in a fire dumpshop. (Now 3 years ago) They sell the things from stores that burned down. Something in my mind ( long before reading Head-Fi) said to me to buy these phones. I did not know the brand Grado untill then. I went home and plugged the SR80 into my stereo. I expected nothing since I paid 45 Euros for them. I remember that I began to listen at five in the afternoon and 5 hours later I was still listening at those cans. Non stop!

My Grado fever began with that. Later, after the lucky purchase of my SR80's, I of course realized that the fire dumpshop did not know the value of the SR80's.

I moved on to the SR325i's now, but the SR80's will never leave me.
Anyway 100 Euros is not to much, they do 140 Euros here in The Netherlands.

 

[Greisen]

I to love my SR 80. I enjoy listening to them, every day, have had them for about a year, and they seem like getting better and better as time goes.

But I will never forget once when my ex-girlfriend, was criticising my SR 80, with the senn 414 mod. She was trying to convince me, that her senn wireless headphones were much better.

 

[reivaj]

Can someone explain to me what this "quick" sound is like. I have ms1s but not sure what everyone is talking about... them sounding quick.

 

[mcpig]

Grado’s tend to be tight, forward and aggressive sounding with mid and treble tones. Not as much bass as others, making them a bit on the analytical side. So they tend to be clear, crisp, with tight punchy bass. That might make them quick, I suppose.

 

[EFN]

Finally a dedicated SR80 thread. My hats off to you guys who own SR80 and loved them. The last time I had a listen to SR80, they are way better than SR60 in analytical terms and tightly controlled bass, even better amped. But that "in your face" brightness defeated me. It takes a strong ears to listen to SR80 for long hours, my ears apparently turned out to be weak on that level of brightness.

 

[c0mfortably_numb]

I've had my SR80's for about a year, mine came in the mail a few days after hurricane Wilma devastated S Florida. It was my first real pair of cans, but with no power for 3 weeks, the only thing I had to test them at the time was my Ipod nano and it's near dead battery, but they defiantly put a smile on my face and made a bad time a little more enjoyable.

Fast forward a year, I use them mainly with my computer as source (Emu0404 -> dumped via generic Toss-link into a Number Cruncher DAC -> Head Five amp) I couldn't be happier with sound. The bass is well controlled, tight and fast, the treble is bright but far from shrill. There pretty comfortably for the most part, there extremely light and no vise like grip to give me a headache.

My only complaint is the lettering wears off pretty quickly, the right side is almost completely worn off, but not a huge deal to me

 

[reivaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by c0mfortably_numb I've had my SR80's for about a year, mine came in the mail a few days after hurricane Wilma devastated S Florida. It was my first real pair of cans, but with no power for 3 weeks, the only thing I had to test them at the time was my Ipod nano and it's near dead battery, but they defiantly put a smile on my face and made a bad time a little more enjoyable. Fast forward a year, I use them mainly with my computer as source (Emu0404 -> dumped via generic Toss-link into a Number Cruncher DAC -> Head Five amp) I couldn't be happier with sound. The bass is well controlled, tight and fast, the treble is bright but far from shrill. There pretty comfortably for the most part, there extremely light and no vise like grip to give me a headache. My only complaint is the lettering wears off pretty quickly, the right side is almost completely worn off, but not a huge deal to me

ugh wilma... she cut off power here for like 24 hours. i slept at a friends house who had power... lol i brought my ps2 over. i was happier

 

[amartignano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reivaj Can someone explain to me what this "quick" sound is like. I have ms1s but not sure what everyone is talking about... them sounding quick.

I intended it as "very fast response" to the signal, especially to transient (guitar chords, timpani, etc etc...). Grados are the only dynamic headphones which remember me of the electrostatic in this sense. For me, I discovered that this "quickness" add a lot of reality to the reproduction.

bye
Andrew

Ps. othre dynamic headphones with very quick respone are the Sony Qualia, SA5000/3000/1000, but they have other problems

 

[danmagicman7]

Bloody ears for life! err...yea

 

[Tyleroni]

The SR80s were my first cans after visiting head-fi and they were my main headphone for about a year. I consider them similar to marijuana (you know, a gateway drug.) I loved them at the time, but now that I have upgraded, they are more like an 80's hair metal band (I loved them at the time, but now they seem laughable.) Not really, they are great headphones and I am glad they were my first "real" headphones.

 

[EFN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyleroni I consider them similar to marijuana (you know, a gateway drug.)

This HAS to be the Quote of the month

 

[sisenor]

I loves mine!