[jeffritz]

Ive been rocking my ATH-M50s for 4+ years now and finally decided to burn some cash on new gear. This site is so very dangerous to my wallet but man is it fun.
After picking up a Schiit Bifrost & Asgard 2 recently I thought it was time to do some experimenting. Just picked up a Grado SR80e and lord o mighty! What have I been missing all these years.
Being my first open HP's I'm amazed by the openness and what I am learning to be known as "sound stage" of the SR80e's are spectacular. The details in the mids and highs are out of this world and though the lows are not as thumpy as my M50's they are well rounded and complement to the rest of the frequency range.
 
Worth every penny Grado is asking for these phones.
 
Thanks for all the previous reviews and recommendations!

 

[joseph69]

  Ive been rocking my ATH-M50s for 4+ years now and finally decided to burn some cash on new gear. This site is so very dangerous to my wallet but man is it fun.
After picking up a Schiit Bifrost & Asgard 2 recently I thought it was time to do some experimenting. Just picked up a Grado SR80e and lord o mighty! What have I been missing all these years.
Being my first open HP's I'm amazed by the openness and what I am learning to be known as "sound stage" of the SR80e's are spectacular. The details in the mids and highs are out of this world and though the lows are not as thumpy as my M50's they are well rounded and complement to the rest of the frequency range.
 
Worth every penny Grado is asking for these phones.
 
Thanks for all the previous reviews and recommendations!

+1

 

[Focker]

Congrats, Jeffritz...that was very similar to my first experience with the 80s, as well 

 

[whirlwind]

Yea....congrats jeffritz.......every grado made sound great.....not a bad one to my knowledge.....it only gets better as you go up the line for the most part.

 

[Focker]

  Yea....congrats jeffritz.......every grado made sound great.....not a bad one to my knowledge.....it only gets better as you go up the line for the most part.

Agreed. I've had 60s, 80s, 325s, 500s, and GS1ks. Loved all of them, with the 500s being my personal favorite. Still need to hear the PS1ks at some point. 

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Yea....congrats jeffritz.......every grado made sound great.....not a bad one to my knowledge.....it only gets better as you go up the line for the most part.

Agreed. I've had 60s, 80s, 325s, 500s, and GS1ks. Loved all of them, with the 500s being my personal favorite. Still need to hear the PS1ks at some point. 

Focker, you were one of the people that recommended a 325i to me....years ago.....that got me hooked  

 

[Focker]

  Focker, you were one of the people that recommended a 325i to me....years ago.....that got me hooked  

 
lol, cool, I know we've had some interactions over the years....I liked the 325s quite a lot. Have you tried any of the "e" series yet? Everyone is raving about them, as I'm sure you've seen...I'm eager to give them a go

 

[jeffritz]

  Yea....congrats jeffritz.......every grado made sound great.....not a bad one to my knowledge.....it only gets better as you go up the line for the most part.

 
Being relatively new to the audiophile scene, I'm by no means an audiophile more of an enthusiast at this stage, it’s hard to believe it gets even better. Unfortunately I’ve spent my current budget and will be enjoying my current splurge for a good while before my next upgrade. You guys have a quite a colorful language to explain sound and I am learning as I go along on what names are given to certain sound characteristics, so bear with me.
 
As part of this last upgrade I've purchased a set of Grado SR80e and Sennheiser HD-600. Both amazing but I’ve spent about a week with the Grado's and a day with the Senn's and even though I do love the Senn's it was not as much of a transformative experience as it was with the Grado’s. Now I do understand that the 600's are designed to be much more of a neutral HP but the 80e's are just so unbelievably clear. Especially the mids and highs. And for 99 bucks I find the 80's to be an incredible value.
 
In the end I guess I got bit by the Grado sound bug. Moving up into Grado's line like the sr225e or sr325e can you tell me how these are different from the sr80e's? I suppose what I'm asking is what does one gain in sound characteristics in the 225 and 325 for the money spent. I know this is maybe hard to explain and the best answer is maybe to just put them on and see for myself, and I will eventually but would like to get opinions from those that have gone down this road.
 
Thanks for all the advice and to those who have helped noobs like me with their quest for the perfect sound

 
Jeff

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Yea....congrats jeffritz.......every grado made sound great.....not a bad one to my knowledge.....it only gets better as you go up the line for the most part.

 
Being relatively new to the audiophile scene, I'm by no means an audiophile more of an enthusiast at this stage, it’s hard to believe it gets even better. Unfortunately I’ve spent my current budget and will be enjoying my current splurge for a good while before my next upgrade. You guys have a quite a colorful language to explain sound and I am learning as I go along on what names are given to certain sound characteristics, so bear with me.
 
As part of this last upgrade I've purchased a set of Grado SR80e and Sennheiser HD-600. Both amazing but I’ve spent about a week with the Grado's and a day with the Senn's and even though I do love the Senn's it was not as much of a transformative experience as it was with the Grado’s. Now I do understand that the 600's are designed to be much more of a neutral HP but the 80e's are just so unbelievably clear. Especially the mids and highs. And for 99 bucks I find the 80's to be an incredible value.
 
In the end I guess I got bit by the Grado sound bug. Moving up into Grado's line like the sr225e or sr325e can you tell me how these are different from the sr80e's? I suppose what I'm asking is what does one gain in sound characteristics in the 225 and 325 for the money spent. I know this is maybe hard to explain and the best answer is maybe to just put them on and see for myself, and I will eventually but would like to get opinions from those that have gone down this road.
 
Thanks for all the advice and to those who have helped noobs like me with their quest for the perfect sound

 
Jeff

You will get a little better bass...still fast and tight like the 225...just a lilltle better.....better detail and I know that is a hard one to believe...but I found it to be true. 
 
Some will say the top end of the treble is really bright, to the point it hurts the ears...personally I did not find it that way.
 
I found it to be a more refined 225i and also has a better build quality
 
Enjoy your 225i......hang around this grado thread.....the guys here are super cool  

 

[Focker]

I agree...typically the people in the Grado threads are really helpful and cordial. Pretty rare that people start acting up. Ive really enjoyed the discussions over the past few years.

 

[jeffritz]

Thanks for the info exactly what I was looking for.
 
This may be less of an issue with the higher models of Grado's. SR80e sound great through both my Schiit Asgard 2 and Vali. Vali being tube the output impedance is 6.5 ohms. From my understanding tube amps typically have a higher output impedance. This will sometimes cause a noise floor or hiss to be heard on high sensitivity / low impedance headphones. It’s not bad but I can hear some on my vali / sr80e combo.
 
The answer may very well be to live with it but curious if anything could be done to correct for this. Does something like a lo/hi impedance adapter help? If so does it have any negative impact on SQ? Any other options available?
 
Thanks..... again!

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Focker, you were one of the people that recommended a 325i to me....years ago.....that got me hooked  

 
lol, cool, I know we've had some interactions over the years....I liked the 325s quite a lot. Have you tried any of the "e" series yet? Everyone is raving about them, as I'm sure you've seen...I'm eager to give them a go

No i have not heard an 'e" series Grado, yet.
 
I eventually will, but I do not know when that will be.
 
I would love to hear an RS1e....to see if I like it more than the RS1i

 

[stacker45]

Speaking of wich, I know that the i serie stands for ''improved'', but I'm not sure about what the e stands for, is it, '' evolution''? Nevertheless, as far as I'm concerned, they could have called them, ''D ''for Different, and ''DS'', Different Still. I'm kidding of course, but it is how I see them, especially from the RS2 and up.

 

[campagr]

I love my Grado 80. They were the first headphones I ever brought. They sound great on my Ipod and on the lap top. Since getting them I have started collecting vintage AKG's. I know they are completely different, but both have very strong points. The best bit about Grados are they are plug and play. I agree with everything about the cord. I would like a detachable cord. Buy hey you can not have everything.

 

[rovopio]

hi all...
 
im checking out little dot I+ reviews atm... i have around +/- $150 to spend for an amp. buying it from ebay will cost me another 45%-ish on import tax. so before buying i'd really like to know other members experiences with the amp.
 
my headphone is sr80e... what kinds of improvements will i get from the LD I+...?
 
btw, im new to audio speak... i've read this http://www.head-fi.org/a/describing-sound-a-glossary but it's a little confusing here and there to be honest.
i'd like to ask specifically about resolution. other than sr80e, i also had shure 940 before it broke. i felt the shure940 has more details than my sr80e.
 
is that what in audio-speak by "resolution"? because i couldnt grasp the sound glossary explanation of resolution..
 
will getting LD 1+ nets me more details and clarity (resolution?) than straight PC + fiio e10k...?
aslo... does LD 1+ includes mini to RCA cables in the package?
 
cheersss