[maestrochin29]

@Sunshinereggae , thanks for drawing out a detail of the 880's . So do you feel that cleaner sound signature does better as in has a more lively effect for heavy metal , when compared to forward sounding Grado' s ?

 

[Banman]

I've had both (the BD880 in 600ohm though), and I actually prefer the Grado sr80e.
May be due to my choice of music listening. I used to listen to a lot of hard rock and metal, but now as I'm getting older I find my self listening to more soft rock, pop, soul, even classical and jazz.
Could be my ears are less sensitive to treble too.
Out of the Oppo's headphone jack, the 600 ohm beyers sounded good, but I had to turn the volume all the way up on some discs. Not so with the 32 ohm Grados.
The beyers sounded better when driven by my little Bravo v1 with Tesla gold pin tube, to my ears.
The Grados can sound decent driven by a phone or laptop; as decent as the source material anyway.
To my ears, the Grados sound more detailed, but that could be an aural illusion because I have some moderate hearing loss and the more forward midrange might be better suited to me.
In build quality, of course the Beyers win hands down with their aluminum vs. Grado's plastic.
For comfort, the Beyers are really nice with the padded headband and the velour ear pads, but the Grados are not discomforting to me either, especially after stretched/bent a bit.
The Grados are lighter and better suited to using on-the-go.
The Beyers have a nice, long coiled cord (or my pair did anyway) and are well suited for home use.
I got my Beyers for $150, barely used so it wasn't a matter of price to me, but I didn't like them a whole lot personally, so I sold them.
I may sell my 80e's as well; I just ordered a pair of used woodied 225's for $300 and hopefully I'll prefer them at that price!
Also I'm interested in tryint some IEM's, probably the JVC HA-FX850.
My advice is buy them both and try to find the Beyers used, then maybe sell the ones you don't like as much.

 

[maestrochin29]

  I've had both (the BD880 in 600ohm though), and I actually prefer the Grado sr80e.
May be due to my choice of music listening. I used to listen to a lot of hard rock and metal, but now as I'm getting older I find my self listening to more soft rock, pop, soul, even classical and jazz.
Could be my ears are less sensitive to treble too.
Out of the Oppo's headphone jack, the 600 ohm beyers sounded good, but I had to turn the volume all the way up on some discs. Not so with the 32 ohm Grados.
The beyers sounded better when driven by my little Bravo v1 with Tesla gold pin tube, to my ears.
The Grados can sound decent driven by a phone or laptop; as decent as the source material anyway.
To my ears, the Grados sound more detailed, but that could be an aural illusion because I have some moderate hearing loss and the more forward midrange might be better suited to me.
In build quality, of course the Beyers win hands down with their aluminum vs. Grado's plastic.
For comfort, the Beyers are really nice with the padded headband and the velour ear pads, but the Grados are not discomforting to me either, especially after stretched/bent a bit.
The Grados are lighter and better suited to using on-the-go.
The Beyers have a nice, long coiled cord (or my pair did anyway) and are well suited for home use.
I got my Beyers for $150, barely used so it wasn't a matter of price to me, but I didn't like them a whole lot personally, so I sold them.
I may sell my 80e's as well; I just ordered a pair of used woodied 225's for $300 and hopefully I'll prefer them at that price!
Also I'm interested in tryint some IEM's, probably the JVC HA-FX850.
My advice is buy them both and try to find the Beyers used, then maybe sell the ones you don't like as much.

Hi , then that's great actually. Since im looking for a more forward and effective sound at the mid-range , and i already have a the UE6k that gives me the v sounding signature that don't do awesome with heavy metal. There was another doubt that puzzles me , about the sr225e. It has a thick spongy padding covering the diameter of the ear-cups , but the drivers seems to be bare and uncovered. I wonder if that could add to further harshness and due to that the sr80e would be preferable since the drivers are covered there. Also what do you feel about the soundstage when comparing the sr80e with the BD880 ?

 

[Banman]

To me the Grados have a better soundstage and imaging, which is probably due to their being fully open and may be in part due to the more pronounced mids and highs.
 
If you want to buy a really nice but cheap headphone, try the Superlux HD668B. They're cheaply built, but come with two different lengths of cord (detachable just like extension cords with a mini plug hanging off of the left ear-cup).
This would make them great for home or travel, although they're pretty big.
I use my own, high quality extension cord instead.
They're 64 ohm, and play fairly loud before distorting, and have decent bass and mids but a softer high end that I actually like more than the Grado's but they're not as detailed. I got mine used for $32 on Amazon.
 
Good luck, and happy shopping!
Brian

 

[maestrochin29]

Thanks Brian , yeeah will enjoy my shopping very soon  , all the best to you too

 

[Banman]

No problem!
I forgot your other question about the ear cushions on the 225's.
Not being an audio engineer I don't know if the open cushions would add any harshness.
I had  the 225 before and thought it was kind of "treblesome" but not really "harsh", but if you can find them at a good price they are a good set of 'phones.
Then you could always add some foam in the middle if you wanted to try to soften the hights. In fact I will try that with mine when they arrive if I think I need to.

 

[SunshineReggae]

@Sunshinereggae , thanks for drawing out a detail of the 880's . So do you feel that cleaner sound signature does better as in has a more lively effect for heavy metal , when compared to forward sounding Grado' s ?

 
I think if recording is good, it will sound good with these headphones. Otherwise there is way too many variables in terms of what will be better the grado or the beyer. That you can only determine when you personally compare them.

 

[SunshineReggae]

   
 
I think you've been peeking in my bedroom.

 
I often wonder why people make such a thing of the treble peak when it is, as  you suggest, quite effectively addressed by tone controls. Answer of course is that most people use dedicated HP amps, which is another mystery I've been unable to solve, In my view a good integrated or receiver (I use a Marantz SR4023 stereo receiver) can give results as good as any mid-tier dedicated amp. plus giving the convenience of remote volume (in 1db increments yet!) and switchable tone controls. I use -2db treble and +2db bass, which just takes the sting off the treble without losing bite or detail and gives a slightly fuller sound without muddying the bass. Simple Solution No. 463.  
 
Oh, I apologise to the OP if I sounded a bit cranky in my answer. Must've been a bad day or something.

 
Well I speak also ofcourse from personal experience I use marantz pm7200 and that works very well too.
 
Big objection for people I think is that it makes it seem like the sound is no longer 'pure' with tonal controls. Ofcourse that is silly because no headphone is pure in the first place and they all are just deviations in some way or another but I think is how the human mind will see it.

 

[Banman]

Well said.
I know I obsess over all the minutiae of the different variables in the sound chain from source to headphone or speaker.
I just spent about an hour switching out tubes and using test tones with my decibel meter to see which tubes have most gain.
We audiophiles are a silly breed; we just need to relax and enjoy the music, haha...

 

[Liu Junyuan]

Hi, I just received the SR225e's two days ago. The cushions you are referring to are the "L-Cushions." The driver in the middle is not entirely exposed; a thin layer of mesh protects it. And yes, these cushions, which some Grado afficionados have recommended for the SR80s, do open up the sound and tighten up the bass. Be warned, however, that they are much less comfortable than some of the other cushions Grado offers. I am still trying to decide whether I will keep these. 

 

[sinnottj]

Hi, I just received the SR225e's two days ago. The cushions you are referring to are the "L-Cushions." The driver in the middle is not entirely exposed; a thin layer of mesh protects it. And yes, these cushions, which some Grado afficionados have recommended for the SR80s, do open up the sound and tighten up the bass. Be warned, however, that they are much less comfortable than some of the other cushions Grado offers. I am still trying to decide whether I will keep these. 

You can improve the comfort by gently hand washing them in warm water & mild detergent. This helps to 'break them in' a bit, and takes away some of the scratchy ness.

 

[maestrochin29]

  Well said.
I know I obsess over all the minutiae of the different variables in the sound chain from source to headphone or speaker.
I just spent about an hour switching out tubes and using test tones with my decibel meter to see which tubes have most gain.
We audiophiles are a silly breed; we just need to relax and enjoy the music, haha...

Well said that , there were times when i got so analytic and obsessive that i forgot how to enjoy the music coming out of my cans 

 

[maestrochin29]

  Hi, I just received the SR225e's two days ago. The cushions you are referring to are the "L-Cushions." The driver in the middle is not entirely exposed; a thin layer of mesh protects it. And yes, these cushions, which some Grado afficionados have recommended for the SR80s, do open up the sound and tighten up the bass. Be warned, however, that they are much less comfortable than some of the other cushions Grado offers. I am still trying to decide whether I will keep these. 

So do you feel that the SR80 is better in terms of comfort than the 225 ? You could sell them to me however , if it comes in my budget  

 

[Banman]

  Hi, I just received the SR225e's two days ago. The cushions you are referring to are the "L-Cushions." The driver in the middle is not entirely exposed; a thin layer of mesh protects it. And yes, these cushions, which some Grado afficionados have recommended for the SR80s, do open up the sound and tighten up the bass. Be warned, however, that they are much less comfortable than some of the other cushions Grado offers. I am still trying to decide whether I will keep these. 

These are an alternative set of pads, but they seem a bit pricey.
I don't know if the link will work on here though.
If not, it's t t v j audio dot com and they are the Grado flat pads.
http://www.ttvjaudio.com/TTVJ_Flat_Pads_p/aat0000100.htm

 

[Banman]

   
Well I speak also ofcourse from personal experience I use marantz pm7200 and that works very well too.
 
Big objection for people I think is that it makes it seem like the sound is no longer 'pure' with tonal controls. Ofcourse that is silly because no headphone is pure in the first place and they all are just deviations in some way or another but I think is how the human mind will see it.

Very well sad!
I think audiophiles are mainly music lovers who are perfectionists, trying to achieve the "perfect" sound.
Like you say, it's mostly in the mind.