[timothy77]

hello everyone!

im brand new on this fine forums of yours. so hi from hamburg, germany. im timothy

im in the market for some headphone and have been reading quite some threads here. to give you some background. my listening equipment currently consists of a yamaha ax-1090 amp, canton ergo sc-l's, technics sl1210 mkii and an ipod.
i cant really describe one music style/ genre im into because im open to many of 'em. from soundtracks, electronic, hiphop etc. here's some of it: tinyurl

im looking for a pair of open or closed headphones in the price range $100-300. id be using 'em mostly at home but also connect them on the go ipod/ laptop.

naturally i took a long look at the headphones buyer's guide. im leaning to a grado product. im here ask whether you'd say, they'd be fine for the kind of music i like.

im torn between the sr125 (because of the 1/4 connector) or to go all the way to the sr325i.

i hope i covered most of the necessary information. im looking forward to your input.
best regards, timothy

ps: also id like to ask for a good shop to buy them. a friend from la will bring them along on an europe vacation. so amazon.com, goodcans.com etc., any recommendation?

 

[Seba]

Since you live in Europe, I would suggest you to order some Alessanrdo MS-1's and bowl pads. Give them a proper burn-in and listen if you like the sound.

If you want more treble energy than MS-1's offer --> Grado's
If you like the sound as is --> Alessandro's or Grado RS-2

Those MS-1's are very good and they give you the idea of Grado's sound but slightly tamed.

 

[scytheavatar]

Generally the way to go for Grados is the SR60, SR80 or the SR225. The SR125 is pretty much a minimal improvement from the SR80, while the SR325 IMHO is a step back from the SR225.

 

[moogoob]

325is are great, but not for everyone. If you can put up with their sonic signature, you'll find they do highs and female voices as if they were more expensive cans, have a deep and punchy bass and do both high and low volume nicely.

I say go with the 80s. They aren't that much worse than the 325is, and in fact sound almost better out of worse outputs. They are easily one of the most forgiving cans I've tried.

 

[majkel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif while the SR325 IMHO is a step back from the SR225.

Hehehe, what do you connect them to? The SR325i's are significant improvement over the SR225's while the latter are hardly any progress compared to the SR60's.

 

[tjumper78]

OP, youre like me. you like all kinds of music.
i'd say go with alessandro ms2. made by grado, but it's better for all-around purposes.
just remember that the grado headphones are not the most comfortable products. a lot of people (who like the sound) do not use them because theyre uncomfortable. some find them comfortable.
you can always replace the pads with the yellow sennheiser pads for more comfort.

 

[timothy77]

First of all. Thanks y'all for your input.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seba /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since you live in Europe, I would suggest you to order some Alessanrdo MS-1's and bowl pads. Give them a proper burn-in and listen if you like the sound. If you want more treble energy than MS-1's offer --> Grado's If you like the sound as is --> Alessandro's or Grado RS-2 Those MS-1's are very good and they give you the idea of Grado's sound but slightly tamed.

Thanks for the heads up. Didnt know about this company. Gonna try to find a shop where I can try them.
Would you say that the alessandro products are better suited for various music genres in comparison to stock grado's?

Quote:

Originally Posted by scytheavatar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Generally the way to go for Grados is the SR60, SR80 or the SR225. The SR125 is pretty much a minimal improvement from the SR80, while the SR325 IMHO is a step back from the SR225.

I thought SR125 might be a good idea in comparison to SR80 on the 'low' end because of the different connector.

Quote:

Originally Posted by moogoob /img/forum/go_quote.gif 325is are great, but not for everyone. If you can put up with their sonic signature, you'll find they do highs and female voices as if they were more expensive cans, have a deep and punchy bass and do both high and low volume nicely. I say go with the 80s. They aren't that much worse than the 325is, and in fact sound almost better out of worse outputs. They are easily one of the most forgiving cans I've tried.

Read in your signature you own both the SR80 and SR325i. I wont be getting a headphone amp. Ill be using the headphone with my amp, ipod and imac/ laptop. Considering this, would you rather recommend the SR80 and accordingly the SR325i a 'waste' of money?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjumper78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif OP, youre like me. you like all kinds of music. i'd say go with alessandro ms2. made by grado, but it's better for all-around purposes. just remember that the grado headphones are not the most comfortable products. a lot of people (who like the sound) do not use them because theyre uncomfortable. some find them comfortable. you can always replace the pads with the yellow sennheiser pads for more comfort.

Ok, I will try to find a shop to try them. Thanks also for your tip regarding the pads too!

Oh and, I'd love some pointers where to buy headphones (online shops) in the US. Thanks!

 

[Callas]

Hi Timothy, welcome!

Unless you are fixed to Grado lines, looks like Denon D2000 or even D5000 can be a great can for your musical taste! They are closed, elegant simple design with amazing sound! (Great bass!!! not too much, just about right and articulate tones on every level! I own D5000 but D2000. However you can find enough information about both cans that many people says D2000 are as good as D5000 for less price!) I had Grado SR 60, 80, and 325i before. Believe or not, among those headphones, SR 60 was my favorite! I found 325i is somewhat unbalanced, too much characters...but as I research on Grado lines, I really want to try that famous rock n roll SR 225! Oh, by all means it is always the plus to match one of these high end headphones with a proper(?) amp! I just found that you won't be getting a headphone amp...so my final suggestion would be on Grado SR60 OR SR225 if you want to try something that's supposely better??? ---> excuse me for recommending the one that I have not even actually tried on but folks here totally got me on SR 225 so...Anyway~I hope you find the right one and good luck with that~!

 

[lacrossebowe8]

I have heard every grado up to and including the rs 2, but I have never heard the sr-60.

From the sr-80 to the sr-125 you get the 1/4 inch plug, and I think it is more resolving and has better bass impact than the sr-80's. The sr-225's which I own are even more resolving than the previous models. I got them over the 325 because the 325s are heavy (on your head), very aggressive up top, which some love. I also wanted to save money to go to one of the reference headphones soon.

The rs-2 is absolutely amazing, but out of your price range. I think the 225 is the best headphone from grado that is not a fortune. The 80 gets you so close, though, you should listen and decide if the extra $100 is worth it. I think it is.

 

[Cankin]

I would not recommend SR325i to someone who has never heard Grado. At your price range, I'd recommend SR225 or used RS2

 

[paaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lacrossebowe8 /img/forum/go_quote.gif From the sr-80 to the sr-125 you get the 1/4 inch plug, and I think it is more resolving and has better bass impact than the sr-80's.

that's exactly what I heard when auditioning mine, so I went for the sr125. they didn't have higher end models so cant help with that.
I can tell you that I'm feeling really sad selling the sr125 to found the sr325i... I really liked them. I have not yet received the sr325i's (semi-blind buy on internet after short not so local audition) so I hope they'll be what I expect.

...

 

[wolf18t]

If I were you I would listen to your choosen Grado model first before comitting to buy whenever possible. They're not everyone taste and all music genre. They are best suited for rock and jazz.

I agree that Denon D2000 could be a good choice in your case. They're good all rounder and should be better value in Europe than Grados. In the this case Alessandros would a better choice as they have a different marketing strategy.

 

[wpfloridian]

I have the GS1000's and the 125's....got for the 225's if you have the budget. I not you will be happy with the 125's. They ALL have the great resolution; they only improve about 10% up the spectrum as the price increases..yes; a sweet 10%. If you want I will sell you my 125's...drop me a line if you are interested.

 

[japc]

You should get the Grado SR-80 for a start. But being in Europe that can be a bit hard (I managed to convince a friend that was in a conference in the US to buy them) and much more expensive (thank my friend for that also

)

Alternatively go for the Alessandro MS-1, I think they are sold in europe. But anyway you go try to do a sound check before, ymmv.

 

[nickchen]

If you are situated in the EU and buy a Grado instead of the (almost similar) Alessandro, you are either rich, uninformed or a pathological metal listener (or all three together). An Alessandro also beats a Grado easely when it goes to genre bandwidth.

You get Alessandros exclusively online, the prices are inclusive worldwide shipping. IMO, the MS1 is the sweet spot, you finally end up at 60ish € plus customs.

Note that Grados and Alessandros don't scale as much as other brands, thus the "smaller" models already offer >80% of the highend models (I get propably killed for that statement).