[TeRrAPh0eNiX]

Hey all, i've been extremely happy with my Grado SR60 for the longest time; i really have not heard a better-sounding headphone. I really don't need an upgrade, but i'm just wondering how it would be to go up to the SR125 or SR225. I'm using it pretty much exclusively with my Rio Karma, which i have also been extremely pleased with. Should i focus on buying a portable amplifier first, or an upgraded headphone? Thanks all for your input.

Also, when i'm at home, i listen to my regular PC speakers most of the time. They're not that bad, but when i go to my Grados the difference is pretty big. I don't mind though, it's weird. =-\

 

[Kirosia]

The sr-60 doesn't improve too much with a amp. Skip the 125 and go straight to the 225/325/MS-2 phones.

 

[Jahn]

my advice - if you are happy with you rig, grab your wallet and..run far far away and never read here again. count yourself among the fortunate and tell your grandchildren how you once escaped the head-fi black hole.

 

[Kirosia]

I agree with Jahn. If you're perfectly happy, don't upgrade. If you do, you'll never be satisfied.

 

[TeRrAPh0eNiX]

Yeah, but sometimes i crave just a little bit more. Sadly, that's what all of you have in common as well!

Buying nothing else also leaves me more money to buy CD's, which i have been doing a lot lately.

 

[Jahn]

more music is always the best way to go - if i had any desire to increase my 6 days worth of tunes on my ipod, i'd just turn to my 6 weeks of tunes in my cd and vinyl collection. at this point it's all about enjoyment of music - so if you have something else to collect, go get it first!

 

[go_vtec]

If you like your SR-60, then you will love SR-225. I found it to be one of the best bang for the bucks in Grado line. It sounded superb without an amp from portable or receiver. A powerful amp do make SR-225 sounds even better, but I would buy SR-225 first, then get an amp later.

 

[Oddball]

Just my opinion: don't upgrade! Buy more music!

After all, once you upgrade those Grados you'll want to see what a better amp will do for them. And once you got the amp, you'll probably need a better source. And once you have that source, it's the cables that drag you down. Then you want to tweak/replace your headphones...

...or at least that's what it's like for most people. Escape the cycle!



But if you really want to upgrade, personally, I'd go for the SR225.

 

[Jam_Master_J]

Hey, if I were you I'd look into contacting veritas ( a member here). He has a large amount of grado sr-325 drivers in housings. What you could do is buy them from him and pull off the sr-60 driver housings and replace them with the 325s. Would be a good cheap way to get a significant upgrade. I'm thinking about doing the same thing with my Ms-1s.

 

[Head Creep]

I'm falling into the same trap. I've had my SR-60's for about 2 months and, as much as I love them, I'm finding flaws that could be improved with more money. I remember when I bought a $30 pair of Sony clip-on headphones because they had "good" (read: insanely overbloated) bass and thinking those were expensive. Goodbye wallet, hello MS-1/SR-225 with Go-Vibe/SR-71 (in my dreams and an accountant's nightmares)...

 

[saint.panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by go_vtec If you like your SR-60, then you will love SR-225. I found it to be one of the best bang for the bucks in Grado line. It sounded superb without an amp from portable or receiver. A powerful amp do make SR-225 sounds even better, but I would buy SR-225 first, then get an amp later.

If you HAVE to upgrade, and seeing you really like Grados...go with the SR225.
A smaller upgrade would be trying some flat pads or vwap pads for the sR60.

 

[TeRrAPh0eNiX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jam_Master_J Hey, if I were you I'd look into contacting veritas ( a member here). He has a large amount of grado sr-325 drivers in housings. What you could do is buy them from him and pull off the sr-60 driver housings and replace them with the 325s. Would be a good cheap way to get a significant upgrade. I'm thinking about doing the same thing with my Ms-1s.

Oh sweet. I'll talk to him

 

[pufftissue]

Terraphoenix,

My two cents: In case you are torn b/w the SR-225 and the MS-2:

Once you've gotten a taste of the good stuff with the SR-60, just upgrade all the way. I agree--no use going to the SR-80, the to the 125, etc. I've heard all the way up to the SR-325, and I feel the SR-225 is the best of the line. Mind you, I also have an MS-2, which I bought on the advice of this board, and I must say that they are a little too bright for me, and not as liquid as the SR-225, even after sticking the todd's flat pads on them. This is a minority opinion.

So I would upgrade from SR-60 to the SR-225. I find that there is a huge difference in sound quality. It's not twice the headphone, but sometimes that last 25% or so SEEMS like all you've been missing. Kind of like when you realize that one little riff of a song is what makes it special. Still just a 10 second part, but it is that 10 seconds that makes the song.

Sometimes you just want what you want. Like you may have the greatest girl in the world, and there isn't one bad thing you could say. But she isn't the right one for you. And when the right one comes, you can't say the new girl is twice as good as the ex. But she is the one. Headphones are similar things. So, now that I have totally lost my train, I wanted to say that for me, it seems the SR-225 is the one for me. The MS-2, there's nothing wrong with it, but for some reason I keep liking the Sr-225 better. Again, a minority view.

If you have the feeling that the SR-60 is right for you, stick with it.

 

[Permonic]

IMO, there're 3 upGrado groups. If you are about to upgrade, it's wise to choose cans from next group, not from the same one (disclaimer: the grouping is based on price/performance ratio).

Group 1:
Grado SR-40's, SR-60's, SR-80's, SR-125's
Alessandro MS-1's

Group 2:
Grado SR-225's, SR-325's, RS-2's
Alessandro MS-2's

Group 3:
Grado RS-1's, PS-1's, HP-1's, HP-2's
Alessandro MS Pro

No idea where to place SR-100's, SR-200's, SR-300's and HP-3's.