rligeti
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
- Posts
- 139
- Likes
- 10
Hi All,
I wrote a little while back about how disappointed I was in my new 325s and I got alot of suggestions, most of which, to your credit, were spot on; ranging from burn in to new pads, etc. First off, I'll admit that all I've ever used for source is an IPOD and my laptop.
When I first got them and listened to them it was like someone was poking me in the brain with an ice pick. They were borderline unbearable. Harsh. Bright. Cold. No bass. Uncomfortable. Soundstage sucked.
Then, thinking I was totally under driving them (and I was), I recently added a Headroom Total Airhed amp (not a bad addition and it saves the batteries on the IPOD) and that helped a bit with filling in the holes in the sound, cutting some of the harshness and ni general warming up the sound.
Many of you said I should get the flat pads and I did and it was a HUGE improvement both in sound and comfort. But, the BIGGEST improvement was the removal of the P.O.S. radio shack 1/4 to 1/8 adaptor and replacing it with the Grado adaptor. For lack of a better description imagine listening to a glass blender full of nuts and bolts on speed 10 through a stethoscope. I could hardly wait to take them off even though i was trying to convince myself that they were so great. They weren't.
With the new pads and the new adaptor, these are totally different headphones, even running off crappy source. The downside of these improvements is that I can hear every flaw in both my source and listening material. In short, they are now everything I ever expected an more after falling in love with my SR80s.
I was listening to ABBA Gold tonight and it was unlike I ever heard. There is so much frickin detail in it that I never knew was there! It sounded like Anni and Agnetha were singing to me in my living room. Then I listened to UB40 CCCP, live in Moscow which before was intolerably bright so it was my "improvent benchmark" and it's amazing, to the point that I can identify individuals in the crowd cheering and clapping. The soundstage and separation is about 3 times what it was. Right now i'm on Boy George, the Crying game and it's.... perfect. Amazing.. Tomorrow I'll give them a listen on my HK amp.
I never could have imagined what I was missing while NOT listening to headphones. I thank you all for your input and advice. I am now and forever a headphone junkie.
Rob
PS, you can sign me up for "Team Grado"
I wrote a little while back about how disappointed I was in my new 325s and I got alot of suggestions, most of which, to your credit, were spot on; ranging from burn in to new pads, etc. First off, I'll admit that all I've ever used for source is an IPOD and my laptop.
When I first got them and listened to them it was like someone was poking me in the brain with an ice pick. They were borderline unbearable. Harsh. Bright. Cold. No bass. Uncomfortable. Soundstage sucked.
Then, thinking I was totally under driving them (and I was), I recently added a Headroom Total Airhed amp (not a bad addition and it saves the batteries on the IPOD) and that helped a bit with filling in the holes in the sound, cutting some of the harshness and ni general warming up the sound.
Many of you said I should get the flat pads and I did and it was a HUGE improvement both in sound and comfort. But, the BIGGEST improvement was the removal of the P.O.S. radio shack 1/4 to 1/8 adaptor and replacing it with the Grado adaptor. For lack of a better description imagine listening to a glass blender full of nuts and bolts on speed 10 through a stethoscope. I could hardly wait to take them off even though i was trying to convince myself that they were so great. They weren't.
With the new pads and the new adaptor, these are totally different headphones, even running off crappy source. The downside of these improvements is that I can hear every flaw in both my source and listening material. In short, they are now everything I ever expected an more after falling in love with my SR80s.
I was listening to ABBA Gold tonight and it was unlike I ever heard. There is so much frickin detail in it that I never knew was there! It sounded like Anni and Agnetha were singing to me in my living room. Then I listened to UB40 CCCP, live in Moscow which before was intolerably bright so it was my "improvent benchmark" and it's amazing, to the point that I can identify individuals in the crowd cheering and clapping. The soundstage and separation is about 3 times what it was. Right now i'm on Boy George, the Crying game and it's.... perfect. Amazing.. Tomorrow I'll give them a listen on my HK amp.
I never could have imagined what I was missing while NOT listening to headphones. I thank you all for your input and advice. I am now and forever a headphone junkie.
Rob
PS, you can sign me up for "Team Grado"