[Hifi Man]

I'm having a problem with what I think are the so called "Scooped mids" in my AKG K240 headphones. They lack detail in some areas like fast and loud music. Things tend to sound distant, like I was in the back of the audience listening to a rock concert. I have to EQ the treble up and it still doesn't sound all that great. Slower music that has a spacious sound sounds good because of it's nice soundstage. They're just not very fun headphones in my opinion. My dilemma involves the Grado sr80i too. First of all, I don't own the grado sr80i, but I've been strongly considering getting them. In fact I've ordered and cancelled my order like 5 times, I'm so on the fence about getting them. This headphone is lauded as a rock and metal headphone. What I'm not too sure about is how it would perform with slower rock, which makes up about half of what I listen to. I know they would give me a great rock and metal thrill, but that's not all I'm looking for.
 
I'm getting tired of trying to find a sweet spot of headphones through reading reviews all day, because seriously, I've read miles of text in reviews and threads. It's become sort of a love/hate hobby of mine. I do want to actually buy something eventually. 
 
/g/, which I've been having a very long discussion with is very split between the grado in option. One person said it's like a cruel joke, kind of like recommending an awful porno anime to a person who's new to anime. If you know what I mean (a.k.a. boku no pico). Others say the grados are exactly what I'm looking for.
 
I seriously don't know what to do. I listen to music all day, so headphones are an important factor of my life.

 

[TrollDragon]

So just order the SR-80i's from Amazon and check them out for a week. Keep all the packaging pristine and if you don't like them send them back. Do the same with a pair of SR-225i's as well.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Hifi Man]

Quote:

So just order the SR-80i's from Amazon and check them out for a week. Keep all the packaging pristine and if you don't like them send them back. Do the same with a pair of SR-225i's as well.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

/g/ seems to be recommending the sennheiser hd558 because it would have non-scooped mids and a good sound signature. I'm thinking those may be good, because the data they showed on the graphs (which admittedly I don't completely understand) seems to suggest that the headphones would be what I'm looking for.
 
/g/ says the grados are really distorted.

 

[TrollDragon]

Everyone touts the Grado's as the King of Rock, I personally have never heard them but I'd like to round out my collection with a pair of 225i's soon. I haven't heard any Senn's either I can't comment on the sound. Amazon carries those as well so check them out with the Grado's.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Hifi Man]

Quote:

Everyone touts the Grado's as the King of Rock, I personally have never heard them but I'd like to round out my collection with a pair of 225i's soon. I haven't heard any Senn's either I can't comment on the sound. Amazon carries those as well so check them out with the Grado's.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

What kind of rock? How about modest mouse? Gosh, I seriously couldn't name all the rock bands I listen to. How does it fair for post rock? I get that one headphone may not be the best for all, but I don't like the idea of having to switch off the grados as soon as I want to listen to something besides metal or rock. I'd really like to hear a difference from my AKGs though. I was thinking about returning the AKG headphones, and getting the sennheisers. But blah blah blah, I'm obviously thinking this over way too much.

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Quote:

Everyone touts the Grado's as the King of Rock, I personally have never heard them but I'd like to round out my collection with a pair of 225i's soon. I haven't heard any Senn's either I can't comment on the sound. Amazon carries those as well so check them out with the Grado's.

Sent from my HTC Desire HD A9191 using Tapatalk 2

What kind of rock? How about modest mouse? Gosh, I seriously couldn't name all the rock bands I listen to. How does it fair for post rock? I get that one headphone may not be the best for all, but I don't like the idea of having to switch off the grados as soon as I want to listen to something besides metal or rock. I'd really like to hear a difference from my AKGs though. I was thinking about returning the AKG headphones, and getting the sennheisers. But blah blah blah, I'm obviously thinking this over way too much.

Rock is really unfairly limiting Grado. They work well with any string instrument driven music.

But keep in mind that Grado trends to be a love or hate affair. They tend to be on the bright side. Keep that in mind.

 

[Hifi Man]

Quote:

Rock is really unfairly limiting Grado. They work well with any string instrument driven music.

But keep in mind that Grado trends to be a love or hate affair. They tend to be on the bright side. Keep that in mind.

So if the grados are going to be a love hate thing, is there a headphone that hits more of a sweet spot between the AKG and Grado? I haven't had the AKG for more than a month yet so I could still return them. I'm considering getting a more expensive pair of headphones. I could just have one pair for at home use.
 
I also hear the grados have no instrument separation.

 

[Hifi Man]

I think I know why these headphones are so hard to adjust to. I was looking at a golden ears frequency chart and there's an upper mid bump in the bose AE2, which my ears have been accustomed to after years of listening to the bose. That's the one discernible difference I can make that I wish that the akg had more upper mids. 

 

[Lorspeaker]

u NEED to listen to rock on a GRADO....
its the PATH....in HEADFI. 
OBEY 
 

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Quote:

u NEED to listen to rock on a GRADO....
its the PATH....in HEADFI. 
OBEY 
 

 
It is true, they need to be listened to to be understood. I do think that rock sounds fantastic on them as well.
 
Quote:

So if the grados are going to be a love hate thing, is there a headphone that hits more of a sweet spot between the AKG and Grado? I haven't had the AKG for more than a month yet so I could still return them. I'm considering getting a more expensive pair of headphones. I could just have one pair for at home use.
 
I also hear the grados have no instrument separation.

 
There is instrument separation, but not as much as you'd expect, especially given that they are open. The way that they are tuned they have a brightness that begets a certain feeling of clarity. The soundstage doesn't help either. I think they have the smallest soundstage of any open headphone I've heard. But somehow all of this works for a lot of string music. Everything gets right up in your face while you get taken away by the energy of the music.

 

[Hifi Man]

Quote:

 
It is true, they need to be listened to to be understood. I do think that rock sounds fantastic on them as well.
 
 
There is instrument separation, but not as much as you'd expect, especially given that they are open. The way that they are tuned they have a brightness that begets a certain feeling of clarity. The soundstage doesn't help either. I think they have the smallest soundstage of any open headphone I've heard. But somehow all of this works for a lot of string music. Everything gets right up in your face while you get taken away by the energy of the music.

I'm just looking for a little more forwardness though. This sort of seems like if I needed a little bit bigger hammer and I get myself a sledgehammer. I was thinking maybe just a bit more color around the upper mid range. Maybe the sennheiser? At least those have a higher upper mid range response.
 
Maybe I should try the sennheiser hd558

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Quote:

I'm just looking for a little more forwardness though. This sort of seems like if I needed a little bit bigger hammer and I get myself a sledgehammer. I was thinking maybe just a bit more color around the upper mid range. Maybe the sennheiser? At least those have a higher upper mid range response.
 
Maybe I should try the sennheiser hd558

 
Both are probably worth a listen. Hopefully it works out well for you.