[cash68]

I have a friend with a few pairs of Grados that he raves about. I have some older cans, like a goofy Zenith quadraphonic monster, some recently acquired Pioneer SE-205s (brand new in box never used!, FREE!

) and the typical DJ Sony MDR-V700s. I listened to them all, back to back, and I don't get the grados... the bass was muffled and weak, and the highs weren't very crisp. Most music sounded better on the MDR-V700s, which I know don't sound very good. I've listened to some other high end headphones and they blew me away, but the Grados... man... I just don't understand what the hell people are raving about.

 

[Pianist]

Be more specific. Which Grado model did you listen to? What source did you use? Was the music encoded at a good bitrate?

 

[Punnisher]

Sounds like a defective grado to me. The only thing possibly making the bass muffled is the original sr60 pads, but it's not bad imho.

 

[intoflatlines]

Yeah, slap some bowls on those Grados (if they didn't come with them) and any thoughts of muffled bass should be gone.

 

[hauntingtheholy]

The Grado SR60 is quite over rated, if you ask me. I upgraded to M-audio Q40 and immediately came. I suspect the same would have happened with any of the other upgrade options I was looking at.

 

[Ub3rMario]

Heard the sr225 today for the first time. All i can say is, THAT is a far better representation of Grado awesomeness than the sr60. It was wonderful.

 

[Vandal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ub3rMario /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heard the sr225 today for the first time. All i can say is, THAT is a far better representation of Grado awesomeness than the sr60. It was wonderful.

Ah! I hope to be able to say the same very soon

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Yeah, the SR 60 and SR 80 sound like tinny radios once you touch the SR 225 and beyond.

 

[cash68]

Ah, okay. He had a 60 and an 80, not a super crazy one. But still, the way people refer to them you'd think their cheaper stuff wouldn't suck so much.

 

[Ub3rMario]

I have owned both the sr60 and the ms1. Both were wonderful, just not my cup of tea even though they freakin rock. However if i were to buy a grado/alessandro again i'd definitely get an sr225.

 

[intoflatlines]

The lower-end Grados don't suck at all, IMO. I have an SR225 and I love it. My girlfriend has an SR60 and I think it sounds great. Sure it doesn't sound as deep or smooth as my SR225, but if I didn't have an extra ~$200 to throw around, getting an SR60 or SR80 would be the next best thing.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

IMHO, a KSC75 is better than a SR 60 and SR 80; best to buy that and then save your spare cash up for a SR 225.

 

[ludoo]

I have a pair of SPC recabled/modded iGrados as portables -- they use the same drivers as the SR60 -- and they don't sound bad at all. In fact, when I connect them to a desktop amp they hold their own against larger cans pretty well, in speed detail and sound balance. They in fact sound similar to some of the orthodynamic phones I have.

If you don't need a lrage soundstage, for the little they cost SR60/80/MS-1 are a bargain. Especially for people used to IEMs which generally sound awful, or to cheapish DJ-type phones. And Grados are infinitely moddable, so if you acquire some skills later on you can make them nicer looking and slightly better sounding.

 

[yukihiro]

imo, the sr60/sr80's don't really wow me. i mean they're great for what they're worth and i loved my sr80's while i had them, but compared to higher stuff, they're just okay. when i got my sr325i's, i noticed a huge difference between them and the sr80's. some people say that the sr60's and 80's are like 90% of the way there to the upper grado models, but i would have to disagree and say it's more like 70% to my 325i's and i don't even know how much better the high end grados are since i haven't heard them. the sr60's and sr80's just give you a "taste" of the grado sound.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukihiro /img/forum/go_quote.gif imo, the sr60/sr80's don't really wow me. i mean they're great for what they're worth and i loved my sr80's while i had them, but compared to higher stuff, they're just okay. when i got my sr325i's, i noticed a huge difference between them and the sr80's. some people say that the sr60's and 80's are like 90% of the way there to the upper grado models, but i would have to disagree and say it's more like 70% to my 325i's and i don't even know how much better the high end grados are since i haven't heard them. the sr60's and sr80's just give you a "taste" of the grado sound.

Erm, that's like saying that a 1k tube amp is better than a 200 dollar one... Or that a Jaguar coupe is better than.... etc I think the price difference is not something you can take out of the equation: SR-60/80 sound great for what they cost.