[CrystalT]

I'm looking to buy the Grado as a compliment to my PL11 and PL30. I would like to listen to the Grados when I'm not on the go, and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them regarding the following genres:
 
Power Metal
Progressive Metal
Djent
Freeform Hardcore
Hard Trance
Avant-Garde
Minimalist Classical
Melodeath
Doom/Death
 
I'm also open to suggestions to other options within the price-range. I'm looking at my budget to be around $150-ish, but I'm also considering buying a Sansa Fuze and Sandisk 32GB MSDHC to replace my Sansa E260 /w Sandisk 16GB MSDHC.

 

[MegaMushroom]

The only real issue I have with my Grados is the rather painful feeling I get in my ears after about 2-3 hours of listening.  The cushion is a bit thin in terms of long term comfort.  Otherwise it seems to be a good choice. 

 

[CrystalT]

A few questions:
 
How does the stock Grado SR60i compare to the Sony XB500? How does a modded SR60i (quarter mod, removing grill cloth, venting, felt lining, HD404 foams)?
 
I'm very fond of the XB500 for a decent portion of my media library (about a third, which equates to a few hundres songs. worth having several 'phones imo), but it doesn't deliver very well on Power Metal, Progressive Metal, and some of my classical songs. Also, how revealing is the SR60i of source?

 

[flurry]

My SR60 has quite a bit less bass than my XB500, but the SR60 still has enough to satisfy any non basshead. Mids and highs, although, are much better and more detailed on the SR60. And a bit warmer too. I can't speak for a modded SR60 as I have not performed any mods on mine yet.
 

 

[Kerry56]

I've found the SR-60i's to be fairly uncomfortable.  Tried several different pad configurations.
 
Sound changed very little from the original comfies to the 414 pads, though the reverse quarter mod on the Senn pads had a bit more effect, enough for my non-audiophile ears to pick up.  The sound is quite bright and immediate.
 
I've noticed that poor mp3's are much easier for me to pick out with these compared to my other headphones, though the best of those was just the Koss Porta-Pro's.
 
Can't comment on the metal genres, as I don't listen to them.

 

[2enty3]

I had Grado SR80's for a short time, and they worked AWESOME with power metal. I found that they tend to emphasize guitars more than anything else, and the bass is plenty for Metal. But like others have said, the comfort on these are on the lower end of the headphones I've tried. And that many have a problem with the sibilance - which I didn't seem to notice.
 
I'm sure the SR60's aren't too different from the 80's.

 

[SLaRe]

I recommend you to wash the pads with a bit of softener, especially if you are going to use the L-Cush or the HD-414 pads. My HF-2 became much more comfortable since then, though I never found them uncomfortable.

 

[CrystalT]

Has anyone had any experience listening to progressive metal with the SR60i? I'm looking for a headphone that can really emphasize the bass guitar. I love really hearing the finger plucks and string slaps in my music. I'm not looking for a lot of low-end grunt, I'm looking for clarity, and accuracy, but I still enjoy FEELING the impact of the bass drum.
 
Also, has anyone had any experience with replacing the pads with cupped ones that fit completely around one's ear? The one's on the XB500 are just a little too small for my ears, just for reference.

 

[RudeWolf]

My SR80i does good prog-rock and prog-metal. Sometimes I would like a bit more bass or a more laid back sound, but all in all I am satisfied. Now I'm looking for something more laid back to complement them, a Senn HD598 maybe.
 
One thing though- I your music is recorded brightly or "loudly" then prepare for an aural menstruation. Grado tortures the listener of badly recorded music.

 

[CrystalT]

Not a big fan of a laid-back sound. I've sampled some Senn and Shure in the same relative price range but they don't cut it for me. More of a fan of intimacy with my music. I like to feel it. I have zero social life for various reasons, so I tend to withdraw into my music.
 
 

 

[SLaRe]

Another option is the Goldring DR150.

 

[Mozu]

Not SR-60s, but I listen to (among a ton of other things) power metal, black metal, doom metal and death metal through my MS1is, and they sound fantastic. I've heard people say Grados/Alessandros are "only good for rock/metal" many, many times, but I actually enjoy them more for jazz, classical and movie/anime soundtracks. As far as comfort goes, I swapped to quarter-modded/reversed HD414 pads, and wear the things from 2-6 hours a day with zero comfort problems (and I wear glasses).  The pad swap will open up the soundstage a bit, tame the highs and add a bit of impact to the bass - to my ears, anyway. 
 
They are definitely unforgiving of bad sources.
 
(Whatever you end up with, check out The Ruins of Beverast - Unlock the Shrine immediately upon acquiring new cans, if you're into doom.)

 

[Chris_Himself]

XB500 is a pile of crap compared to Grado SR-ANYTHING in terms of audio quality and detail retrieval. It's marketed towards those icky bassheads primarily.
 
I actually don't enjoy Grados for metal nearly as much as I enjoy them for OTHER music, like decent hip-hop (Nujabes, Cyne, Fat Jon, Tsuchie), acoustic guitar, jazz, piano music, and vocal trance, for some odd reason. But yes, they do haul ass big time for metal, rock, death metal, and 80's hair metal...
 
Basically they have clean bass (like the kind you get out of a nice pair of woofers in a car without using the bass boost), and hot treble, with warm mids. There aren't any genres they're HORRIBLE with, but they definitely do have some that they excel at (most well recorded music made with real, actual instruments)
 
Some people buy Grado because they're getting a "purists" sound unlike basshead cans (ew), but they're guilty of being colored in the other end of the spectrum, albeit at the end where you can actually hear all the music. At the end of the day let your ears decide, but the end result sounds quite good.

 

[CrystalT]

Chill out on the basshead bashing. Who are you to judge what they should and should not enjoy?

What headphones would one suggest for power metal and progressive metal?

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

A few questions:
 
How does the stock Grado SR60i compare to the Sony XB500? How does a modded SR60i (quarter mod, removing grill cloth, venting, felt lining, HD404 foams)?
 
I'm very fond of the XB500 for a decent portion of my media library (about a third, which equates to a few hundres songs. worth having several 'phones imo), but it doesn't deliver very well on Power Metal, Progressive Metal, and some of my classical songs. Also, how revealing is the SR60i of source?

The SR60i is in a whole different spectrum than the Sony XB headphones, IMO. You'll hear things you can't hear with the XB's. I've had my 60i's since early '09, and have never bothered to quarter mod or any of that stuff. Sometimes I'll give them a slight bump in the bass range with EQ, but usually only at low volume levels.