Listened to Grados for the first time

[Ojannen]

I am a relatively low-fi lurker on these boards. Last december, I bought the A900 for my first and only audiophile purchase. I have considered buying a decent sound card or a small portable amp but I have never made a purchase. My big problem with sound cards is that I currently use a shuttle with only 1 pci slot. Most of the decent stereo cards have major problems with games or no EC support. I go to a music school and the listening room in the library has started replacing the akg 240s and koss headphones with grado SR125s. The listening room has denon amps and cd players. The 125s are probably about a week old so I am not sure how burned in they are. I am guessing they get 3-4 hours of listening time per day (there are about 40 listening stations in the room and usually about 1/3 are being used.) I believe they have the stock bowl pads.

I listened on an assignment on the score for Marriage of Figaro and two Rennaisance masses. I tend to use brass terminology rather than audiophile terminology when describing music, so I hope I can get my points across. These are my observations:

After an hour and a half listening session with 1 break, I was not having a major comfort problem. It was less comfortable than the A900 but it was not uncomfortable.

I have read many posts complaining that grados are bright or fatiguing. To be honest, I don't hear that at all. Even after coming from A900s, the sound only felt warmer. It did not feel overly bright. I also felt like the A900s had a little more bass than the 125. However, considering that the systems I am listening on are very different, and problems with matching volume, I can't say for certain.

Something that really surprised me was how good the positioning was. I was expecting no soundstage and no positioning at all. There were a few passages where I actually turned my head. That almost never happens to me and has never happened to me with the A900. I am seriously considering finding a grado phone for gaming.

What really blew me away was how real the music sounds. To me, headphones should recreate what a concert sounds like from about the 50th row of a big hall. That means I don't really want really wide left right separation. I prefer to have the sound in front of me. One of my big complaints with the A900 is that the very wide separation (does this mean wide soundstage?) makes me feel like I am on the conductors podium or playing in an ensemble rather than sitting in the hall. The way the sound was reproduced on the 125 was the most real or accurate representation of what I am looking for.

 

[Michael G.]

What you are saying about the Grado soundstage perspective is suprises me. Read my post entitled, 'Thoughts on the Grado "soundstage"...' and you'll see why. It just goes to show that our individual ears are just that. Ha!

 

[MD1032]

I get that head-turning thing all the time with certain music on my SR-80's. Mostly what people are talking about around here in terms of "soundstage" is the ability of the headphones to project the sound in 3D space around you. If an instrument is playing 30 feet away, with certain headphones you should be able to pinpoint that, with some headphones it will only sound about 5 feet away, and in the case of Grados, you can tell the direction, but the actually positioning always feels like it's inside your head or possibly behind you.

 

[LFF]

Wait until you listen to the RS-1's!

 

[kramer5150]

Spend some time and demo all the grados in your price range. MS2 was my fave till I got the HF1. Soundstage preferences vary widely from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some folks like to feel theyre on stage with the band while other listeners would rather be back-stage somewhere down the hall, with blankets draped over the guitar cabniets. Its all preference, and no 2 people hear things the same. Whats forward and dynamic to one may be excessive and fatigue-ing to some one else.

One more thing to consider... IMHO open cans sound MUCH better than closed cans under the $300 mark. Closed cans I have heard in this price range have a noticeably boxed-in sound compared to similarly priced open cans, and the distance and image they do project sounds... funky... lacks air and breath. (god I hope that makes sense). Ive never heard an A900 though, it gets a LOT of praise here on the forum.

Does Grado have connections with your school? Maybe they have some used ones or extras you could buy at a discount?

Listening to Dire straits "Down By the Water line" on my HF1, amped with a g-moy as I type this. Stellar soundstage and image... without sounding too distant and spread out.

Garrett

 

[Jahn]

yes, grado "headstage" and positioning and imaging is actually very good. soundstage, eh, pretty narrow hehe. your school rocks! my old school's conservatory is hooked up with NAD amps, sony CDPs and V7506s for cans, not bad to keep things quiet in a music library, and the sound is ok, but it's no Grado!

 

[blessingx]

Funny though I like ATs and Grados for their very different sounds, I feel the Grados have better bass and the ATs have much better positioning (and articulation, separation, etc.). In fact for all the related comparisons of Senn in the audience versus Grados in the band, the Grado part only works if the the guitar player is sitting on my right eye.

Plus trying to figure out how a listening room would work with several Grados all leaking. Otherwise nice sound, no doubt.

 

[mrarroyo]

The SR-125 are great cans at their price. Yes the RS-1 is a better can but then it costs 4.67 times the price. If you pair the SR-125 with an amp like the PAV2 you will be in heaven. Good luck.

 

[VR6ofpain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ojannen There were a few passages where I actually turned my head. What really blew me away was how real the music sounds.

Couldn't agree more. I still do that and I have had my SR-80's for a year. I'll think something is behind me on some new music, and turn my head...then I grin and realize...wait it is the music. I'll even track back about 30 seconds, to listen to that part again, just to confirm that yes...it was the music.

Very real. I don't understand why people say Grado's are not "true" to real life. Maybe I haven't been to enough live events...but I have never heard instruments live that sounded as DEAD as when I listened to some tunes on some HD-600's. Hell if concerts were that dark, people might fall asleep!

 

[Illah]

Now go try some high end Sennheisers and then let's talk about how you like the soundstage

--Illah

 

[BIGtrouble77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ojannen I go to a music school and the listening room in the library has started replacing the akg 240s and koss headphones with grado SR125s.

This is a little off topic, but do you even have a multitrack recording hardware? I just find it strange that you are going to school (presumably to be a professional musician) and you're more concerned about having a gaming card than a professional recording one.

I suggest you get an external usb or firewire audio device. I have a Tascam us-122 usb, and a M-Audio Firewire410, both of which provide zero latency direct monitoring. And they aren't that expensive, I think they can both be had for around $200. If money is really tight (and I recommend this even if it's not) setup a linux partition and use Ardour for multitrack recording and Rezound for destructive editing. Ardour and Rezound both utilize jack, an ultra low latency audio connector. Ardour easily is in the same class as CubaseSX and ProTools and best of all it's free.

Whatever you plan to do professionally in music, recording and understanding how to produce recordings is just as important as playing live. These are skills that are learned through trial and error and really can't be taught.

 

[sanne]

at the end of the day grado's are just fun headphones. i mean i've yet to meet a person who hadn't throroughly enjoyed listening to music through SR60's/SR80's.

 

[McRat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanne at the end of the day grado's are just fun headphones. i mean i've yet to meet a person who hadn't throroughly enjoyed listening to music through SR60's/SR80's.

What he said! My SR-225 (and HF-1) are my only piece of hifi equipment that have gained unanimous praise from the people around me. My dad and my father-in-law, both playing brass instruments, said the phones just sound right. My friends and brothers are considering getting a pair. One of my friends immediately offered to buy my 225 when I received my HF-1. And I'll be damned if I've ever been so thrilled about listening to music.

Oh, and besides being fun and enjoyable, I think they sound very real and "just right" with every instrument I have heard through them.

 

[aerius]

Quote:

Originally Posted by McRat Oh, and besides being fun and enjoyable, I think they sound very real and "just right" with every instrument I have heard through them.

That's because they get tone right, something which few headphones can do. Get the tone right and everything just flows, screw it up and everything sounds "off".

 

[MD1032]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illah Now go try some high end Sennheisers and then let's talk about how you like the soundstage --Illah

He needs to stay awake while doing his assignment, so that idea's out.