[istari_knight]

Hi,

i recently bought some Grado SR60's - got them home plugged them in and....

They sounded awful ! "they need to burn in" i thought so they were left playing for around 72 hours.....they still sound awful !

grainy , harsh , bright , just plain bad !

Why do you think this is ? they are supposed to be good no ?

im using them through a sony headphone port but that shouldnt make any difference as they sound the same through minidisc etc...and are 32ohms so the amp shouldnt be a problem - the cd players good too - my hifi sounds fantastic through my speakers but these just arent right

any advice / help would be good....

thanks , James.

 

[eduj]

Ever heard Grados before?People usually either love or hate them

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by istari_knight they still sound awful ! grainy , harsh , bright , just plain bad !

Not another Grado bashing thread.

J/k.. maybe another headphone is for you then. HD series or something else. If you want fine wine can't get go with a bottle RIUNITI. (I consider RIUNITI a good cheap wine, at that) Really nice headphones cost some really nice money. I enjoy SR-60s for what they can do. But I don't ask the world of them either.

 

[warpdriver]

Grado sound isn't for everybody.

 

[Mercuttio]

Maybe you've got a bad pair?

 

[tony4563]

James...Exactly my opinion too. Burned them in for well over 100 hrs too. Sounded crap thru my Zen Sleek Photo mp3 player and my Cambridge Audio Azur HiFi gear. My Koss KSC 75's are a million times better with a clearer and much wider soundstage. I highly recommend them if you don't have a set. Only around £20.00 too. Absolutely fantastic sound for the money.

 

[istari_knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver Grado sound isn't for everybody.

It would appear so.....

sorry i didn't realise there are other grado bashing threads - i could have just joined in there !

Anyway maybe i went a bit overboard , their not that bad - just a little grainy.....i hate distortion so its probably more me than them.....

anyway , I'm off to quarter mod my pads

 

[jagorev]

Don't like the harshness? Time to get some HD 555s

 

[istari_knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony4563 James...Exactly my opinion too. Burned them in for well over 100 hrs too. Sounded crap thru my Zen Sleek Photo mp3 player and my Cambridge Audio Azur HiFi gear. My Koss KSC 75's are a million times better with a clearer and much wider soundstage. I highly recommend them if you don't have a set. Only around £20.00 too. Absolutely fantastic sound for the money.

thanks tony , i'll check them out !

im not having much luck with this lark ! senn = boring , grado = grainy , sony =

, shure next then beyer

 

[istari_knight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jagorev Don't like the harshness? Time to get some HD 555s

ive only tried lower end senns - what are the 555's like ?

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by istari_knight thanks tony , i'll check them out ! im not having much luck with this lark ! senn = boring , grado = grainy , sony = , shure next then beyer

instead of going across the lines. You may think about going up the lines.

I too think the 555 or the 595 are a good option. As for what they are like, many threads related to that. I just do a search.

 

[jagorev]

Quote:

Originally Posted by istari_knight ive only tried lower end senns - what are the 555's like ?

I'd describe them as super smooth, no extra emphasis on any area, well balanced from bass to treble, and quite detailed. I'm sure a search will turn up tons of opinions on the 555. The SR60 is fun, but these sound a lot more like what I would imagine to be "hi-fi". Oh and the soundstage is pretty good, more than a Grado, but less than better Senns, Beyers, and AKGs.

 

[kramer5150]

The Grado sound is not for everybody. Its like placing your head infront of a mesa cab, on-axis to the speakers. Some like others do not.

What is your source material? I've come across some 128 MP3s that were grainy and unrefined as you describe. Is it at all possible that the SR60 is revealing flaws in your source material?

Dont excuse the amp yet. You can forget about how good the amp sounds powering speakers, that should not be your point of reference. The headphone amp and speaker amp are completely different circuits (generally). Grados (or any other low impedence model) are a tough load for many receivers that are designed for higher impedence loads. Running a high impedence amp circuit with a low impedence load can cause all kinds of problems.

Take them back to the store and try to compare them with another pair, It is possible you got a lemon.

Good Luck!!

Garrett

 

[watchluvr4ever]

When I first plugged in my Grado SR-80's I wasn't really all that impressed. I listened to them for a couple of days and saw little or no improvement in the sound. I got my Go-vibe about a week later and after letting them burn in a little more with the amp they started sounding much better. I attribute the improvement in sound to the Go-vibe. Yes, they don't need an amp to drive them, but I believe they were getting a better burn-in using the amp. It might be in my head, but I swear the Go-vibe helped.

 

[spraggih]

Yea maybe the Senn sound is for you. Polite, refined, good, solid bass, detailed and when it cannot play a note it dosen't still try - it just levels off.

Try the Senns - the 500 series (555, 595) are a little more forward sounding and a little less polite - may not be detailed enough for you - the 555s (IMHO) are a little grainy but more detailed than SR60/SR80s. For me they were too slow and I while I admire the Senns (soundstage, refined) it's probably not my sound signature.

One of the things you did not mention was your prior headphones and music liking. With all due respect if you have guitar music there is no headphone like the Grado - classical might seem too fast, unrefined and possibly harsh.

Enjoy!