[Chinchy]

I'm soooo excited. The SR100's I got off ebay came today. The seller said he only used them like twice, and it sure looks like it. Everything still looks and even smells new. It even still has all the papers and even the warranty registration card. And the best part? It came with like-new condition flat pads. Yee ha, I hit the jackpot!

The only sad part is I don't have a chance to test out the headphones yet because I don't have a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter at work... Sigh. Maybe I'll stop by Radio Shack and pick one up.. But I can still give my first look impressions:

Looks just like my SR-60's, except with SR100 on the buttons. But the cable (from the 1/4" plug to the Y) looks and feels a lot better (i.e. thicker and firmer) than what I have on both my SR-60 and my SR-225. The mesh covering the ear-facing drivers are also not white, more like a purplish deal. The headband is still vinyl, but they actually stitched the top and bottom pieces together, unlike my SR-60 which has fake stitching imprinted on it (More like the heat crimps?). The metal for the headband also feels slightly stiffer than my SR-60. Oh and no red lettering on mine, it's pristine silver with no rub-outs. And I didn't realize the flat pads were that flat...

I'm excited!

Time to update my profile...

 

[Canman]

Congrats Chinchy! I look forward to your thoughts on the sound...and nice snag on the flat pads.

I think all the headbands used to be stitched, as my old school SR-60's have the stitched headband.

 

[greenhorn]

Congrats, man!!!

 

[grinch]

person.. that pair was MINE!


i hope to hear more about them, especially when compared to the sr225's.

 

[Chinchy]

Heheh Grinch. Like I responded back, all it took was an extra $2.50 to steal your deal.... Heh Heh Heh

Hopefully comparisons to the SR-225, as well as to my other new toy (check my profile if you're interested

<-- Hmm too bad the grin can't get wider... ) will follow.

 

[braillediver]

Congratulations. You've got an even better use for the flat pads now.

I'm amazed at how much better the Flat Pads are.


Mitch

 

[Chinchy]

I took a brief hour to listen to the SR100 and the SR225. These are my initial opinions, and bear in mind that at this point I have no idea if the SR100s have even been broken in yet. For reference, the SR225 is equipped with the bowl pads, and the SR100's with the original flat pads. My setup is the Philips 963sa, going out to XFeed MKIII and a Meta42 via Zu Cable Oxyfuels and Signalcable Analog 2 ICs.

I listened to stuff using the SR225 first and then switched to the SR100. The SR225 doesn't seem to emphasize any particular frequency range. When I switched to the SR100, I noticed 3 main things. The first thing I noticed is, WOW that's some bass!

I think it's probably because of the flat pads, so the sound is very warm and the bass seems very pronounced. Perhaps it's because of the closer placement of the drivers to the ears, but the SR100 definitely played louder than the SR225's. When switching back and forth, I had to turn down the volume for the SR100 (i.e. around 8 o'clock) and turn it up for the SR225 (around 9 o'clock). However, the SR100 definitely does play a little... warmer? The lower end of the frequency is more in your face, but it's not like it is boominess that overpowers the whole mix. It's just a portion that, when compared to the SR225, just seems to be missing on the SR225. Either that or more emphasized on the SR100.

I played a wide variety of songs at least initially to get an overall feel. I played some classical, some pop/rock mp3's, some electronica/techno. This is where I came to the second observation, which is that the SR100 feels like it has greater detail. I definitely noticed some things on the SR100 that I didn't previously notice when playing with the SR225. Afterwards, I would switch back to the SR225, and since I knew what I was listening for, I would be able to hear although it was more subtle. The SR100 also seemed to have a wider soundstage and better localization of instruments. On the few classical pieces that I played, I could better tell where the instruments were and hear each one more clearly. In fact, I heard some instruments that I didn't notice with the SR225.

Lastly what I noticed on the SR100 is Wow it's got a lot of power. I'm serious, the SR100's seemed like they were making my whole ear vibrate.

I was definitely feeling greater SPLs over the SR225. I had to feel the outward facing metal grills just to verify that they weren't really shaking... Trippy.

At this point, I'm not sure if the difference is due to the flat pads, or to the SR100's not being broken in. I will say though that the increased bass region of the SR100 is not unwelcome, and am eager to see how it will change over the course of burn in. It's somewhat like the SR225 on stock unmodded Senn pads, although in that case the bass really seemed to dominate and overpower the mid- and high-frequencies. I guess I haven't fully decided whether I like the more "muted" feel of the SR225 or whether I prefer the more pronounced nether regions of the SR100. A more detailed comparison will be forthcoming. Sigh, and my other toy arrives tomorrow. Not sure how I'm gonna juggle comparing all three... As well as all the pad rolling that's sure to ensue....

 

[sacd lover]

Try the flat pads on the sr-225's. The pads make a huge difference. The sr-100 is definately darker sounding than the 225 but the bass will be much better on both headphones with the flat pads. The highs will be better balanced on the 225's with the flat pads as well. I always found the sr-100 to need more power than the 225 on my setup so that sort of surprises me. If the bass is what seems to loud you may find you have to turn down the 225's once you get some flat or vwap pads on them.

 

[JaZZ]

Yes, keep the flat pads on your ears and just swap the naked headphones - for better comparability!

 

[nately]

Interesting observations, a little different from my SR-300 to 325 comparison. I found that the 325s have a much higher sensitivity than the 300s (on a Corda HA-2 0 ohm, around 8-9 o' clock for the 325s was close to 11 o' clock for the 300s). I also found the 325s to have more bass slam. As for the ear-shaking quality to the bass, that's something I find common to Grados in general (but I guess I'm more used to circumaural cans).

I used vwap pads on both, and that could go a long way toward explaining things. I was seriously unhappy with bowl pads on either.

 

[Chinchy]

Yeah for some reason, I don't get the feel of the ear shaking with the SR225's with the bowls... But when I get the chance, I'll see how the flat pads affect the SR225. The volume differences I found between the SR100 and SR225 is most likely due to the different pads and different distances from my ear. I did find that the SR225 with stock Senns was louder than the SR225 with bowls... But so much so that I preferred the bowls over the stock Senns.

Sigh. I guess I may have to cave in and buy some vwap pads... Man... Aside from what is already on my headphones, I have an additional pair of bowls, comfies, stock Senns, and original SR-60 foam floppies. Too much.

 

[Chinchy]

Wow, I'm running the SR100 out of my IMP550 unamped, and out of the line out, it sounds not bad, but loses all of the bass dominance that it had originally. But then I plug it out of the headphone out, and wow, low end back in da house big time. No comparison, the flat pads are where the party's at. I tried with the bowls, flipped bowls, and the unmodded Senns, and it's just not the same. What a shame. But even with stock senn pads there's just so much warmth and tight and deep bass. Man. I think this is going to beat out the SR225 as my portable work headphones.

And oddly enough I find there is more isolation on these than with the SR225. As in, I hear less of the outside world than with the SR225...

I just find the SR100 slightly more detailed than the SR225. Anyone else discover this? Man, now I'm wondering how the SR200s would sound... Anyone got a pair of SR200's they wanna part with?

 

[TimSchirmer]

Heh... wait untill you try them with a gilmore.

 

[Habib]

I must say I was really impressed with SR225 with my Gilmore V2. I just couldn't deal with the Grado pads, they are just not comfortable, else I would get a pair.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by Habib I must say I was really impressed with SR225 with my Gilmore V2. I just couldn't deal with the Grado pads, they are just not comfortable, else I would get a pair.

Which Grado pads are you referring to? Whether it be the bowls or flats you should try the one you haven't.