[baka1969]

@ SemperMalum


Congrats on your great rig. Now take your new found enthusiasm and run for the hills. Delete Head-Fi. Never look back. You'll be happier. So will your wallet. I too had the Grado SR-80 and loved them. Then I kept thinking there had to be better. 2 1/2 years later I've... lol


Please enjoy.

 

[MakeItWain]

 
I really want to run, but I think I've already invested enough time to have hooked me.
 
I'm already looking at the Ultrasones Pro 900 in the future. I'm actually debating buying my best friend either the Grado SR80i or the Audio Technica ATH-A50's (Depends on his answer to what type of music has he been listening to. Most likely the A50's just because they're great overall from reviews/hype).
 
Also looking towards getting the Fiios E7 or the E11... And looking at potentially getting a brand new MP3 player because my Android still has low battery life for my tastes.

 

[marcusgi]

Hello. Just wanted to point out I got the E11 for the SR80's and all I can is wow, that was worth every bit of $70. I also have M-50. The Sr-80's sound just as good as them with the E-11, and the part I like the SR-80's are light and comfy instead or heavy and hot, being it has been 90 degrees for 3 weeks here.

 

[MakeItWain]

 
That's awesome to hear. I've been really tempted to get the E11, even though I love the E5's portability. Still loving the SR80i's myself, though haven't had much of a chance, recently, to use them.

I'm also torn between the E11 and the E7 because I may end up getting an iPad or similar tablet, and not sure I wanna get the E7 to use with that... Or if the E11 would work with them. Also, E7's battery life and screen looks enticing, even if it isn't as awesome looking as the special edition somebody got for reviewing it.

 

[marcusgi]

The E-11 comes with a Fiio rubberband to strap it to your mp3 player. It is the size of a credit card and about 3/4 inch think. A lot smaller than I thought. For $9.50 I got another battery and wall charger. The original battery last 12+ hours and the second battery lasts 15+ hours. If you order the E-11 from Micca store, comes with an extra battery too.
 
Listen to me, I am like a freakin' commercial. ha ha Just love the bass it provides. I went unamped on my grado for years until now. Really glad I didn't get rid of the sr-80's. I might even get the sr-225 if the upgraditis kicks in.

 

[MakeItWain]

I'm very tempted now, dammm it. My wallet is crying. I will ask this, though. If possibly can you test how the E11 sounds plugged into a laptop/desktop? Does it do a decent job of amping that, as well? I ask because I'll probably be buying a tablet/using my laptop a lot more the next few months, so if the E11 works out well, I won't even have to consider the E7.

 

[marcusgi]

All music depends on the source. I have a decent sound card in my desktop (Asus Xonar D1 $80) so I really do not need the amp because it already comes with one, but it does make the Grado's shine. I like using E-11 with my computer because I used to have to turn it up half way 50/100, now I turn it to about 12/100 and it has punchy bass. The M-50's already have lots of bass, so I really don't use the E-11 with them much. The only reason I would spend more for an E7 was if I did ALL of my listening at home, but I use the E-11 with my portable device too. Bottom line, I threw away my E-5's when I got my E-11 because it has more, lots more options including a volume control, EQ settings 0, 1, 2, low/high power mode, and a removable battery. It seems like there are people on here that spend thousands a year on equipment, I think the E-11 turned my $100 phones into $250 phones for $70. I  will have to get some Beyer Dynamics 770's sometime just because of the reviews here, but pretty content for the time being.

 

[MakeItWain]

 
It'd be a mix of portable and in hotel rooms.
 
It'd be use with a tablet during flights, and laptop at the hotel. And a mix of using my Samsung Vibrant, as well.
 
I suppose I should ask to see if anybody has a tablet or similar with the E11 and see what they think. I'm a ways away, but still. I'd love to have it now, especially since I can be impatient at times.
 
How does the E11 fare if used for something other than music?

 

[killmurer]

Just if you haven't known already, modding your grados works wonders for the bass!  Try it! I gave my SR-60 a full week before I ripped it apart 

 

[MakeItWain]

 
I'm tempted to, but I have no experience with doing so. I've seen a few threads about it and took some brief looks, but I've been fine so far just using my E5, which is most likely soon to be sold/pawned off for either an E7 or E11.

 

[killmurer]

I didn't have any experience either. But here's what happened for me.
 
The quarter hole mod revealed some more high frequency detail. After the initial excitement died off I was starting to be slightly annoyed by the highs. It seemed too exaggerated in some songs. 
 
So I went ahead and opened up the cups and punched all 10 holes in it. And I put it back on. Wonder of wonders there's the strong mid bass punch. And a reverb effect. Like before the initial excitement died down soon and I found the bass to be too much. Mainly the reverb. It went from FAST punchy bass to SLOW and sloppy bass. It seemed to resonating too much. Boomy. At this point I was thinking, no wonder grado doesn't vent these.
 
And then I did felt mod. Got adhesive felt for 3.5$ from walmart. I wasn't expecting it to change it this much. But the bass has really tightened up after that. The felt did WONDERS for the pace. It's just as quick as before but with much more impact. I also noticed more sub bass presence. I don't know why some people say felt makes the smallest change. Without felt theres no point in opening up grados IMO.
 
But yes after all these almost free of cost mods (3.5$ felt). The headphone sounds much much better. I would say a good 40% better. Hip hop and pop music are so much better. I don't have anything else to compare to, but the vented, damped, grado bass I now like more than my S4 bass. Both in quantity and quality.

 

[MakeItWain]

I was looking at potentially grabbing some Sennheiser HD414 pads... Eventually dying them black to keep up with the same color scheme.
 
As far as poking the holes in the drivers to vent them, though, how much of an issue was it to pry them open? I was put off by the entire having to steam them up concept, which is a major reason why I've not attempted any mods so far.

 

[killmurer]

No issue at all. It needs heat to melt the glue. I was scared if I'd melt the wires. But it seems relatively safe. It only needs about 3-4 minutes of steam. After that the cups'll slide right off. You can also use a hairdryer.
 
Make sure you have damping material too when you are ready to poke holes though. 

 

[Thade]

That's awesome to hear. I've been really tempted to get the E11, even though I love the E5's portability. Still loving the SR80i's myself, though haven't had much of a chance, recently, to use them.


I'm also torn between the E11 and the E7 because I may end up getting an iPad or similar tablet, and not sure I wanna get the E7 to use with that... Or if the E11 would work with them. Also, E7's battery life and screen looks enticing, even if it isn't as awesome looking as the special edition somebody got for reviewing it.

Hey all ... Chiming in on a few thoughts... I had no probs returning grados through Amazon 4ourears seller. I bought some 60s and the cables were badly pinched... All grados are I guess but it was bad. I bought some sr80i from same seller and sent them back cause the plastic bump on the ear piece was missing causing them to sit un level. Bought another pair of sr80i and I am loving them. That's one of the reasons I love amazon, hassle free returns.

I am also going crazy over choosing an amp. I bought an e6 and a e11. I honestly had a hard time finding a huge difference between the 2 after constant a/b testing. The e11 is obviously a bit louder but on many tracks, I couldn't go beyond the volume limits of the e6. I need a day or 2 off for my ears to recover. They both have their own sound but which sound is better is a preference. While the e11 is pretty portable with rubber bands, etc it is still a pretty big package compared to the e6/ iPhone combo. I had an odd interference with the e11 when paused I could hear periodic buzz in the right channel. It may be normal but since I wasn't sure I sent back the e11, again hassle free. I figure since I wasn't 100% sure on the e11, the e6 was a better choice due to the low cost. Then there are times when switching to the headphone out direct has its own signature that's not necessarily worse than the amp, just different.

My ears just aren't tuned to detect what's better without a lot of trial and error.

There are no doubts that the grado sound is for me tho....

 

[Thade]

Hey all ... Chiming in on a few thoughts... I had no probs returning grados through Amazon 4ourears seller. I bought some 60s and the cables were badly pinched... All grados are I guess but it was bad. I bought some sr80i from same seller and sent them back cause the plastic bump on the ear piece was missing causing them to sit un level. Bought another pair of sr80i and I am loving them. That's one of the reasons I love amazon, hassle free returns.
I am also going crazy over choosing an amp. I bought an e6 and a e11. I honestly had a hard time finding a huge difference between the 2 after constant a/b testing. The e11 is obviously a bit louder but on many tracks, I couldn't go beyond the volume limits of the e6. I need a day or 2 off for my ears to recover. They both have their own sound but which sound is better is a preference. While the e11 is pretty portable with rubber bands, etc it is still a pretty big package compared to the e6/ iPhone combo. I had an odd interference with the e11 when paused I could hear periodic buzz in the right channel. It may be normal but since I wasn't sure I sent back the e11, again hassle free. I figure since I wasn't 100% sure on the e11, the e6 was a better choice due to the low cost. Then there are times when switching to the headphone out direct has its own signature that's not necessarily worse than the amp, just different.
My ears just aren't tuned to detect what's better without a lot of trial and error.
There are no doubts that the grado sound is for me tho....

I also ordered bowl pads with my sr80i and went straight to them out of the box. Several days later I tried the stock pads and everything got noticeably better so now my bowls are on the shelf for another day....