[LimeANite]

Quote:

Try a high end Sennheiser.  It'll make you grimace every time you put Grados on.
 

I view Sennheisers and Grados as sort of mutually exclusive sound signatures - if you like one, you probably won't like the other.  I'm sure there are some who like both, but I think the majority tend to lean one way or another.  I personally can't listen to Grados because of the harsh highs, but I really like the mellow Senn house sound.  But if you like those highs, then Senns just aren't going to satisfy.
 

 

[Melvins]

I mean that's not really true, people like to say that Grado's are more polarizing than they really are, IMHO.

 

[liamstrain]

Quote:

I view Sennheisers and Grados as sort of mutually exclusive sound signatures - if you like one, you probably won't like the other.  I'm sure there are some who like both, but I think the majority tend to lean one way or another..
 

I must be one of the exceptions then. I like both (and just to add confusion, I also like the Beyer 880 sound, and the AKG K/Q70X sound)
 
Really, the only one I find that is mutually exclusive of all others, is the Ultrasone sound (except for the Ed. 8). 

 

[LimeANite]

Quote:

I mean that's not really true, people like to say that Grado's are more polarizing than they really are, IMHO.

I call 'em like I see 'em (or hear 'em, in this case).  I physically can't listen to Grados for more than a few minutes before the highs get too overwhelming.  Maybe I'm just more sensitive to highs than most...
 

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

I view Sennheisers and Grados as sort of mutually exclusive sound signatures - if you like one, you probably won't like the other.  I'm sure there are some who like both, but I think the majority tend to lean one way or another.  I personally can't listen to Grados because of the harsh highs, but I really like the mellow Senn house sound.  But if you like those highs, then Senns just aren't going to satisfy.
 

Have you heard the HD 800?  Plenty of treble for you, and clearer than any Grado, at that.  It's also not laid back like the HD 650, IMO.
 

 

[LimeANite]

Quote:

Have you heard the HD 800?  Plenty of treble for you, and clearer than any Grado, at that.  It's also not laid back like the HD 650, IMO.
 

Heard it, didn't like it.  It was too revealing for my tastes, if that makes any sense.  The treble didn't bug me like it does in the Grados though.
 
Edit: The HD800s just sounded more balanced to my ears - the Grados were really emphasized in the treble region compared to the average headphones.  Tyll's measurements confirm this - the Grados are much more peaky through the treble region (including that massive spike at 10 kHz), while the HD800 stays fairly flat.  The treble is still enhanced around 7 kHz, but not to the same extent as the Grados and the whole treble region is much flatter.
 

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

Heard it, didn't like it.  It was too revealing for my tastes, if that makes any sense.  The treble didn't bug me like it does in the Grados though.
 

 
It is revealing, but with the right set-up and well-done recordings, the experiences is quite rewarding.

 

[LimeANite]

Quote:

 
It is revealing, but with the right set-up and well-done recordings, the experiences is quite rewarding.

Yeah, I'm sure, but I can't afford a setup that would make the HD800s sing - let alone the headphones themselves lol.  Honestly, I'm pretty happy with what I have now.
 

 

[ac500]

My $250 dac/amp may not make my HD800 sing its best, but it sure beats every other non-top-tier headphone I've heard by a stupidly huge margin. 

 

[192405]

Here's a heart-warming audio story.
 
Maybe about 2, 3, maybe even 4 months ago I had this friend of mine who was really into music, she was realy close with me, almost like brother and sister. Anyway, everyday she'd listen to her favourite songs through some earbuds bought from Walmart that she didnt know the name of. I tried them, they were uninteresting at the very best. I let her try my MDR-V6s and she really started to love her music a lot more (yes I know V6s arent audiophile-grade, but they're pretty good), she'd listen to them a few times, and was starting to slowly warm up to the idea of switching from earbuds to headphones; that one major transition.
 
Anyway, things were starting to get a little difficult for her, and we started to get to become really really close friends, and I found myself hanging out with her afterschool a whole hell of a lot, of course with my V6s being present; their sound signature was not absent from the room.
 
So a few weeks later, she shows up with headphones. Exactly what I was waiting for; I tried em instantly, they were some "Onn" headphones from somewhere, they had a weird sound signature; lower-mids were emphasized with lower-highs... Sounded kinda awkward at times, and was uncomfortable for my larger head, but hers fit in just fine. Anyways, she really was enjoying her music a lot more now.
 
So to turn a very long story short; I turned my friend from an crappy-earbud girl to being my girlfriend who loves headphones Conversion succesful!

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

My $250 dac/amp may not make my HD800 sing its best, but it sure beats every other non-top-tier headphone I've heard by a stupidly huge margin. 

Certainly.  I actually enjoyed T1s from my Fiio E9 for the short duration I had that combo before upgrading the amp (and eventually the headphones).
 
Headphones are by far the most important physical component in the set-up but amps do play a pretty big role in sculpting the sound.  

 

[Byakushiki]

Quote:

Here's a heart-warming audio story.
 
Maybe about 2, 3, maybe even 4 months ago I had this friend of mine who was really into music, she was realy close with me, almost like brother and sister. Anyway, everyday she'd listen to her favourite songs through some earbuds bought from Walmart that she didnt know the name of. I tried them, they were uninteresting at the very best. I let her try my MDR-V6s and she really started to love her music a lot more (yes I know V6s arent audiophile-grade, but they're pretty good), she'd listen to them a few times, and was starting to slowly warm up to the idea of switching from earbuds to headphones; that one major transition.
 
Anyway, things were starting to get a little difficult for her, and we started to get to become really really close friends, and I found myself hanging out with her afterschool a whole hell of a lot, of course with my V6s being present; their sound signature was not absent from the room.
 
So a few weeks later, she shows up with headphones. Exactly what I was waiting for; I tried em instantly, they were some "Onn" headphones from somewhere, they had a weird sound signature; lower-mids were emphasized with lower-highs... Sounded kinda awkward at times, and was uncomfortable for my larger head, but hers fit in just fine. Anyways, she really was enjoying her music a lot more now.
 
So to turn a very long story short; I turned my friend from an crappy-earbud girl to being my girlfriend who loves headphones Conversion succesful!

 
Should've convinced her to get some K701s

No heartwarming stories here, everyone's too stubborn to upgrade from their iBuds to anything other than Beats. Except for a friend, who I convinced to get some Grado SR60's. My history class though gave me some odd looks when I started babbling a bit on mid-fi equipment and musician's monitors. $5 says one of them was thinking "I thought most musicians and studios used Beats". TL;DR: Attractive girl with Beats Solos=Just NO.

 

[Ishcabible]

Quote:

Here's a heart-warming audio story.
 
Maybe about 2, 3, maybe even 4 months ago I had this friend of mine who was really into music, she was realy close with me, almost like brother and sister. Anyway, everyday she'd listen to her favourite songs through some earbuds bought from Walmart that she didnt know the name of. I tried them, they were uninteresting at the very best. I let her try my MDR-V6s and she really started to love her music a lot more (yes I know V6s arent audiophile-grade, but they're pretty good), she'd listen to them a few times, and was starting to slowly warm up to the idea of switching from earbuds to headphones; that one major transition.
 
Anyway, things were starting to get a little difficult for her, and we started to get to become really really close friends, and I found myself hanging out with her afterschool a whole hell of a lot, of course with my V6s being present; their sound signature was not absent from the room.
 
So a few weeks later, she shows up with headphones. Exactly what I was waiting for; I tried em instantly, they were some "Onn" headphones from somewhere, they had a weird sound signature; lower-mids were emphasized with lower-highs... Sounded kinda awkward at times, and was uncomfortable for my larger head, but hers fit in just fine. Anyways, she really was enjoying her music a lot more now.
 
So to turn a very long story short; I turned my friend from an crappy-earbud girl to being my girlfriend who loves headphones Conversion succesful!

These?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/520507/move-over-ad700-and-other-mid-fi-headphones-onn-is-in-town-who-canadians-rejoice

 

[192405]

Quote:

 
Should've convinced her to get some K701s

No heartwarming stories here, everyone's too stubborn to upgrade from their iBuds to anything other than Beats. Except for a friend, who I convinced to get some Grado SR60's. My history class though gave me some odd looks when I started babbling a bit on mid-fi equipment and musician's monitors. $5 says one of them was thinking "I thought most musicians and studios used Beats". TL;DR: Attractive girl with Beats Solos=Just NO.

She needs open headphones And I'm just happy she could pick out the difference between crappy earbuds and some good headphones.
 
And that's what most highschool students are like (sept the lucky few of us like me and my newly liberated girlfriend), a few people walk into school with Solos and everyone is like "Yo nice headphones! Let me try them out! Those are the best headphones in the world". I laugh my ass off inside everytime I hear that = )
 
Also, I dont realy understand your tl;dr o.o I didnt see Solos mentioned in my post or yours xD
 
 

 

[192405]

Nope. Hers used 40mm drivers and was 20-20k. Same company, different model xD

 
Quote:

These?
http://www.head-fi.org/t/520507/move-over-ad700-and-other-mid-fi-headphones-onn-is-in-town-who-canadians-rejoice