[keanex]

Quote:

Hey the sr60s are great entry level cans, good first purchase. But allow me to offer some practical advice, you don't need to go and re-rip your entire music collection into flac. Contrary to popular thinking more bits does not necessarilty mean better sound; modern mp3/mp4 encoders (lame mp3 or even itunes aac) sound transparent (same as lossless) at surprisingly low bit-rate (ok, you might hear some difference if you are using some high end dac/amp and flagship cans, but probably not the sr60s). Any difference you hear between flac and decently ripped mp3 is probably psychosomatic, if you don't believe me try an ABX test in foobar. It's nice to have things in flac to archive, but it's overkill imo and will be a total waste on something like a sansa clip.

Some more advice is don't expect them to blow you away straight out of the box, imo burn in time is important for grados, not only does the sound improve, but you also need some time for your ears to adjust to the sound. I've had a pair of SR80s for about 4 years now, and everytime I come back to them they seem to be getting better and better, like a fine wine that improves with the more wine you drink .
 
If you are on a tight budget, a dac and amp if quite expensive, there are some budget options available, low-end nuforce and fiio do some nice entry level amp/dac combos, which would probably be the best way to get the most out of your cans; but I wouldn't say it's necessary yet, the grados are quite easy to drive, and you will get along fine without a head-amp for a while. I also wouldn't bother modding your grados yet, especially if they are your first cans, things can go wrong and you could be left headphoneless! Saying that though, you might want to consider changing the pads, as quite a few people find them uncomfortable.

But anyway, enjoy your headphones, everyone remembers their first pair of good cans. x

This post is great. I agree 100% with your first paragraph. If you're ripping your own personal collection you should be doing it in FLAC, no arguments there, but find a program, I recommend dBpoweramp, get the LAME encoders and convert your FLAC to something smaller for portable use. Not only will you be saving space on your DAP, but you won't notice the difference at all. For portable use many people find the LAME VBR setting of V2 to be completely adequate, with the Grado SR60i V2 would probably even be over kill due to the lack of isolation.

 

[GGfpc]

Im thinking about buying these.
 
How is the sound isolation, the main reason I'm buying headphones is because I cant hear music in the car because of the radio... 

 

[MohawkUS]

Quote:

Im thinking about buying these.
 
How is the sound isolation, the main reason I'm buying headphones is because I cant hear music in the car because of the radio... 

 
You don't want Grados, or any open headphone for that matter, Grados have no isolation, as I've said in many threads, my mom can hear my music on another floor of the house when I'm listening to my Grados. I suggest the AKG K81 DJ, I have them and I get no complaints from my parents while driving. 

 

[GGfpc]

Ok, Im officially confused.
 
I was told the Grado's were the best choice for the music I listen to ( Indie Rock), are these any better?
 
And BTW, I'll only be using these at home, but the AKG are just plain ugly...

 

[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

Ok, Im officially confused.
 
I was told the Grado's were the best choice for the music I listen to ( Indie Rock), are these any better?
 
And BTW, I'll only be using these at home, but the AKG are just plain ugly...

Grados are very good with rock, but they don't isolate.

 

[GGfpc]

Which would  you choose for Indie Rock, with good isolation and under 100 euros?

 

[LizardKing1]

Welcome blufox =)
I agree with ThomasLi, it's not that you won't notice a difference from FLAC to MP3, you would... over a fantastic amp/DAC into some HD650. The Grados are fantastic, however not so much that will make these differences that much noticeable. Try and find FLAC music, take your time.
There was a great source, which was FLACshare.com unfortunately it is down. When you find a flac song and you have the 128Kb/s MP3, try and find the audio differences, they won't be much.
Then one day upgrade your DAC, and be amazed at the difference. But most of all, take a calm trip down this money-losing road =D
The Sansa Clip+ is an amazing DAP, and will drive the SR60i easily.
Just one thing no-one mentioned... the SR60i aren't exactly known for it's bass ammount. Take in consideration I have never heard them! But I'm not sure if it fits your sound signature request. It's a fantastic model from what I've, but maybe not for trance and rock. Sorry to ruin your day...

 

[blufox4900]

It's alright. I don't think I have much of a sound signature to be honest, especially since I'm coming from cheapo headphones with no sound quality at all cept for the JVC flats. I'm still waiting for them to come in the mail from amazon so when they come in, I'll let you know if I like them or not.

 

[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

Welcome blufox =)
I agree with ThomasLi, it's not that you won't notice a difference from FLAC to MP3, you would... over a fantastic amp/DAC into some HD650. The Grados are fantastic, however not so much that will make these differences that much noticeable. Try and find FLAC music, take your time.
There was a great source, which was FLACshare.com unfortunately it is down. When you find a flac song and you have the 128Kb/s MP3, try and find the audio differences, they won't be much.
Then one day upgrade your DAC, and be amazed at the difference. But most of all, take a calm trip down this money-losing road =D
The Sansa Clip+ is an amazing DAP, and will drive the SR60i easily.
Just one thing no-one mentioned... the SR60i aren't exactly known for it's bass ammount. Take in consideration I have never heard them! But I'm not sure if it fits your sound signature request. It's a fantastic model from what I've, but maybe not for trance and rock. Sorry to ruin your day...

This one sentence here makes your entire statement invalid. Please stop bashing gear if you've never heard it. Second, the differences between a 128 kbps song and a FLAC song are huge. The differences between 320 kbps song and a FLAC song are much less. Third, you don't need expensive gear to appreciate updated music files. Fourth, grados are the recommended can for rock, so I disagree with your comment that the sound signatures don't match, because they do.
 
I own both the sr60i and sr80i, and the differences between the two models aren't worth the price increase.
 

 

[LizardKing1]

Yaay a troll =D
 
I was honest enough to admit I had never heard them, which a lot of people in this forum won't admit. And I don't need to have ever heard a Stax headphone to know it is amazing. I have however read a lot about the SR60i and the SR60 and the SR80/80i, and there was a general consensus about lacking of bass, even with the upgraded driver in the "i" series. If the OP had asked a more complex question I wouldn't ever get in the middle of it, but he stated to be a noob and I told him what I have read here, which was very straight-forward. Apparently all the commenters above own the magical models of the SR60 which leads them to believe they have huge ammounts of bass, because I've read a lot more people stating they don't have.
 
I clearly stated I haven't tried them, what's the big deal? I just said what a lot of people hold to be the truth about these, and never pretended to be the Grado God you seem to be.
 
Second I never stated there was no difference between FLAC and 128 MP3. Never. Go read my post. I stated that since he is a self-admited noob and is running it through a PC stock soundboard, with no external amping or DAC, he probably won't notice the difference. That's all. No one here will state that FLAC and MP3 are the same, of course there's a difference, but try catching it on Apple iBuds.
 
Third, maybe reading the OP's post actually? He listens to Trance. Trance. If you are even suggesting the SR60i are the best choice for Trance, you own a pair as much as I do.

 

[blufox4900]

Ok ok settle down guys, don't want this to become an argument thread over the SR60i's or my post D:
To be clear, I do listen to trance (vocal trance in particular) but I also listen to a fair amount of rock and also the occasional musical scores from movies. I think it's safe to say, though, that these things are gonna be a definite upgrade over anything I have regardless if it's not best for trance.

 

[LizardKing1]

Definitely. They're already ordered, right? When they come, let them burn-in for a day/night and then take a listen. Or take a listen right away lol, then post what you think here =)
Sorry about raging all over your thread

 

[blufox4900]

It's all good man. I am gonna try and burn these in for a couple of nights. I'm gonna have to put them in the dresser, though, cause of the leakage

 

[kyuuketsuki]

Doing that in a dresser would be a good idea, however burning them in by listening can also be done as long as the music you are listening to has a wide range.
 
Also... SR60i with trance is not bad, just not optimal. Despite what you might hear here, there are worse cans to listen to trance with. In fact, since most good trance is not actually bass heavy, it might be perfect, since you mentioned vocal trance. Then again I don't know what artists you listen to, so I can't be sure.
 
Also... sorry about your wallet. But now that you have taken the plunge enjoy audio bliss

 

[smashing]

 
Quote:

Yaay a troll =D
 
I was honest enough to admit I had never heard them, which a lot of people in this forum won't admit. And I don't need to have ever heard a Stax headphone to know it is amazing. I have however read a lot about the SR60i and the SR60 and the SR80/80i, and there was a general consensus about lacking of bass, even with the upgraded driver in the "i" series. If the OP had asked a more complex question I wouldn't ever get in the middle of it, but he stated to be a noob and I told him what I have read here, which was very straight-forward. Apparently all the commenters above own the magical models of the SR60 which leads them to believe they have huge ammounts of bass, because I've read a lot more people stating they don't have.
 
I clearly stated I haven't tried them, what's the big deal? I just said what a lot of people hold to be the truth about these, and never pretended to be the Grado God you seem to be.
 
Second I never stated there was no difference between FLAC and 128 MP3. Never. Go read my post. I stated that since he is a self-admited noob and is running it through a PC stock soundboard, with no external amping or DAC, he probably won't notice the difference. That's all. No one here will state that FLAC and MP3 are the same, of course there's a difference, but try catching it on Apple iBuds.
 
Third, maybe reading the OP's post actually? He listens to Trance. Trance. If you are even suggesting the SR60i are the best choice for Trance, you own a pair as much as I do.

Personally, I'd owned and given up on Grados headphone pretty quickly. They are great open cans with bass that don't sound very closed in. The emphasis on the mids and highs (which makes the bass pale in comparison) make rock and pop music lovely as well. I mean, could you imagine a dull-sounding Bono from U2, when all you could hear is the boomy bass and drums?  
 
I don't listen to Trance. But I'd always wonder, given the unbearable booming electronic synthesized bass in the music, do you really need a bass-centred cans to exaggerate them more? Just wondering... not that I gonna find that out anytime in the foreseeable future.
 
Anyway, I will still stand by my perspective that Grado is just another torture device or Iron Maiden - not the most comfortable thing to put over the head or ears. However, the SR60 did let me realise my taste on music listening pretty early on, and I'd not looked back since. Given that the OP had not own any proper cans in the past, SR60 would still be one of the better cans to start with as a reference. It is by no mean the perfect can that will do well in everything, but it is definitely a great starting point to know one's listening preference and one's pursuit for eargasm. 
 
Oh. I can't wait for my SRS-2050 to arrive. I will finally find out if the Stax are really as good as what others claimed. Heh.