spinali
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2003
- Posts
- 1,602
- Likes
- 12
INTRODUCTION
Despite one or two short reviews, info on the gold Grado "50th Anniversary" SR325s has been sketchy. As these are my first Grados, I cannot offer info on how they relate to the other products in the line. Hopefully, experienced listeners can glean the info they need from my wide sampling of music and detailed notes.
OUT OF THE BOX
I purchased my phones from forum sponsor Todd the Vinyl Junkie, who offered a 10% discount. Unlike the brassy gold "50th Anniversary" SR325, mine was a more attractive aluminum tone with gold highlighting on the letters. With the large round pads, it gives the phones a classy look - very little "bling" factor here.
The circular rubber pads fit on top of my ears, but it wasn't uncomfortable (at least in the short term). There's a real sense of weight and substantialness to these headphones, and they're built extremely well.
BEFORE BREAK-IN
For this sampling, I used my turntable only.
THE ROLLING STONES' "Paint It, Black"
The first thing you notice is disparity between the highs and lows. Mick Jagger's vocals have a nice bite on the upper end, but a an over-loose bass made the bass gutar riffs at the end relatively dull. There's nice definition between instruments, though -- once again -- the bass needs more clarity.
When the LP advanced to "Lady Jane," the harpsichord showed a transparency that I hadn't heard yet from these headphones. It wasn't the flattering, colored sound that my V6's push out, but it was an intimate sound I hadn't expected. So far, these seem too restrained for my tastes. I'm not overawed.
TERVEET KADET, "Aareton Joulu" EP
Nothing pushes headphones like early Finnish hardcore. This is a trebly record with lots of screeching vocals and stinging powerchord guitar. The upper end was wonderfully nasty -- even the pedal drum has definition on this one.
The recording itself is very basic, and rendered with fullness -- especially with the abrasive lead guitar breaks. The bass was clearer here than with the Stones; but objectively, both songs lacked overall clarity in the deep bass. I can't help but wonder if the pads may partly be the culprit here.
UB40 - "The Earth Dies Screaming" 12"
There's nothing like reggae dub to pin down a headphone's bass issues. The production on this record is relatively spare (compared to TK), but shows the phones at their best so far. The upper end has real bite and presence; the attack of the Farfisa organ pushes the trable flatteringly, like a good guitar attack. The bass sounded more complementary to the recording here, though the vocals seems "recessed" (as did the mid-range).
Once or twice, the bass was actually too much for the phones to handle, and there was some distortion; this was not at a particularly high volume, which makes it all the more surprising. Moreover, the whole track had a feeling of being "closed in," the kind of thing I get from closed headphones.
ANDREW PARCHAM - suite, with Franz Bruggen on recorder
This recording pins down everything. Bruggen's recorder, a famed Bressan instrument, comes off as brittle, and even unpleasant when Bruggen pushes the volume in the mid-to-high register. While the harpsichord has satisfactory definition, the viola de gamba blends in without making itself heard concisely; this simply should not happen.
When Bruggen starts playing a Jacon van Eyck piece (imitating a bird song), the effect can be even grating -- especially when Bruggen pushes the volume of a sopranino recorder. I had to pull this one off the turntable; it was hard to listen to.
SUSATO - Renaissance Dances
This is early chamber music with varied instrumentation. A solo of Renaissance recorder (it has fewer overtones that the later Baroque instrument), has clear distortion on the upper end. The guitar has clarity, but the sonority isn't particularly appealing. This is kind of surprising with such tight, well-intoned scores. Usually, these dances have an airy feel to them; here, they sound slightly labored.
Penetrating woodwinds seem to be one of these phones' weaknesses out of the box. A ''brittle" sound makes these tunes sound rather unmusical.
SPK - "Leichenshrei" LP
This is a famed recording of "industrial" music. The droning bass is like a sine wave that drills into you while the rhythmic treble plays. This record makes it ever clearer that these phones have a relatively small soundstage (as compared to the V6's, which have none at all). The sharp, hard sounds that reverberate here are almost made for this un-broken-in Grado. Objectively, the record doesn't come off perfectly, but the 325 doesn't miss a beat in rendering the music's sharpness and power.
This record takes all the 325's weaknesses and converts them into strengths. The music can be shrill, but somehow it works. I could listen to this all night.
PRE-BREAK-IN SUMMARY
My first hours using these phones offer an idea of that the new "metal" Grados are like fresh out of the box. We'll have to wait until full break-in until I (and hopefully other forum members) draw final conclusions. But until then, I have noticed:
1. A relatively small (three feet?) soundstage
2. Some distortion in the mid-high range
3. A lack of conciseness in the bass
4. Some sibilance on the very high register, when pushed
At the same time, the phones showed:
1. A warm, relaxing tone on laid-back pop numbers
2. A less retro design, with snappy aluminum highlights
3. A special ability to capture sharper, harder music with excellent musicalness
4. These phones are built to last
More to come.
Despite one or two short reviews, info on the gold Grado "50th Anniversary" SR325s has been sketchy. As these are my first Grados, I cannot offer info on how they relate to the other products in the line. Hopefully, experienced listeners can glean the info they need from my wide sampling of music and detailed notes.
OUT OF THE BOX
I purchased my phones from forum sponsor Todd the Vinyl Junkie, who offered a 10% discount. Unlike the brassy gold "50th Anniversary" SR325, mine was a more attractive aluminum tone with gold highlighting on the letters. With the large round pads, it gives the phones a classy look - very little "bling" factor here.
The circular rubber pads fit on top of my ears, but it wasn't uncomfortable (at least in the short term). There's a real sense of weight and substantialness to these headphones, and they're built extremely well.
BEFORE BREAK-IN
For this sampling, I used my turntable only.
THE ROLLING STONES' "Paint It, Black"
The first thing you notice is disparity between the highs and lows. Mick Jagger's vocals have a nice bite on the upper end, but a an over-loose bass made the bass gutar riffs at the end relatively dull. There's nice definition between instruments, though -- once again -- the bass needs more clarity.
When the LP advanced to "Lady Jane," the harpsichord showed a transparency that I hadn't heard yet from these headphones. It wasn't the flattering, colored sound that my V6's push out, but it was an intimate sound I hadn't expected. So far, these seem too restrained for my tastes. I'm not overawed.
TERVEET KADET, "Aareton Joulu" EP
Nothing pushes headphones like early Finnish hardcore. This is a trebly record with lots of screeching vocals and stinging powerchord guitar. The upper end was wonderfully nasty -- even the pedal drum has definition on this one.
The recording itself is very basic, and rendered with fullness -- especially with the abrasive lead guitar breaks. The bass was clearer here than with the Stones; but objectively, both songs lacked overall clarity in the deep bass. I can't help but wonder if the pads may partly be the culprit here.
UB40 - "The Earth Dies Screaming" 12"
There's nothing like reggae dub to pin down a headphone's bass issues. The production on this record is relatively spare (compared to TK), but shows the phones at their best so far. The upper end has real bite and presence; the attack of the Farfisa organ pushes the trable flatteringly, like a good guitar attack. The bass sounded more complementary to the recording here, though the vocals seems "recessed" (as did the mid-range).
Once or twice, the bass was actually too much for the phones to handle, and there was some distortion; this was not at a particularly high volume, which makes it all the more surprising. Moreover, the whole track had a feeling of being "closed in," the kind of thing I get from closed headphones.
ANDREW PARCHAM - suite, with Franz Bruggen on recorder
This recording pins down everything. Bruggen's recorder, a famed Bressan instrument, comes off as brittle, and even unpleasant when Bruggen pushes the volume in the mid-to-high register. While the harpsichord has satisfactory definition, the viola de gamba blends in without making itself heard concisely; this simply should not happen.
When Bruggen starts playing a Jacon van Eyck piece (imitating a bird song), the effect can be even grating -- especially when Bruggen pushes the volume of a sopranino recorder. I had to pull this one off the turntable; it was hard to listen to.
SUSATO - Renaissance Dances
This is early chamber music with varied instrumentation. A solo of Renaissance recorder (it has fewer overtones that the later Baroque instrument), has clear distortion on the upper end. The guitar has clarity, but the sonority isn't particularly appealing. This is kind of surprising with such tight, well-intoned scores. Usually, these dances have an airy feel to them; here, they sound slightly labored.
Penetrating woodwinds seem to be one of these phones' weaknesses out of the box. A ''brittle" sound makes these tunes sound rather unmusical.
SPK - "Leichenshrei" LP
This is a famed recording of "industrial" music. The droning bass is like a sine wave that drills into you while the rhythmic treble plays. This record makes it ever clearer that these phones have a relatively small soundstage (as compared to the V6's, which have none at all). The sharp, hard sounds that reverberate here are almost made for this un-broken-in Grado. Objectively, the record doesn't come off perfectly, but the 325 doesn't miss a beat in rendering the music's sharpness and power.
This record takes all the 325's weaknesses and converts them into strengths. The music can be shrill, but somehow it works. I could listen to this all night.
PRE-BREAK-IN SUMMARY
My first hours using these phones offer an idea of that the new "metal" Grados are like fresh out of the box. We'll have to wait until full break-in until I (and hopefully other forum members) draw final conclusions. But until then, I have noticed:
1. A relatively small (three feet?) soundstage
2. Some distortion in the mid-high range
3. A lack of conciseness in the bass
4. Some sibilance on the very high register, when pushed
At the same time, the phones showed:
1. A warm, relaxing tone on laid-back pop numbers
2. A less retro design, with snappy aluminum highlights
3. A special ability to capture sharper, harder music with excellent musicalness
4. These phones are built to last
More to come.
