Ok here we go, I've got the Grado SR225's, for now with the bowls. (s-cush ordered but will come later)
I will not make a new topic review of it, since there are so many, not going to contribute very much.
I'll just post my experiences here.
First of all, about the looks; these are truly the most beautiful cans I've ever seen. There's just something about it.
I was pleasently surprised by the thick cord. Un unpleasent surprise to me, was that it just comes with a big plug. What's this? I mean, with every phones you get a possibility for normal and mini jack plugs and with Grado, they chose for you, if you want differently you have to buy extra. I find that strange.
Comfort:
these aren't Beyers, but I don't have a big problem with the comfort either. I'm not very experienced with them yet, but after an hour or two of listening, maybe the disfomfort grows, can imagine that, but all in all, the comfort problem many Grado users report, doesn't bother me very much. As for the metal band, I don't have to stretch it. It's not very tight, maybe that's just because I have a fairly small head.
The Sound (they got 10 hours playtime before I got them, so they're NOT burned-in):
Hell yeah this is very very upfront! Completely different from the Beyerdynamic 770/80's.
I've had only a couple of hours with the SR225's, and I just don't know yet what to completely think about them. I like the way they produce distortion guitars (rock/metal), it's not just that they are very upfront, with much treble, but there's something about the dynamics these cans produce, that makes them special to me (maybe more cans do that, but it really stands out in comparison with the 770's). They let you feel gitar vibrating, I think that's the closest I can put it (not very experienced in this vocabulary with headphones, sound etc.).
As for instrument separation and detail, yes I think they do better on that then the Beyers also.
But, but, but
The Grado sound is very fatiguing, more then expected (lets me turns the volume down). I think the treble is too much for me to let this become my 'every day headphone'. When I switch between 770 and 225, the Grado's are just too bright, but the 770's are just 'too far away' soundwise, very relaxed, but they seem muff after hearing the Grado. When I switch back to the Grado, the sound is nicely upfront, but just too bright, a little but too harsch (not much).
Maybe because of that, my biggest 'but' is that I can't turn up the volume with the Grado. I'm not someone who always want to hear at high volume, but sometimes with a good song, you want a couple of minuts to just rock out. I just can't do that with the 225, the experience is not nice.
So what's next? Maybe to search for the middle road between these very different cans? (The store I buy with has some DT880's and 990's (250 ohms) in advertisement for 200 euro's, that's 100 euro's cheaper then normal here) I don't know, the amount of bass the Grado gives is enough for me, but I have a feeling it must not be much less then this, otherwise it falls short on that for me, maybe that says enough about the AKG thing.
What I also don't know, is what these 225's are going to do when they break in, after 100 hours or so. What a do know, now I've got Grado's, they will not leave the house very soon. I spite of the negatives, they are fun, even if it's just for 20-30 minutes. I expercience their dynamics as really special.
Finally, I'm not searching for the perfect cans for everything, I know enough to don't expect such a thing. Everything I wrote above, is just about (prog)rock/metal. I listen more music styles then this, but since 70% of my listening is prog.rock/metal (and really all of the diversity of that genre, from Tommy the Who and Pink Floyd, to Symphony X and Tool), you could say this will be my most important headphone.
