[J3mo]

Heya, I'm thinking about getting a grado sr 60 for the use of my ipod mini and i have two questions:

a) how bad is the leak in the sound exactly? about 99% of the posts don't even mention it, and 1% say it leaks way to much to be using in the buses or planes.

b) how suitable is grado for listening to jazz - acoustic with about 4 instruments or big band with screeching trumpets?

Thanks

 

[arspy87]

My SR80 and SR125 leak a ton of sound. It's almost as if you could put the earcups on backwards and hear the same volume of sound out of the back (just sounds really terrible, of course).

As for jazz, I'm not sure. Grados have very refined treble in my opinion (at least on the ones I own; the SR125 more so), so they might be a good choice for jazz. I do think they are suited best for rock, however, due to the "punchiness" of the bass and "forward" sound.

 

[acs236]

Quote:

Originally Posted by J3mo a) how bad is the leak in the sound exactly? about 99% of the posts don't even mention it, and 1% say it leaks way to much to be using in the buses or planes.

I'd say that they're unsuitable for planes and busses. For some reason, the slight sound of headphones leaking drives some people crazy.

 

[seeberg]

If you are in a lesser noisy environment, then the SR60's are great. Some people may hear you nearby, but I don't really get complaints for it. It leaks sound, but not as bad as you'd expect. Of course, it's definitely not a commuter headphone. Shure or Etymotic (E2c or ER6/6i) would be better suited there, unless you are on a shoestring budget, which Koss has cornered from the looks of things. Additionally, I recently got "Cowboy Bebop OST3- Blue" and it has alot of jazz, blues, samba and other varied types of music. The SR60's are capable of playing any kind of music I've played on that disc(or any other kind of music, IMHO) with superb musicality. Not one part of the audible range was over emphasized or attenuated. It sounded 'just right' to me. I recently heard some ER4P's and the S adaptor, and it's the same thing with them, but with awesome isolation and being 'just right' on a whole new level. Too bad my budget doesn't allow for ER4's!

Late,
Abe

Oh, and welcome to HeadFi... Sorry about your wallet

 

[jpr703]

Sound leakage would be too great for planes or buses. However, they do sound great with big band type music. I really enjoy listening to horns on Grados.

 

[seeberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpr703 Sound leakage would be too great for planes or buses. However, they do sound great with big band type music. I really enjoy listening to horns on Grados.

Same here. Heard of "The Seatbelts"? They're on the Cowboy Bebop OST's and they are amazing through Grados and Ety's!

 

[Jahn]

I'd say that's about par for the course. Leaks like crazy in and out, and won't be feasible in a car/bus, and non-delicate jazz like big band or a quartet using sax/trumpet should be just fine.

btw welcome to head-fi and sorry about your wallet!

 

[morphie]

a) people around you will hear the music youre listening to.
b) IMHO, Jazz is great with my 325s when amped and with a good source. If acoustic and jazz are what u listen to most, I wouldnt recommend Grados to you, as most people dislike Grados with that music, however, I love listening to Jazz with my cans, so best for u is to try them out... You might find them much too aggressive (when screeching trumpets play and such). Listen and see

 

[Kirosia]

I don't really listen to jazz, but perhaps the alessandro ms1 may be better for it . . .

Anyways, they leake quite a bit. I'd say at least 70% of what you can hear. When I used grados portably, leaking out didn't bother me as much as leaking in. Also, fear the dreaded "T". (tinnitus)

I'd personally use a pair of ksc-75 or 35, or canalphones if isolation is needed.

 

[overlunge]

IMHO, SR-60 performs well with female jazz vocal, and the instruments sound warm (though slightly blended)straight out of the iPod headphone jack. I listened to very limited male jazz vocal, so I can not comment on that aspect.

As for portable use, I guess a little bit of courtasy to your fellow passenger is important. So I don't recommend SR-60 to be used in noisy settings. Also you just don't get the same performance out of them with volume cranked up and noisy background.

All the best,

overlunge

 

[J3mo]

whoa

thanks a lot for the insightful feedbacks

hmm... courtesy vs sound quality
something to think about. don't really wanna get ostricized on 2 hr bus rides

anyhow, ya
seeberg, i do listen to seatbelts (got all the cowboy bebop albums actually)
and things ranging from keith jerrett, stan kenton orchestra, tower of power, mingus to art blakey + graduates of the group

again, thanks a lot for the feedbacks

 

[AdamWill]

They leak like crazy, but if there's no officially enforced 'don't listen to music on this transit system' policy in your area, there's not a damn thing over bus / train riders can do about it except give you dirty looks

. My personal feeling is that even the leakiest phones in existence aren't as loud as two people having a conversation, so people who complain about it frankly have no grounds to do so at all. It's like complaining about people using cellphones on transit - fashionable, but so long as you're not going to complain about people talking to each other, doesn't actually make any *sense*. So just wear your Grados and ignore them.

 

[MrXpress]

I'm burning in my SR-60's, and so I had them at a little above average volume...and was tired of hearing the leak, so I threw them on my bed and buried them under pillows, comforters, and sheets....and I still heard it

 

[Sottilde]

Quite honestly, the grados are awesome phones for when you're at home - but I would almost never wear them otherwise. I use them when I'm on my computer (but even the hum of the cpu fan annoys me, they're THAT open) and when the house is really quiet. They're great for LAN parties because you can hear everything while you're wearing them.

But for commuting - big no. They're a pain to carry around (I'm scared to break them), they leak a ton, and they'd have to be turned WAY up in order to have satisfactory quality on a noisy bus. I think e2c/sr-60 is a great combo (hey, that's what I own!

).

Don't plan to commute with grados. It just doesn't work. Grab a good set of canalphones for travel.

 

[Natsuiro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia When I used grados portably, leaking out didn't bother me as much as leaking in. Also, fear the dreaded "T". (tinnitus)

I would agree with Kirosia. I wouldn't use grados portably unless I purposely wanted to damage my hearing.