aufeuer
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2005
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I've had my Grado SR-125s for over a year now, but I have not been able to listen to them for the past 8 months as I had to leave the country and the phones behind for a long term assignment. I remember liking their sound, but finding them to be a bit lean on the bass and a little too harsh on the treble. This was remedied by the tape mod, which attenuated the treble a bit and brought out the bass, and this was almost exclusively how I preferred listening to the phones.
During my 8 month stint out of the country, I was able to get hold of a pair of Alessandro MS2i's which I found to be much more to my liking with the stock bowls. It seemed to be what I hoped the SR-125 would be more like, without losing that fun, fun Grado flavor.
Fast forward to the last few weeks. I have returned to my beloved Manila, Philippines only to find my poor SR-125s covered in molds after 8 months of being out of commission. Not wanting to see it crumble in ruin, I washed the now tapeless bowls, dried them and stuck them back to take a quick listen...
All I can say is that I was shocked at how they sounded.
They were not bad at all. They sounded pretty damn good, in fact, and I was surprised at how close they sound to my MS2i. The bass didn't seem lacking (though not quite at the level of the MS2i), the impact was good, and the highs didn't seem as harsh. I would go as far as saying that they seemed more coherent overall (better instrument separation), and had a slightly nicer sparkle at the top than the Alessandro.
Maybe it was the washed bowls? Or maybe a layer of mold had grown on the driver? Or maybe I had just grown more accustomed to the Grado sound after spending time with both phones? Whatever the reason was that made the sound (SEEM) better to my ears, the SR-125s have undoubtedly taken their revenge on me for my lack of love for them early on. But now I love them both, SR-125 and MS2i alike, and will not think of selling either in the near future. Grado amore!
During my 8 month stint out of the country, I was able to get hold of a pair of Alessandro MS2i's which I found to be much more to my liking with the stock bowls. It seemed to be what I hoped the SR-125 would be more like, without losing that fun, fun Grado flavor.
Fast forward to the last few weeks. I have returned to my beloved Manila, Philippines only to find my poor SR-125s covered in molds after 8 months of being out of commission. Not wanting to see it crumble in ruin, I washed the now tapeless bowls, dried them and stuck them back to take a quick listen...
All I can say is that I was shocked at how they sounded.
Maybe it was the washed bowls? Or maybe a layer of mold had grown on the driver? Or maybe I had just grown more accustomed to the Grado sound after spending time with both phones? Whatever the reason was that made the sound (SEEM) better to my ears, the SR-125s have undoubtedly taken their revenge on me for my lack of love for them early on. But now I love them both, SR-125 and MS2i alike, and will not think of selling either in the near future. Grado amore!
