[scott5526]

I swear I must have a defective pair of he-400s with how much everyone else loves them and how much I.... don't.  Anyways my vote goes to grados on this one.  I have sr-225is and they blow my he-400s out of the water on rock.  The he-400s are basically treble/bass headphones with bass dominating their sound pretty distinctly.  I've never found bassy headphones to go well with rock in my experience, so yeah.

 

[pb21cyclist]

HE400 every time.
 
I have the SR225 and the HE400. The Grados are all treble and no bass and sound very brittle and weak when compared to the HE400s.

 

[scott5526]

Maybe if the OP were looking for electronic or otherwise bass heavy music headphones, but the hifimans definitely don't seem cut out for rock to me.  No matter how much I listened to them over a wide variety of artists their overly abundant bass just sounds... unnatural for the genre.  Like I said though, if you like bass they're for you 100% over the grados.  If you don't like overly abundant bass grados all the way.
 

 

[Biscuitz]

Quote:

 
Looking forward to your first impressions. Just keep in mind that HE400s have a laid-back quality, so it'll sound rather different from what you are typically accustomed to.

Got the HE-400 today. Been listening for about three hours now.
 
I immediately put on the velour pads. I haven't even listened with the pleather yet. Also note, they are rev 3.
 
My immediate impressions were roughly like this: "Oh...that's what 'dark' sounds like..." Being so accustomed to Grado, I was a bit turned off. It took at least a half-hour to an hour to somewhat adjust to the sound and start to mildly enjoy them.
 
As has been stated many, many times... the bass on this headphone is seriously awesome. It sounds level, i.e. "flat", extends, and has great definition. Nothing new to add here. Love the bass.
 
Still getting used to the upper mids / lower treble. Coming from Grado, the HE-400 certainly sounds more neutral and less "shouty". I really do enjoy the smoother vocals of the HE-400 though. I can now much more fully understand how peaky the Grados are, having now heard accurate vocal reproduction from the HE-400.
 
As has already been well-described, the high treble of the HE-400 is forward and adds a brightness to the overall darkness of the HE-400. It's kind of a strange combination... 
 
I don't know yet if the HE-400 is for me, but I am starting to enjoy it! Muse's new album sounds seriously great on the HE-400!

 

[Chawanwit]

Rev 3 should be the brightest of all version. Anyways let us know your conclusion on these vs. grado.

 

[pb21cyclist]

After having the HE400s for a couple of weeks now I really can’t see myself ever listening to the Grados again!
 
When I first put the HE400s on they obviously sounded different compared to the Grados, but in a good or indifferent way. Now when I put the Grados on they sound very cheap, very much lacking in bass, thin and harsher than I remember. I also, strangely, find the HE400s more comfortable too.

 

[Chawanwit]

After having the HE400s for a couple of weeks now I really can’t see myself ever listening to the Grados again!

When I first put the HE400s on they obviously sounded different compared to the Grados, but in a good or indifferent way. Now when I put the Grados on they sound very cheap, very much lacking in bass, thin and harsher than I remember. I also, strangely, find the HE400s more comfortable too.

Glad I read this post. Was about to buy some sr60/80i just because I want to know how they sound like since many like to talk about them in a way that they are different from other headphone. Since I'm happy with my he-400 may be I should just keep the cash I was going to spending grado on st else.

 

[Posam]

Quote:

After having the HE400s for a couple of weeks now I really can’t see myself ever listening to the Grados again!
 
When I first put the HE400s on they obviously sounded different compared to the Grados, but in a good or indifferent way. Now when I put the Grados on they sound very cheap, very much lacking in bass, thin and harsher than I remember. I also, strangely, find the HE400s more comfortable too.

Which Grado did you come from though. an sr60i or 80i can't be compared to the HE-400 as it costs like  4x as much.

 

[pb21cyclist]

Quote:

Which Grado did you come from though. an sr60i or 80i can't be compared to the HE-400 as it costs like  4x as much.

I have both the SR60s and SR225s, not the i versions though.

 

[Chawanwit]

I have both the SR60s and SR225s, not the i versions though.

Grado have so many headphones at many price points. May be u can share with us ur experience on how they differ. Like how the sr60 and sr225s differ? Thanks

 

[Biscuitz]

Quote:

After having the HE400s for a couple of weeks now I really can’t see myself ever listening to the Grados again!
 
When I first put the HE400s on they obviously sounded different compared to the Grados, but in a good or indifferent way. Now when I put the Grados on they sound very cheap, very much lacking in bass, thin and harsher than I remember. I also, strangely, find the HE400s more comfortable too.

 
My experience is similar to this. Only after hearing the HE-400 can I truly understand just how bright, colored, and harsh Grados are. I still like em for Rock and Metal though!
 
Quote:

Glad I read this post. Was about to buy some sr60/80i just because I want to know how they sound like since many like to talk about them in a way that they are different from other headphone. Since I'm happy with my he-400 may be I should just keep the cash I was going to spending grado on st else.

 
The SR60i / SR80i are different from other headphones. If you've never heard a Grado, I think it's something you should hear. Granted, SR60i / SR80i is not a fair comparison to the HE-400. But those models will basically represent the entire Prestige Series lineup, and give you a general flavor of the Reference Series (which is more refined and dynamic than the Prestige Series). I wholly recommend buying a pair of L-Cush earpads to use with the SR60i / SR80i. They really open up the sound on those headphones in a good way. For $20, I'd subjectively pin it at a 20% improvement in sound, so yeah; a no-brainer to me.

As for SR60i vs SR80i, this is really the only difference: SR80i has a bit more bass, and maybe a bit harsher high-end than the SR60i. But since SR60i are already pretty bass-shy, for most people the SR80i would be the better buy here; more bass for $20 basically.
 
Quote:

Grado have so many headphones at many price points. May be u can share with us ur experience on how they differ. Like how the sr60 and sr225s differ? Thanks

I currently own the SR60i, but I have owned the SR225i and SR325i before. I've also heard the SR80i, SR125i, MS1i (Alessandro), PS500, and RS1i.
 
In my opinion, you don't get much of an improvement or change in sound as you go up the Prestige Series. The SR60i or the SR80i are the best buys in the Prestige Series imo, and then if you're going to upgrade in the Grado line-up, think about RS2i or PS500 for a real quality upgrade.
 
For what it's worth, I actually thought the SR125i with L-Cush sounded the best out of the entire Prestige Series! But I kept the SR60i out of principle - it being far cheaper and 95% as good as the SR125i.

 

[satanigatan]

I don't think the SR60 or 80's are a good compliment to have to the HE-400s. At least for me, they aren't. I have a SR80i's, and they sound really thin and crass after going from the HE-400's to them. 
 
Then again, I'm pretty sensitive to treble. So I really have no business posting in this thread.
Quote:

Glad I read this post. Was about to buy some sr60/80i just because I want to know how they sound like since many like to talk about them in a way that they are different from other headphone. Since I'm happy with my he-400 may be I should just keep the cash I was going to spending grado on st else.

 

[GREQ]

I think it's worth mentioning that if you only use your open headphones at home like me, you may need to consider your source equipment.
My solid state Fisher amp has such a wonderfully naturally bassy headphone out that my Grado RS2i is just simply amazing. Paired with my 12-band Fisher EQ I can make up for quite a lot of the bass roll-off and tame the mid-bass hump. People say Grados don't do bass, but paired with the right gear and an open mind (I'm not a purist), I strongly disagree. I have no problems with quite literally any genre I throw at them. 

 

[pb21cyclist]

Quote:

Grado have so many headphones at many price points. May be u can share with us ur experience on how they differ. Like how the sr60 and sr225s differ? Thanks

TBH the differences are so minimal they essentially sound the same to me. I got the SR60s first and kind of liked them so thought the SR225s would be a good improvement, they weren't, just more of the same!

 

[Chawanwit]

Hmm, after all buying one of the lower end grados might not be to bad since they are pretty affordable. They are actually cheaper than the fiio e17 amp that I'm going to buy. where is the best place to get the grados anyway? For lowest price.