Saying hello for the first time and could use some advice :)

[impressimars]

  Hi, I've been lurking in the forums for a while; actually bought a pair of headphones from the good reviews that were given of it here Now I need to ask some advice, I'm looking for buy a pair of earbuds or IEM with a sound signature similar to the Koss Pro Dj 100 / 200 or the grado sr80i. Preferably something I can move in as I'll be using them for my job where sometimes I have to push carts for an hour at a time. Any suggestions are welcome, let's try to keep the price at a reasonable under 100 but would much prefer them to be in the $30-50 range Also I'm looking into buying a pair of Grado SR325is but was wondering if the sound is only marginally improved from the sr80i or if it's a big jump? I know this is mostly subjective but I'd like to know someone elses opinion in the matter.
 
Thanks to everyone who answers in advance

 

[impressimars]

Bump

 

[GermanGuy]

it is a big jump!

 

[ultrabike]

I would recommend that you try different pads for your SR-80s:
 
1) For brighter presentation (and perhaps lower-fi) you might want to try the G-Pads: http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Replacement-Headphone-Cushion/dp/B00BW4RWH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383348931&sr=8-1&keywords=g-pads+grado
 
2) For a more SR-325 presentation you might want to try the L-Pads: http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Replacement-Headphone-Cushion/dp/B00BW4XQZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383348988&sr=8-1&keywords=grado+pads
 
3) A higher fidelity (lower distortion), more neutral sound may be achieve with the Flat Pads: http://www.ttvjaudio.com/TTVJ_Flat_Pads_p/aat0000100.htm
 
Given you already have the SR80 cans, I would opt for option 3) all the way.
 
As far as IEMs I recommend you take a dive into this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-301-iems-compared-custom-art-music-one-added-10-28-13-p-796

 

[impressimars]

@GermanGuy. So in your opinion, is it worth the $300?

 

[impressimars]

Thank you very much for all the info! Specially the IEMs thread. I'm going to be reading that one for quite a bit to see which will fit my needs the best. As for the pads, can they actually change the sound that much? I'm just a little skeptical. Thanks for any info in advance one again!

 

[ultrabike]

The pads change the sound a lot.
 
I think the 325s and the 80s use the same drivers, but different pads and different housing. That is why I'm recommending to try the different pads before taking the plunge.
 
I've measured and tried a few pads with the entry level SR60s and I can tell you they make a non-negligible difference. I feel the biggest difference in sound performance with the Grados has to do with distance of  the drivers to the ear, amount of air to drive, material between driver and ear, and seal, all of which are pad dependent. Here is IMO a pretty good article about Grado pad sound quality influence:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evaluation-grado-stock-and-modified-ear-pads
 
The 325s might get you more "detail" since it used pads that tilt the FR to the highs, but you may pay the price of having higher distortion (there is less material between the driver and the ear but more air to drive), and may / may not like the brighter presentation in the long run. The frame is much nicer though.
 
BTW, the SR60 becomes pretty neutral (kind of warm actually) with out any pads. The closest to this ideal without torturing your ears might be the TTJV pads. I believe those are the pads that the Joe Grado HP-1000 used.

 

[impressimars]

All right! Well I guess I'll give a new set of pads a try! You've convinced me . Thank you for all the information, really appreciate it

 

[cel4145]

I think the 325s and the 80s use the same drivers, but different pads and different housing. That is why I'm recommending to try the different pads before taking the plunge.

I've measured and tried a few pads with the entry level SR60s and I can tell you they make a non-negligible difference. I feel the biggest difference in sound performance with the Grados has to do with distance of  the drivers to the ear, amount of air to drive, material between driver and ear, and seal, all of which are pad dependent. Here is IMO a pretty good article about Grado pad sound quality influence:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evaluation-grado-stock-and-modified-ear-pads

Agreed.

Although I suspect that the 325is are more different from the SR80i and than say the SR225i are. I would suspect that the particular reflectiveness of the metal cups in the 325i is what gives them the brighter sound signature over the 225i.

 

[ultrabike]

Possible. The good news is that these are open back which might help alleviate the problem to some extent. For the 325, I think some folks have reversed the pads to change the signature. I think this reduces the air volume.
 
Several threads around here about Grado mods, and likely folks that are more versed than me about it.

 

[tomb]

  I would recommend that you try different pads for your SR-80s:
 
1) For brighter presentation (and perhaps lower-fi) you might want to try the G-Pads: http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Replacement-Headphone-Cushion/dp/B00BW4RWH2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383348931&sr=8-1&keywords=g-pads+grado
 
2) For a more SR-325 presentation you might want to try the L-Pads: http://www.amazon.com/Ear-Zonk-Replacement-Headphone-Cushion/dp/B00BW4XQZ4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383348988&sr=8-1&keywords=grado+pads
 
3) A higher fidelity (lower distortion), more neutral sound may be achieve with the Flat Pads: http://www.ttvjaudio.com/TTVJ_Flat_Pads_p/aat0000100.htm
 
Given you already have the SR80 cans, I would opt for option 3) all the way.
 
As far as IEMs I recommend you take a dive into this thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-301-iems-compared-custom-art-music-one-added-10-28-13-p-796

I agree with you in principle, but if he has the SR-80i's, doesn't he already have flat pads (#3)?
 
Bowls (people call them "L" pads, now) used to be standard on SR-80's, but got changed out to flat pads when Grado went to the "i" designations.  The SR-80 sounds great with bowls, even more so with an amp.  I'm not sure if it approaches an SR-325, but it does approach the SR-225.

 

[ultrabike]

Well, I'm not the most Grado savvy dude around, but according to the IF article, the SR-80s had a different flat pad ("small flat pad"). I think the SR-80s now ships with the comfy S-pad:
 
http://www.gradolabs.com/page_accessories.php?item=b6d6b6c35aca46d4b8ea05e2aa7577f8 
 
I dunno, but I felt that most likely impressimars had the S-pads.
 
Regarding the bow pads, I only measured the SR-60s with the G-pads. Haven't personally experienced them L-pads.
 
Here is a comparo I did with the no pads, S-pads, G-pads, and Kramer modded HD414 pads using the SR-60 cans:
 

 
 
Here are the distortion plots:
 
No Pads:
 

 
S-pads:
 

 
G-pads
 

 
Kramer modded HD414 pads
 

 
I liked no pads better TBH, but my ears couldn't take them for too long. Next I liked the HD414 Kramer modded pads best. G-pads I did not like at all... Too bright and edgy for me. Bass felt a bit recessed as well. Some people may like the detail and lively-ness that the G-pads brings however. The nice thing about all this is that the sound can be tuned to ones liking with a relatively small investment. 

 

[GermanGuy]

if you have a look at the post your grado mods thread, i posted a lot about drivers and bowls just the last two weeks.

in my opinion the sr325is driver is not identical, and also the sr80i driver lacks detail, precision and refinement in comparison.

 

[impressimars]

I'll give those posts a read and see if to me it would be worth the upgrade! Either that or I might just get the Sennheiser HD598, not before giving a new set of pads a try. I'd like to thank you all for the time you gave my thread and all the advice you've given. I'll be sure to keep it in mind when deciding if I'm making a new purchase or not  

 

[ultrabike]

I heard briefly the HD598 and own the similar HD558s. They are both very good headphones IMO.
 
Quote:

if you have a look at the post your grado mods thread, i posted a lot about drivers and bowls just the last two weeks.

in my opinion the sr325is driver is not identical, and also the sr80i driver lacks detail, precision and refinement in comparison.

 
TBH I'm not sure. I've seen a few old threads about it which became pretty heated. Here is one interesting post though:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/583005/grado-drivers#post_9915567
 
From the Grado website review linked through that post: "The driver is the same old Grado driver that is in all his headphones: 32 ohm impedance, 98 dB per one millivolt, he claims."
 
I don't know for certain that the sr80i and the sr325i have the same drivers. I think it's possible they are, but may have better driving matching tolerances from sr325i and up, or maybe some cherry picking going on there. Possible the information in the link is wrong, but consider the quote is from the Grado website itself.
 
Furthermore, consider these two measurement sheets at IF from the SR60 and 325:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoSR60i.pdf
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoSR325.pdf
 
The impedance curves of the drivers there are virtually identical. The FR, distortion, and sensitivity seem different and perhaps consistent with the difference in the pad air gap... with the 325 being a little brighter, a bit higher distortion, and lower sensitivity.