[ZetsuBozu0012]

Well, the name says it all. 
 
I'm not what you might call a real audiophile (point of fact, I'm pretty new to this). Regardless, I'm quite fond of music. And please, God, not that sickening noise you get out a pair of... ugh, Skullcandies. 

Honestly, I'd thought that everyone here was exaggerating about how badly they sucked, but I had the (mis)fortune of getting to borrow a pair from a friend, out of pure curiosity. I own a pair of Senn HD 428s. While that's more or less an entry-level set of cans for real audiophiles, I find that they're still rather good as opposed to *expletive* such as Skull and Noize etc.
 
I'm getting a migraine just remembering how they sounded. 

 
Anyway, I use my Senns for going on the out and about, and I'm fine with their sound quality and all. I once considered getting a pair of A-Ts, but their lower dB sensitivity kinda puts me off. Anyway, I'm looking for a decent pair of open-backs, and I've so far narrowed it down to the HD238 Precisions and the SR80is. 
 
Got to audition the 238s (no small miracle here in the PH), but I've yet to even SEE a pair of Grados in real life. I might have to order a pair online, though I really don't trust hand-me-down anythings. 
 
Any advice, my hi-fi'ing superiors? )

 

[ArmAndHammer]

What kinda of music do you listen to? I don't know anything about the Senns but generally depending on your musical preferences I can recommend the Grados. They do several genres extremely well like rock, jazz, blues, acoustic, female vocals. They do metal decently and are alright with classical though not ideal due to the small sound stage. Rap/hip hop, if you don't mind not having the boomy bass usually associated with the genre they do pretty good. 
 
Are you amping or are you planning to in the future? Grados don't need an amp but they definitely benefit from one, more than most people think.

 

[Kevin Brown]

 I have had both.  Much prefer the Grado's.  I thought the HD238's were extremely uncomfortable (the pleather pads made my ears and head sweat), and they have way too much bass.  I much prefer the older PX-100's over the HD238's, and I prefer the SR80i's over both of them (but I still use the PX-100's for my lunchtime listening).  I think the SR80i is a great audiophile starter can, and if you look up Bilavideo's mods, you can turn them into something even better sounding w/o much effort or cost.

 

[ZetsuBozu0012]

Haha, I'm into rock, alright, so that shouldn't be much of a problem for the Grados. I also am rather fond of classical music, though, so the small soundstage might prove to be a bit of a letdown (are they really that bad?). Mostly, though, I stick with the likes of Paramore, Led Zeppelin, Bon Jovi, MCR, etc.
 
... I DO listen to rap, hip hop, and R&B on occasion, though not so often that I'd call them my preferred genres. 
 
How do they fare with techno?
 
Note: I've just given up any desire to own the HD238s... Your decisions seem rather unanimous )
 
P.S.
I know this is a bit off-topic, but have any of you heard of the ATH-PRO700MK2's? They're closed-back, so I may not be getting them any time soon, but I've taken a real interest in them. Too bad they're not available outside of Japan, though... Even worse is that my country isn't on the list of countries that AudioCubes delivers to (any advice on how to get past that little snag?). 
 
The primary reason I've taken a interest in them is because they come with two detachable cords: A short one for on-the-go listening, and a longer one for home usage. 
 
Anyone get the chance to try them out yet? They seem pretty awesome.