Sennheisers vs Grados

[davidcotton]

Like the posting says:-

I have a pair of 565 Ovations and am very happy with them, particularly after pairing them with the x-cansv2 and X-psu!

After reading on the headwize forum (god I got withdrawal bad, one of the computer games forums went down the same night arrrghhh!!

) It got me wondering (again) what are the different merits between the two makes of headphones? I mainly listen to Prog Rock. One of the main reasons that I went with senheisser at the time was the fact that it came with a 3 metre cable which is just about enough for me when I listen in bed in the evening and the grado (thats easier to spell!!) only had two.

I may be tempted to listen to a couple of pairs of Grados just to get a comparison (only when the bank balance recovers after blowing £280 in one week

) and see what I think

So what reccomendations are there then??

 

[joelongwood]

david, I have the HD-600s and quite a few Grados. I find the difference in sound to be night and day. Although there are differences in sound among the Grados, there is a also a similarity that is unmistakable. All of them, to my ears, convey a sense of being in the presence of the musicians on stage or in the recording studio. The Senns are another story altogether. They make me think I'm in the audience. I much prefer the Grados. You may find otherwise. As far as comfort goes, I find the Grados extremely comfortable for extended (2-3 hours) of listening. Some people can't tolerate them for more than 20 minutes. You really need to audition to make a wise choice. Good luck.

 

[JMT]

I'll echo what joelongwood says here. If you want IMPACT, eye blinking, rock and roll, it's all the way live type of listening, then the Grados will deliver that experience.(IMHO) Some find the Grado sound much to harsh, I find the Grado sound abundant in detail. Some find it fatiguing, I find it exciting.

If you want something that is less "in your face", kick back in the chair, let the music envelope you type of experience, than the Senns are just the ticket.

I have specific types of music that I listen to just with my Grados, and types that I only listen to with my Senns. But as joe said, audition and decide what works for you.

Have fun!

 

[RogerEsq]

Everybody's right on track.

In a rock pop cafe, where they're playing "Space Truckin'" by goodl old Deep Purple, I would order a soda pop Grado, anytime.

On an open park, or a big sunken garden, where they're playing Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3", a sip of Sennheiser orange juice will suit me just fine boys.

For my music selection, MY ears say it's Grado over the Senns.
That's why I work eight hours a day in my office room, with my ears listening to Grado 225s hooked to the SB Live Platinum drive II's headphone out, playing mostly pop/rock. Ocasek's "Just What I Needed" always revs me up. My manager does not mind me wearing them while at work as long as we deliver the goods.

"Yeah yeah yeah Space Truckin'
Yeah yeah yeah Space Truckin' ".

Gillan's voice never sounded so good...


Both headphones are very good AND they simply have different sounds for different music forms.

 

[KR...]

It more than a matter of different presentations. While the 600’s sound more polite than the current Grados, they also have better separation of the instruments as well. Grado do certain things better than Senns and vice versa, it’s all a matter of personal taste. I like them both myself. It really depends on what CD I want to listen to.

 

[joelongwood]

Man, I just compared the frequency response graphs for the Grado 325s, Rs-1s, and Senn HD-600s over at Headroom's new site and it's right there in front of you to see why they sound so different. From the upper midrange, the Grados are goin' in one direction, while the Senns are goin' in another. Pretty dramatic difference.
http://207.66.131.158/headroom2/

 

[eric343]

Personally, I find that the Sennheiser 600's are MUCH more comfortable than the grados, because you can barely feel them whereas the Grado earpads are very warm and contact most of the ear. Unfortunately, I've only listened to the 600s in a noisy environment and can't really review them for sound.

 

[malkmus]

Hey David,
If you're so happy, why do you want new cans? Just kidding, we all suffer from a little "audio nervosa" from time to time. I have Senn's & Grado's, and after two days of just listening to the Grado's and going back to the Senn's, I thought they were broken!! The Grado's are THAT good. Grado's put you on stage, Senn's in the 10th row, and come on, who woudn't want to feel like their on the stage, instead of in the crowd. The Grado's are a new purchase for me (just moved into a no cranking place, so phones it is) and I can't believe how amazing they are, and believe me, I've had enough high-end gear over the years to be sceptical of all the accolades, but really, they smoke Senn's. But hey, you're not me, let your ears be your guide. Sorry about the length of this reply....it's my first time writing here or any other site for that matter....good luck, and oh yeah, you headphone knobs are a lot cooler than most audio knobs who only talk about how bad other peoples stuff is... keep it up.

 

[Braver]

it really depends on a lot things. Senns are more comfortable than Grados. Grados are agressive and have impact, Senns are easier on the ears, laid back.

With Arena, Pendragon, IQ, I don´t like the Grado sound. It doesn´t let me to drift away with the music, cause the impact constantly kicks me right back. But with stuff with lots of distorted guitars (50% of Ayreon, Metallica) or instrumental rock (Bozzio/Levin/Stevens) the Grados are incredible if your ears don´t start to itch every 5 mins....

(will you be selling those 565s btw?

)

 

[davidcotton]

Dont think so somehow!!

They do sound really good especially with the headphone amp and psu. I was just wondering really as I have heard so much about the "Grado sound" and wondered how it compared to the senns. Having said THAT however I may be intrested in getting a pair of cheaper Grados for my minidisc player as the £25.00 sony ones I have now are REALLY uncomfortable! But it wont be for a while yet as I have just splashed out on a new Game Boy Advance

 

[flashbak]

Well I think joelongwood nailed it down pretty good. The difference between the Grado RS1's and the HD600's is that the Grado's just offer finer detail of the presentation. I found the HD600's to be more of a wash of instruments, nice, but not intimate enough for me. Fender guitars going through Fender amps for instance, just didn't have the bite that they possess with HD600. Whereas the RS1's capture that feeling. The same goes for percussion! Cymbals, bells, snare etc. all sound much more realistic via the RS1's. Please understand that the HD600 are very nice phones for those who like to be more part of the audience than part of the musicians!

 

[ai0tron]

Also remember that the HD600's will continue to respond to upgrades to your system. They will get better as you improve the synergy of your system. In fact it is difficult to be fair when comparing HD600's and RS-1's/grados in general because grados are much easier to please than senns. If you dont have a really good amp and an excellent sourceHD600's are bound to sound worse than grados. For example HD600's sound best with the clou red jaspis cable rather than the standard cable. This upgrade is not even available for Grados so is correct to compare the Grados against the HD600's without the upgraded cable?? I don't think so, I think that the easily realizable full potential of the phones should be taken into consideration when comparing. Since most people don't even own this cable comparisons for some are going to be different than comparisons for others. Considering all the things you can do to HD600's to drastically improve their performance I think they are in the long run the better phones IMO.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Considering all the things you can do to HD600's to drastically improve their performance I think they are in the long run the better phones IMO.

I beg to differ. I don't think either the Grado RS-1 or the Senn HD-600 can be called the "better" headphone. Their sound is so drastically different, that it really comes down to a matter of taste as to which one you prefer. For classical music, I prefer Senns, for everything else it's Grados. That's not an opinion........it's a fact.

 

[eric343]

So I guess my stock Cmoy (no crossfeed, no Grado anti-hiss resistor, no volume control, just built off the original plans) won't be good enough to drive the HD600s off my McIntosh, huh?

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by eric343 So I guess my stock Cmoy (no crossfeed, no Grado anti-hiss resistor, no volume control, just built off the original plans) won't be good enough to drive the HD600s off my McIntosh, huh?

I have a cmoy/Hansen/Apheared-type amp that JMT built for me. I'm not sure if it has all that stuff (JMT?), but it drives my HD-600's with aplomb.