[Stratmaster458]

Hello,

Over the past month I have been trying headphones seriously for the first time. The original idea was to get away from earbuds so I can preserve my hearing (I already have some loss in my right ear) so I got some iFrogz Throwbax for 20 bucks because they are great bang for buck headphones at that price range and I just wanted to see ho wI liked using headphones.
At Heart I love listening to my music on a quality stereo a luxury I luckily can afford but sometimes that is too loud for late hours at night or while at college so I tried out headphones and I am satisfied and will never use earbuds for serious listening again (only bike riding and working out lol).


Now for the main topic I have been looking at Grado SR125i and SR225i headphones, right now I am leaning towards the SR225is.

All the music I listen to is either V0 encoded, lossless, 24 Bit lossless, or right off the turntable (vinyl). I would like headphones in the 150-200 range that reproduce the sound at audiophile quality.

Am I right for considering those Grados?

 

[EYEdROP]

People like grados for an in-your-face type of sound that is detailed and fast sounding. It sounds like your on stage with the musicians. Some complain Grados dont have enough bass or they have too much treble and are harsh. Sennheiser generally has a laid back sound that is smooth yet detailed and it sounds like your in the back row of a concert hall vs. on stage with the musicians. Some complain sennheiser has too much bass and not enough treble, which makes them sound muddy.

There are many many good audiophile headphones from all sorts of companies, not just senn and grado. The trick is to just read about different headphones in your price range and match it to your personal taste.

Looking back at it, my first good headphones were grados and while I liked them, I probably would have been better off starting with something from Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser. So just do some reading and keep an open mind.

 

[MacedonianHero]

From my experiences, I've owned the SR125/SR225i/SR325is, I preferred the SR225i's the most in the Prestige Series. They were very well detailed, did not really need an amp to sound great (although they do benefit from one) and did not sound as hot in the treble as the SR325is.

 

[Stratmaster458]

I'm actually a musician (mainly electric guitar) I do like a sharper sound thats sort of trebly in a sense. for my guitar I have trebly settings on my amp. So actually it sounds like I may enjoy Grados. I also have the ability to use eq

 

[EYEdROP]

Grados make guitars sound great because of the emphasis on the upper mids/lower treble. The bass on my SR125 sounds undistorted and clear, but dosent have much punch or hit very hard compared to even some cheap walmart headphones.

But it is a headphone, not a speaker. Headphones cannot make you feel the physical impact of a bass drum unless the manufacturer bumps up the bass in some way. Same with treble, you cant make a cymbal stand out in a headphone like in real life unless you bump up the treble. This is because headphone drivers are tiny and next to your ear, not in front of your entire body. So for me the lack of deep bass on grado is understandable and has its benifits in bass-shy headphones like grado. It is the same way with my beyerdynamics.

 

[iponderous]

Grados do guitar like no other headphone can. I'm usually reluctant to recommend a pair of headphones that I haven't heard, but I do own a couple of Grados so I'm familiar with the Grado house sound. Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to try the SR225 before purchasing the SR125, but Head-Fiers generally regard the former as the sweet spot in the Grado Prestige series .

 

[kunalraiker]

I enjoy my Grados immensely,they are some bang for buck headphones, please see if you could get some used SR 325is fro around the $200.00 mark.

 

[Stratmaster458]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunalraiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I enjoy my Grados immensely,they are some bang for buck headphones, please see if you could get some used SR 325is fro around the $200.00 mark.

I heard the 325is are the most aggressive Grados and they can sound shrill.

 

[cheemo]

Grados will be right up your alley and a good choice to start with the 225's. I remember when I picked up my pair on the recommendation of the forum and cued up some Zeppelin, I was blown away by the clarity and energy coming out them. I have since sold them and moved further up the line and this is my only cavaet beware of upgraditis. Good luck.

 

[Stratmaster458]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheemo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Grados will be right up your alley and a good choice to start with the 225's. I remember when I picked up my pair on the recommendation of the forum and cued up some Zeppelin, I was blown away by the clarity and energy coming out them. I have since sold them and moved further up the line and this is my only cavaet beware of upgraditis. Good luck.

thanks, Someday I will have the cash for GS1000s but right now I just want some good headphones and I have a few bucks to spare lol

 

[jawang]

FWIW, I thought the sr225 was okay, hated the sr325, loved the RS1. I also briefly owned sr60s which I thought were great back when I owned them

You should consider sr80 btw, because they are the highest model that uses 1/8" plugs (helpful if you don't have a dedicated amp). Honestly there is very little difference in sound among models in the prestige line (sr325 is an exception), you can get most of the difference by swapping comfies for bowl pads

Based on this thread, I would recommend you buy the sr60 or sr80

 

[Stratmaster458]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jawang /img/forum/go_quote.gif FWIW, I thought the sr225 was okay, hated the sr325, loved the RS1. I also briefly owned sr60s which I thought were great back when I owned them You should consider sr80 btw, because they are the highest model that uses 1/8" plugs (helpful if you don't have a dedicated amp). Honestly there is very little difference in sound among models in the prestige line (sr325 is an exception), you can get most of the difference by swapping comfies for bowl pads Based on this thread, I would recommend you buy the sr60 or sr80

I actually have two amps I can use for the 1/4 inch jacks

and they would be easy to plug into my practice amp

 

[Hksvr4]

Are you worried about hearing other things around you? Grado's are open back headphones which means people close to you can hear your music and vise versa.

 

[evanft]

I recently just upgraded from some Grado SR-80s (not the 80i's, so YMMV) to Beyerdynamic DT 880 (600 ohm). The Grado's have a very flat soundstage compared to the Beyers and are definitely brighter. In fact, the soundstage and brightness combine to make the Grado's somewhat fatiguing to listening to. Even though I've only owned the Beyers for a couple days, I find myself able to listen to them for much longer periods of time than the Grado's. They are also 10000x more comfortable.

I would say the Grado's have more bass, though, but it may simply be more coloration rather than being reflective of the bass present in the music. What I'm really noticing with the upgrade is that a lot of the "sound around the sound", like echo trails and sounds that move in the sound stage are much, much audible with the Beyers. Hiss on recordings is a lot more prevalent, for example. Vocals also sound fuller. In fact the Beyers are much more detailed and there is a lot more instrumental separation.

That's just my $0.02 based on owning the Grado's for about 8 years and getting the Beyers yesterday. I kinda miss the bass from the Grado's, but I imagine I can just get an EQ for that.

 

[baka1969]

I have to say that I believe that Grados scale up nicely. The 225(i) being the best of the Prestige line. The 225 is more refined and better extended than the 60/80. The bass is more impactful and the highs smoother. To me, the 60, 80, 125, and 225 are not the same headphones but are steps up from each other.

The 325i(s) is a different animal and are shrill to me and are my least favorite Grado.

I'd go for the 225. It's worth the price.