milkpowder
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2005
- Posts
- 8,496
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- 21
Just took delivery of these from a fellow Head-fi member.
The box:
Cheap as hell, but sufficient protection. Just the pizza box that I expected!
The build:
Generally solid build. No worries about durability here. Nice leather headband that even smells of leather! Padding is just sufficient, but not overly generous. Nice golden cups that feel very solid. The cups are on the heavy side, which is good for durability but bad for comfort. Highly adjustable and definitely a one-size-fits-all. Generally impressed by the high-quality nature of these 'phones!
The sound:
F'ing bright is all I can say when I first tried them. No exaggeration here. These are by far the brightest cans I have EVER heard in my life. They are also my first Grado purchase. The detail is excellent and the soundstage is actually present. I played some percussion tracks through them and all I can say is EXCELLENT! The highs are very crisps (and too bright), mids are very rich indeed; the bass is amazing. The bass is ok, but the trade-off here is bass definition. I'm not only talking about deep bass, but general lows like 100Hz and below. The 100Hz and below region is very prominent and sometimes muddies the sound. I am used to Ety ER4S style clarity and these SR325i don't come even close to the same clarity. However, what they do excel in is their rich and full sound. I also have to add that their resolution and definition is very good.
To cure the brightness, I used the flats that were included with the phones and my word did it make a difference. The highs were much more controlled, but the bass was even more prominent. The whole low range is increased while cutting back on the highs. The mids sounded no different. Soundstage was further reduced with the flats, but still existent. I think my flats will stay on and the bowls can go.
vs. HD650:
Massive difference. HD650 much less bright. The sound is also much barer and in your face. You are on stage with the performers. Even those classical recordings that are recorded with a sense of soundstage sound like you're sitting on the first row. The bass is also much less controlled on the SR325i, but the mid range is soo much richer. This is not so good for symphonic works, but excellent for rock and guitar. The HD650 sound a lot more conservative and laid back. Overall, I will give the thumbs up to the HD650, but by no means are the SR325i bad. The HD650 are just a tad more versatile and offer a much more comfortable sound signature.
vs. ER4S:
SR325i much less detailed. Thicker more muscular sound. Sound extremely full. ER4S much more controlled and has extremely good clarity. SR325i also has good clarity, but doesn't come close. SR325i much more musical and fun to listen to than ER4S. Overall, it's a tie.
Conclusion:
Do not dare play classical music through these phones. They are CRAP for classical. Overwhelming bass (w/flats) and piercing highs (w/ bowls) means that there is no middleman in terms of the sound signature. Hence, keep them for your guitar, rock, pop tracks only. Remember to put on the flats though, otherwise the bowls will make your music sound too thin. Flats do increase listening fatigue though. I have to take them off every 20 minutes to rest my ears!
Overall, I give these phones the following scores (1-10, 10=best)
Comfort 9
Overall Bass 9
Overall Mids 8
Overall Highs 8
Detail 9
Listening fatigue 9
Build quality 10
Value 8
TOTAL 70 out of 80
Overall: B+/A-, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
UPDATE:
After some listening, my ratings have changed for listening fatigue. I noticed that listening fatigue was only really present when using flats. Bowls were much more comfortable and also easier on the ears sonically.
The box:
Cheap as hell, but sufficient protection. Just the pizza box that I expected!
The build:
Generally solid build. No worries about durability here. Nice leather headband that even smells of leather! Padding is just sufficient, but not overly generous. Nice golden cups that feel very solid. The cups are on the heavy side, which is good for durability but bad for comfort. Highly adjustable and definitely a one-size-fits-all. Generally impressed by the high-quality nature of these 'phones!
The sound:
F'ing bright is all I can say when I first tried them. No exaggeration here. These are by far the brightest cans I have EVER heard in my life. They are also my first Grado purchase. The detail is excellent and the soundstage is actually present. I played some percussion tracks through them and all I can say is EXCELLENT! The highs are very crisps (and too bright), mids are very rich indeed; the bass is amazing. The bass is ok, but the trade-off here is bass definition. I'm not only talking about deep bass, but general lows like 100Hz and below. The 100Hz and below region is very prominent and sometimes muddies the sound. I am used to Ety ER4S style clarity and these SR325i don't come even close to the same clarity. However, what they do excel in is their rich and full sound. I also have to add that their resolution and definition is very good.
To cure the brightness, I used the flats that were included with the phones and my word did it make a difference. The highs were much more controlled, but the bass was even more prominent. The whole low range is increased while cutting back on the highs. The mids sounded no different. Soundstage was further reduced with the flats, but still existent. I think my flats will stay on and the bowls can go.
vs. HD650:
Massive difference. HD650 much less bright. The sound is also much barer and in your face. You are on stage with the performers. Even those classical recordings that are recorded with a sense of soundstage sound like you're sitting on the first row. The bass is also much less controlled on the SR325i, but the mid range is soo much richer. This is not so good for symphonic works, but excellent for rock and guitar. The HD650 sound a lot more conservative and laid back. Overall, I will give the thumbs up to the HD650, but by no means are the SR325i bad. The HD650 are just a tad more versatile and offer a much more comfortable sound signature.
vs. ER4S:
SR325i much less detailed. Thicker more muscular sound. Sound extremely full. ER4S much more controlled and has extremely good clarity. SR325i also has good clarity, but doesn't come close. SR325i much more musical and fun to listen to than ER4S. Overall, it's a tie.
Conclusion:
Do not dare play classical music through these phones. They are CRAP for classical. Overwhelming bass (w/flats) and piercing highs (w/ bowls) means that there is no middleman in terms of the sound signature. Hence, keep them for your guitar, rock, pop tracks only. Remember to put on the flats though, otherwise the bowls will make your music sound too thin. Flats do increase listening fatigue though. I have to take them off every 20 minutes to rest my ears!
Overall, I give these phones the following scores (1-10, 10=best)
Comfort 9
Overall Bass 9
Overall Mids 8
Overall Highs 8
Detail 9
Listening fatigue 9
Build quality 10
Value 8
TOTAL 70 out of 80
Overall: B+/A-, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
UPDATE:
After some listening, my ratings have changed for listening fatigue. I noticed that listening fatigue was only really present when using flats. Bowls were much more comfortable and also easier on the ears sonically.
