[jpalenzuela]

These are going to be my first grado headphones.
Source is mostly a macbook and a galaxy S3. I dont want to spend more on an amp for now, these seem to be driven easily. I mostly listen to rock, indie, a lot of Radiohead, Thom Yorke (the eraser), Atoms for peace, etc. 
Is there any big difference between them? Which one should I buy?
Thanks in advice.

 

[itshot]

Lets, see... soundwise there is a difference in imaging. 225 has a "better" separation than the 80 due to difference in pads and stuff.

I'll skip the tonality part because I don't remember too well and because grados are grados, but you should know that the 225 has a 1/4" plug so using it with a mac or your smartphone would be a pain in the ass.

From my experience (I've had both) , I'd recommend just getting a 60 tbh and swapping the pads if you felt so compelled. Its hard to beat it for the price, imo.

 

[Jasper9395]

I would recommend that you find a shop that sells Grado headphones and try them both out. It's the only way you will be able to decide if the 225s are worth the extra money to you. Also I would caution against using Grados as portable headphones. The way they are built is a bit flimsy, also they are completely open so will provide you with zero isolation from outside noise. Other than that I can say that I have owned a pair of 225s and really enjoyed them. Although they were never my go to headphone they certainly have their niche and have a big following here.

 

[itshot]

  I would recommend that you find a shop that sells Grado headphones and try them both out. It's the only way you will be able to decide if the 225s are worth the extra money to you. Also I would caution against using Grados as portable headphones. The way they are built is a bit flimsy, also they are completely open so will provide you with zero isolation from outside noise. Other than that I can say that I have owned a pair of 225s and really enjoyed them. Although they were never my go to headphone they certainly have their niche and have a big following here.

^^ this

 

[mcandmar]

Having owned both the 225i are a much better can, but i dont think they are worth the price premium over the 80i's.  Certainly not with the source equipment you are going to be using so i would go for the 80i's. Unless you pickup the 225i's second hand for the same price, which is what i did.

 

[jpalenzuela]

Thanks. I think I should go for the 80i's since my source equipment is not very sophisticated. Which source equipment do you recommend for 225i headphones?

 

[jpalenzuela]

I have in mind that I have to buy an adaptor and that these cans are open.

 

[Jasper9395]

I'm not sure about the need for better source component. I thought my SR225s sounded very good straight out of my Sansa clip and didn't improve too much when I plugged them into my travagans DAC/AMP. IMHO driving the 225s from your macbook would still be fine. They are not really the kind of headphone that is very detailed and would benefit from a source component upgrade. The sound coming out of your macbook is pretty good by laptop standards btw. Don't let this take away from the fact that the 60s and 80s great budget headphones though.

 

[jpalenzuela]

I'm not sure about the need for better source component. I thought my SR225s sounded very good straight out of my Sansa clip and didn't improve too much when I plugged them into my travagans DAC/AMP. IMHO driving the 225s from your macbook would still be fine. They are not really the kind of headphone that is very detailed and would benefit from a source component upgrade. The sound coming out of your macbook is pretty good by laptop standards btw. Don't let this take away from the fact that the 60s and 80s great budget headphones though.

If so, culd I hear the difference between both with this source? (I only use lossless files). Is the sound of the 225i worth the $$ difference?
One of the main problems for me is that I don't live in the US, we don't have stores that sells Grado headphones in Venezuela.
These are going to be my entry to the audiophile world, so I'm reading a lot to take the good decision. Thanks in advice.

 

[Jasper9395]

culd I hear the difference between both with this source?

Yes you definitely will be able to. I think Grado is over priced outside the US though. I would never spend the full price they ask for them here in Holland.

 

[jpalenzuela]

Source won't be a problem for hearing the difference? If so, I would prefer to pay the difference for the better quality.

 

[mcandmar]

Here in Ireland the 80i's are ~€144, and 225i is ~€339.  No way are they worth twice the price of the 80i, in my opinion the difference is small enough you will need a good quite source to really appreciate the difference, plugged into a regular computer or generic sound card i would struggle to appreciate the difference.  You would be better off buying the 80i and spend the extra €200 on a good dac/amp combo instead.
 
To really throw a spanner in the works, i wouldn't buy the 80i at all, the Alessandro MS1 is a far nicer headphone and will probably work out cheaper too.  I own the 80i, MS1, and 225i so you could say i'm very familar with the difference between them, in fact i listened to them all last night back to back while testing a cheap DIY amp so the difference is fresh in my mind.
 
The other side is you might not like the 80i or Grados at all, better to find out with the cheaper pair. If you do like them, well i'm sorry for your wallet as there is always a higher model to aspire to, and before you know it you will own four of them

 

[Jasper9395]

"might not like the 80i or Grados at all, better to find out with the cheaper pair."

Sound advice I think.