[roker]

I figured it was time I made a thread expressing my love for these headphones. I know much has been made about the headphones being a bit too much on the bright side, but so are the 325s and they have a following of their own.

I'm not sure how things were with the 125s, but the "i" version comes with comfies so when people made claims of it being excessively bright I was a bit miffed, not knowing that the originals came with bowls. This past week or so I've been spending time with the bowls. Doing the crazy head-fi OCD thing of A/B'ing several tracks (female vocals, jazz, hip-hop, rock, etc.) and I've come to the conclusion that these headphones were made for comfies.

I can't stand them with bowls. It's not a comfort issue, rather I finally heard the shrill that people complained about. It was grating and unpleasant. I'll probably never put the bowls on there again. With the comfies the tamed treble is smooth and soothing. Like the silent whisper of a musical string reverberating inside your head in the smoothest way possible. The upfront open sound and energy of these headphones make them fun for all genres (admittedly rock is king with Grado, but even my hip-hop tracks sound good.)

The only thing left to try are flats or the Senn pad reverse quarter mod. Then another comparison between the 225s and 125s (I'll have to borrow a friends to do that though). Anyway, I'm not here to convince to buy a 125 over a 225, or to proclaim that the 125s are the ultimate Grado, I'm just saying they're worth another look and are my go to comfort (by that I mean a sound signature I'm familiar with) phones.

If anyone has spare leather headband they want to sell, send me a PM. Either that or I'll buy a JMoney when I recuperate from holiday spending.

 

[iponderous]

Well this is a rarity indeed. I can't recall seeing anything approximating an appreciation thread devoted to the SR125i or its predecessor the SR125. How's this for heresy, I find the SR125 more transparent and having tighter bass than than the HF2. As much as I enjoy the HF2, which I regard as a relaxed sounding phone by Grado standards, when I listen to the SR125 it always reminds me of why I was struck by the Grado sound. The HF2 doesn't do that for me but it does other things very well.

 

[roker]

I don't think I can bring myself to get rid of them even if I upgraded up the Grado lineup.

 

[roker]

My new comfies from bhphotovideo came in the mail the other day, so I decided to do a quater mod on them (I botched the last job), and man am I impressed. I also got the V2 JMoney headband and they're really comfy now (btw, this JMoney guy is awesome, he made my Denons and Grados better). I've been using them more than my Denons lately. I also have a set of 225s (classics) lying around that I can't seem to find time to use.

I'd still love to do a MS1i vs. 125i comparison one day. Would anyone be interested in a 225 (classic) vs 125i comparison? I'm not sure it would be fair considering it's the old 225.

 

[EddieE]

Wanted to add to this that I've got some bowls now so have been able to try them on the SR125i for comparrison.

I can confirm what Roker is saying that with the bowls in default fitting, the SR125i do not sound great at all, way to bright and aneamic and the bass goes on holiday. Treble is pretty harsh when pairing SR125i with bowl pads. However...

I put the bowls on backwards and the bass came back, treble tamed and there was more clarity across the board than with the comfies. Not very comfortable though.

Then I taped the edges of the bowls with insulating tape and put them on the right way again and this is a great sound. The bass increases in quantity and warmth and the trebles are well balanced for my tastes, and with this configuration there is more "air" if that makes any sense - greater sound stage and separation.

Now I've got the trick of balancing the bowls on my ears properly I'm going to stick with them (taped) while I wait for my headphile c-pads to arrive.

Also have Senn HD414 pads that arrived today I'm going to quarter mod tonight and Flats ordered so I am going to try every conceivable combo with these phones

I still verhemently disagree with comments I've read that every other Grado model is better than SR125i - I've now heard SR60 and have SR80 and both were inferior.

SR125i are supurb heaphones… just not with bowls in their standard fitting.

 

[Head_case]

Not sure what you all mean by bowls and pads - I've only had my 125s for about a week. They were modified though and have a great lightweight headband.

Does adding wooden cups from JMoney help? They seem to be more expensive than the price I paid for the 125s ....

As for the sound - it does veer on the bright side, and I can detect no soundstage advantages over the closed back Sennheiser HD25 Mark II. The 125s are way more comfortable, but to a fault: they do fall off when moving around and listening with them. One thing I think I notice is the difference in the mid-range particularly for classical music, however the bass is probably the thinnest I have ever heard from any set of headphones.

They are very nice headphones for the price. I like mine with classical music. Just brought a new Grado headphone case for mine to go travelling with them. They are way easier to transport and use than the fantastic Ultrasone Pro 900s which sound a million dollars. But of course, these are more pricey and way out of the 125's league. Nice little 125s though

 

[sampson_smith]

Right on, roker! Glad that the SR-125's are still treating you well. Surprised, though, that you have the SR-225's and prefer the former to them. The world's gone upside down.

(Currently rocking steady my D2000's. They sound fabulous with the EC/SS. You couldn't pry them from my ears with a crowbar, right now. Grado will have its time again, I hope.)

 

[cruizin caleb]

this is interesting! I have the SR-125 as my main (and only good) headphone. I absolutely love them! they are not the "i" so they just have the bowl pads. I have not heard them any other way so i don't know what i'm missing out. The bass does not seem to be lacking. the music sounds incredible through them. but since i like the grado sound so much, i've been feeling greedy and have been thinking about going up to the SR-225... but now, after reading this, i'm second guessing myself and thinking of getting a nice amp instead and then saving for a turntable.

 

[roker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sampson_smith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right on, roker! Glad that the SR-125's are still treating you well. Surprised, though, that you have the SR-225's and prefer the former to them. The world's gone upside down. (Currently rocking steady my D2000's. They sound fabulous with the EC/SS. You couldn't pry them from my ears with a crowbar, right now. Grado will have its time again, I hope.)

They've been sitting around unloved for the past week or so. I don't know if it's because they're the classic version, but I prefer the more energetic sound of the 125is.

These 225s might be sitting here for a while, I don't think the original owner cares to get them back.

 

[EddieE]

It's worth noting that roker (and I) have SR125i rather than SR125 models - not sure what the differences are between the two as I've only heard the 'i' and they sound awesome. Except with un-modded bowls, when they sound way too bright.

@ Head Case

Bowl pads are the ones you balance on your ears, and the insides look... well like bowls

and you can see the plastic mesh that sits in front of the transducer.

Comfie pads are big versions of the traditional foam pad for portable headphones - covers the whole face of the phone and then some.

The SR125 were sold with Bowls, the SR125i with comfies. I don't know if John Grado just decided the SR125 sounded better with bowls and they are the same phone with the new design, or if there is some fundamental difference that makes the comifes sound good on the SR125i when it wouldn't on the SR125. Hard to know.

One thing I can say is if you aren't feeling enough bass with the bowls, tape some insulating tape (electrical tape) around the edges. Increases bass impact and resonance and for me balances the sound out a lot. Trying the bowls on backwards also brings back the bass and tames the trebble.