[bassboysam]

I just got my 325is from another head-fier, #2027. I don't see how anyone can think these cans are too bright??! To me they sound great. Coming from the SR80i I found them to be much more clear, better bass, and the treble never sounds brittle, and the mids are just so creamy. One minor complaint though, what's with the short cable?

Through my ipod there was not much of an improvement over the SR80i but using an iBasso P3+ really starts to show what these phones can do. I can't wait until my LD MKIII gets here an throw on some vinyl. Also have a pair of SR225i's on order. I always wanted to compare them with the 325is, so I got a good deal on a used pair and bit the bullet, should be here next week

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboysam /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got my 325is from another head-fier, #2027. I don't see how anyone can think these cans are too bright??! To me they sound great. Coming from the SR80i I found them to be much clearer, better bass, and the treble never sounds brittle, and the mids are just so creamy. One minor complaint though, what's with the short cable?

You just got eh? Congrats.

What music are listening to with them? Let's see what you think after a while about the brightness.

 

[bassboysam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aimlink /img/forum/go_quote.gif You just got eh? Congrats. What music are listening to with them? Let's see what you think after a while about the brightness.

Mostly rock, I hate the term but the common term is "stoner rock". But also some other varieties, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Mos Def, Danger Doom, also into heavy funk like Funkadelic, Incredible Bongo Band, The Kashmere Stage Band, Baby Huey, Lord Newborn & the Magic Skulls.

I spent about 3 hours with them today and so far so good. A lot of the music I listen to has a 70's feel and vibe, so typically you won't have that scooped guitar sound that is so common now, which I can see sounding very harsh with the 325's. Also drums are recorded so much nicer than they are in pop music, especially the hi-hats and rides, and the albums are not lathered in compression, which I also imagine would sound like garbage with the 325's.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboysam /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got my 325is from another head-fier, #2027. I don't see how anyone can think these cans are too bright??!

That's great that you like them...

But they did make my 37 year old ears cringe with the peaks and I literally sold them within a month.

A nice warm tube amp would be great with them. I would recommend Sovtek tubes as they are quite warm, with slightly rolled off highs to help tame that treble.

 

[sonh]

to each his own, I like pairing bright amps with bright headphones and warm amps with warm headphones. For me amps sound signature should be as much the same as possible to the headphone plugged into it and its' technecality should be on the same level as the headphone also. Pairing opposing sound would cause a bipolar effect for me. its kinda hard to explain..but on the technecality part, its like hooking up a blu ray player to the TV, the TV should be hi-def 720p at least and not some old standardard 480i tv.

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboysam /img/forum/go_quote.gif Mostly rock, I hate the term but the common term is "stoner rock". But also some other varieties, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Mos Def, Danger Doom, also into heavy funk like Funkadelic, Incredible Bongo Band, The Kashmere Stage Band, Baby Huey, Lord Newborn & the Magic Skulls. I spent about 3 hours with them today and so far so good. A lot of the music I listen to has a 70's feel and vibe, so typically you won't have that scooped guitar sound that is so common now, which I can see sounding very harsh with the 325's. Also drums are recorded so much nicer than they are in pop music, especially the hi-hats and rides, and the albums are not lathered in compression, which I also imagine would sound like garbage with the 325's.

I see. Indeed, you're like me with the SR325is. You should continue to find them great and not harsh since you'll likely not play anything to bring out the harsh side.

 

[bassboysam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonh /img/forum/go_quote.gif to each his own, I like pairing bright amps with bright headphones and warm amps with warm headphones. For me amps sound signature should be as much the same as possible to the headphone plugged into it and its' technecality should be on the same level as the headphone also. Pairing opposing sound would cause a bipolar effect for me. its kinda hard to explain..but on the technecality part, its like hooking up a blu ray player to the TV, the TV should be hi-def 720p at least and not some old standardard 480i tv.

I agree, if your components are just going to cancel each other out then you lose all the character.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassboysam /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree, if your components are just going to cancel each other out then you lose all the character.

Not really, the sonic character is amplified when using a bright can with a bright amp. So that is not a real reflection of the sound. I was just giving you an option if down the road you found them too hot in the treble region.

 

[sonh]

the main purpose of an amp should be to up the volume and as a bonus to embrace the sound signature the headphone was designed for not alter/change it into something else. Look at the amps grado made for their own headphone its simple yet effective and im guessing has the same natural bright sounding as their headphone.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonh /img/forum/go_quote.gif the main purpose of an amp should be to up the volume and as a bonus to embrace the sound signature the headphone was designed for not alter/change it into something else. Look at the amps grado made for their own headphone its simple yet effective and im guessing has the same natural bright sounding as their headphone.

Point #1:
Absolutely incorrect...

The main purpose of an amp is to fully drive headphones/speakers to their maximum sonic potential. Volume is almost never a consideration as an iPod can drive most cans beyond safe listening levels, but the sound is often just crap.

Point #2:
Incorrect again
I did own the RA1 and the reason it is considered nice is that it tamed the often peaky Grado treble. It is considered a dark sounding amp and did change (some would say improve) the un-amped sound.

Sorry dude, but you really have a long (and expensive) road ahead of you.

 

[sonh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Point #1: Absolutely incorrect... The main purpose of an amp is to fully drive headphones/speakers to their maximum sonic potential. Volume is almost never a consideration as an iPod can drive most cans beyond safe listening levels, but the sound is often just crap. Point #2: Incorrect again I did own the RA1 and the reason it is considered nice is that it tamed the often peaky Grado treble. It is considered a dark sounding amp and did change (some would say improve) the un-amped sound. Sorry dude, but you really have a long (and expensive) road ahead of you.

what? ipod have the capacibility to drive most headphone? I think most would disagree to that. I did point out I've never listened to the RA-1 sound I can't confirm their sound signature. But It would suprise me if its signature is dark sounding that's so un-grado. Oh and Im pretty much done buying headphones for a long time, I might get a different DAC as the Beresford is a little too relax sounding for me. The only other Headphone I want is the MDR-10 but thats only If I get rich someday hehe.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonh /img/forum/go_quote.gif what? ipod have the capacibility to drive most headphone? I think most would disagree to that. I did point out I've never listened to the RA-1 sound I can't confirm their sound signature. But It would suprise me if its signature is dark sounding that's so un-grado. Oh and Im pretty much done buying headphones for a long time, I might get a different DAC as the Beresford is a little too relax sounding for me. The only other Headphone I want is the MDR-10 but thats only If I get rich someday hehe.

Sure...just take off the volume limit in the settings. My 600 ohm T1s are driven to adequate volumes with my iPod and iPhone. They sound like nothing close to their full potential, but volume wise just fine.

A bright amp, paired with a bright headphone will sound super bright and just bad. My (now sold) Icon Mobile was a nice bright amp, but when paired with my SR325is (also sold), it sounded like a bright mess that just made my ears ring. You really have to select an amp with a set of cans with many things in mind, like output voltage, current, warm vs. neutral vs. bright matching, etc...

And thus this can become a soul and wallet sucking hobby, so I would recommend for the sake of your personal finances, leave this forum with your 18 posts! I wish I did!

 

[sonh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure...just take off the volume limit in the settings. My 600 ohm T1s are driven to adequate volumes with my iPod and iPhone. They sound like nothing close to their full potential, but volume wise just fine. A bright amp, paired with a bright headphone will sound super bright and just bad. My (now sold) Icon Mobile was a nice bright amp, but when paired with my SR325is (also sold), it sounded like a bright mess that just made my ears ring. You really have to select an amp with a set of cans with many things in mind, like output voltage, current, warm vs. neutral vs. bright matching, etc... And thus this can become a soul and wallet sucking hobby, so I would recommend for the sake of your personal finances, leave this forum with your 18 posts! I wish I did!

I don't know about you but I like to listen to my music at extreme high level and no ipod is loud enough for me by itself. What amps are you using for your hd800/T1? is it opposing sounding to your headhphones? Thanks for the financial advice but like I said I pretty much done buying headphones for a looooong time and Im pretty good at managing my finance on my own. I can buy the R10 now if I want but I have more important matters to concern to.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know about you but I like to listen to my music at extreme high level and no ipod is loud enough for me by itself. What amps are you using for your hd800/T1? is it opposing sounding to your headhphones? Thanks for the financial advice but like I said I pretty much done buying headphones for a looooong time and Im pretty good at managing my finance on my own. I can buy the R10 now if I want but I have more important matters to concern to.

I was joking about the finance thing...

. I too can buy the R10 right now, but then my wife would want the same $$$ for something she values and then I would be out $10 000. Then there's always the kids university fund...

But I am not joking about the music listening at extremely high volumes. You can seriously do some permanent damage. My father lost hearing completely in one ear and 20% in the other from a loud workplace environment. It really then affects your quality of life.

With amps, you don't want, I would say synergizing. I prefer tube amps as they can be further synergized with tube rolling/selection depending on your tastes. I have (as per my signature) a Mapletree Ear+HD tube amp that is the best synergizing amp with the Grado RS1 that I've ever heard and it is amazing with the T1/HD800s.

It looks just like the one in the photo (colours included):

Welcome to Mapletree Audio Design

With the higher impedance headphones, I typically find that tube amps work better as they can better supply larger voltage swings than solid state amps and in turn power them better.

 

[sonh]

haha yeah $6k for the R10 is a little to much I wouldn't mind spending $4k in the near future but Im guessing that'll never happen as it is more likely to retain and increase its values. My only choice now is to wait it out and see what happens lol.