[olivierpe]

Hi everybody

This is my first post, but I lurked a lot since a couple of years, as I'm also crazy about headphones and music ...

I have to say that english is not my first language as I'm french, and I apologize in advance for mispelling and/wrong expression.

I actually have several headphones : Sennheiser HD600, HD650, Grados, sr80i, sr225i for full size.

For travelling, I use : Sennheiser PXC250, PX200, PX100, Ultimate Ears 700 noise, Koss Porta Pro and iGrado.

In fact, I had to buy all this cans in order to be able to test them, but the only that I really love are the Grados, the HD600 and my pair of ultimate ears for travelling.

I also own several amp : Project HeadBox, Creek, Grado RA-1, and several Cmoy that I did by myself, all based on OPA2134 as this is definitively my favorite chip

Anyway, I don't come here just to tell you how crazy I am, but because I have an "issue".

6 months ago, I bought my first pair of Grado : sr80i and.... I hate them

. The came with foam pads, and I found that there absolutely nothing : no soundstage, no treble, no bass... But I use them at my office, and day after day they evolved in the right direction. Reading you, guys, I ordered a pair of bowl pads and I have to say that it changed my life ! The sound was clear, it was like if we had open the door ! And finally, after, let's say... 5 months maybe a little more, they became wonderful and very musical : very clear, accurate... I love them, definitively, and I have well understood what the "break-in" is

So, last week, I had saved enough money to buy a sr225 with the hope that it will still be better than the 80... If it was possible. I receive it yesterday, and I was prepared with the fact that they also will require a "break-in" period but... It's terrible ! I mean : The sound is deeper, the bass are better, really better, but.. .Where are the trebles ? Where is the wonderfull accuracy of my 80 ? If somebody ask me the same question, I probably answer : "don't worry, let them break-in"... But I'm a little worried. I read everywhere that the 225 is definitively a great upgrade from the sr80 but for the moment, I don't think so, and I can't figure how the sound can be so different from both cans.

So, I suppose that I only need to hear "don't worry, the break-in will solve that, be patient..." but I'm really interessed in having you feeling and your experience about that, 'cause to be honnest, I'm really afraid

Thanks a lot in advance for your answers
Wish you all a merry christmas !

Olivier

 

[tvrboy]

I think that break-in does not exist. The only break-in is psychological. It's natural that you will get used to a headphone's sound signature after listening for many hours. Many forum members have posted about how they hated a headphone's sound at first, but then they grew used to it and now prefer its particular sound. Many other members refuse to believe that their perceptions can ever change and so they believe the headphones drivers are breaking in. If you don't believe me, try listening to only one of your headphones for the next 100 hours. You will definitely hear "break-in" effects from that headphone, even if it has 1000+ hours already on it. I think the real killer to the break-in theory is : why does break-in only make headphones get BETTER? I have never heard one report of break in making a headphone worse. Just give your SR-225 some time. Maybe you will still end up preferring the SR-80, that's OK if you do. BTW I had a SR-225i and never noticed any burn-in whatsoever.

 

[anadin]

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/rev...sr225i-437870/

 

[olivierpe]

Hi tvrboy, thanks a lot for your (quick !) answer.
Interesting point of view. Concerning your sr225i, did you ever notice a lack of accuracy when you compare to others Grado ? In fact my real concern is to bu sure that this pair of headphone is not so "special" with such a different sound signature from the sr80...

 

[donunus]

Some headphones like grados dont really change much with burn in so here is where psychological effects tend to be more dramatic than physical burn in. So I have a feeling olivierpe adjusted to the sr80s sound or really just happen to click with their sound with bowls then just didnt like the more tame nature of sr225is

 

[olivierpe]

Yes anadin, this is a post that I know very well as it helps me to choose the sr225 instead of any other upgrade. I'm ok with the fact that bass are really better, but I regret that the treble is no more the same, and for me, for the moment, there is no improvment at this level

 

[olivierpe]

@donunus : maybe. I will take an exemple : the Bach's cellos suite. With my sr80i, I'm able to hear all harmonic, all finger noises, the breath from the musician, and I like that.

With the 225, the sound is warmer, and there's no more harmonic... Do you think that it can be linked with an issue of power ?? Maybe these cans need more power than the 80 in order to be efficient ??

 

[donunus]

I dont think its power because these headphones have the same flat 32 ohm impedance with the same sensitivity as the 80is. Some people just like the warmer sound which is why so many love the 225s. I think you are lucky to love the 80i more. I would just sell the 225i myself and be happy with the 80is. Get a decent dac with the money you get from the 225is or something toward your system

 

[olivierpe]

I already have an Icos DAC

To be honnest, I want to believe that I will learn to love this new friend, because I really realize that everything "wants to be" better than the 80, if only I can find my cello's harmonic again

 

[NormaJean]

I own the 225i and to my ear they had a break in period, they may be a little less aggressive than the 80i, but they will provide much more details wait a week or so before panicking.

If those still don't do it for you, than there is no other way but to go for the rs1, gs1000 and ps1000

Kidding ... or am I

 

[Bilavideo]

Well, now that you own the 225s, do with them what you did with the 80s. If you don't notice a change, sell them off. There's a certain audio greed that afflicts us all. We find something we like and what's our first thought? "How can I get something better?" If you love the 80s, there's no reason to substitute another phone. You heard the 225s were "better," so you spent the extra money (substantially more) to hear "better." What you've heard, so far, is "warmer." To your surprise, you don't care for "warmer." You were happy with what you had. As somebody wrote, the best thing you could do is sell off these 225 and get as much of your money back as you can. But you'll probably always wonder what you might have discovered if you had simply given them a chance. Would you have decided, a week later, that the 225s were, in fact, "better?" Well, now that you've got them in hand, why not run them for a while and exhaust that possibility. It probably won't hurt your resale value that you put a few more hours into them. Week old 225s don't sell for much less than day-old 225s. Give it your best and if it doesn't do it for you, thank your lucky stars that you found your fit with the 80s.

 

[apatN]

Don't the SR80i come with the comfies? The old SR80s used to come with bowls.

 

[MD1032]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't the SR80i come with the comfies? The old SR80s used to come with bowls.

Yes, the OP went over this. He had the comfies and wisely bought the bowls to replace them.

I don't know what to say. Did the OP buy an SR-225 or SR-225i? The "i" headphones really are an improvement over the old ones... the SR-80i is a much better headphone than the SR-80...shockingly so, so I can imagine that the old SR-225's might not even compete with the bowl-ized SR-80i.

 

[loopsider]

This just shows how much of an individual experience this is. I love my 225s and I tried every single headphone in the Prestige Series. The 60-125 (including the 80) were wayyy to harsh and trebly, little to no low end, and felt very closed in. The 225s were lush, had bass slam, and very detailed. I listen to a lot of orchestra/jazz ensemble stuff and the 225 just killed the rest (even the 325).

 

[donunus]

loopsider,
you are talking about different headphones if you werent listening to the "i" versions