jTizMLG
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 8, 2010
- Posts
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- 12
im getting the audio gd fun and was wondering what grado is worthy. im having trouble deciding between the SR80i=$100, SR125i=$150, and the SR225i=$200. i mostly listen to rock music.
The 225i is considered the sweet spot in the Grado line-up, price/performance ratio. If you can afford $200 don't go with the 80i, They're good, but the 225i is better. Look for a used pair if you want to save a few bucks.
For anyone who thinks that Grados are too shrill or fatiguing, I ask them have they ever stood in front of a guitar stack at any sort of rock concert? Have they ever sat behind a drum set and laid into a good 20" crash cymbal. All of that stuff is loud as hell, and pretty darned shrill and fatiguing. Those are the sounds that Grados are made to reproduce, and they do a pretty good job of it.
It's just that I think most people exaggerate the differences.
Headphones can sound very different depending on the equipment they're plugged into. But it also is true that some seem to have a "tin" or yet to be trained ear and, for example, could claim little difference between what can be heard from a cell phone speaker - vs - a live orchestra.
I liken it to how some people can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p or even standard def to HD. Ignorance is bliss (and cheap). LOL.
LOL. I played in band in HS, and percussion ensemble and symphonic orchestra in college before deciding that I really needed to graduate. And although I do not have that great of an ear, I can hear most of the differences that I have read about. What I am saying is that those differences are overstated most of the time.
I know that to the enthusiast, these small differences can be very meaningful, but people new to all of this would probably be better served by trying a cheaper Grado first. I guess the upgraditis is inevitable though, so they would end up moving up in the end. So there is the reinforcement to buy used =)
I just remembered hearing the HFI-780 out of my uDAC, and thinking that the highs on those were very unnatural or overly metallic sounding. Maybe this is an example of a bad equipment match. I don't think I will buy another set of 780's just to find out though.
It's funny that TV resolution was mentioned. I haven't met anyone who can't tell the difference between 720 and 1080. That's a 50% increase!