[retardedgorilla]

i've been doing some research lately on the headphones i'm planning to get, and i became pretty set on the grado 225. in fact, i'm gonna order them tomorrow morning. headphone.com and other resources were calling them the best in the grado line, great for rock music, etc, so i was pretty excited--especially considering that the only headphones i have are the sony v300, which i thought were pretty good until recently. but on this forum everyone seems to talk about the 125s and the 325s, skipping over the 225s. are they not as good as these other sources say? am i wrong in ordering these tomorrow? i haven't actually had a chance to hear any of these. oh, and the 325s seem pretty much out of my price range. thanks for the help.

oh, and one more thing. is the grado 1/8" adaptor worth $15, or would any generic adaptor do?

 

[Gluegun]

Uh, I always assumed that, if I would get grado's, it would be 225's or 325's...

The thing is, there are a LOT of old posts about Grado's.... use the search engine. Grados stiiiillll have quite a following!

What is your source?

The adapter is worth $15 if the other ones damage your equipment, which they generally do... at least with me, they did.

 

[r3cc0s]

I would have to say that they are ignored
because they aren't one of the better ones for the price
maybe...

Like the sr-60 and sr-80 are praised for it's value
however the sound difference from the 80-125-225 I don't belive justifies the price difference with them... they aren't tremendiously different in sound...
the 325 is much better I'd say... they have more bass impact and fuller sound with i think even more detail (a bit more sibilence) and much better value

well that's my 2 cents

 

[cajunchrist]

I have to strongly disagree with the opinion that their is little difference in the Grado Signature Series. I had the opportunity to to an extensive comparison of the 60's, 80's, 125's and 225's (the store didn't have the 325's). The 60's and 80's sound very muddy with the comfy pads, it was necessary to swap out with the bowl pads to really hear these phones. The 80's sound quite harsh in the treble, so I think the 60's actually sound better. The 125's sound too laid back for my taste, it's not that they were neutral, it was more like they were indecisive.

The 225's, however, were as close to perfect as I've ever heard in a headphone. I put on Kind of Blue while listening to the 80's and then switched mid-song to the 225's. It was like the difference between listening to a jazz concert from behind the stage door to sitting in the front row. Whereas the 80's had virtually no detail to them, the 225's were wide open, and handled the soundstage with amazing delicacy. I didn't find they had the bass slam that others say they have, but they reproduce the energy of a heavy metal guitar with so much authority I immediately purchased a pair a poster here had for sale used.

Now, the 325's may be enough of a step up in quality to justify the extra cost, but without hearing them I could not make that recommendation.

I must caution, as always, that there is no substitute for listening to headphones yourself. What I interpret as a great set of cans, someone else might think is a collosal waste of money.

Even if the 225's don't suit you, Headroom has a good 30 day return policy.

cajunchrist

 

[Matt]

...which may have *possible* bearing on you: in previewing Grados at the dealer, I immediately got wrapped up in the "live," forward sound. It was engaging and exciting, there's no doubt about that. However, as time went on and I realized that my equiptment wasn't so great or so smooth (all sorts of setups from boomboxes to CD transports with outboard DACs running into an RA-1 with the 225s), I realized that they were absolutely damaging my hearing.

If you're the kind of dude that likes impactful music and likes to listen at any sort of high or loud volume levels (as I do, because I find it generally more engaging and enveloping), you may start to develop tinnitus.

The problem I had with the Grados was if I played them at the higher end of the dial, I was satisfied with the overall sound, but it left my ears ringing like holy hell. If it was too low, bass was nearly non-existent and everything else lacked interest. I had a tendency to turn it up.

Now, I don't mean to crap all over them: they're awesome cans, but if you haven't been to thousands of metal concerts and have damaged hearing as it is, you may run into this problem. For me, it was a problem not worth having and I got rid of my whole Grado setup. Though the problem was less true with the RS-1s, it was still there for me and my gear, enough to get rid of
those and the RA-1, too.

The moral of the story is that, generally, longer previews are better previews at your dealer.

Hope this helps.


- Matt

 

[Surfaday]

My feelings about the 225 were well put by cajunchrist, I second everything he said.

However, I also enjoy upgrading and look forward to raising the money for a pair or Etys.

But I will always love my 225's.

I hope you enjoy them too.

 

[KurtW]

I found the SR225 to be way too bright. I borrowed a pair for a week and couldn't stand to listen to them for any length of time, something I wouldn't say about any other Grado headphone. I have heard the entire Grado lineup and several other models are also bright but the 225 is the worst. If you think more is better when it comes to treble energy then this may be the one for you.

 

[Vertigo-1]

I've got to agree with Matt. Grados have the worst tendency to make you want to turn up that knob. It's just irresistable. And totally bad for your ears. I learned it the hard way myself.

 

[Redwoood]

I love my 225's...have to second everything that cajunchrist said .
Awesome 'phones with a authoritative in-your-face sound.

When auditioning the Grado line-up I found that the 225 sounded best of the 'affordable' headphones (ie minus the woodies)
I didn't like the 325 at all. Talking about brightness... these babies with their aluminium housings ring like a telephone from the 50's. Couldn't stand it.


Bye

Redwoood

 

[Matt]

...a bitch-slap fight here. Or touch football.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

- Matt

 

[morphsci]

The MS II's are great phones with very extended treble and a nice midrange. In comparison to the MS Pro's I actually feel the II's are not as bright. However I have only had the Pro's for a short time and I do not consider either one of these phones bright, unless the recording or source unit is bright. Right now I consider the MS II's to be a great bargain considering how close in sound they are to the MS Pro's. IMHO and YMMV

Happy Christmas to All.

 

[reynman]

I was in the same dilemma earlier this year. I had gotten rid of my 80s and missed the Grado sound after buying the Beyer 250-80 and Senn 580. I demoed a 225 and a 325. For the money and the need to have the Grado sound the 225s can't be beat. Great bass extension. IMHO, deeper, but boomier bass and a bit darker than the 325s. The highs are not as crisp, to some it may be too shrill.
Why then did I buy the 325? Overall the 325s had more of the Grado sound I was looking for when I listened to trance and ambient (Portishead, Mazzy Star, Mono, Massive Attack, EBTG etc). What sold me was doing an A/B of Massive Attack's Angel. Tight bass great detail, but not shrill.

All our opinions can only take you so far. You have to have your ears (sometimes your wallet) decide for you.

Regards - reynman

 

[gaineso]

I've got HD600's so this is probably off subject, but not much. There've been a lot of comments about volume and desire to turn them up.

Similar problem. Using my Kenwood pcdp and T/A, I don't know, it just begs for more, and pretty soon, I know it's way too damned loud and is potentially damaging. It sounds better though

However, through the line out of my H-K FL8300 cdp, it's absolutely perfect at any volume level. My problem is, I love big symphonies and big symphonies beg to be LOUD.

See my 2nd post on Yay just got my senn 495's!

I've got sort of old ears, and I know I'd better take care of them. Constantly have to remind myself.