Grado: SR60i vs SR80i?

[robodude666]

Well, I know that my Paradigm Atoms sounded very weird when I first got them. They had a slight fizz to them when listening to higher volumes, but it went away after about ~20 hours or so. Previously to getting my HD 515s I was using a cheap pair of headphones that came with my Cowon A2 PMP and a pair of Razer headphones ($5 off ebay). I immediately heard the beauty of the HD 515s.

It may be possible that I haven't adjusted to the Grados yet, which is very likely. I'll give them a weeks use, and see how it goes. They are very light, and have a mini-jack which makes them very good for their intended purpose. Plus, it's a pain to go through returning/selling them.

At the moment I'm listening to Iron Maiden, Dream Theater and DragonForce. In all cases the soundstage, I believe it's called, feels much smaller.. As if I were in a small room versus a grand concert with the band. But eh, we'll see.

I hope that, if my ears get used to the Grados that I won't go crazy using the HD 515s at home and Grados on the go.

EDIT: I listened to a couple songs several times on both the HD 515s and Grado SR80i headphones. I've concluded that the difference in sound is too great to adjust to. The HD 515s feel more lively, have a more solid bass, and not that high of a treble.. At least for my taste. I'll have to find something else from Sennheiser that fits my needs, I guess.. Or die with the 515s.

-robodude666

 

[Lateralus]

At the moment I'm listening to Iron Maiden, Dream Theater and DragonForce. In all cases the soundstage, I believe it's called, feels much smaller.. As if I were in a small room versus a grand concert with the band. But eh, we'll see.

You're correct; that is indeed the soundstage and what you're hearing is a characteristic of Grados. It is a pretty well-known fact that headphones like Sennheisers and Audio Technicas have a wider, more expansive soundstage than Grados. However, one isn't necessarily better than the other...again, it's just personal preference. I believe Headroom described the Grados' sound as putting you on stage with the musicians where Sennheisers put you a few rows back in the audience. That was a pretty accurate description to me, and it's why I liked putting on the Grados for jam sessions while I felt the Sennheisers were better suited to gaming and classical music due to the expanded soundstage.

I hope that, if my ears get used to the Grados that I won't go crazy using the HD 515s at home and Grados on the go.

If possible, try to limit yourself to listening to only the Grados for the next several days. That way you can focus on their sound; if you go back and forth between the two pairs it'll be harder for your brain to adjust.

If you decide to keep them and end up using both pairs, think of each one as possessing different qualities. It'll be much easier to switch between them that way, vs. thinking of one as the "good" pair and so on. As an analogy, I own several different mice because there are things I like about each of them. It's hard for me to pick a favorite so when I go from one to another I try to focus on what this mouse does well and what I like about it. I like the large clicky thumb buttons on the DeathAdder, the mouse wheel and extra thumb button on the G500, the main L/R buttons of the G9, etc.

The headphone hobby just about drove me (well, my wallet actually) crazy because I quickly learned that there were attributes of many different headphones that I liked, and it would have been extremely difficult for me to pick just one set of cans and stick with them after hearing so many. At one time I owned several different pairs because I was comparing them and trying to find that one pair that I felt excelled in all areas, but it just wasn't that easy. It was like, Green Day sounds fantastic with this pair, Led Zeppelin sounds great with that pair, Tool sounds amazing with these, and Norah Jones is much better suited to those...argh I eventually got tired of switching them around constantly and sold them all, leaving me with only my trusty Porta Pros. But I kept those mainly so I wouldn't have to use the stock earbuds with my iPod...I'd still like a general-purpose pair for home but I don't want to get sucked back in to the vicious cycle of buy-listen-sell again, lol. Though I would love to try a few pairs that I never got to listen to previously, namely the Denon AH-D2000s, Beyer DT 770 Pros, and Audio Technica A700s.

 

[audio thug]

I own a Grado SR-80 (not i).

From what I can tell, the only differences between the 80 and 60 are the pads. The 80s have a harder ring shaped pad.

 

[Archaea]

www.goodcans.com reviews the sr80s compared to the sr60s directly.

http://www.goodcans.com/HeadphoneReviews/Reviewss/recommendations.html

I've tried grado's up to the 225 series and sennheisers up to the HD600.

I'd recommend the Sony MDR-V700 over any of them for portable applications.
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V700...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264285024&sr=8-1
They are driven easily (much more so than your senns -- so you'll get more volume.) They handle an incredible amount of power - have massive bass and sound generally really good. They are closed cans and fold up into a little ball. I'd say they are my favorite headphones overall of any I've ever listened to and I've owned about 20 high class headphones including the grado 225 and senn hd600.

note: Don't buy the Sony MDR-V700 off ebay - too many chines knockoffs that are cheap lookalike imitations.

 

[robodude666]

Been using them more, and well... hmm, they sound different. And I don't like it, as I get attached to things I like. But, whatever. They're smaller, lighter, and have a 3.5mm adapter which means I don't have to worry about bending the huge 3" long 1/4 to 1/8" adapter.

I'll get used to them, sooner or later.

 

[Archaea]

get rid of them if you don't like them. The thing I've noticed about Grados is that you can sell them used on ebay for nearly what you bought them new - so long as you didn't overpay new.