Guest Anonymous Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 does anyone here own a pair of grado sr60's or sr80's i am looking to buy a pair of good sounding headphones without breaking the bank because at this point i just can't justify spending 500 on a pair of rs2's anyways i was just wondering if anyone has heard them adn what they thought of them etc or if anyone has a better suggestion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnysal Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 I have sr80 and love them! they are more comfortable than sr60 because the ear cup is a bigger diameter. I think they sounded better than my sennheiser HD550s...they have great mid and high detail without sounding strident and the bass is very full...in that price range I think they cannot be beaten. the are better phones but they cost A LOT more. regards, tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 thanks!!! i really do not want seins, i thought that their $200 sounded horrible and a buddy told me about these grado's that were supposed to be really nice and good price too, so thats what i am looking to do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpg Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 Grados are supposed to be very good for rock and roll and such. Senns are a more laid back, neutral sound... Kind of the difference of being front row or out in the audience in a concert, I think. I have Senn HD580s that I drive with amps I build as a hobby. Still, I've been meaning to give Grados a try, but there are other things on my list ahead of that... and I don't really have a working amp right now anyway. Only thing I can say is that you might want a headphone amp to match with them. Out of some sources, they may come off as sounding a tad bright. An amp would give them some extra drive. But, you may have a good source and not need one. Either way, I'd probably take the 80's over the 60's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 i will be using these with my apple and an external m-audio sound card, for movies and music and stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erukian Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I'd take it that when you say "break the bank" you mean a pair of cans for sub-$100 USD. I have a Grado SR-80 and a Sennheiser HD-580. My friend owns the SR-60's and the SR-125's and I've had the lucky chance to borrow them for a couple weeks while he was on vacation. In all honesty, I would say there is a difference -- not a lot but not a little, between the SR-60's and the SR-80's. When I put the time into critical listening between all 3 pairs of Grado's, I would say the SR-60's are bright, alive, like all Grado cans. The 80's add a bit more soundstage, a bit more clarity in the mids. It does differentiate itself clearly from the SR-60 but the jump to the SR-125 is ginormous. Cleaner soundstage, more bass (Grado's are known to lack a bit of bass) and much more believable mids and highs. The jump from SR-80 to SR-125 for me was a big one and when I gave the SR-125's back it was hard for me to listen to the 80's again, instead i just stuck with my Senn's. If you can't afford the SR-125's (retail for $150 on headphone.com) then I would recommend you go for the SR-60's to save $25 bucks, and hold you over until you can buy real pair of hi-fi cans. I say that because once you get into the entry-audiophile market like the SR-60's you WILL want to move up - if you don't believe me, ask anybody on head-fi.org So taken from my experience I would recommend either the SR-60 or the SR-125. But in the situation that $100 is all you ever want to spend on headphones, then go for the SR-80's. But I can tell you, your hitting entry-audiophile, and eventually you will want to step it up, unless you hit some hard financial times. Either way, I think grado is a GREAT choice if you want the music to sound alive and in-your-face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 ok, i have owned the grados you speak of, the 60's will meet your needs better than the 80's because the 60's flat perform without amplification, the 80's can be a bit blah without amplification. everything else just does not sound very good without outboard headphone amps, the weak point in the grado line is the low end they sparkle and are very active and well defined but all the grado line even the rs 1-2's lack in bass, the senns have much better bass and are an all around better can but do require amplification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I had the Koss PortaPro for over a decade and loved them: quite surprising sound for so little money in such useful and handy headphones. I currently have an ancient set of Stax electroset phones, which sound like electrostatic loudspeakers, except they are easily driven by my flea-powered tube Bottlehead 2A3 Paramour monoblocks amplifiers. BTW, I prefer the closed, keep out the noise style. Open ear headphones leave me cold. I dont like them resting on my ears and I dont want outside noises interfering with my listening, so take each persons preferences into account when they make suggestions about what they like. If you decide on full size headphones, the $60-80 Grados have been recommended by Stereophile magazine and many, many people for years. If you get them, you may never upgrade your headphones ever again. I listened to the Sennheiser HD580 briefly and can see what people like about them. I especially liked the fact they go around the ear, which makes them very comfortable. Next to the Grados, the mid-range Sennheisers are some of the most respected and recommended headphones you can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crackerman Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 I have a pair of Grado 60 cans I use with an Antique Sound Lab MG HEAD OTL tube headphone amplifier. I'm very impressed!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 well i mean i could spend the money for the 125's, but they are for my laptop and therefore probably never had a headphone amp with them and if they require more power than the 80's then maybe the 60's would be the best choice, i have listened to a lot of sennns and i really was unimpressed with their sound, granted they were all at tweeter hooked up to a yammaha reciever i expected a lot more out of them, and i have a pair of full cup head phones and if i wear them for a long period of time my ears will just burn up from the heat and what not, soo that too presents a problem because i am looking for comfort too, i would love to have the best sounding headphones, but in this case comfort is pretty high up there for me, i listened to a pair of bose tri-ports extensivly and they sound better than what i have now, but those are way way way way too much money for how good they don't sound... then a buddy of mine told me about these grado's and here i am now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erukian Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 sennheiser is where the comfort is as, grado is where it's not. I honestly suggest you just pick some headphones from here. http://www.headphone.com/layout.php?topicID=3&subTopicID=26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 thanks i will check them out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete almquist Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 hi all, i have the sr-80's as well and they are very different from any other headphones i have used. i've never owned any high-end phones but have had various models of lesser expensive ones. possibly the nicest pair i've owned in the past were some heavy full-coverage pioneer phones vintage late 70's. i include this info so you know the limitations of my knowledge... my immediate impression of the grado's playback is accuracy. they seem to really play what they are plugged into. i have no problem with their ability to play low frequency response. they sound at least as full as the klipschorns. but they seem to me to be very literal if that makes any sense. they aren't warm or have exaggerated bass or any real personality that i can tell. they simply play what they are plugged into. i can hear a marked difference by plugging into different sources...the amplifier(NAD 320cee) vs directly into the cd player (one of the more expensive pioneer players crutchfield had a few years back..can't account how good of quality it is really) for instance. i do find it interesting that they are less efficiant than the klipschorns forcing me to crank up the volume controls a notch or two to attain the same volume. another interesting example of the accuracy are the background noises i'm not used to hearing in live recordings and even some studio recordings. i've heard various extraneous noises, mis-cues, off-notes, etc. which i hadn't really noticed before. maybe i'm simply catching more because i started listening for it. a good example are the cd releases of the beatles albums i've enjoyed collecting. one of the things i enjoy about them is that they don't seem to be as canned as some albums i have by other artists once you get past the accompanying music inserted by their well-meaning producer george martin. by this i mean they didn't always retake and remove every gaff or human touch that occasionally got caught in their studio recordings. that, to me, adds a fun human touch and it's fun to catch those tid-bits. but not to get off-topic, i do enjoy the grado sr-80 phones and have gone back to listen to a lot of recordings that have collected dust in the cd shelves. the warm sound and boomy bass i used to enjoy with the old pioneer phones aren't there but i've discovered some interesting new things in the music. it's got me interested in doing some more comparison listening with different headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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