They have converted me to *real* audio equipment

I did not get them before

This is the first piece of quality audio equipment I have purchased.
I have been collecting CDs for a LONG time. I listen all day long at work. I rotate 200 cds at work from my approx 1000cds.
.
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Before these headphones - I had not really heard them!
I am now searching for a CD player and amp for work & saving
for a stunning system at home. My budget at work is about $1000 - my home budget will be (depends on next years bonus - about $10000)

Similar Products Used:

None - only used cheap sets from portable CD players

great sound. incredible clarity. fun to listen to

none that I can think of

Buy these! Even though the $150 price tag is a bit steep, you will not regret having spent an extra $50-70 for this kind of sound. After all, the price difference is the cost of 3-5 CDs, and considering the fact that you may not buy another pair of headphones ever, it does not sound that bad.

The sound clarity is even better than that of Grado SR80, and much better than Sony V6. I listen to classic, jazz and rock music with them and now I am an addict. The only complaint I have is that they reveal everything, including the faults in the recording and the shortcomings of the equipment you are listening with - so if you're like me, you'll want to throw away that mp3 player and go back to CDs, and that's not such a bad thing.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR80, Sony V6, other cheapo Sony

Terrific sound

The cord could be a little longer

Without a doubt, these are the finest pair of headphones I have ever owned. I compared them to the $60 pair from Grado, which also sounded fine, and these blew them away. Extremely transparent with plenty of spatial depth.

As far as comfort, they fit my ears just fine. Maybe if someone had a pair of jumbo ears, well....

Similar Products Used:

Sony headphones

Details, immediacy, quickness.

The highs can be harsh. The bass is weak with the current earpads used as designed.

Until last year I used them with the older "flat" earpads and dug the bass and power. Unfortunately, the sound was just too colored to be considered high end. Last year I bought the new, thicker "bowl" pads. This made the sound more natural, but at the price of bass impact and fullness of sound. And in time the highs became so grating that I was wanting to sell them a couple of weeks ago. The old pads have now been installed on a pair of SR-60s, where I don't mind the colorations, so that was not a solution. But then I tried something someone on another site had tried- reversing the earpads so that the underside ended up on top. Presto! The highs smoothed out, most of the bass came back (and in tighter form) and the "flat" pad colorations don't seem to be present. Comfort may be less to some this way, but doesn't bother me (I think if Grados seem uncomfortable, nothing much will hurt or help- ya got a non-Grado head/ears). Overall, the sound is a tad leaner than what I might wish, but not so much that I'm wanting to run to my nearest Sennheiser dealer. They seem very flat, very "linear" now. And they've gone from 2-3 stars to a solid 4 now. And in striking distance of 5.

Vocals sound excellent on good recordings, like the person is talking to you. I also like the old school look, unlike all the plastic cheesy looking cans found elsewhere.

comfort can be an issue after a while.

Highs are crisp and clear (may be shrill to some ears), mids are well-balanced, the bass is nice too. Although the bass is not as bumpin as some, i like it better. It sounds more natural to me. Plus, I think it lets vocals come out clearer and better. The open design sounds better than closed ones i think. It's not all airy and resonant. it sounds crisper which i like. Bottom line, they are the best sounding headphones I have used to date, and I highly recommend them to anyone who can deal with a little discomfort for phones that sound better than all the others.

Similar Products Used:

Senn 570's, Sony DJ phones

Well-rounded headphones with excellent high, mids and bass. Excellent value for price. Amazing level of detail and presence.

A little uncomfortable after a while (1-2 hours), but the sound is so great I don`t care!

My old 70$ Sennheiser HD320`s sounded amazing when I bought them 4 years ago, but I was now looking for something better. I usually listen to music trough my old Panasonic portable (which sounds surprisingly good compared to top-of-the-line Sony portables and systems), or my computer through a SB Live!
So, being satisfied with Senn, I went out and bought a pair of HD570 for 225$...and returned them the day after. These damn cans definitely need an amp to sound good. The best Sony portable could not drive them without loads of distortion; my Pan did a little better, but sound was really unimpressive (HD320 sounded a lot better).
Clearly Sennheiser could not answer my needs, so after reading a couple of reviews here I went to Audiocentre and stayed there for an hour comparing Grado headphones and my old HD320.
Started with the SR-80 and thought they sounded pretty good, better than the Sennheiser`s I had listened to.
Then I tried the SR-125. Wow! I was immediately struck by the level of detail! I could pinpoint instruments and really feel them. All that on my old Panasonic portable.
I tried the SR-225, but they clearly require a better player, as I could see only small improvements from the 125`s.
So I`ve been listening to the 125 for a month and I`m really satisfied with them. They`re good with all kinds of music. They sound great with Techno, House, or Trance, they don`t hit you with muddy bass and the highs are great.

However where they really shine is when I put a Baroque cd in (either vocal or instrumental, mostly Jordi Savall cds):
Sound is amazing!!!

Bottom line: Reasonnable price for high quality headphones! Now that I`ve discovered Grado, I will probably stick with them for years.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD320 (my old pair), Sennheiser HD570,
Grado SR-80 and R-225

I only had the Grado SR-125 for a week, but I am very impressed with it! I have tried various heaphones and this one beats all the others. Out of all the other once that I tried, only the Seenheiser came close to the quality of this headphone.
I did not try the Seenheiser HD580/600 since it is WAY more expensive then the SR-125, but I did try the 545 which was in the same price range. what I found was that the 545 was not really more comfortable then the SR-125 and the sound tend to be brighter then the Grado. Also, to me, the SR-125 had more detail and the sound of the 545 was a bit boring to me.

In conclusion, the Grado SR-125 is probabaly the best headphone in it's price range, so anyone looking for smooth, detailed headphones with good bass but is on a budget, this is the headphone you want :)

Greetings.
I purchased my pair of SR-125's for $135. I am very happy with the headphones! Their bass extension (deeper than many high-end speakers) and detail (rivalling some of the best subwoofers) is most impressive. The midrange is liquid (I've read that they are +/- 0.5dB from 300hz-3kz). The high end rolls off somewhat early (-10dB at 16khz), but nothing is lacking. The rolloff gives the cans a warm, pleasant sound without detracting from detail or clarity.

The SR-125's were clearly superior to the SR-60's in an A/B test. The difference between the 80's and the 125's was more subtle. The 125's provide more articulation and clarity in the bass, and a slightly cleaner overall sound (easier to pick out individual sounds, for example).

As far as wearing comfort of the Grados is concerned, I've heard many different opinions. When I first tryed the Grados, they didn't feel nearly as comfortable as the sealed-type ear-enclosing Koss headphones I previously had. However, after careful adjustment of the headband etc., the fit of the Grados was greatly improved. Combined with their very light weight, and new foam pad design (it's somewhat cup-shaped now, compared to the old flat style), they are generally comfortable. Unfortunately, I have big dumbo-style ears. After a couple of hours, my earlobes get sore. It's annoying but worth it for the great sound (am I a masochist?).

Since I am a big headphone fan, the $135 price tag didn't hurt at all - it was money very well spent! Compared to the $2000 cost of a comparable pair speakers, the headphones might as well be free.

In summary, the SR-125's kick ass.

I've been a lucky Grado SR-125 owner for the last 3 years, having previously had SR-80s (which were wrecked in an accident). Compared to the SR-80, theSR-125 is more extended at both ends of the frequency range, and is easier to
wear for long periods, being lighter.

Maybe my favorite thing about the SR-125s is how little they give up to my regular NHT SuperOnes. While the soundstage is somewhat collapsed with non-binaural recordings (unavoidable), they're great for listening into the music and picking up things you'd normally miss with regular speakers. For example, Rush and Queensryche have low-level sound effects that are hotly debated by fans on a number of recordings; they're generally voices which are hard to make out. The Grados allow you to pick up on such things very easily. I guess that means that in audiophile vocabulary, they're best described as analytic, as they'll definitely expose your recordings to you.

Analytic is not the same as flat, however. HeadRoom has published frequency- response graphs which show the SR-125 to be rather uneven; aside from Etymotics, though, they're hardly unusual in that regard. Beyond that, the uneven response of the human inner ear without the characteristic modification of head-related transfer functions makes it hard to claim that measured flatness is in fact correct (this does not make flatness less-desirable for speakers, where your outer ear will indeed shape your perceived response). However, barring having 'phones tailored to your particular HRTFs, I can't say that the frequency response of ANY headphone is right for you. I can say the SR-125 has been an exceptional fit for me.

One nifty trick you can pull with the SR-125s, or any other open-air headphone, is to run them with a subwoofer (assuming you have an appropriately-configured preamp/crossover). I use them with my Definitive PF15TL and don't feel deprived in the slightest when it's too late at night to use my regular speakers. Because of the upper-bass hump, with subsequent roll-off, the SR-125s are unusually well-suited to this setup.

I'm not going to tell you that the SR-125s are the best 'phones you can get for $150 (what I paid), $135 (what someone else here paid) or any other price. I haven't heard the best from Sennheiser, Stax, or even Sony, to be sure of that. However, having heard the Grado RS-1, a damn fine 'phone by any standard, I can say that I don't feel any jealousy towards those who can spend 3 times as much. Throw in the fact that they're exceptionally sturdy and "learn" to fit your head over time, and you've got one of the best bargains in audio on your hands.

After buying a Minidisk player (the Aiwa AM-F70, which is super) I decided to get a nice pair of headphones. I checked out all the usual places online and decide to go listen to the Grados. I listened to the SR-80s, the SR-125s, and the SR-250s. I really like the 80s, but the 125s blew me away. One thing others haven't said is the fact the these are super comfortable. Not only is the sound very transparent, but the headphones seem to disappear after about 5 minutes of wearing them. Buying these headphones is the best money I have ever spent on a piece of audio gear. The ARE that good! Try them, you will like them.