good bass, open mids, smooth highs...all with a portable Panasonic

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After reading the reviews on this site and @goodcans.com I ordered the 225s for use with my new Panasonic portable model SL-CT580. Everything that's been said about the 225s are true regarding its image placement (being onstage with the musicians and not with the audience). Guitars are played with enough 'twang and sparkle it's just wonderful. Vocals are clean and clear and very captivating. Try James Taylor, Linda Eder, Jacintha etc. I also like listening to modern jazz like Kirk Whaylum, Richard Elliot etc. With the 225s bass is solid without exagerration. I know my music pretty well because I have a good setup in my living room...CEC CD player, B&W 9NT, Velodyne sub, Audio Research Preamps, Rotel RB1090 and VPI turntable and this headphone (give credit to my SL-CT580 too) plays music like it's my $15,000 system. I am not boasting here. I just don't know how else to describe it. I am so happy with its character that I decided to go full blast with this headphone "thing". When I bought the 225s last week I just wanted to fill in the gaps in my days at work. Now I still want to use my new Panasonic SL-CT580 but I'm going to upgrade my phones to the RS2s and get the Grado RA1 later on. This will be the cheapest but most rewarding audio purchase of my like. I will be comparing Panasonic SL-CT580 vs. Sony D-EJ825 on the portables section.
Comparing it with the Senns, I have nothing bad to say about them. My decision to go with the Grados is because it exactly matches my musical taste. And that's what it's all about.

Similar Products Used:

$100-$200 Sony and Sennheisers

Ok, maybe I am not one of those esoteric "Audiophiles" but I've been buying/upddating audio equipment for over 14 years now.
Through the years, I've never invested much on a headphone because I hever really used them- until now: I got married. How ironic that I spend thousands and thousands of dollars only to find my wife doesn't like it when I listen to music at the volume I normally do- which isn't very loud I might add.

Anyway, after listening to various models in the similar price range ($150-$250), I purchased the Grado Labs SR-225 few week ago.

I found them more detailed and tranparent than Sennheiser HD-570; though the Sennheiser felt better on my head.

My musical tastes range from Dead Can Dance/electorinc-experimental/new-age to classical and industrial and I found the SR-225 to be melodic regardless of music type.

I could go on and on about the quality of the headphone but I won't.

I will mention that as soon as I bought the headphone, I broke it in for 24HRS as recommended by a previous reviewer (he actually broke it in for 12 HRS). And I got a bargin, I only paid $160.

Satisfied? Yes. Recommended? Yes, difinitely, absolutely.

Now, I just hope I don't blow my hearing by using headphones too much.


Dibesh.

Great bass for rock, swing jazz, jumpin blues, and classical

Earpads feel a little goofy

This is the second pair of Grado's I have purchased. I have had 60's for years, and loved most of that time. It took a little getting used to for the earpads, but the music just sounded great. I have listened to Fatboy Slim, Nirvana, Beethoven's 9th 2nd movement, lots of blues, lots more rock, and lots more electronica. The rock gets the benefit of the warmth, the electronica suffers from the lack of really low bass, the classical really shines on piano, violin, and drums. The punchy bass is absolutely great for classical. Rock fans, try Beethoven's 9th 2nd movement through these headphones. It will wake you up to a whole new world.

Similar Products Used:

Grado 60's, Koss Somethings, Sennheiser Somethings

I bought these phones after reading the write-up about them at the Headroom site, and was sorely disappointed. Compared to my current reference phones, Beyer DT 990-Pros, the Grados had a "warm" sound, with an exaggerated bass (which might be ok for rock and certain kinds of pop, but is definitely not ok for classical recordings) and shockingly poor resolution. As far as I am concerned, any product that reveals this little detail cannot be described as audiophile. These phone would be an excellent value at $50-$75, not their $200+ retail or mail-order price.

I recently puchased a pair of these. While they dont look all that comfortable to wear, in fact they are due mostly to the light weight. The sound is a bit heavy in the upper bass, which works to its advantage on hard rock, the high end is also a bit forward and can with some material be quite harsh sounding. This tends to make cymbals seem to crash rather than shimmer. The sound is very detailed but timbers of acoustic insturments tend to get overlooked. Some singers sound somewhat "raspy" due probably to the exagerated highs, possibly some internal resonance in the phones. These phones are very efficient, playing considerably louder for a given amplifier level than the Senn HD-545 I was comparing them to. Bottom line, for Rock music I love these phones. For Classical and most other music I prefer the smoother sounding and slightly more detailed HD-545's. My 4 star rating is based on 5 stars for Rock, 3 stars for other types of music.

I bought my Grado SR225 two months ago, after hearing all the hype about them. Well, I wasn't that impressed the first moment I plugged it into my CD player, the sound was a bit muffled and over-smooth, the soundstage was narrow and the bass a bit too heavy. I was a bit disappointed then cuz I was actually looking for headphones which could happily replace my Sennheiser HD580. It seemed that I made a wrong choice then.Now, after two months of break-in, there's a huge improvement. The soundstage, while not as wide as the Sennheiser, is detailed and revealing. As for the sound quality, the Grados definitely defeat HD580, being smooth and much more refined at the treble. And I think the strongest part of SR225 is the vocal. They confidently reveal the vocal quality of the performer, and you'll be amazed how they faithfully reveal the affection and emotion of a singer. You'll know what I mean when you listen to Nat King Cole through a pair of them, and compare the same music with HD580.
I have to disagree with the previous two reviewers about the Grado SR225. You have to give them a LONG period of break-in time before they show their true value, adn please don't make rash judgements before they're well broken in. Despite of they high efficiency, the SR225 really take a long time to reveal their true potential, even longer than the Sennheiser's.
Some reviewers claimed that they are perfect for rock music, well, that's true due to their excellent rhythm and thump at the upper bass. But don't ignore their performance in other genres such as classics and jazz. Try them with a record of Jose Carreras, such as the Hollywood Golden Classics. They can really take your breath away.
The bottom line? Be confident and go for it. While they can't completely take the place of Sennheiser's HD580, these lightweight and humble-looking pair of headphones are real gem.

Good soundstage, low accurate bass, very precise highs.

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The SR225 have a slightly better soundstage than the 125s. The bass is just slightly deeper. The biggest thing that stands out is the way SR225s handle complex sound. I can pick out the different instruments in a symphony much easier. The highs are precise, and the overall sound has Grado's warm, tube-like sound.

If you already own the Grado SR125s, the SR225s are not big enough a jump in sound to justify the extra price.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR 125

Articulate bass, intense mids, and detailed highs

a very SLIGHT bass deficiency.

These headphones have opened my eyes to an entirely new world of listening experiences. They are detailed, loud, and have an intense energetic feel to them.

I learned of these phones on headwize.com, (an excellent site), and have gained great insight into what it means to be an audiophile through continued listening on the 225's.

The sound of these phones is slightly bright(at first), warm, and extremely tight. The bass is perfectly balanced to the mids and highs in my opinion but most will find the bass slightly lacking for electronic music.

The sound is transparent, smooth and wholly of audiophile quality. I think anyone who enjoys a variety of music types would be happy with these headphones.

Similar Products Used:

V700, MX500

Amazing detail,very clear highs,punchy tight bass, AA+ value

A bit warm on some recordings, typical Grado discomfort

What a great set of cans!The SR-225 replaced my 6 year old SR-80's. I plugged the SR-225's into my Marantz PM-17 amp and ran them for about 8 hours.(I'm not all that convinced about the need for excessive "burn-in", but I'll save that argument for another day).The improvment of sound over the SR-80's was way more than I expected. The highs are more open with less bite, mids are even more defined and liquid, and the bass is both deeper and tighter with less distortion. These phones really excel on recordings with lot's of electric and amplified instruments, be it rock, jazz, blues, etc. Grado's deliver such razor sharp detail that NOTHING escapes them. That of course can be both good and bad depending on the source. I tend to agree with the general opinion that classical and some acoustical instrument recordings fair better on a phone like the Sennheiser 580/600's, with a more open and neutral character than the Grado's. But if you like a "up close and personal" soundstage v.s laid back and distant, these are for you. The bottom line is that the SR-225's are a superb sounding set of cans on about anything you throw at them, and I agree with Headroom.com that they are the best buy in the Grado line-up. Highly recommended!!!

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-80, Senn 580, AKG K340 (own all 3)

Great build quality, very comfortable, excellent dynamic range, loud as hell, nice long cord, etc.

Reveals source material all too well

This is my second review of these headphones. I've had them hooked up to a Sony Playstation, an NAD 1600 preamp, and a cheap boombox as well as an NAD 523 changer with a Creek OBH-11 headphone amplifier.

Nirvana-Unplugged
Too clear for this source. The recording engineers did a wonderful job of capturing the performance well. You'd have to know that Kurt Cobain likes cheap guitars and crappy amplifiers. His voice sounded awful, his guitar sounds out of tune, and the drums sound like a paper Mickey Mouse set. The bass guitar sounds wonderful, if mixed a little too far back. It sounds especially nice on Come As You Are with the chorus effect. The Creek/Grado setup is too revealing for this recording.

Tom Waits-Swordfishtrombones
Where did Tom get his engineers? Absolutely wonderful recording. This one sounds just as good through the headphone/amp setup as it does through the cheap boombox or my relatively nice preamp/amp/speaker setup.

Rocky Concerto 3 perf Horowitz 195?
Even taking into account the less than amazing recording job on this particular recording it's absolutely transporting. The rough sound comes through on the cans but doesn't detract from the experience at all.

Nine Inch Nails - Downward Spiral
Totally unlistenable. I used to love this album, but it sounds like total garbage through this setup. You can hear everything Trent did in the studio to my dismay. This is a great album, just not for headphones.

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Great. Just great. They made their cheap studio sound like gold on this one. The bass is all there, the high's aren't too abrasive, and the mids are warm and lovely.

Soundgarden-Badmotorfinger
Lovely. Just like an updated Black Sabbath. The highs aren't too harsh, the bass is muscular and tight, the guitars are beefy. Wonderful for headphones. Their palm muting sounds just great.

The cord hasn't had any problems for me. The stock "flat" pads are very comfortable. The "donut" pads make the cans more revealing and brighter, which is a downside for me. I like the darker sound with the flat pads. Maybe my ears are just too sensitive on the harsh highs.

I really like these headphones for lots of reasons. More punchy than the 60's, better durability than the Koss, and no comparison with cheap walkman headphones.

They really reveal the downside of poorly produced records. Take Stone Temple Pilots - Core. Abysmal recording of great songs. It sounds better on my TV speakers when the videos play on MTV than they do on a great headphone/hpamp combo.

This setup really shines on the limited classical selections I own.

The Grado/Creek setup ran me $350 with cables and everything, and I prefer it to the $1,500 I spent on my amp, preamp, speaker, speaker cable combo. I'd highly recommend this setup to anyone who has a college budget with investment banker tastes. I'd especially recommend this setup to anyone who watches DVD movies. I find this irritiating high-pitched whine coming out of every single TV I've ever seen, and the headphones completely eradicate any traces of that sound along with removing the necessity of sitting squarely in the Sweet Spot for stereo and 5.1 reproduction. With an extension cable you can move around pretty freely and get the kind of sound that rivals a setup with a price tag 7-10x as large.

I give a 5 star value rating for that reason.
It gets 4 stars as an overall since there's room for improvement that only the RS-1 and RS-2's can deliver. I've never heard the Sennheiser 580's or 600's and franky I'm not interested in hearing them. If they're better I don't want to know. I don't have an extra $600 lying around and don't want to know what I'm missing until I do. That is, if I'm really missing anything.

Similar Products Used:

Grado 60's, AKG's, Koss, cheap walkman headphones