I see a fair number of people have had issues with the construction quality of their Grados, however mine have been incredibly solid and reliable through over 2000 hours of use, being thrown around the room, almost lost earpads, stepped on slept on left in the car you name it. They are still in perfect condition, and I am one of the lucky ones because in heavy bass the diaphragm in my set does not vibrate against any wiring. It has happened, once or twice, but has been so rare I do not even consider it an issue. The amount of abuse these headphones have taken is simply marvelous. I've spent a lot of time worrying about them, hoping they haven't been wounded but they continue to sound utterly magnificent all the time. Grados made me start buying actual CDs because suddenly burned copies of bootlegged concerts off of the web were no longer good enough. Sound quality? You've heard it before. I had my sister listen to the first 30 seconds of a set by DJ Tiesto when I first told her about them, and her only comment was, "It sounds... live." This for an electronic music set.

In the SR-80s, bass is weaker than it could be simply due to their available frequency response. 24Hz is better than most floorstanding speakers will do, but for really heavy bass in things like electronic music and rap, they can't do the deep deep stuff. A good friend of mine has the 325s, they'll do the bass you need.

I bought this set of Grado SR-80s about a year and a half ago and have been listening to them religiously since. My friends used to laugh at me because I was virtually a raving prophet carrying on about the Grados at musical events all the time, but guess what? Now they all own a pair as well! In case you have been wondering, regardless of true non-directional surround sound, even the SR-80s put the STAX to shame.

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STAX SR-202 w/ SRM-212; Sennheiser HD-600,500,200; Wide Variety of Sony MDR series & Consumer Grade Headphones.

The Sound and the style.

I''ve had to have them repaired 4X''s. B U T Grado has NEVER charged me for a repair... NEVER ! ! !

Great phones. I love their sound. Very detailed. The earpads can be annoying but I don''t let that be an issue. They are balanced and accurate and doing studio work, that''s what I want.

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I own the SR-60''s and SR-125''s. Slight differences.

Gorgeous, detailed sound, comfort, great retro looks, efficient enough to be driven by a decent portable.

Shoddy build quality, questionable durability.

This has been one of the most frustrating audio purchases I have ever made. The Grado SR-80s are terrific sounding headphones (I won''t get into why, there are plenty of reviews here that adequately describe their sound). However, build quality is a serious problem. The first pair of Grados I received had a faulty plug, and sound only came out of one ear unless the plug was rigged *just so,* so I returned them. While I had them, I noticed a rattling sound in the one speaker that did work, particularly around the bass frequencies. I just assumed that this was a faulty pair, and ordered another. Thankfully, the plug worked on this pair, but I still experience the same rattling problem in both ears from time to time. Something, I''m not sure what, tends to come loose and rattles when the drivers produce bass frequencies. This is tremendously annoying. Sometimes I can shake whatever is loose back into place, though sometimes that just makes things worse. Not a very scientific solution, I know, but I can''t return them at this point, I''m not going to open them up and try to ''fix'' them myself, and things haven''t gotten sufficiently bad to force me to send them away to Grado Labs to be fixed. As I said, when they work, they are terrific, but build quality is simply atrocious for such an expensive product! For the price, I could not ask for better sound, though. Unlike most other posters, I have found them to be very comfortable after the initial break-in period. I can wear them for hours and I frequently fall asleep listening to them in bed, since I want to listen to music without disturbing my roomate. Recommended, but with reservations.

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Koss TD-75, Koss TD-61, Sennheiser 570s

Revealing dynamics; exciting listen. Controlled low-frequencies

Expensive in The UK

Excellent ''phones

Sound quality, price to value ratio.

EAR PADS! Grado, if your listening do something about it.

The Grado SR80 is a no frills headphone with a quality sound. Apparantly Grado Labs'' design department chooses to ignore styling, ergonomics and comfort and focus on sound quality. For sound quality they can''t be beat even at several times the price, music is very precise; excellent sound stage, tight and clear base even at lower volumes and SMOOOTH. For as much as I love the sound, the SR80s are not designed to be worn for long periods of time - after about an hour or so the your ears will need a rest from those friggin'' foam ear pads. I wish I could find a replacement set that didn''t bother me after a while.

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Tried Sennheiser, Sony, Koss and Pioneer before I decided on the Grados.

detail and accuracy, good bass, clear mids and highs, great value

soundstage, original earpads, tend to distort

I''ve actually bought these headphones for my father who really needed some, so these ones were intended for a person who listens to basically all types of music. Before buying them I compared them to Grado SR-60, SR-125 and Sennheiser 500 Fusion. The SR-60 seem to be as good as the Senn''s in overall quality, but they have a very different feel to them. The SR-80 are simply an improved SR-60, mostly the bass, but not only. The SR-125 are an improved SR-80, better accuracy and precision, better bass and clearer highs, but they were a little too expensive, so I settled for the SR-80''s. The 80''s sound quite clear, especially the highs, but they aren''t bright at all. The lows are deep and dynamic, and the midrange is just right. The soundstage feeling though is a bit missing, but I noticed it on the SR-125 too (although their soundstage was somewhat better). At high volumes they can distort a little, but not very badly. The sound seems to have improved over time, and after having the earpads replaced, I can say they were a good buy. For myself I got two pairs, Jensen JF40 and Senn 570. The Jensen can''t be compared to the SR-80 because they are basic headphones and fall in every category but comfort (maybe reliability too). The Senn 570 however are superior to the SR-80''s. They have even more detailed sound, better mid and high ranges, and improved soundstage. Their low range is much more laid back than the Grado''s but deeper and more suited at instrumental music, but they cost almost 50 percent more so this is not a fair comparison. The bottom line is: if you only have money for SR-80''s and nothing more, they can be your best choice.

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SR-60, SR-125, SR-325, Sennheiser 500 & 570, Jensen JF40, and listened to many others but not long enough to evaluate

Outstanding accuracy and detail, comfortable to wear.

Sound can be a bit cold and clinical.

This model impressed me with its detail and accuracy. After extended listening sessions (1hr+) they don't seem to cause ear fatigue and I don't find myself gradually increasing the volume, something that is a natural tendency with most headphones. (Grado includes a warning about this). Their basic design is pretty conservative, but I find them very comfortable to wear. Nothing in their price range comes close to the SR80s.
I listen mostly to classical music which is a very demanding medium for sound reproduction, as the dynamic and frequency ranges are extreme. I think I'm difficult to impress but Grado has managed it. High recommendation.
If there is a flaw in these headphones, it is that the sound is rather cold. This is especially true in the high frequencies which, although not shrill, can sound slightly pinched. I prefer a rounder, warmer sound.
Nevertheless, any demanding listener should give the SR80s serious consideration.

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Koss Pro4X (OLD!!!)

Great overall sound, lightweight, nice deep bass, so much more detail than any other phones i've ever heard!

VERY open (they leak a lot of sound)

The Grado SR-80's are just flat out incredible headphones. They offer great sound from the deep bass to the extreme highs. The detail surpasses any other headphones i've ever heard. I would recommend these headphones to absolutely anyone. They sound better than many $200+ headphones I've heard. Truly the world's finest...

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Sennheiser HD500, Grado SR-60, Sony CD-570

Very good all around headphone.

Haven't found any so far.

I admit I haven't used these headphones for too long, but I've already fallen in love with the sound they produce. For the money, I can't think there can be a better headphone that compares. The bass is incredible, and it isn't that booming crap that SONY headphones seem to put out. While listening to Jose Serebrier recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scherezade" with the London Philharmonic (Reference Recordings), I was very impressed with how the headphones handled the dynamic range of the orchestra, and brought out the nuances in the recording. They also did a marvelous job with Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage", Queensryche's "Operation:Mindcrime" (yes, I listen to a lot of different music), and Bauhaus's "In the Flat Field". Miles Davis's "Round About Midnight" sounded very clean. The sound is very open, and transparent. I like that. The one thing I noticed as a drawback was that during Maurizio Pollini's recording of Chopin's Preludes was that his Steinway sounded more like a Yamaha digital piano. I'm hoping this was the headphones needing some break-in time. As for comfort, I know a lot of people complain about it with these hp's. It isn't an issue with me. Then again, I have a high tolerance for these kinds of things when I'm being bathed in such wonderful sound! A person interested in a versatile headphone that handles a variety of different music with ease should take this one into consideration. This is a musical headphone, and it's a heavyweight in terms of sound. I like the aesthetics. And, besides, who sees the headphones while you're wearing them? The point is the music!

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SONY, AKG

Amazing sound on a budget.

Grado doesn't make speakers.

Here's something I tried which really improves the sound of you headphones. If you connect your Grados directly to your source player (CD) with an stereo RCA to 1/4" phono (female) the detail you get is astonishing!
The downside is that you can't control the volume, which
depending on your source player can be a deal-breaker.
I imagine this might be comparable to having a separate
headphone amp, but I've never tried that.
Now I hate having to plug them into my amp (an NAD 314)
because the sound suffers considerably. Much less
detail in the high frequencies and a kind of electronic fuzziness overall.

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Lots.