average mids, sounds clear

bass not accurate, sound murky if w/o an amp

First of all, I am very dissapointed by this headphone. I owned a Grado SR-60's but sell it out to have the money for the 80's. If you do not have an amp, DO NOT buy this headphone. The sound is murky and the bass is not accurate. Sometimes sounds too boomy to the ear. SR-60 delivers a much better performance especially when you don't have an amp and playing it with your portable player.

An advise to all the people out there, if you want to buy a headphone that delivers a better sound than Grado SR-60, get the SR-125's. Not SR-80. Sr-80 is only sound good only if you have an amp.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-60's, Senn HD-495

Tight bass,good highs,creamy midrange,

build quality

I'm a devout canhead,I own 15 sets of headphones and four headphone amps.This all started when I bought a $4,000 set of speakers and my wife decided to have a baby,which of course precluded the enjoyment of my expensive new speakers.On to the review,These are my favorite phones.Yes even more that the Sr325 and the all the different Sennheisers and AKGs I own.They sound awesome,they make excellent bass and have beautiful midrange depth and clarity.The highs suffer a bit by being a bit too bright.But I think these phones are a great comprimise in all aspects.Not much sound quality is sacrificed for the sake of portabilty,looks comfort and price.Some might say they are ugly or uncomfortable and yeah they leak a lot of sound which may make you unpopular on a crowded bus or train, but the SOUND.They fit me fine after a few weeks of use and I can't do much about how they look but the love of good music and superior sound makes these phones the best deal in Audio right now,High or low end.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD600,Grado sr325.Mg head DT headphone amp.Musical fidelity xcans V2 headphone amp.Creek obh-11 amp.Grado Ra-1 headphone amp

Sound quality, driving ability

Comfort/leakage

These are my first headphones that meet "hifi" levels. I am running it out of an MG Head from an Audiophile 24/96.

Comfort:
Or lack thereof. The pads supplied are awful... they are coarse and they 'burn' my ears. Immediately I replaced them with radioshack ones (cut holes in them to improve sound) and it was more comfortable, though not extremely comfortable. I now cut the stock pads (the sliced donut pad modification) and cut some socks and put them over the donut pads. They now are more comfortable (still not perfectly comfortable) and sound much better (they probably sound like the legendary bowl pads). The headband readjusts to your head over time but you need to bend it initially.

Sound:
These headphones are very detailed and airy. Soundstaging is done pretty well. I find the treble to be slightly harsh so I have a tube amp which rolls off the treble to fix it. The bass is not as deep I would like but it is very impactful. Midrange is good, if not a tad bit colored. The sound coming from these phones may not be accurate but it is certainly musical, just fun to listen to.

Noise leaking:
Let me give you an example of how much these cans leak sound. If I turn my MG Head's volume to the maximum (which is 150mw x2 I believe), they sound like those piece-of-crap computer speakers with volume turned up to the maximum. You can make every word and music coming out of the headphones at this loudspeaker level. They leak badly. They also let sound in easily, as they provide practically no isolation (okay maybe 1dB, but it depends on the pads).

To me, the sound quality far outweighs the comfort, these cans are definetely good, perhaps the best sounding sub $100 headphones in existence.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR-EX70s, various crap-ola headphones

great sound

size, looks, open air design leaks sound, uncomfortable if you don't tweak the headband

If you don't mind the bulky size and the fact that they leak too much sound to be played loud at the office, these are great headphones. IMHO they sound noticably better than the SR60's, bass in particular but also a fuller soundstage. The SR125's sound better still, with even greater fine detail, but the cost difference is twice the cost of moving from the 60's to the 80's and the improvement in sonics isn't as great.

They are uncomfortable after listening for a while, but this is easily correctable. The discomfort is from the pads pressing against the ears. I was able to bend the headband until it was essentially flat so that the pads don't press against the ears. I can now listen for several hours with no discomfort. If Grado wanted to make an improvement to their line they could use softer padding.

If you're looking for headphones I'd reccommend auditioning at least all the Grados and the Senn 580 (particularly if you listen to mostly classical). For value I'd rate the SR80's a 6 on the 1-5 scale, you get the idea. Overall I'm awarding 4 stars simply because there are even better sounding can available (but not much better) and Grado could do something about the stiff foam pads.

Similar Products Used:

other grados, sony mdr-cd6

excellent bass and mid-range

crude design- not terribly well extended treble; cord (2m) could be longer?

I think that these headphones are absolutely brill. They look like the h/phones that you see the djs wearing in the b/w 50's films. Very old fashioned design. You will be surprised, however, by the sound quality. The bass response is brilliant for such a lightweight, open backed head phone. Indeed, it bettered my brothers £200 Beyer Dt811s and Sennheiser £80 475s in this respect. The mid-range is wonderfully clear and precise. The treble can sound a little dull and the ear pieces at first seem to itch your ears. Apparently Grado is bringing out some optional ear cushions, so heres hoping!
Overall, a very good pair of headphones, with very good reviews apart from Hifi Choice, who seem to like very much the Sr60s (just different ear cushions) and deteste the sr80s. But thats Hifi Choice for you. About as consistent as Mystic Meg.
oh, and they're £100

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD475, beyer dt811, Sony Cd770, beyer dt311

Accurate and dynamic sound reproduction

comfort

The first time I listened to these was with a NAD CDP. The sound was a revelation. I spent about 30 minutes listening to several CD's. I could hear everything. The slight intake of breath that would get lost on lesser headphones and speakers. The sound of fingers sliding over strings. Voice so real I could have been in the room with the singer. Everything. Ultra clear and dynamic. I know there are more expensive headphones and different designs but what I heard through these was so stunningly good I can't imagine paying more. My only quibbles would be a slight, very slight lack of bass but this may be colored by the exagerated bass I hear on other systems. These need amplification as well. Connected to the NAD and the Yamaha integrated I use at home, they sound as I describe above. Connected to a portable device or a computer's soundcard they sound weak and somewhat distorted. The ergonomics are somewhat lacking as well. It takes some getting used to and tweaking to get the comfort to a point where you can forget you're wearing headphones. In fact, I never really got to that point. The wire is fat and doesn't bend easily. Somewhat short as well. If ergonomics aren't a top priority this should be on your short list when buying new headphones.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser RS80, Sennheiser HDR80, various cheapo brands and earbuds.

These headphones are quite simply the best sub-$100 headphones money can buy. The sound of these babies is smooth and uninhibited. The sound simply soars out of them... literally (the leakage of sound might be a problem for public use... people think I'm destroying my ears but really it's a reasonable sub 80db listening level). The bass is tight and responsive. Midrange sparkles and has a perfect EQ that allows vocals to sit wonderfully stable in the mix... that's perhaps their best quality. The high end shimmers appropriately and never EVER gets harsh. They sound more balanced than my Sony V6s, which I use in public and for vocal monitoring due to their better sound leakage.

Unfortunately, my ears are very sensitive and the gritty bowl pads that came with the SR-80s tend to get raw on my ears for use of more than an hour or so. I bought the disk pads, which were a tad more comfy but they clouded the sound. I cut holes in the middle but that made the bass unrealistic and the highs became a bit too intense. I now use the bowls instead and ignore the pain. The sound is generally worth it. Also, the stereo imaging is slightly less accurate than my Sony V6s, but I generally don't have a problem with it.

These headphones are amazing for the money. You CAN buy better phones, certainly, but they'll cost a hella lot more. If you are looking at for the best deal in headphones, this is it.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDR-V6, Sony MDR-CD570, Sony MDR-V600, other Sony crap phones, Sennheiser HD580 & HD600

Exquisite sound with clarity, detail, and tight bass that renders all my CD's with the utmost in esthetic pleasure.

None, really.

When I first took them out of the box they had, in the words of the late Walt Kelly, a peculli-horrible sound that seemed to bode ill for any serious use in listening to classical music. I broke them in for about 50 hours before sticking them back on my ears for a careful listen. Wow! I could not believe the transformation that had occurred! I stuck CD after CD into my AMC CD8b and Creek Headphone Amplifier combo until I realized that I had done nothing but listen for 6 hours. Conventional wisdom says that the Grado headphones are more for rock and jazz than they are for classical music. I do not find this to be true. I have Sennheiser HD-590's that I also listen to a lot and I suppose that I could play off the one against the other and compare them both to the Koss Pro-4aa's, but others have included such comparisons in their reviews. All I would like to say here is that if I only had the Grado 80's for listening to my classical music I would be perfectly happy. And I suppose my only other real word of wisdom for those considering the purchase of headphones of any sort is to underscore the importance of giving your new high-end headphones about 40 hours of breakin time at ordinary listening volume with the music you like best before listening to them critically. The breakin effect is more subtle with some headphones than others, but with the Grados the breakin effect is not subtle at all! Break them in first and you will be happy.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD-590's, Koss Pro-4aa's, Sony MDR v900's

Clarity and transparency, bass

Cord, requires break-in time, not only for the drivers, but for fit

I must say these cans are like a fine wine--they improve with time. They still make me smile every time I listen to them. I use the donut pads that came with them, which are pretty nasty and stiff at first. They do soften up after a while and sound better than the other earpads offered. The 6 foot cord tends to twist quite a bit, which is a pain especially when I plug it into the remote of my portable disc player (Sony D-EJ825).
These are NOT sealed headphones--they are an open air design, and thats what makes them sing. So naturally, they will leak sound and outside sound will penetrate. So I wouldn't recommend listening to them in a car or plane.
I was worried that the discman wouldn't be able to drive these very well due to their low impedance. But I am very satisfied with its performance, though I don't doubt adding an amp would be beneficial. The bass is gorgeous, though some of the lower notes sometimes lack definition (maybe I could remedy that with an amp??), it is still accurate, full, and rich. I thought the high end was slightly reserved at first, but I don't find any problem with it now.
You would have to spend sizeable amounts on speakers to get this sound. I love them. Phenomenal.

Very open, very immediate sound, low in coloration

Lack of speed & resolution in the extreme treble relative to live music

The weakness noted above are relative to live music. For most listeners these phones will please greatly. When compared directly to most phones, including the Sennheisers, they may likely come as a revelation. The sound is very open. By comparison, most other phones sound thick, slow, and EXTREMELY colored.

Headphone coloration/frequency response errors range from the distant, scooped out midrange and exaggerated bass of the Koss Pro 4AA, to the dizzying variety of nasty, rolled-off treble with elephantine bass of the Japanese phones (like JVC, Sony, Aiwa, etc.), to the dim, treble-shy, deep-bass shy, midrange-in-a-can sound of the Sennheisers (to which the HD600s may be the exception - haven't heard them yet).

The trend common to all phones these days is an overblown midbass coupled to some flavor of sickeningly inaccurate mids and no real highs to speak of. Trust me, if you compare the Grado SR80s (or better yet, the cleaner and more accurate SR325s) to virtually any phone on the market - and certainly to any in it's $100 price class (shop around - you can get them for less) - you will be astonished at the naturalness and openness of the sound. You may never go back.

Please note that these remarks do not apply to the SR60s, which commit most of the errors of the mass market phones,
though perhaps not as greatly. Nevertheless, they suffer from a colored, peaky midrange, boomy midbass, no deep bass,
and rolled off highs. Great for the deafened rocker, however, who simply wants it loud and impactful.

Similar Products Used:

Most Sennheisers up thru the 580s; most Sony, JVC, Koss, etc.