Tight bass, nice high, and best-bang-for da buck!!

Comfort, built quality, and harsh treble (sometimes)

I purshased the sr80 after reading many positive reviews from headwiz.com. This phone is truely remarkable piece of engineering, though comfort and built quality could be improved.
Sound quality is excellent when compares to Sony V600. The grado is very efficient and can be powered by your portable minidisc quite easily. The bass on the this headphone is nice and tight, however, I don't mind for a stronger bass response. The high is quite nice, but sometime can be harshy. The soundstage is very nice, I usually feel like I am not listen to headphone. This headphone suits the best for rock and roll music.
I am strongly recommend this product to anyone, if you can sacrifice design and comfort and emphasize on sound quality.

Similar Products Used:

Sony Mdr-v600, E888, E484, EX70lp, and many high quality earbuds.

just an update - I've used them nearly every day for almost a year. They still look goofy, they still leak sound, but they still sound great. There is no discomfort at all from wearing them now - the foam pads have molded to my ears. They were a great buy and I'd get them again. They've also held up just fine - no problems after over a thousand hours of use.

Great sound, Great value

Too revealing at times

Tired of the sound and discomfort of the earbuds supplied as standard with my Panasonic SL-SX280 portable CD player I knew I needed to replace them with a pair of headphones that would satisfy the following criteria,

1) Provide quality sound across the range;
2) Be easily driven from a portable;
3) Match-up with a quality home based system; and
4) Provide value for money.

After reading the excellent reviews in various audio specialist publications and the 70+ mainly ecstatic reviews on audioreview.com I decided that the Grado SR-80 headphones would best meet these criteria. Unable to audition a pair locally I ordered a pair on faith.
In Australia these headphones sell for a RRP of AUD259.00 (a bit more than USD95.00 after factoring in shipping, tax etc…). Initially I was greatly disappointed with what I heard for the price, but knew from my reading that after a break-in period of 30 hours they would sound considerably better. The difference was unbelievable. All of the above criteria were met with flying colours, and they provide great sound across a variety of musical formats.

While I write this review I am listening to disk 2 of ‘the chillout session 2’ from the Ministry of Sound. The bass is fantastic - tight and controlled. On my live Jazz CDs I am blown away by the clarity of the sound stage – in front I can clearly distinguish and concentrate on each instrument, while behind me I can hear the waiters delivering drinks and the clatter of cutlery on crockery. So real that I often find myself turning around to see if someone is in the room with me! Equally, the portrayal of artists such as Dean Martin, Neil Diamond and Mick Hucknall, are amazing.
If there is any problem with the SR-80s it is that they have revealed some of the weaknesses in my CDs that had hithro gone unnoticed; most notably - hiss and poor mono to stereo conversions.

I find the SR-80s comfortable, and the cord is a good length and very supple. The pads are not irritating in the least. The leakage levels stop me using these headphones on public transport – I know that nothing annoys me more than hearing other peoples music on the bus or train, but I have no problems with outside sounds interfering with my own enjoyment of the music.

All in all, the Grado SR-80 headphones are great value for money, and I have no hesitations in awarding them 5 stars for both value and overall ratings. I look forward to matching these up one day to a good headphone amp – for me I’m sure there are still untapped reserves of listening pleasure yet to be had from these headphones.

Clear, detailed sound

Not as comfortable as some other headphones (at least initially)

Five days ago I bought a pair of Grado SR-80's, and have been running them in for close to 40 hours. I have never been more satisfied (for the price that I paid for them) in my life! Here is my review:

Some recent reviews on the SR-80's have stated that they came with the comfy pads, which muffle the sound. (My SR-60's came with those comfy pads, but I bought a pair of "bowl" pads for them.) But those comfy pads are NOT what Grado officially ships the SR-80's with; my SR-80's, which came in a factory-sealed box, came with the "bowl" pads. Also, while the SR-80's cord is as thick and bulky as my year-old pair of SR-60's, it isn't as stiff as my SR-60's. (Newer shipments of Grado headphones come with the less-stiff cord.)

THE SOUND: The SR-80's have less mid-bass but more upper bass than my year-old SR-60's (I tested both headphones with the "bowl" pads), though the low bass is about equal on both. As a result, the SR-80's sound less "boomy" than the cheaper SR-60's. And while both the SR-60's and the SR-80's deliver sparkling treble, the SR-60's upper midrange isn't as smooth or as balanced as that of the SR-80's, so that the SR-60's treble appears even more sparkling than that of the SR-80's (especially with good amplification).

Both of my Grado headphones are comfortable enough, but not quite as comfy as the Senns and the Sonys listed under "Similar Products Used:". The "bowl" pads are a bit abrasive, and a bit loose. On the other hand, I (unlike some other people) have no need to bend the headband in order for the Grados to fit comfortably on my head.

Overall, the Grado SR-80's are worth the extra $20~$25 over the SR-60's. Don't get me wrong, the SR-60's are still excellent headphones for $69, but the SR-80's are among the very best headphones under $100. (The Sennheiser HD 495's are very good, though they need an amp just to outperform the unamped Grados. The Sony MDR-V6's and MDR-7506's are excellent closed/sealed full-cup headphones for around $100, but are in a different league from the Grados. The Sony MDR-V600's are downright crappy for their price - I wouldn't pay more than $15 for the V600's.)

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-60, Sennheiser HD 495, Sony MDR-V6/MDR-7506, Sony MDR-V600

Easily driven by portables, clean, clear full range sound

None

I bought these to use with a portable cassette or cd player.Out of the box they sounded terrible. Having read reviews on this site before buying I knew this would be the norm. The guys in the know advised thirty to forty hours break-in time, so I plugged them into my second zone system on a Music Choice channel for two days. After forty hours there was a significant improvement in the mid-range detail and warmth. The bass finally came out and was deep and again very detailed.
The sound quality for classical is awesome , and very satisfying for jazz. My portables can drive these to the limits of comfortable listening.
I recomend these headphones for their sound quality in this price range. Give them a fair break-in time before critical listening.

Similar Products Used:

Koss Pro4AA, JVC wireless

neutrality, weight and #1 sound...........

as far as the sound none in this price range,if you find one ,it means that you need a hearing aid or ear specialist ASAP;cord to short;outside noise might be heard

they sound like $2000 to $4000 speakers,need at least 30 hrs break in period,even if you hook them up to a $100 portable cd player you will hear the sound from a couple thousand dollar HiFi system.Do not wait and get them!

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why bother

VALUE, SIZE, AND SOUND SOUND SOUND!!

none

Well I just bought them today. So I guess there not broken yet. But the sound is unbelieavable . What a difference.
Its hard to read reviews online without trying them on. Most reviews say they are unconfortable. But these are confy. Im sure not as confy as velvet lined but much more then my sonys. Plus the size is just right for portability.
and for work. Also they keep outside sound out pretty well
From the other reviews I thought I would here everything but there just the same as my sonys. And the sound Well Its insane. Just the right bass, just the right midrange, and just the right hi's. Amazing. And you cant beat the price. Also leakage isnt as bad as what i read maybe a tiny bit more then the sonys but my office neighbor cant hear them and there on pretty loud right now. I HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND THESE CANS. They look cool too. Its a good change from the highly futuristic scifi look.

Similar Products Used:

sony 300's, other crap

clarity

distort some(possible my systems fault though)

I am not use to open ear headphones but I like these a lot.They do have really good clarity and detail for just under 100 bucks---although they do distort easily but this may be due to either my headphone jack in my preamp or tara labs prism 33i cables hooked up throughout my system--these present a very rich forward sound with strong bass and midrange which is good at low to moderate listening levels but not good for higher levels so I cant put the blame on grado for that ! I finally got them broken in after a weeks use and the brightness is finally gone ! It just makes me wonder what the higher end headphones sound like ! I'm very happy with them and give them thumbs up across the board with honors---wish I could now afford the creek obs -11se headphone amp since i'm stuck with the headphone jack in my preamp but it does a decent job though.The sr-80 even sounds good when I plug them directly into my dvd players headphone jack,another words they are very easy to drive which is a very good thing .I give highest ratings

Similar Products Used:

old sonysequivalent to v-600 model

THE SOUND! THE CLARITY!

construction is a bit weird

These headphones sound phenominal. The music is SOOOO
clear. I bought these to travel with, to replace the crappy headphones that came with my portable cd player. I knew they would sound better, but I had no idea HOW MUCH BETTER! They are so much more efficient that I don't have to turn the volume up nearly as loud as before. I don't care about how they look when worn. All headphones look goofy anyway.
They are well worth the money!

detailed, tight bass, quality cord

see below

these headphones really improve with a good 30-40 hours of break in.
these headphones are most certainly the best bang for the buck...at 95 bucks, you just can't find a better set of cans.
but while detail is important and usually a good thing, it also brings out the worst in bad recodings.....hiss.
i can't believe how bad some of my recodings of major labels/artist are, something i never realized with other headphones.
the bass is strong, yet tight and never boomy like the senn. hd-570.
the highs are crisp, detailed and the mids never really seem to get muddy like a few other cans i auditioned.
the fit is another story. not quite to comfort of the 570's or the AKG 501's, but after a while, these sr80s feel right at home on your ears.
you deserve to at least audition them if you're in the can market. harvey's got a 7 day money back, so break them in and see for yourself.

Similar Products Used:

grado sr-125, senn hd-570, akg 501