 They're pretty comfortable, too |
| Review Date: February 1, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Shayana Kadidal, New York, NY United States |
If you are reading this you have probably already read one of the many reviews raving about the perfectly balanced and clear sound of these headphones. [...] Most of those (older) reviews comment on how the older earpads were too hard on the ears, or the headphones themselves were overall just uncomfortable to wear.
I just wanted to add that (at least in the newest incarnation--the pads have been tinkered with by the manufacturer) they are *very* confortable, compared to many other headphones. The earpieces have two pivot points: one allows them to pivot on a vertical axis attached at the headband and another on a horizontal axis running through the earpiece. This combined with the bendable headband allows for a lot of adjustment. I have a pretty large head and they're not overly tight or otherwise uncomfortable. And the apparently-recently-redesigned earpads on this model have some cushion without being mushy-soft on their outer surface (pads like that always made my ears sweat).
Before buying these, I read just one (recent) review that claimed these were comfortable, and I didn't beleive it. Now I do. (I also didn't beleive they would sound appreciably better after a break-in period, but they did after about 30 hours of being attached to my receiver with the radio on nonstop.) Well, that's all I wanted to say. Back to listening. |
Best Headphones for Under A Hundred Fifty Smackers
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| Review Date: May 4, 2006 |
| Reviewer: D. Dooley, Lisle, IL United States |
I've had my Grado SR 80's for over 3 years now and cannot imagine life without them.
For years I had used a pair of Sony MDR-somethings until the earphone pads were disintigrating. I had some extra cash and decided to do some research before rushing out and buying a new pair. I was unfamiliar with the Grado brand, but all of the reviews were fantastic for their entire line. But I wasn't really thrilled about an open-ear design, I had been used to closed-ear headphones. Research on a bunch of audiophile sites said that open-ear headphones gave the most natural sound, and the Grado SR 80's were rated the best buy for any headphones under one hundred fifty dollars, better than the more famous Sennheiser brand. Then I kept reading how uncomfortable they were. I hesitated buying them and for over a week I kept reading more Grado reviews. I almost bought some other brand because the reviewers claimed they were more comfortable than the Grado's. I finally found a few reviews that said the newer pads on the Grado's were more comfortable and became even more comfortable after a short break in period, just like the sound quality improves after a few dozen hours of play. So I broke down and ordered them.
The very first time I put the Grado's on I could not believe the sound difference over my old Sony's. It was like listening to the artists in the studio or on a small stage, instead of them in the room next door. There is no muffled or tinny sound. Everything becomes crystal clear. You can pick out individual instruments, hear individual voices in crowds, even the artist breathing. Lyrics become much easier to understand, and my appreciation and enjoyment of music has increased because of the Grado's.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these to anyone. And from the websites I've read that while there is a quality boost going to the SR 125's, the sweet spot price wise in the Grado line is with the SR 80's. I encourage you to read up on these, the more you read the more you'll be convinced to buy them.
It would cost ten times more to put together a stereo system and speakers that sound as fantastic as these headphones do.
Pro's -
GREAT Sound, fantastic bass, great for rock, jazz, country, classical, world music, everything I've tried sounds incredible.
Uncomfortable reputation isn't true. Was a tight fit the first couple of times I used them, but they have a metal strip under the top that you can stretch out and then they feel great (if you have a big melon like me).
Very lightweight, I wear them for hours and do not feel a need to take a rest from them.
Much cheaper than any equivalent sounding stereo system.
Cons -
Somewhat large if you wanted to use them as portable headphones with an ipod or other mp3 player.
If you are going to connect it to most stereo systems you will need a mini-to-standard connector. You probably already have on if you've had headphones before. The connector on the headphones is the standard mini size most headphones today are.
What are you waiting for? Get yourself some Grado's! |
Easily the best audiophile investement under $100
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| Review Date: December 12, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Gal, Jerusalem, Israel |
People who are not into audio equipment may look oddly at the Grado SR80. These headphones lack the flashy design most would expect from a circa $100 cans, the design reminds me of old soviet navy headphones. Do not let the looks mislead you, these cans pack enough sound to give a good fight against the Senn's beautiful $350 HD600. The open headset takes some time to get used to, the padding is a little harsh to the ears and it may take some time for the metal arch to accomodate itself to your head, the set is, however, quite lightweight.
Once you get used to them, and after spending a few days of burning them in, the SR80 starts to shine. Connected to an Arcam CD72 CDP via an Onkyo TX810 stereo receiver, Mahler 5th (conducted by Rattle) could finally show its tragic might. "Nozze di Figaro" (conducted by Kleiber) overture was as lively as Mozart intended it to be, although the cans have very dominant bass, it didn't overshadowed the brightness of the violins. "Kind of Blue" was a little bit too "Bassy" to my taste, but overall the details and clearness overwhelmed me. Listening to the live preformance of "Your Latest Trick" (Dire Straits' "Sultan of Swing") the SR80 lacked the soundstage to deliver the live performance feeling, but again - details were astonishing, this lack of soundstage was the SR80 vice when playing "Alexander Nevsky" (conducted by Bernstein), "Arise ye Russian People" and again the cans were a little too "boomy". The ability of the SR80 to show the finest details of the sound with its great bass capability made listening to a fine studio record, such as "Violator", a true delight - "Halo" is my favorite track and the SR80 shows the great production work put into that record. In another great studio production - The SR80 make Suzanne Vega and Joe Jackson a delight to listen to with "Left of the Center", on the same CD ("Tried and True"). More velvty productions may sound a little "hazy" with the SR80, this could be either a downside, as with "Moonlight Shadow" (from Oldfield's "Crises"), but with the tragic "Song after the Rain" (from Poliker's "Ashes and Dust") the SR80 sound truly fits the occasion.
As an added bonus, and unlike Senn's offerings, the SR80 are very easy to drive and can color your iPod (or any favorite MP3 player) with briliant sounds.
The Good - Astonishing vocal range, clearness and detailing you will not find even in >$1000 speakers, great bass. Unique design and build quality.
The Bad - Little "bassy" to my taste, tiny soundstange. Ergonomics could have been better, anachronistic design.
Conclusion - For less than $100 (or even triple than that), you will not be able to find a better piece of equipment. It will astonish you with details that will make you rediscover your CD collection. You may not like the design, ergonomics, the emphesis on bass or the lack of soundstage, but the SR80 cans easily get 5 stars for overall value. |
The best I have so far used.
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| Review Date: June 6, 2005 |
| Reviewer: S. Nair, USA |
I had Sennheiser HD497 for over a year which I loved except for that its Bass performance was not good.
Then came the SR60, which I soon exchanged for SR80 (because of its superior Bass performance) and also bought a Total Bithead Headphone amp and I absolutely love the setup.
Q. How do you know a good can from bad??
Ans. I use a simple solution that works for me.
1. Firstly, Close your eyes while listening to music.
2. Put a rather noise song (something that has many instruments playing simultaneously) and try to figure out-
-- diffrentiate exactly what instruments are playing
-- in which ear and at what pitch level they are playing?
-- how audible the soft ones like bells and chimes are?
-- How defined, spacial and NATURAL sounding the Bass is? (There are many people for whom loud Boom-Boom Bass means good Bass. What they fail to understand is how NATURAL it sounds is more important.)
-- How the overall experience is?
Do this much with a Grado and you are sure to take one home. |
I am blown away... this is ear-candy!
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| Review Date: October 1, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Steven, Colorado, USA |
You will not be disappointed with the unbelievable sound these cans produce.
I did my research before buying these. I had a price point of $100 I wanted to spend on cans and I read about damn near every review for every set of headphones in that price range. I kept stumbling upon two sets of headphones. The Grado SR60's and the SR80's. After much research on these two sets of headphones I finally decided to go with the SR80's. I decided on these because the cord is thicker and I kept reading that the bass and clarity surpasses the SR60's.
Let me tell you this... I was NOT dissapointed with my purchase! I went to the store (Cherry Creek Audio - terrible service btw) and purchased these. I couldn't wait to get home and test out my brand new cans. After what felt like an hour drive (actually it was like 10 mins) I arrived home and immediately plugged these into my stereo. I grabbed the first CD I could find, which happened to be a techno CD. Now i'm not really a techno fan all that much, but it was the first CD I could get my paws on so I figured, what the hell... let's test the bass response on these phones. I was completely blown away! I pumped it up nice and loud and I almost teared up because the sound was so good. Every facet of the sound quality was well above average. I haven't burned them in yet, but I keep reading that once these burn in they will sound even better. I can't wait! they sound amazing right now! (2 hours in so far)
Before these cans I was using Sennheiser HD490's. These aren't known to be the best, but they were the same price as my Grados. The Grados are at least 5 times better. If you are still trying to decide which cans to buy, then you can stop right now. Just get these... you will not regret it.
Okay, I hate to admit it, but there are some downsides. If you have read any reviews on these then you probably know what they are.
First, they are a bit scratchy on the ear. Because of this, after a couple hours you will need to take a break, however, you can always buy different pads that are much more comfortable for around $10. Fortunately the ear pads are extremely easy to replace.
Second, the sound leaks quite a bit. You will probably annoy people at work if you jam these too loud.
Third, a lot of people think that these look weird. I happen to like the retro style, so this may or may not be a downside for you. You don't look at em while they're on your head anyways!
So why the 5-star review? Well, I believe that a product needs to be perfect to receive a 5-star review but despite the minor flaws in these cans, I was so blown away by the sound quality that it more then made up for the three flaws listed above. These should cost a lot more!
** UPDATE **
Well, i've had these for a few weeks now with plenty of burn-in time (I listen to them for 4+ hours a day at work, plus I burned them in for three days straight). The sound seems a bit rounder now. The bass is a little bit clearer and more defined and the highs and mids have become nice and round - easier to listen to.
It is simply amazing how different music sounds now. For example, there are a couple songs on the Doors Greatest Hit album where you can actually hear what some of the people in the crowd are saying! I used to hear just a mumble and was always curious, but with these phones I can hear the words! Also, now I can hear picks on guitars, and other sounds that I never knew existed!
One last thing... These phones seem a lot more comfortable now that i'm used to them. For the first week or so they irritated my ear a bit after listening to them for an hour or two. Now, I can go pretty much all day at work listening to them without any problems, in fact... they are comfortable! (something I thought I would never say)
After burn in, and getting used to these cans, I can safely say that - If you are looking for phones in the sub $100 range... look NO further... you simply can't get better then this for the price. I will be purchasing only Grado headphones in the future when I want to upgrade... I'm already lookin at getting some Grado 325i's for home and keeping the SR-80's for work (call me a fanboy... I don't care! one listen and you will become one too! =)
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