One question comes to my mind, since it is a big deal to me: I'm a show band musician and I use headphones a lot for click and monitor as well as backing-tracks. I'm looking for a set of headphones that will accommodate that orchestra-style setting as well as light recording (demo, single track recording, video editing) and music listening. Are the Grado SR60i's what I'm looking for and is the open back-design going to be an issue?
Does anyone know of any headphone models that are of similar price and sound quality but are around ear rather than on ear? I'm going to buy my first pair of real headphones, so I don't want to but anything too expensive yet, but I want a good pair and prefer around ear.
@ih8makinusernames Koss ksc 75, best $20 bucks for your ear and its around the ear. looks shitty, sounds good, if its breaks, buy one more, if you are in US exchange it for a new one.
I've just bought these a few days ago. The first thing that striked me was the clarity of the sound : everything is so clean with these Grados, especially vocals. Well recorded vocals sounds like if they were next to me, in a very natural way. I love the way the highs sparkle too. This gives life to classical music. Now for the bass, these Grados deliver just the right amount and quality of bass for me. They are not spectacular on bass, but natural and accurate instead.
The lower-end Grados are designed for low power devices. They'll sound better with a dedicated headphone amp but it's not necessary. The only way it'll drain your battery is if you need the volume higher to drive the speakers, which shouldn't be the case: they're easily enough driven but the open design means you'll have to contend with outside noise.
@TheSandilini I have tested out various bitrates from 128 to lossless. I haven't found that I can't hear a noticeable difference between 192 and lossless. Unless you have a trained ear I doubt you will be able to notice the compression artifacts with this pair of headphones.
@EarlyMorningZombie Could that be considered a negative? With the headphones I use now (Jays v-Jays), I can easily distinguish 192 and lossless. When I got this pair of headphones, I literally deleted all of my 128 kbps music because it sounded so bad. Wouldn't hearing less of a difference mean these headphones provide less detail? Just curious, because I am probably going to buy some sr60is sr80is pretty soon.
the material and way the plastic containing the cables are built have a fantastic ability to twist and break. its not tight, the surface turns and the inside turns easily in opposite directions.
the very cheap (!) plastic gets "burned out" like if you would have had it exposed to the sun fast and starts breaking up.
@ElAlexxis I've just had the cable on my SR-80's break 3 years to the day after purchasing them. Agree entirely. The jack to junction cable is a good, solid coaxial cable that'll last 50 years but the junction to can cables are just two thin wires encased to look like coax cables and the way the molded plastic junction pinches and angles the cables creates obvious stress points.
FYI, spending $20 more and upgrading to the SR80i headphones will give you more bass. You can also buy the old 'triple layer' foam earpads (which were the default ear pads for the pre-i models) for either the 60i's, or 80i's, which'll give you better bass but will also extend the brightness a bit.
@etnlIcarus Thanks for the tips. I have heard that the SR80's had more bass, hopefully I will get a chance to test them out. As for the earpads, I picked up a pair and find they change the sound quite a bit - still haven't decided which one I like though.
@EarlyMorningZombie Try finding some low-density material about 2mm thick and cut a couple of circles out of it, about 5cm in diameter, slightly larger than the cans. Place them over the cans and then carefully fit the triple layer pads over them. It'll help control the brightness, be more comfortable and won't negatively impact the bass characteristics.
Hve you heard of ZUMREED headphones? I love the design but cant find any reviews, wondering if you have come across them as you seem to know alot about headphones :)
Excellent review!
One question comes to my mind, since it is a big deal to me: I'm a show band musician and I use headphones a lot for click and monitor as well as backing-tracks. I'm looking for a set of headphones that will accommodate that orchestra-style setting as well as light recording (demo, single track recording, video editing) and music listening. Are the Grado SR60i's what I'm looking for and is the open back-design going to be an issue?
martinholde 1 month ago
@martinholde I'm currently using the Sony MDR-v150's, simply because they are cheap and available everywhere. (Not for mixing though...!)
martinholde 1 month ago
Pronounced "grey-doh"
Zombbg4 1 month ago
this or akg k450?
jollomi 2 months ago
@jollomi Get a pair of SR80i
CrazyRawb 2 months ago
wow weird intro but cool!
ddos411 2 months ago
how long is wire and can u make a video on the leakage please thanks
muhammedrattue 4 months ago 5
Man if i had these I would mod it so much...
borismontoya136 6 months ago
Nice review!
Mulu731 7 months ago
jugding by the cable it isn't portable, right?
helljawz 7 months ago
@helljawz can be. but i wouldn't recommend it. Personally i would only use this at home to fully enjoy the sound that comes out of these.
theryaner 4 months ago
The cord is NOT a monster. If you get Sennheiser's there cable is sometimes about 10ft long, but these are mainly meant for more "at home" listening.
warman0712 8 months ago
Does anyone know of any headphone models that are of similar price and sound quality but are around ear rather than on ear? I'm going to buy my first pair of real headphones, so I don't want to but anything too expensive yet, but I want a good pair and prefer around ear.
ih8makinusernames 10 months ago
@ih8makinusernames Koss ksc 75, best $20 bucks for your ear and its around the ear. looks shitty, sounds good, if its breaks, buy one more, if you are in US exchange it for a new one.
tetleon 9 months ago
show
history797 11 months ago
I LOVE THIS VIDEO PAGE ROCK ON YOU RULES!
history797 11 months ago
I've just bought these a few days ago. The first thing that striked me was the clarity of the sound : everything is so clean with these Grados, especially vocals. Well recorded vocals sounds like if they were next to me, in a very natural way. I love the way the highs sparkle too. This gives life to classical music. Now for the bass, these Grados deliver just the right amount and quality of bass for me. They are not spectacular on bass, but natural and accurate instead.
kloug2006 11 months ago
A great review. Helped push me over the edge on these!
drodonnellj 1 year ago
1.) will these or the 80s sound ok on a ipod touch?
2.) will it drain my battery life in an ipod
3.) is if so, how can i make it not drain so much?
4.) is it worth it to step up to the 80s?
Thanks :)
cichlidlove4 1 year ago
@cichlidlove4 Yes, no, irrelevant, yes.
The lower-end Grados are designed for low power devices. They'll sound better with a dedicated headphone amp but it's not necessary. The only way it'll drain your battery is if you need the volume higher to drive the speakers, which shouldn't be the case: they're easily enough driven but the open design means you'll have to contend with outside noise.
etnlIcarus 1 year ago
@etnlIcarus sweet thanks for the help!
cichlidlove4 1 year ago
1.) will these or the 80s sound ok on a ipod touch?
2.) will it drain my battery life in an ipod
3.) is if so, how can i make it not drain so much?
Thanks :)
cichlidlove4 1 year ago
@TheSandilini I have tested out various bitrates from 128 to lossless. I haven't found that I can't hear a noticeable difference between 192 and lossless. Unless you have a trained ear I doubt you will be able to notice the compression artifacts with this pair of headphones.
EarlyMorningZombie 1 year ago
@EarlyMorningZombie Could that be considered a negative? With the headphones I use now (Jays v-Jays), I can easily distinguish 192 and lossless. When I got this pair of headphones, I literally deleted all of my 128 kbps music because it sounded so bad. Wouldn't hearing less of a difference mean these headphones provide less detail? Just curious, because I am probably going to buy some sr60is sr80is pretty soon.
Hiei102493 2 weeks ago
the cable on this unit is a DISGRACE! shit is an understatement.
ElAlexxis 1 year ago
@ElAlexxis Thank you for your comment, but it would be a lot more helpful to those reading the comments if you expanded upon your statement.
EarlyMorningZombie 1 year ago 9
@ElAlexxis hi there, sorry for the outburst..
the material and way the plastic containing the cables are built have a fantastic ability to twist and break. its not tight, the surface turns and the inside turns easily in opposite directions.
the very cheap (!) plastic gets "burned out" like if you would have had it exposed to the sun fast and starts breaking up.
ElAlexxis 1 year ago
@ElAlexxis I've just had the cable on my SR-80's break 3 years to the day after purchasing them. Agree entirely. The jack to junction cable is a good, solid coaxial cable that'll last 50 years but the junction to can cables are just two thin wires encased to look like coax cables and the way the molded plastic junction pinches and angles the cables creates obvious stress points.
etnlIcarus 1 year ago
@etnlIcarus thanks for your clarification. it sucks, but you were lucky you know mine didn't pass one damn year before glitching.
ElAlexxis 1 year ago
FYI, spending $20 more and upgrading to the SR80i headphones will give you more bass. You can also buy the old 'triple layer' foam earpads (which were the default ear pads for the pre-i models) for either the 60i's, or 80i's, which'll give you better bass but will also extend the brightness a bit.
etnlIcarus 1 year ago
@etnlIcarus Thanks for the tips. I have heard that the SR80's had more bass, hopefully I will get a chance to test them out. As for the earpads, I picked up a pair and find they change the sound quite a bit - still haven't decided which one I like though.
EarlyMorningZombie 1 year ago
@EarlyMorningZombie Try finding some low-density material about 2mm thick and cut a couple of circles out of it, about 5cm in diameter, slightly larger than the cans. Place them over the cans and then carefully fit the triple layer pads over them. It'll help control the brightness, be more comfortable and won't negatively impact the bass characteristics.
etnlIcarus 1 year ago
@EarlyMorningZombie did you ever end up testing the sr80s? id like to hear what you think in comparison
overlord3069 11 months ago
great review :)
Hve you heard of ZUMREED headphones? I love the design but cant find any reviews, wondering if you have come across them as you seem to know alot about headphones :)
Regards!!
tech0StickyAsGlue 1 year ago