General Asylum: REVIEW: Grado sr80 Headphones by bowierebel@yahoo.com

Model:	sr80
Category:	Headphones
Suggested Retail Price:	99
Description:	open headphones
Manufacturer URL:	Grado
Manufacturer URL:	Grado

Review by bowierebel@yahoo.com on May 07, 2005 at 23:05:56
IP Address: 24.179.43.76

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for the sr80

I've had these for three years and dont regret my purchase.Only other headphones I had in the past were Sony's costing $125 from 1988.Yea,I keep stuff till it dies.They were a closed back design.I also had a pair of Sennheisers from 1990 around the same price range which was an open back design and they sounded terrible I'm guessing due to the very high impedance ? Grados,you can by replacement earpads for a nominal fee which I consider a plus.I use them with an NAD C-540 CD and an old Luxman preamp.The Lux has an good headphone amp plus I use the tone controls-yes..I said tone controls --gotta have'em ! They didn't sound good when new and that was my ignorance for not burning them in long enough ! For less than $100 dollars these cans sound great supplying very tight bass(not muddy at all unless the recording is),mids are more of a forward approach, very bright highs, and are easy to drive(no need for a headphone amp with a 32 ohm impedance). I've read headphone amps can really move the sound to another level).SR-80's are good enough to reveal small details and whether a recording was engineered properly or not.I will admit the treble can be too bright .So,I tame the highs by simply turning the treble down a bit.This is where tone controls very much come in handy-especially with headphones.I know there are those out there who will burn me on this choice. Simply put: they offer solid quality sound at a very reasonable price. So much so..that I now wish I opted for the 225's(still wonder how much better they are).I have found that mp3's can sound awesome as long as they are recorded well. For that..I run them or store bought cd's thru some thru some equalizer software to really improve the dynamics of poor recordings and at a higher bit rate.This helps immensly--especially, with headphones period.I'm listening to Joy Division as I type this and they sound better than any stereo I ever owned.I have no major complaints regarding the sr-80's.They can give the competiton a run for the money .I will say they need plenty of time to break in.Do not expect them to reveal their potential after 15-40 hours. I was a bit dissapointed at first and it took much longer for me to burn them in--I simply didn't use them much for the first 6 months.I'm hooked on Grado. Now,i'm in no rush to purchase anything else.I have always tried my damndest to stick with lower priced good quality gear since I struggle sometimes financially. The 80's are a great product that offer good fidelity that allows the working class such as myself to once again enjoy the one important aspect they are designed for :music !

Product Weakness: very bright highs..somewhat uncomfortable unless you widen the headband
Product Strengths: low cost very good quality sound for $95 dollars and are light in weight

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	NAD C 270
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Luxman tp 114
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	NAD C540/Technics w/Grado Black
Speakers:	Modified Klipsch kg 1.5's
Cables/Interconnects:	Tara Labs
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Punk ,jazz,rock
Room Size (LxWxH):	na x na x na
Room Comments/Treatments:	na
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 years +
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	NA
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	na

Product Weakness:	very bright highs..somewhat uncomfortable unless you widen the headband
Product Strengths:	low cost very good quality sound for $95 dollars and are light in weight