Best On-Ear for Twenty Years
The year was 1994. File sharing was all the rage. With compressed music you could carry 500 to 1000 songs in your back pocket. Mp3 disk players ment you could listen to your cd's compressed. Looking back it is hard to understand why that was applealing. Did compressing the songs not mean they would loose quality? I had been using Sony ear buds and knew there were better headphones available. At the time
Attack of the Show was hosted by Patrick Norton. He did a Christmas wish list and the Grado sr60 was on the top of the list. There was a pair for sale at a hole in the wall stereo shop. These headphones became the standard that is still relivent to day. It took many twists and turns for my appretion of the sr60's develop.
Back the 80's Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, Black Flag, loud punk rock was new. Concert Rock by Led Zepplin, The Who, very moving and very intense. Some of the concerts were so loud your ears did not return to normal for 2-3 days. Cassette tapes meant creating mixes that you poured your heart into. The CD's and abums told a story. The ninties brought The Pixies, The Jam, Joy Division, Nirvana, great music that moved a generation. Vocals described the angst many young people felt at the time. Early technology involved speakers and powerfull amps that impressed through volume.
EDM arrived in the early 90’s. Hadrin beach became my new home. Techno was alive and well at heart pounding full moon parties. In Thailand my life would change forever. A Bungalo for 30 dollars a month. Cooking your own rice and dhal. Being drawn to the throbbing beat of electronic music. The Rave sceen was fourishing on the tropic paradise of Koh Phangan. An international community of super charged creativity. Bass was emphasised in the trance, house, and hard techno of the early 90's. LSD made the beat comfortable, breaking down the melodies and tiny nuances that an unaffected brain could not decipher. Travelling in Nepal I found the sense of spirituality that I had been craving. The book
Electric Kool Aid Acid Test describes a similar journey taken by the original Pranksters. The thump was heard from the mountain top through the jungle and beautiful beaches. Unknowingly Electronic music would start the journey for textured massive bass.
Escaping this paradise becomes a matter of ambition some go home and continue with life. New technology is one benifit of capitalism. Enter the late ninties and my introduction oto this incredible headphone. As were we all obsessed with the number of songs a source could hold, mp3 players were very hip. It is scary to see how marketing can bring us to ignore how past generations had show us how music should sound. Looking back my source was crap and did not allow the Grados to shine. At first these headphones are not overly impressive. Retro cool was uncool. The cable was too long and thick for portable use. Braiding will shorten it to a reasonable length. My biggest disappointment was the squeaky cups. The mechanism holding everything together can be an issue as it is just a wire rod held in place by a plastic enclosure. The sound leakage is very noticeable as strangers will either dance to your rad music or give you evil stares. Sound isolation is non existant as the open back design lets sound in and sound out. These initial shortcomings caused me to toss this gem into a drawer for over ten years.
Discovering the Head-fi site brought the realization that these headphones provide a very surreal and enjoyable experience. There have been two revisions since I aquired my originals. The stock pads had simply degenerated into dust. Modifications have been done by many owners pequing my intrest. As many of us are on the quest to experience massive bass Grado may not be the first choice. In my quest I have found the most responsive mods. Instead of comfort pads use the larger
cup cushions. This is a risk as Grado labs goes to great measures in designing the thickness and shape of their pads. John Grado personally ordered a pad for one of his top of the line cans that he was servicing from eBay, they did not have any in the factory. The owner had replaced the originals with an aftermarket pad that John did not approve of. Steal your wife’s black nylons and two black hair elastics. Cut the nylons into two circles that are bit larger than the ear cups. Use the hair elastics to secure the nylon circles over the speaker. This acts like a speaker cover softening the highs. Then wrap black electricians tape around the ear pads, hello bass. Put the pads on backwards to bring the speakers closer the ear. The original comfort pads also have the speaker very close the ear, thanks John. The original 60's have a much thinner speaker housing than both the newer revisions. Bass is improved in the i and e versions.
You can plan on spending hours of blissfull listening with the modded 60's. As they have been occasionally used off and on for twenty years they should be
burnt in. Amplifying these Grados will truly be your first taste of aural nirvana that an addict remembers. The PA2V2 amps these heaphones beautifully. Make sure you use a capable source such as a real cd or at least 720k mp3s. The natural airy vocals are the strength of this headphone. Mids are so strong that they bring in both the highs and lows. It is extremely honest sounding as if the artist were in your house or even living in your brain. Highs are tamed and lows are strengthened. Niel Young, The Grateful Dead, all of the old alternative favorites sound fantastic with the Grado's. They will shape to your head perfectly and the squeaky noise will go away. The long but strong cable is still cumbersome, but braidable. Some Head-Fiers have even replaced the cable or added a plug. The bass is very textured now and does have a strong drop, however it still not the drop that would quench my thirst. The techno effect, as I call it, calls to me. Deep sub bass that is textured and strong requires a different headphone. At the price point of less than a hundo, every headphone enthusiast should own this gem. Grado sr60, the best on ear for twenty years.