[mrplow]

Ok, because like a complete *****ing moron I accidently clicked on a link in my email which caused me to navigate away from the "Post New Thread" page, my original 10 page dissertation has now been rehashed to this short blurb. I swear, it's more annoying than when you try to go to the HeadRoom website, but you accidently type in www.headroom.com instead of www.headphone.com, and you see the picture of the guy with the spirals over his eyes and you just want to punch the ****er in the face...


Well, now on to the important stuff.


Though Grados at times feel like they're going to collapse faster than the Yankees can blow a 3 game lead in the ALCS, unlike the Wankees, the Grados actually have a redeeming quality- their sound.

Below are my utterly biased observations from the past 4 years...



Headphones:

SR80, SR125, SR225, MS-1, MS-2i, HF-1


Equipment Used:

Cheap Sony Portable, Delta 66/Omni Studio, Eastern Electric MiniMax Tube CDP (which unfortunately hasn't seen much use because my roommate is always in the living room watching her evening sitcom crap after work; in other words, the audiophile version of a cockblock. Oh yeah, and some valuable advice for other guys out there living with several female roommates- trust me, don't **** with their ice cream. But I digress...).


1. How would you describe your sound preferences/tastes?

The mids and highs are more important to me than the bass. However, the most important thing to me is the musicality- the sheer nostalgia/love/hate/fear/adrenaline/ecstasy-inducing experience that only the right song and a good pair of headphones can provide. As Jeff Buckley said before he went and ******* drowned on us, "Music is my mother... and my father ... it is my work and my rest ...my blood, my compass, my love." Put that in your pipe and smoke it all you jam-band listening trust fund hippies.


2. What are your musical preferences?

Anything except for country and rap.

In all seriousness, it ranges mostly in the indie/experimental-rock range with a touch of BritPop, synth-pop, and hip, hip hop, hip hop anonymous thrown in- "from Nas to Neil Young" I'd say. And yes, Lou Reed, my life was saved by rock n' roll.


3. Ok, enough ********. Let's cut to the chase- what is your honest opinion of each headphone?


SR80: For the money, a pretty damn good phone. Good mids and lots of treble with punchy, tight bass. Somewhat thin-sounding overall. Gets a LOT better with a GOOD tube amp. I'm talking about the girl you meet at a bar who can go from decent to a nice piece after a few drinks. Now I finally understand what HeadRoom was talking about in their description of the SR80's sounding "murky" without amp. I wouldn't really call it murky, as murky to me gives me the impression of fishing for tires in the Mississippi Delta. I'd call it more of a slight graininess, just like what you'd find in Robert Downey Jr.'s airport locker.


SR125: Ok, here's the surprise folks. THIS IS MY FAVORITE GRADO THUS FAR. Why? Am I just insane in the membrane? I can't answer that question without my lawyer present. But I CAN refer to Mr. Jeff Mojo Pin Buckley's earlier statement. To me, this is the one (as the Stone Roses would say). It just does it for me. It allows me to experience the music. Are you experienced?

Ok, to try to explain, and please bear with me, I think it has something to do with this:

The SR125 has a noticeably clearer sound than the SR80s, while retaining the same metal (or is it plastic screen). Therefore, the soundstage relatively remains the same, while the level of detail is increased. This results in a perceived sound that is more involving to the user due to the proximity effect of the supra-aural driver positioning and relatively compressed soundstage.

Don't ask me what that means, cause I have no clue myself. All I know is that the SR125s especially sound their best on older stereo mixes, where the drums or strings are in separate L/R channels. The Long and Winding Road, Unchained Melody, Paint It Black, Beechwood Park, Downtown, etc.

Some people like blondes, some people like brunettes, I prefer Eastern European strawberry blondes, redheads, and SR125s. I know I'm in the minority here, but that's the good thing about the SR125s, I keep getting older, they stay the same way.


SR225: Didn't really like these.

Why?

Too recessed.

Not musically involving.

A bit too dark on the Grado scale.

Has the best soundstage of the Prestige Series though and a nice airy sound.

Pretty good bass as well.

Also the only ones that sounded OK with Flat Pads to my ears.

Let the hate mail commence.


MS-1: Probably the least favorite out of all the Grados I've tried. Not that they aren't a good pair of headphones, but they're just a bit... too... dull. Vocals sound too recessed. Otherwise, a good pair of headphones. More neutral and balanced sounding than the SR80s. More detail as well.

To me, the reason why I wouldn't buy these headphones is kind of the same reason why I would take a Fender or Gibson over a PRS for you guitar players out there. PRS makes excellent guitars, but they just don't have the balls or character of a 66' ES-335 or 58' olympic white Jazzmaster.

Used bowl pads with these in case you're wondering.


MS-2i: Very good phones, the only problem is that they're just not as comfortable as the SR80 - SR225 range because of the damn alumnium Jake and the Fatman cups. Low, tight bass; spacious sound; very quick and nicely detailed; intoxicating vocals. It's like buying a old Porsche 911 then realizing you live in the Andes and it's always ****ing snowing. Good if you can stand wearing them for extended periods of time. Haven't compared them to the 325i, but something tells me based on my past experiences I would probably like the 325i better.


HF-1: Ok, here's something weird I have to report. These phones actually sounded their best at about 5 hours of burn-in; I actually preferred them to the SR125s. Now, after about 50-100 hours of burn-in, they still sound good, but it looks like the coup was only temporary. Speaking of revolution, I swear, if the network ever went down at a tech school a bespectacled J-pop-listening Che Guevara would emerge from every dorm. Ah, those awful tech school memories are coming back now.

I just threw up.

--and while I prefer the SR125s, the HF-1s do hold their own. They are the most balanced and fullest sounding of all Grados in the Prestige series. When I say balanced, I don't mean neutral, but more in terms of listenability. There's no harshness in the treble (yes, even with bowl pads), and the sound has a much fuller quality to it than the others mentioned. The soundstage, however, is a slightly more compressed than the SR225s (probably due to the force exhibited by the extra weight of the additional mahogany wood). There is also a bit more detail present than in the SR225. Overall, I'd say this would be the one Grado pair of headphones that would be the toughest for non-Grado lovers to criticize soundwise. Can't help you with their ****ing bitching about the comfort of the bowl pads though...


Ok, I'm starting to get bored... maybe I'll finish this someday... or maybe n

 

[MasZakrY]

Very informative and conceived review. Nice to see a change of pace in relation to review style

would you say the SR125's need an amp?

 

[mrarroyo]

I used to own the SR-125 and sold them, my mistake. I think at $150 list it is the sweet spot and the biggest bang for the buck. I use to drive them with my Ipod or via a PAV2.

 

[MD1032]

That's why I always type long posts in Word first, then copy and paste them here.

Anyway, your review is a little heavy on the language, which distracts from the interesting review that it is. I find it strange that you denounce the so highly acclaimed 225. Your review stands out since I've never heard the 125's rated better than the 225's. Care to elaborate even further?

Also, that bit about the HF-1's sounding worse after 50-100 hours of burn-in sound like placebo to me. Also, it could even be that you burned them in too harshly and negatively affected their performance.

 

[discord]

Got enough *********?

The first part was pretty funny though.

 

[mrplow]

MasZakrY - They don't require an amp to sound good, but they will benefit from a nice tube amp. You will get a more "refined" sound and remove some very slight graininess from the uamped sound.


mrarroyo - Yes, I was the one who just bought these from you earlier this week. I do agree and feel that they are the underrated person stepchild of the Grado line. By the way, if anyone is thinking of buying from this guy, this guy is a great seller. Very courteous, and excellently shipped. Highly recommended.


MD1032 - Again, I have to admit that I am in the minority in saying that I like the 125s better than the 225s. It just comes down to personal taste. I like treble, and the 225's treble was a bit too rolled off me. To their credit, they did have a noticeably wider soundstage than the 125s, which worked pretty well for progish rock.

With the HF-1s, I started listening to them immediately out of the box. At about the 4 hour mark, things just came together. I can't really explain it other than saying... "this is it." It could have been my ears just getting adjusted to the headphones, but the level of musical enjoyment did not increase in a linear function. It was at that certain 4-5 hour mark when things went from

to

. After about another hour of listening, I took'em off and let'em burn in at a normal listening level for about 24 hours. I picked them up again, and they didn't have the same effect. They did sound less colored, and from what I've read burn-in is supposed to have that measured effect. So perhaps I was enjoying a certain level of coloration from the HF-1s? To steal from Lou Reed again, "and I guess I just don't know."

In regards to the language, to quote my old college roommate V: "There was once a time when I didn't swear, didn't drink, and life was all about academics- then I went to WPI."

WPI = Worcester Polytechnic Institute, or Worst Possible Investment as its officially known as.

 

[MD1032]

Interesting thoughts, thanks for the response.

Now in terms of the amount of highs, or the "harshness", in what order would you put the phones? Maybe the SR-125's have your ideal combination of detail and highs and that's why you prefer them.

 

[mrplow]

MD1032,

For me it's tough to equate the levels of "highs" purely with level of "harshness." For example, to me the SR80 does not extend as high as the SR125 or MS-2i, but it is "harsher" in the treble. Personally, if I were to equate "harshness" with fatigue:

To rate individually just on treble "harshness/fatigue", from most to least:

1. SR80
2. SR125
3. MS-1
4. MS-2i
5. SR225
6. HF-1

To rate individually just on treble "extension," from most to least:

1. MS-2i
2. SR125
3. SR80
4. MS-1
5. SR225
6. HF-1

 

[Jam_Master_J]

I never would have thought anyone would call the SR225s too laid back

. Oddly enough, in terms of SR-125/225 and MS-1 I had pretty much the opposite opinion. SR-125 was too bright, and the MS-1 was at least slightly better but not as exciting and fun sounding as the SR-225.

 

[kwitel]

Can somone comment on the HF-1 low end?
Also, whats the consensus on their soundstage?

 

[AdamWill]

I did the same upgrade you're doing (SR80 to HF-1) and there is a low-end improvement, though it's not dramatic (of course, this might change when I have a better source and amp; they're definitely bottlenecking the HF-1s at the moment). Biggest change I noticed was in the midrange and the detail. Soundstage feels exactly the same as SR80s, to me.

 

[mrplow]

The HF-1 has a more powerful low end than anything from the SR-225 down. I would call it more rounded than bloated, especially compared to a pair of cheap Sonys. I would have to say the soundstage falls somewhere like:

SR80/125 < HF-1 < SR225

 

[kwitel]

Thats a bit of a downer for me...I was looking for some big improvements in soundstage.
Any one else with me on the Grado soundstage thing? I love my 80's, and yeah they feel somewhat "airy" but I want sounds coming from all directions. This is also why the Senn 414 pads dont work for me, and why ive grown to love the Bowls.
Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWill I did the same upgrade you're doing (SR80 to HF-1).

Adam, im interested to hear specifically what level of improvement youve experienced from the HF-1 as compared to the 80's. Will my somewhat untrained ears notice a significant change?
3 weeks is just too darn long to wait!

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrplow The HF-1 has a more powerful low end than anything from the SR-225 down. I would call it more rounded than bloated, especially compared to a pair of cheap Sonys. I would have to say the soundstage falls somewhere like: SR80/125 < HF-1 < SR225

huh??
ok...let's revise that!

sr80 < sr125 <= MS1 < sr225 < sr325i <= MS2i <= HF1 < RS2 < RS1

done!

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chesebert huh?? ok...let's revise that! sr80 < sr125 <= MS1 < sr225 < sr325i <= MS2i <= HF1 < RS2 < RS1 done!

wait a sec here-u guys are confusing me

So the HF-1's as far as soundstage go, are only second in line to the rs1/2???
Thats great news!
Why are people saying less SS than the 225's!?
Chesebert, not to question your authority, but putting all the above models in sounstage order is quite the task.
Is this something youve been researching for a while?
Im really interested to hear as much about the HF-1 sounstage as possible, especially in relation to the Prestige Line.
I would hope (for John Grado's sake) that the rs1/2 would maintain superiority to all other Grados (prestige).
You think these guys possibly regret the $200 price tag?
Not to undermine or question the honesty and integrity of both Todd and John...I just think these guys must have produced a product thats surpasses their highest expectations, pre-production.
Maybe they never expected the cans would be this good!!
Of course im saying all this based solely on the rave reviews here on Head-Fi.
Way to go fellas on building a supreme product at an incredible price.