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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2018 16:49:16 GMT
IMO, Grado makes good musical sounding headphones. Their lower tier range, reeks very good value for money. I even like their more costly RS2E.
I certainly can't see myself going beyond the RS2E though. Diminishing returns starts to show onset quickly. (Judging by my gut feeling)
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on May 17, 2018 17:02:57 GMT
They seem more detailed to me than most. Also not as heavy as some. The Audeze LCD2 weighed a ton. Far too heavy to wear IMO. My RS2es are nice lookers too, tan leather headband.
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Post by Deleted on May 17, 2018 22:23:26 GMT
Grado gets a thumbs up from me too
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2018 1:15:18 GMT
They seem more detailed to me than most. Also not as heavy as some. The Audeze LCD2 weighed a ton. Far too heavy to wear IMO. My RS2es are nice lookers too, tan leather headband. To your ears. How would you compare LCD2 to RS2E? By the way. The LCD2 you heard, did they have the fazor? S. |
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Post by Bigman80 on May 18, 2018 6:02:28 GMT
Like someone stiffed a load of cotton wool in them. They are very smooth and silky, buy so much less detailed. Reminded me of speakers with thick grilles on, as opposed to removing them.
A very nice sound and a lush bass too, but once you heard the detail of the Grados, it was hard to accept so much less.
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Post by Deleted on May 18, 2018 15:39:22 GMT
Andrew, what headphone amp did you hear at that time?
S.
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Post by Bigman80 on May 18, 2018 17:42:07 GMT
Andrew, what headphone amp did you hear at that time? S. They tried to wire up an MDAC plus but it wouldn't work. I ended up listening through the new Cyrus One. What a lovely thing it is too. |
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Post by pauld on May 19, 2018 20:58:21 GMT
I have used Grado since buying my first pair (SR-125) from John Grado at the Novotel in Heathrow many moons ago.
As suggested they have so much detail, and were leagues ahead of equivalently priced headphones at the time. I have since owned 325 and my current models, PS500 which have everything the SR125 and 325 did well but with a tad more smoothness and refinement. In fact I prefer the 500’s to the 1000 top of the range models.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2018 15:46:02 GMT
The newer SR80e now sounds a tad smoother than it's earlier incarnations. But bare in mind, any SR80 is never going to be a relaxed headphone. They also have this stern ability to show up a shitty recording. Very much, what I call a typical Grado trait.
S.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 16, 2018 16:19:38 GMT
As much as I like Grados, I’m a headphone sceptic these days. For me it’s a flawed means of reproduction. I realise it works for others but it would need to stop being an “in your head” experience for me to accept it. Not even the best can achieve this. In fact they dint even begin to.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2018 16:34:07 GMT
Well, I certainly don't see the Sennheiser Orpheus giving you ear orgasms then!
S.
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 16, 2018 20:05:45 GMT
I’ve recently heard Stax Lambda Pro Signatures to my list of headphone failures. To me they are all basically useless. Anyone else think headphones aren’t Hi-Fi or is it just me?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2018 20:11:13 GMT
I've had a couple of the basic Stax systems. Didn't bring anything interesting to the table. I hear people saying that any Stax needs a really good clean source.
S.
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Post by pauld on Jun 25, 2018 13:51:46 GMT
I am not sold on Stax, my Dad has a pair which were stupidly priced new, which are ok, but I still find them a bit too thin for my tastes. Grado have the balance right for me.
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Post by pauld on Jun 27, 2018 9:52:46 GMT
Just tried my Grado's on the Belles for the first time the other day, and they gel really well. I believe the Belles uses a Burr Brown headphone module which are reasonably reputable. It sounds surprisingly smooth and easy on the ear, which is something that Grado headphones don't quite match up to.
It's certainly better than the headphone amp in the Beresford DAC, and that has a reasonable reputation.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 27, 2018 10:32:13 GMT
I truly have no idea how much better a dedicated headphone amp is over an amplifier headphone socket. Many say they are no better, yet others swear its night and day, my only experiment has been with an Arcam Alpha 3 amp. Sounds a good bit softer and less focussed than I recall my Schiit Asgard sounding, the thing is I’m using SR80 instead of RS2e so it’s not all about the amp. I susupect your Belles would be as good as anything,
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Post by pauld on Jun 29, 2018 10:46:49 GMT
It’s like anything, it all depends on what’s in your amplifier, that determines whether it’s as good or not as a dedicated headphone amp.
For instance, I know the Audiolab 8000a uses a great headphone amp.
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 29, 2018 12:49:15 GMT
I didn’t know that about the Audiolab. I have always liked the design of that amp, especially in the earlier colour.
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Post by pauld on Jun 30, 2018 9:13:20 GMT
Yes, I think it was a class A headphone amplifier, they put in. I know it showed up a few more exotic headphone amplifiers at the time. I kept it for a while after I got the Exposure amps as they didn’t come with a headphone I input, but got rid of it once wifey came on the scene.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2018 21:28:37 GMT
My first "decent" headphones were the SR125. All good value for money stuff. I like the quirky design too which is nowhere near as unconfortable as it looks. Open-backed is the only decent design imho, even if the Grados are "very open".
Not sure about their high-end ones but the SR125 started to grate a bit in the end - bit fatiguing.
Are the RS2Es less forward?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2018 21:30:07 GMT
My first "decent" headphones were the SR125. All good value for money stuff. I like the quirky design too which is nowhere near as unconfortable as it looks. Open-backed is the only decent design imho, even if the Grados are "very open". Not sure about their high-end ones but the SR125 started to grate a bit in the end - bit fatiguing. Are the RS2Es less forward? I would think so, yes. S. |
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 1, 2018 21:56:07 GMT
FWIW I’d agree. They seem to have a more forgiving nature than other Grados without losing any of that clarity. You could always lose the supplied foams on cheaper Grados and replace with the doughnut shaped ones used with RS2e. I found that took a lot of the fatigue away for me. Also increased comfort and gave some of the elements which you associate with the better ones. I’m a cheap skate so I bought the cheap copies from China. They can be variable but mine are spot on. They feel slightly different to the real ones but sound the same to me.
Shane knows way more than me when it comes to headphones in general and Grados in particular. I have a short and limited headphone history.
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Post by pauld on Jul 2, 2018 0:18:56 GMT
I found that with the PS500, but not so much with the RS. I would recommend the RS for those that are big Classical fans though.
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Post by dsjr on Jul 2, 2018 14:13:39 GMT
I use a power amp to drive my headphones. Easy to control the volume and plenty there for proper dynamics and more than enough to blow the phones or my ears if I abused them enough. HD600's plopping on the beginning of Tangerine Dream's 'Poland' saw to that with low powered chip-based headphone amps. I sold the 600's and don't miss them at all. Last November, the step from the £320 Grado's to the £1k ones wasn't a step forward at all and the greater smoothness i took as great er blandness in all honesty.
Westie, I love headphones and the way I can really hear into the music mix which gets lost in many speakers and rooms.
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Post by Bigman80 on Jul 2, 2018 14:22:46 GMT
I agree that beyond a certain price, the headphones I have tried were more a matter of varying flavour than sound quality. I did think RS2e were a reasonable step up from SR80, but given my lack of interest in headphones I’ve settled for the SR80. I will look to mod them down the line but for now there’s no incentive. Better pads mean they are now “good enough” for my needs.
I’m interested in what you mean about using a power amp though. Is it fitted with an headphone socket or are you using speaker outs? Also how do you attenuate? Is it a passive or have you added a pot to the power amp? Sorry if I’m missing the obvious. I’ve been on the beach and swimming for too long so I’m probably a bit too cooked to be focused right now.
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Post by savvypaul on Jul 5, 2018 12:04:26 GMT
I have a pair of Grado SR225e and Audeze LCD2 w/ fazor.
The former is a quarter of the price but definitely stirs my juices in a way that the latter, for all it's lushness, can't really match.
I couldn't get on with the SR60/80 Grados though...but I had a different headphone amp at that time.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2018 13:22:12 GMT
I have a pair of Grados as well use em for the computer mostly cause they are light weight and sound good.
Serious listening I use my Audeze lcd 3 / fazor.
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