Grado headphones - 80i
Discussion
Having finally got around to replacing some cheap, and 20 year old, Panasonic 'phones I settled on a pair of 80i Grados. This decision was based largely on the reviews that lavish superlative after superlative on this model and indeed the whole range.
Whilst I am very impressed by the sound quality, I'm amazed that no review picks up on the utterly dire quality of their construction. The plastics used are unbelievably cheap and poorly moulded, they use bare foam covers which are uncomfortable to use, the cables are baggy and look quite fragile, and the head band is covered in cheap vinyl and adjusted by bending some thick wire. Contrast this with my old Panny's, which cost the equivalent of about 30 quid, and have high quality mouldings soft padding and a general air of quality about them.
In essence the Grados look like they were made by Ross or Alba and cost ten quid. Whilst I've always been subscriber to the ethos of function over form when it comes down to cost, and I appreciate that the grados will use much better quality internals, I'm quite shocked at how poorly these phones seem to be made. Are they all this bad, or do the £200-300+ phones get a better quality build?
Whilst I am very impressed by the sound quality, I'm amazed that no review picks up on the utterly dire quality of their construction. The plastics used are unbelievably cheap and poorly moulded, they use bare foam covers which are uncomfortable to use, the cables are baggy and look quite fragile, and the head band is covered in cheap vinyl and adjusted by bending some thick wire. Contrast this with my old Panny's, which cost the equivalent of about 30 quid, and have high quality mouldings soft padding and a general air of quality about them.
In essence the Grados look like they were made by Ross or Alba and cost ten quid. Whilst I've always been subscriber to the ethos of function over form when it comes down to cost, and I appreciate that the grados will use much better quality internals, I'm quite shocked at how poorly these phones seem to be made. Are they all this bad, or do the £200-300+ phones get a better quality build?
I understand what you mean, some people think they look cheap. The box they come in is naff too.
Thing is, they sound absolutely amazing,. Deep and clear, can wear them for ages without any fatigue.
I've had mune a year and knocked them around a bit, they're still working fine and look brand new.
Something to bear in mind.. they're open backed, so piss out sound. Fine at home, but maybe not so good for in the library on an a train.
Consider getting a little headphone amp too. Mine really sing using a FiiO E5 . £15 bargin!
Thing is, they sound absolutely amazing,. Deep and clear, can wear them for ages without any fatigue.
I've had mune a year and knocked them around a bit, they're still working fine and look brand new.
Something to bear in mind.. they're open backed, so piss out sound. Fine at home, but maybe not so good for in the library on an a train.
Consider getting a little headphone amp too. Mine really sing using a FiiO E5 . £15 bargin!
Parabola said:
I understand what you mean, some people think they look cheap. The box they come in is naff too.
Thing is, they sound absolutely amazing,. Deep and clear, can wear them for ages without any fatigue.
I've had mune a year and knocked them around a bit, they're still working fine and look brand new.
Something to bear in mind.. they're open backed, so piss out sound. Fine at home, but maybe not so good for in the library on an a train.
Consider getting a little headphone amp too. Mine really sing using a FiiO E5 . £15 bargin!
Thanks for that advice. I did a bit of reading based on your recommendation and opted for the E11 and one of those cables that bypasses the Apple (apparently crappy) internal amp so I can use them with my Ipod.Thing is, they sound absolutely amazing,. Deep and clear, can wear them for ages without any fatigue.
I've had mune a year and knocked them around a bit, they're still working fine and look brand new.
Something to bear in mind.. they're open backed, so piss out sound. Fine at home, but maybe not so good for in the library on an a train.
Consider getting a little headphone amp too. Mine really sing using a FiiO E5 . £15 bargin!
This is the first time I've spent money on hi-fi accessories (expensive cable / interconnects / etc.) that have made a real, obviously noticeable, improvement to the sound. It's not night and day different, but the recording feels more intimate - like you're in the middle of the recording and the everything sounds slightly warmer / richer. A good recommendation that.
Edited by rhinochopig on Thursday 24th November 09:50
rhinochopig said:
Thanks for that advice. I did a bit of reading based on your recommendation and opted for the E11 and one of those cables that bypasses the Apple (apparently crappy) internal amp so I can use them with my Ipod.
This is the first time I've spent money on hi fi accessories (expensive cable / interconnects / etc.) that have make a real, obviously noticeable, improvement to the sound. It's not night and day different, but the recording feels more intimate - like your in the middle of the recording and the everything sounds slightly warmer / richer. A good recommendation that.
This is the first time I've spent money on hi fi accessories (expensive cable / interconnects / etc.) that have make a real, obviously noticeable, improvement to the sound. It's not night and day different, but the recording feels more intimate - like your in the middle of the recording and the everything sounds slightly warmer / richer. A good recommendation that.
I've never understood the fascination with Grados. They represent terrible value for money at UK prices. Pretty much the same in $ in the USA as £ here.
As you say OP, the build quality is dire, and for me, while they do produce a very clean, detailed sound, they lack body to the music (depth of bass). They're kind of weird because they sound kind of "high end", but just without any low bass, and they tend to sound rather bright and aggressive (which is why people like them for rock).
Personally, I've always felt Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser to be superior headphones. The HD600 is pretty much on par with the likes of the RS1 IMO yet is less than half the price, and is more comfortable to wear. OK so they aren't pretty wood finished, but so what?
As you say OP, the build quality is dire, and for me, while they do produce a very clean, detailed sound, they lack body to the music (depth of bass). They're kind of weird because they sound kind of "high end", but just without any low bass, and they tend to sound rather bright and aggressive (which is why people like them for rock).
Personally, I've always felt Beyerdynamic and Sennheiser to be superior headphones. The HD600 is pretty much on par with the likes of the RS1 IMO yet is less than half the price, and is more comfortable to wear. OK so they aren't pretty wood finished, but so what?
i love my sr80s, yet completely agree with all the above.
the build quality is poor and they are not great on bass out of the box, but if i can not find anything near the price that can do such an open, airy, detailed soundstage.
stick an EQ in front of them [or mod them if that's your bag] and the bass response comes good. amazinf VFM.
i was thinking about getting a pair of their high end models as a self xmas present but even they look to suffer from the 'cheap looking' tag.
the build quality is poor and they are not great on bass out of the box, but if i can not find anything near the price that can do such an open, airy, detailed soundstage.
stick an EQ in front of them [or mod them if that's your bag] and the bass response comes good. amazinf VFM.
i was thinking about getting a pair of their high end models as a self xmas present but even they look to suffer from the 'cheap looking' tag.
shirt said:
i love my sr80s, yet completely agree with all the above.
the build quality is poor and they are not great on bass out of the box, but if i can not find anything near the price that can do such an open, airy, detailed soundstage.
stick an EQ in front of them [or mod them if that's your bag] and the bass response comes good. amazinf VFM.
i was thinking about getting a pair of their high end models as a self xmas present but even they look to suffer from the 'cheap looking' tag.
To be fair, I could always see why people liked them, they are extremely clean and detailed, and not much out there will beat them for that short of electrostatics... although the Beyerdynamic DT880 probably comes extremely close, but they too suffer from lack of bass.the build quality is poor and they are not great on bass out of the box, but if i can not find anything near the price that can do such an open, airy, detailed soundstage.
stick an EQ in front of them [or mod them if that's your bag] and the bass response comes good. amazinf VFM.
i was thinking about getting a pair of their high end models as a self xmas present but even they look to suffer from the 'cheap looking' tag.
I'd suggest most take a look at Allessandro (sp?) headphones instead, they don't suffer quite the same inflated prices as Grados. IIRC the MS-1 was the equivalent to the SR125 but had the price tag nearer that of the SR60... whilst the MS-2 was the equivalent of the SR-325i and the MS-Pro the equivalent of the RS-1.
i bought mine from ebay, they were brand new and £70 iirc. supplied with guarantee.
i started a thread a while back as i bought a pair of AKG q460's for my ipod and thought they were terrible [they were free, so have kept them, and they're 'better' with an EQ]. i would love to find a compact headphone that sounds like my grado's.
electrostatics, hmmm. have read many rave reviews and they sound close to my ideal. many converts who won't go back to conventional speakers/cans. flatmate is buying a pair of martin logans soon, so am bracing myself to become a convert.
i started a thread a while back as i bought a pair of AKG q460's for my ipod and thought they were terrible [they were free, so have kept them, and they're 'better' with an EQ]. i would love to find a compact headphone that sounds like my grado's.
electrostatics, hmmm. have read many rave reviews and they sound close to my ideal. many converts who won't go back to conventional speakers/cans. flatmate is buying a pair of martin logans soon, so am bracing myself to become a convert.
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