I bought these off ebay and they are in great shape, and have 500 hours on them. I put them on expecting to really be blown away after all the research I had done, but these are not impressing me at all so far. I have only briefly listened to a few songs, and I keep swapping back and forth between them and my stock Zune buds and do not hear a big difference, especially for the price. I am selling these things.
I just got my Grado SR80's...underwhelming
- Thread starter SAWYER
- Start date
You're using them plugged directly into you're Zune? Well thats why...
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/
You will hear a wold of difference when you're cans are properly amped!
http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/
You will hear a wold of difference when you're cans are properly amped!
Dude, don't get headphones that need an amp to be mobile 
I have the Sennheiser HD580s and they sound great even unamped on an iPod or most laptops. _way_ better than any buds I've ever heard. That said, on an E-Mu 0202 they really come to life.
Headphones are tricky. Portability, cost, and quality are all variables
~MiSfit
I have the Sennheiser HD580s and they sound great even unamped on an iPod or most laptops. _way_ better than any buds I've ever heard. That said, on an E-Mu 0202 they really come to life.
Headphones are tricky. Portability, cost, and quality are all variables
~MiSfit
Actually, Grados are headphones that really don't need much amping. Also, while an amp does help, I still have yet to see a headphone that "needs" it to sound good. Will it sound its best? No, but sound good? Yes.
Couple that with the Zune which is supposed to have a quite nice headphone jack, and that should be a pretty decent sounding rig.
OP, what environment are you listening in? If its noisy, then chances are the isolation provided by the stock earbuds is helping. There is also the possibility that you just don't like the Grado sound. You should check out some other brands and see if they do any better. Another thing to consider is the music you have on there. Grados are well known for being good at rock music, and not that good for most others. Then there is the possibility that they're showing you the flaws in the music you listen to (so if you've got your Zune filled with poorly ripped 128kbps songs, or perhaps you're hearing the distortion and clipping because of the compressed frequency range in a lot of modern music).
They don't sound bad, but not what I expected. And I have listened to rock(old and newer) and classical.
I would say then, that they probably just aren't the sound you were looking for. I refuse to go Grado for two key reasons, I don't like upfront sound (I've found that a lot of portable players also have a pretty upfront sound), and comfort.
From time to time you can get the HD-555s for under $100. Unfortunately, Audio-Technica raised their prices so an A500 is over $100 now. There's the Equation Audio RP-21 which is fairly well liked. I would also recommend checking out the Koss KSC-75, which can be had for under $25 fairly easily, but has a pretty impressive sound all the same.
Well I read was how these are the best around for the money blah blah blah. I will stick with stock buds I suppose as I do not want to use an amp.
Yeah, it can be difficult to cut through the fog of crap surrounding some products. Try not to let it sour you on the whole, but I can definitely understand how you feel. Also, don't worry about the people saying you need an amp, thats BS, especially for almost any headphone below $100 (they will benefit from one, but any headphone jack will drive them quite well really). The KSC-75s really are worth checking out though, especially at their pricepoint.
If you're plugging them into your zune and complaining about the quality, you can't possibly have done much research on them at all.
There is certainly a "fog of crap" around some products (Monster, Bose, among others) but I don't think it applies to Grados. As you said earlier, someone may not like the sound - there is no disputing taste - but there's no question they are very good quality.
By the way, these are used headphones he's talking about. There are a lot of variables here.
I'm not complaining abut the quality, they sound great, slightly cleaner than the Zune buds but I suppose my expectations were set to high.
Fast rock/heavy metal, everything else SUCKS. DT770s for me and they are still as fast as the SR80s (which I sold to make room for the DT770s).
Yes, I even had the LDII++ with the Grados. Now, since the DT770s are 250ohm version they still need amping from my 2.0 setup I have on my desk.
Yes, I even had the LDII++ with the Grados. Now, since the DT770s are 250ohm version they still need amping from my 2.0 setup I have on my desk.
SR80's don't need an amp. And Grado's are very much an acquired taste. If you listen to anything really besides rock/metal you should have tried a different set of headphones instead. The Senn HD-555's would be a good place to start. Mind you, if you're new to higher end (or in this case mid) audio, then it may take you a little while to get used to a newer fuller sound. Listen to the grado's for a couple of weeks and then go back to your stock buds. If you still can't hear that big of a difference then sell em.
entry grados are the most overrated entry-level headphones next to Sennheiser HD497s.
first, the SR60 and 80 should NOT need amps.
ive owned 20 pairs of "audiophile-approved" headphones, and the SR80s hugely disappointed me. of those 20 pairs, some has similar characteristics, so its not so much an issue of being accustomed to the "grado sound". while i do think grados look excellent with the big retro aesthetics, it also happens to be very unpractical (big, heavy, uncomfy) for anything but home listening.
depending on what type of sound, or listening format (portable, home, rock, classical, etc) i could suggest other alternatives in same price range: shure e2c and its newer variant, etymotic er6i, used sony sl-66 eggos, akg k240s... these are some of my more favored headphones
first, the SR60 and 80 should NOT need amps.
ive owned 20 pairs of "audiophile-approved" headphones, and the SR80s hugely disappointed me. of those 20 pairs, some has similar characteristics, so its not so much an issue of being accustomed to the "grado sound". while i do think grados look excellent with the big retro aesthetics, it also happens to be very unpractical (big, heavy, uncomfy) for anything but home listening.
depending on what type of sound, or listening format (portable, home, rock, classical, etc) i could suggest other alternatives in same price range: shure e2c and its newer variant, etymotic er6i, used sony sl-66 eggos, akg k240s... these are some of my more favored headphones
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