Grado SR60x Review (on ear headphone)

[_thelaughingman]

I severely abhore the SR60 because listening to them even after paring down the treble they caused tinnitus. Glad i never kept them past a month of use.

 

[PeteL]

Hi

Grado is part of the audiophile mythology. They are usually the first headphones any serious audiophile will recommend o he populace... They are simply bad and it seems, all of them including their TOL.
They sell by the same logic that allow the existence of $350,000 tube amplifiers with that kind of measurements:

Frequency Response:

THD

Peace.

To make my point, It was difficult to see comparator online, the closest I could find was that. Hard to read, but you can see on this that down to about 40 HZ, this grado Hemp has more bass than a HD-6xx, that is my impression too. It then rolls out faster tough under 35 Hz

 

[FrantzM]

What am looking at?

You are looking at a power amplifier, that cost , then (2004?) the rotund some of Three Hundred Fifty Thousands and 00/100 US Dollars , weigh 550 Lbs or 200 Kg!
This Distortion machine is prized by many as a superb amplifier. There are several example of such abominations in the audiophile world.. Grado lives in that realm. They produce all kind of weird sounding headphones at all price points and they have the same sound "signature" . They even had as a prototype or the Grado Owner, the son of Joe Grado the founder, may still have these as a speakers: 32 headphone drivers in a line array... I can imagine the quality and amount of bass this can produce

 

[PeteL]

You are looking at a power amplifier, that cost , then (2004?) the rotund some of Three Hundred Fifty Thousands and 00/100 US Dollars , weigh 550 Lbs or 200 Kg!
This Distortion machine is prized by many as a superb amplifier. There are several example of such abominations in the audiophile world.. Grado lives in that realm. They produce all kind of weird sounding headphones at all price points and they have the same sound "signature" . They even had as a prototype or the Grado Owner, the son of Joe Grado the founder, may still have these as a speakers: 32 headphone drivers in a line array... I can imagine the quality and amount of bass this can produce

I don't see how this amp relates to Grado sorry, what are you trying to demonstrate?

 

[FrantzM]

I don't see how this amp relates to Grado sorry, what are you trying to demonstrate?

Last reply on the matter... Grado inhabits the subjective side of the audiophile market... A market that is driven by myths and falsities. The same way a manufacturer building such expensive and poor performing amplifiers manages not only to survive but to strive... There are countless examples of such in the audiophile world including speakers ( Zu anyone?) DAC ( TotalCrap?_), Headphones ( Grado?), ....
I am off.

 

[Zensō]

The Grado story is more compelling than the reality of their headphones:

“Through a well-heard history and deep roots in Brooklyn, the Grado family has been hand building headphones and cartridges here since 1953. For three generations, tradition and heritage have been carried down with the philosophy that sound comes first.”

The models I’ve tried have been pretty awful in every regard including comfort, build, and sound quality. I do understand the nostalgia some have for this product though.

 

[PeteL]

Last reply on the matter... Grado inhabits the subjective side of the audiophile market... A market that is driven by myths and falsities. The same way a manufacturer building such expensive and poor performing amplifiers manages not only to survive but to strive... There are countless examples of such in the audiophile world including speakers ( Zu anyone?) DAC ( TotalCrap?_), Headphones ( Grado?), ....
I am off.

I get that it's your opinion, but I don't get based on what this opinion is formulated. Why not just say you don't like the tonality and frequency response they propose, that's fine. The whole, they are trying to fool people thinkg is based on zip. They make headphone brighter than most, you don't like it, the rest is just you making assumption.

 

[FrantzM]

I get that it's your opinion, but I don't get based on what this opinion is formulated. Why not just say you don't like the tonality and frequency response they propose, that's fine. The whole, they are trying to fool people thinkg is based on zip. They make headphone brighter than most, you don't like it, the rest is just you making assumption.

OK

 

[Blumlein 88]

They measure just like they sound to me.

 

[SMc]

I used to like the 90's back in the day and liked very much the 325X models when heard a couple of years back - maybe the 'lively' balance suits my hearing as it is now? The slightly old fashioned tones can suit very well for many people I think.

It's rumoured over several UK forums (so it must be true ) that the lower Grado models are basically the same, but with different earpads (maybe the better ones are quality controlled a little?). Certainly one 'upgrade' is to buy the pads from a higher model which apparently 'calms them down' a little. Has anyone else tried it here, or isn't Grado taken seriously as a headphone maker?

The story I heard was the models were differentiated by better driver matching. I've tried changing ear pads, starting with the bowl-style for comfort. The extra distance to the ear didn't improve the bass. If I wanted to tame the treble without eq, I'd try the Sennheiser-like sock that covers the ear piece.

Mine are generally limited to tv use. I'll probably try music with eq based on this review on the assumption my 80s and 125s are more similar to the 60s than different.

 

[PeteL]

To my ears the best sounding are the "L" type pad. I don't like the big Donuts.

Grado Headphone Replacement Cushion L

Genuine Grado ear cushions. Standard equipment on all series of the following headphones: RS1, RS2, PS500. Also fits all Prestige, Reference, Statement, Professional and Limited Edition Headphones.

4ourears.com

 

[Vict0r]

I remember, back in the day, having switched the SR60 earpads to bright yellow ones, normally meant for the Sennheiser HD414. Very comfy and I liked the slightly bassier sound.

 

[Severian]

I'm glad that Grado exists and has managed to keep doing their thing on their own terms, but man the headphones are bad. I feel particularly salty about them because when I was still a student I scraped together money to buy a pair of Alessandro MS2s (rebadged and slightly retuned SR325i) as my first audiophile headphones. I could barely afford them. I told myself for a while that they were great, but in reality I was incredibly disappointed by them in every way and it put me off good headphones for many years.

Whenever I dig them out for a revisit, the foam pads have rotted. They gradually fell apart too. Eventually I got fed up and threw them away...

 

[Human Bass]

A shame Grado is a ****** company that ignores the pleas of their own consumer base, especially when asking for detachable cables.

 

[CerealKiller]

Koss porta Pro is king of budget portables IMO and would loooooooooove to see it measured

 

[Vict0r]

Koss porta Pro is king of budget portables IMO and woul loooooooooove to see it measurde.

...or the KSC75! I used the Portapro frame and attached the KSC75 drivers.

 

[Blumlein 88]

A shame Grado is a ****** company that ignores the pleas of their own consumer base, especially when asking for detachable cables.

What would detachable cables do for this abysmally performing headphone?

 

[Drengur]

What would detachable cables do for this abysmally performing headphone?

I, for one, managed to trip over the cables of my pair once, damaging both my ego and the headphone jack. The former has been restored, and improved, while the latter pretty much ended my Grado journey, however abysmal it may have been.

 

[batfunk]

Hi

Grado is part of the audiophile mythology. They are usually the first headphones any serious audiophile will recommend o he populace... They are simply bad and it seems, all of them including their TOL.
They sell by the same logic that allow the existence of $350,000 tube amplifiers with that kind of measurements:

Frequency Response:

THD

Peace.

+1.Finally, the first real Grado review, no surprises here.Like many,Sr80 was my first audiophile Headphones and boy, what a joy ! Open ear and this boost at 2 khz gives it real spatial qualities but that distortion level, yuck...
Build quality is incredibly Low, cut wired after 9 months, arch détached(was glued) after 6 months, Grado refused to Take it back under warranty.
Rs2 was better(more bass, less distortion) but i gave it up for Dan Clarck Closed X.Now we're talking !
I now follow prophet Amirm, who preaches the truth of Sound around the world...

 

[Svperstar]

My Grado 60e I got on drop.com years and years ago rarely gets use, its fun from time to time. I keep meaning to check out their higher end models and never get around too it.