Let's get this out of the way first - I'm not a headfi-er. My previous experience of long-term headphone use has been limited to a couple of pairs of modest full-size Sennheisers plugged into the headphone socket of an integrated amp, and various mini-cans or in-ear buds from iPod or PC (albeit reasonable ones - Shure E2s, CX300s, PX200s) Probably the highest quality cans I have experienced for any length of time are Sennheiser HD25s (lovely, leaky as hell). I've never heard, let alone owned, a headphone amp. So, with the caveat that this is almost totally subjective, and not a comparison with anything else...
As many of you may have gathered, I wasn't getting much use of the Primares in the sitting room (family got in the way), so I sold the lot, with a view to setting up something a bit more prosaic for general listening, and something more intimate at my workstation for high quality soloing. Now I didn't know how I was going to do that - I had thought to keep the DACMagic and add a headphone amp - but when I saw that Firestone were selling a limited addition (by virtue of a 'seasonal' graphic on the top) version of the Fubar IV DAC and Headphone amp off cheap, and knowing that some on here had had good results (oh and it looks cute), I bit the bullet and ordered one - £125 including shipping - down from about £225 for the normal unseasoned version. Before it arrived I got over-excited and, totally based on reviews (hey, how wrong can they all be), ordered a pair of Grado SR325is to go with. Now I know that I'm supposed to listen to them first but, hey, who's got the time? So, with eBay profits burning a hole in my pocket, I went for the top-of-the-within-reason-range ones (next ones up are £500 or something, which is just silly), on the basis that if these aren't good enough, then I can't afford this game any more.
So they both arrived last week, but I wanted to spend some time with them before saying what I thought, since 1) I didn't know what to expect, so any judgement could be snap and 2) I hear the Grados need 100 hours of running in. They haven't had that, but I'll bear that in mind below.
First thing I've noticed about the combo is its frequency response - having been used to small standmounts most of my life (with a brief dalliance with some Tannoy floorstanders), nothing has come close to the depths which this setup can plumb short of a pair of huge B&W 802somethings. Grado quotes a frequency response of 18hz to 24khz, and I can quite believe it. Most importantly though, they maintain their composure at the bottom end more than any loudspeaker I've heard outside silly-money territory. I'm no bass fiend, but they've made me want floorstanders again
. The key to the setup's overall sound though is that the fullness in the lower end helps enormously further up the midrange to add depth and timbre to vocals - Joni Mitchell's later reworking of Both Sides Now sounds absolutely beautiful - warm, reekin', rich, as Burns would say. This richness isn't gained at the expense of timing though - drums on Tom Sawyer and First We Take Manhattan are pin-sharp.
So far, so good, then. If I had a qualm thus far, however, it'd be at the treble end. The setup's so revealing that there can be almost too much of it, to the point of it being a bit wearing. I'm not saying that some of my recordings aren't a bit troublesome in this respect - for example, they make a better fist of Elbow's Asleep In The Back than my stereo ever did - but the pairing feels slightly more at home with older recordings than with modern ones (a nostalgia-induced Jim Reeves interlude on Spotify sounded bloody marvellous).
So that's it for now. I can't say whether the DAC, headphone amp or cans have strengths or failings in isolation, or whether the cans need a bit more loosening up before I can judge them fully but - on the whole - together they sound about as good as any traditional stereo I've heard. The dynamic range takes some getting used to - I've reached for that gorgeous Primare-esque volume knob more than once - and I'm not getting that 'out of head' soundstaging that people talk about, but maybe they were making it up. Having had a brief listen to Lucas's marvellous 60is through the Fubar, it's possible that better value is to be had slightly further down the Grado range, but I was flush so I'm not feeling short-changed
. As a final note, I listened to some 24/48 recordings of me
, and it's closer to the sound I heard in the studio than my full-size setup ever managed...
As many of you may have gathered, I wasn't getting much use of the Primares in the sitting room (family got in the way), so I sold the lot, with a view to setting up something a bit more prosaic for general listening, and something more intimate at my workstation for high quality soloing. Now I didn't know how I was going to do that - I had thought to keep the DACMagic and add a headphone amp - but when I saw that Firestone were selling a limited addition (by virtue of a 'seasonal' graphic on the top) version of the Fubar IV DAC and Headphone amp off cheap, and knowing that some on here had had good results (oh and it looks cute), I bit the bullet and ordered one - £125 including shipping - down from about £225 for the normal unseasoned version. Before it arrived I got over-excited and, totally based on reviews (hey, how wrong can they all be), ordered a pair of Grado SR325is to go with. Now I know that I'm supposed to listen to them first but, hey, who's got the time? So, with eBay profits burning a hole in my pocket, I went for the top-of-the-within-reason-range ones (next ones up are £500 or something, which is just silly), on the basis that if these aren't good enough, then I can't afford this game any more.
So they both arrived last week, but I wanted to spend some time with them before saying what I thought, since 1) I didn't know what to expect, so any judgement could be snap and 2) I hear the Grados need 100 hours of running in. They haven't had that, but I'll bear that in mind below.
First thing I've noticed about the combo is its frequency response - having been used to small standmounts most of my life (with a brief dalliance with some Tannoy floorstanders), nothing has come close to the depths which this setup can plumb short of a pair of huge B&W 802somethings. Grado quotes a frequency response of 18hz to 24khz, and I can quite believe it. Most importantly though, they maintain their composure at the bottom end more than any loudspeaker I've heard outside silly-money territory. I'm no bass fiend, but they've made me want floorstanders again
So far, so good, then. If I had a qualm thus far, however, it'd be at the treble end. The setup's so revealing that there can be almost too much of it, to the point of it being a bit wearing. I'm not saying that some of my recordings aren't a bit troublesome in this respect - for example, they make a better fist of Elbow's Asleep In The Back than my stereo ever did - but the pairing feels slightly more at home with older recordings than with modern ones (a nostalgia-induced Jim Reeves interlude on Spotify sounded bloody marvellous).
So that's it for now. I can't say whether the DAC, headphone amp or cans have strengths or failings in isolation, or whether the cans need a bit more loosening up before I can judge them fully but - on the whole - together they sound about as good as any traditional stereo I've heard. The dynamic range takes some getting used to - I've reached for that gorgeous Primare-esque volume knob more than once - and I'm not getting that 'out of head' soundstaging that people talk about, but maybe they were making it up. Having had a brief listen to Lucas's marvellous 60is through the Fubar, it's possible that better value is to be had slightly further down the Grado range, but I was flush so I'm not feeling short-changed
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