Grado Headphones...

[admin_exported]

Evening all,

I'm looking for some advice as to what Grado can's to buy.

I have came to a choice between the 125i and the 225i - priced £150 and £200.

Would you say the 225i's would be a worthy upgrade from the 125i or could I save some money here. Or should I deliver the final blow to my bank account and get the 325i (not 325is) which I found for £245 - I do prefer the looks of these...

Just for reference they will be connected to a valve headphone amp (Little Dot MK IV), so they will be getting fed properly.

The cans will be used mainly at night or for when I want to hear all the details in the music.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Forgot to add, if I was looking at the 325i, how would these compare to the AKG K702 Reference of similar costs?

 

[idc]

A dealer (Merchant Audio in Glasgow) told me that to really hear an improvement from my SR80s I would need to get the 325s. They do not not stock 325s so I went with AKGs (as you know). The bottom line is go as high as you can now and you will save money in the long run as the desire to upgrade again will be less so. Which is another way of saying get the 325s!

EDIT - I suspect they 325s will be more comfortable because the foam earpads are larger.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the quick reply idc, just added an edit before you replied...

How do you recon the 325i would fare against the AKG 702s you've got? If I'm spending £200+, I'd like to get the best I can.

Thanks again!

 

[idc]

I suspect not a great deal. The reason why I say that is down to the review of both in the last issue of the magazine. They can be viewed in the reviews part of the this site. I trust the reviews here because I have found their decription of the sound of a product to be exactly how I have found such.

The Grados are credited with a bit more attack. However, my AKGs have gained more bite since I changed from the MF to the Fubar DAC. This is why with headphones I come back to comfort and say I would rather sacrifice a bit of sound quality for comfort. But then again I only listen with headphones so it is very important to me. I find the AKGs very comfortable. But as I said the SR325s have larger foam pads. I also went with the AKGs because I found a seller on ebay with a perfect rating who has been selling them for a while for less than £200 (in the UK, you can get them for the same from the US, with very high postage). They don't come with a warranty as he is not an authorised dealer, but I never bother with warranties anyway.

Go with your gut feeling as I think you would enjoy either. Both are also well made so should last for years.

 

[Anonymous]

I've read both reviews of the 325is and the K701's on here tonight and I must say the AKGs look like they'd be more comfortable to wear.

Like you comfort is an important issue, even though they won't be my only source I may use them as such some days. Don't want to rush in, but it looks like I'll buy the K702's - I'll try to dig out a few more reviews or each at work tomorrow and take it from there.

Thanks for the info idc, much appreciated!