Grado SR80e thoughts/review

smuggs

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Just a quick note for future buyers of this headset.
I like my music and have a budget setup in Bronze range of monitor audio (br5's)loudspeakers running through a £500 yamaha av amp 673 i think. So im not an expert or have anything high end to compare it against.
I have my sr80s plugged in my windows 10 based old gaming PC with fairly cheap motherboard £60 i think so maybe not a great soundcard and a gtx650 gpu if that even effects it.
Looks i was not blown away when i opened them up all beit the nice case and package it arriived but i had watched you tube videos so i sort of knew what they would be like. The head seemed thin and i was worried about the spinning headcups.
The lead was a good length not to long that a ipad or ipod user would get frustated with but not to short that pc or laptop user would also complain of so in think they have that just right.
Once i got these I thought forget the reviews and thoughts of others lets see what a novice like myself finds these cans.
These are by the far not a neutral listen, i think the level of kit i have listened to i have not heard a true transparant bit of kit.
These imo are very midrange heavy which i have grown to love almost like some B&W floorstands that i have listen to where they have really impressive depth and room fillng sound.
After spending hours of classical,blues ,indie and pop i was left thinking these are stunning so i tried to fault them and think how would a £300 pair do better.
and to honest i keep thinking i have payed no more than £100 so who could complain with these and i have the following areas that would not recommend these

_ people who love Drum and Bass or genres with a major Bottom end as Key these are punchy and have a nice tempo to bass but without saying numbers and figures that i have no knowledge of these dont give you a feeling a deep deep bass. But Faithless and Trance music is joy to me.
- Classical i love some piano music but i would say that if you like alot of sharp High notes i think these are safe but in a good way because i love Katie Melua ( the music of course) and on my Br5s they sound harsh in spells. But my only concern would be that to get a true high end headphone specialist you could be talking silly money so i would say these would not dissapoint you but may not wow you in that area.
- go on public transport but t fair if you did not know these are massive open back cans you have issues with you research methods

- volume output on my ALAC rips of my cd collection on my pc gets the volume/performance i like at around 75-85% volume maybe a few i tweak towards 90ish. Spotify which is 75% of my listening time i would say im between 85-98% the problem comes with youtube,soundcloud and mixcloud a good trance set i can go 100% and feel i need more punch or something else just that little bit more of a push so. So im at a crossroad where im close to adding a headphone amp to my PC i think i may spend £90 on a dragonfly 1.2 usb to gain more volume which i would hope for greater punch and detail at lower volumes while on spotify and while playing sets and concerts from lower bitrate and compressed sites allow me to always reach the volume i wish ,if im in cloud cukoo land who knows thats what the reviews are leading me to think.

Headphone durabilty i think i have spelt that right i think these are awful i have these on my desk 24/7 iand i place them down with care and lift them up like there a 3 month old baby. I think the plastic and maybe classic look design is what drives the cost down maybe a greater materials and design in the housing and cable would pitch these at £250 so i would not of got them in my house so theres a trade off but the point is i would not fancy non stop in out bag / backpack all day every day and expect them to stay new like or 100% working order.
The Head cups take a bit of learning when you place them down if you just lay them doen side on and pick them up without knowing you have soun them 360 do that 4 times and you see a few twists in the cables so you have the spin the heads around the the oppsite way to straigten the leads ups - tip time lay them on you desk foam pads down and lift them up put them on and back down foams down and after 2 weeks of that not one twist.
the Headband while looks not padded i must admit its a class headbank light and after3 hours of chess for example i dont even consider the headband so im guessing that must be a plus.
a few of tracks to try to lisen to if you get to listen to theses at a shop
- westbam, nena - oldschool baby piano mix ( timing and solid bass line)
_ Ludvico Einadui - Night ( detail and piano and on my cheaper ak 430's almost unlistenable) on theses love the whole elements album so much i have bought ticket to see him in birmingham in november.
-micheal kiwanuka - love and hate ( again can grate on you on poor cans or speakers like my lads £20 blue tooth speaker )
- Coldplay god put a smile on my face just wow the detail is class i hear things on these my floorstanders cant match and the coldplay boom bass is so unreal how much its under control which when cranked up can be unbearable on some setups.
-Paolo Nutini- candy so good on these hes voice is so present but the music unpins it really good i have listened to this and i wanted more but these almost make you foot tap
- Clapton after midnight Live @ budokan wow this is where these are my all time best loads go on buit it feels like i have loads of space between whats going gone and can pick guitars, vocals drums and all the good stuff out at the guitar riffs /solos are so powerful that make you want to crank it up and shut you eyes.
- My last fav i had to see if these did it well with hard piano and rough voive of tom waits - new coat of paint and i listened to track 4 times and was so happy.

so final thought get yourself a rough tough closed back pair , but for alone time quailty listen and if £150 is your top line i cant see you getting a more allrounder.
after 3 hours you may feel worn oout so maybe a warmer smoother set of cans are for you if you say listen at the offce for 6-8 hours in a day these will send you home after aday like you have had a crate of red bull in a good way lol

anyway theres my thought as always no one is right or wrong if you enjoy your music your winning
_
-
 

expat_mike

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A very detailed review - I started with the grados, and was happy for several years, but then last autumn i started to explore/buy some other headphones as well.

I suggest wait until cyber monday sales in november, if you want to get add any additional hp.

I bought a pair of sennheiser hd598se, which i think are an improvement on the grados. they are 229 euros today, but were only 99 euros on cyber monday.

https://www.amazon.fr/Sennheiser-HD598SE-Spéciale-Casque-Circum-Aural/dp/B0126HISOO

in the spring i also bought some beyer dt770 pros, for when i need to wear closed back hp, to avoid sound leakage. i think these are also offered at reduced prices on cyber monday.

https://www.amazon.fr/Beyerdynamic-DT770-PRO-250-Ohm/dp/B0006NL5SM
 

drummerman

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Good write-up ... only just saw this.

I use the 80e too and like them considerably. Just brings you (me) closer to the music.

The 'e' version has been said to be quite a different sound and upgrade on the predecessors. Can't comment on that but it sure sounds good to me.

Tried the 325e but didn't like it that much. Mostly down to the pads I guess.
 

Issitwurfit

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I too have these phones, but I am thinking of upgrading. They are good but I found the cables soon twisted and an ear up has worn and frayed.soundwise they are good especially since the addition of a DAC.

If you are keeping them Smuggs, you won,t believe the difference a DAC makes.

I bought the TEAC HPA 50 and it connects to my I pad and has cables to use with laptop and desktop for cd player use. It has 2 gain controls .I use the lower one.

The sound is excellent like this ,so I am now wondering what difference there is in top end , like Senn 800 , audeze lcd etc., now that I have a DAC to drive them
 

dalethorn

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Issitwurfit said:
I too have these phones, but I am thinking of upgrading. They are good but I found the cables soon twisted and an ear up has worn and frayed.soundwise they are good especially since the addition of a DAC.

If you are keeping them Smuggs, you won,t believe the difference a DAC makes.

I bought the TEAC HPA 50 and it connects to my I pad and has cables to use with laptop and desktop for cd player use. It has 2 gain controls .I use the lower one.

The sound is excellent like this ,so I am now wondering what difference there is in top end , like Senn 800 , audeze lcd etc., now that I have a DAC to drive them

If you have a chance to listen to the HD800 in a very quiet place, undisturbed by anyone, the first thing you will notice is the smooth sparkle of upper-frequency harmonics that make your music take on a whole new life. The better the music the greater the difference you will hear.
 

smuggs

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after months with grados i think im going to add a dac in march and will look at theis Teac HA-P50 thanks for the headsup
 

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