hi fi oldeeee.....headphone newbeeee,,,?

[admin_exported]

Having recently come back from the Bristol Show: something has been bothering me! Yeah you guessed it, it was the Grado 1000's headphone demo in Bay 2. I keep getting flashbacks of that beautiful spacious sound.

Now I don't have that king of cash to spend but maybe I might consider up to £300. I currently have a Beresford Caiman with a cd player and spotify as source. I listen to all kinds of music!

Would the caiman be a good headphone outlet? would it be better to spend £100 on a decent pair of cans?

As with all things I guess I can demo.......but what and where to start?

There are loads of them out there.

Thanks for reading and thanks again for any help in advance

D

 

[PJPro]

Why not spend the money on a pair of headphones and use the Caiman amp for now? You can always get a headphone amp later.

I got my Grado RS1s for about £350 on ebay (secondhand). I think they are around £650+ new.

 

[PJPro]

ALternatively, you could go for a pair of SR80s and Graham Sele Novo for around the same money.

 

[TitusG]

Hi

I have tried quite a few headphone amps and headphones and for your budget I would spend all of it on the headphones, as I believe that is where the biggest gains will be had.

 

[John Duncan]

I did a review of the Fubar IV and 325is here, which you might want to read before splashing out on 1000s. Note particularly the point about value being greater down the Grado range. As an aside, one of my esteemed colleagues (who actually knows about these things) was heard to say that the 1000s might just be too revealing in anything other than a very high end setup.

 

[John Duncan]

Although reading again, you're not going to splash out on 1000s. In which case, 325is on the end of the Caiman would be very good, though as I implied, the 225is (or 125, 80 or 60!) might give you just as much enjoyment in your system.

 

[PJPro]

I wouldn't disagree with JD if you wanted to buy new.

 

[John Duncan]

PJPro:I wouldn't disagree with JD if you wanted to buy new.

And I wouldn't disagree with PJ if you wanted to buy second hand

 

[Cutlass]

I have a pair of Grado 1000is, I have also extensively listened to the 325is in my system (Naim) and, in my opinion, would say they have a very similar overall sound albeit with less bass and bass weight. The bass is still there but in a lesser quantity. The 325is belong to a friend who finds then too bright in his system (Arcam Solo) but loved them in mine so I would suggest trying them with your setup before you make up your mind. Grados seem to take ages to 'run in' so try to listen to a well worn pair.

Hope this helps

Paddy

 

[Anonymous]

cheers guys thankyou for your considered opinions.

I will definatley try and audition the 325 i's......

It seems that they might give me the biggest bang for my buck when used in conjunction with the Caiman.

Thankyou.

 

[PJPro]

No, the RS1s will give you the biggest bang for your buck....but you'll need to second hand. About the same price as a new pair of 325is.