Grado SR225i

Pros: Full deep bass, detailed mid-range, vibrant highs. Sound closely matched expensive 7.1 speakers and often revealed more. Did not color color the the music as other headphones often do. Revealed everything; that's how it should be.

Cons: We many say these are uncomfortable. I have worn them on several occasions for over four hours without the slightest problem. Perhaps they just fit my head or perhaps others are subject to suggestion or more sensitive than I.

Summary: These newly designed headphone clearly have been designed to provide a listening experience that provides a full deep bass, a detailed mid-range and vibrant highs that truly sound like the original recordings, not a headphone designer's idea of what they ought to sound like. I played a large selection of new digital recordings featuring drums, brass, strings and voices and found that they closely matched the sound that my expensive speaker system provided and often (to be quite frank) revealed more than my 7.1 system could! So much for the reputation of the maker and thousands of dollars spent there (but is still is fun listening to a 7.1 system that is well tuned!). Other fine headphones I have owned color the the music, often hiding aspects of recordings that are not too pretty, such as tape hiss and I did listen to a Richter Sophia piano recital of Mussorgsky's Pictures that had hiss and I did want to hear it because without it you did not hear all of the piano timber either! These headphones revealed all and that's how it should be. If you want to tame them, do it with an equalizer (I won't but you are welcome to do so.)

I was able to purchase these from an authorized dealer, always recommended, and did so during a sale when everything in the store was on sale (holiday). Would recommend these to anyone in the $150-200 range over most of the other headphones available. The open design is far better, lighter and more comfortable to me than the majority of what else is available today. And an added incentive for the US customers is that these are made in the USA.