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"Incredible headphones for under $100" on by jdparkin
Pros: Fantastic sound and gret price
Cons: the cords can occasionally get twsited
Summary: The very thing that makes these headphones so awesome are the one thing that prevents them from getting a 10. At times the cords get twisted and it makes me mad. Other than that, these headphones are incedible. The sound is so awesome with these, I have heard sounds I never knew existed. I got them online from I think decibel audio, based in chicago. No shipping and they were professional and fast, even called me because I had a simple question. I had to give them a shoutout.
As for the comfort, I have had very little problems. I have a nearly 6 hour break between my morning and afternoon classes and I can put these on for the whole time and have no problem with them at all. As for sound leaking, I use them primarily in the library and I have not had a problem with other people being disturbed. If you are buying someone an ipod or another musical device this holiday season, make sure you do them a favor and get them these headphones. -
"Stupendous sound, cumbersome for portable use, break-in needed" on by biggbrother
Pros: SOUND! retro style
Cons: Uncomfy at first, v. awkward for commuting
Summary: I researched this purchase extensively and (over)paid about $200 Canadian for these things. I've owned these for about two months now. I have used them an average of perhaps two hours per day during this period, the two main sources being a laptop and a portable mp3 player. Some thoughts on sound, comfort, style, and overall awkwardness:
1. SOUND: The biggest benefit by far. I am biased; my reference point is cheap blister-pack headphones. That said, the sound on these things appears to be as great as everyone writes. Absolutely fabulous, esp. on the bass and treble response. I compared these with the SR60 in a store demo and strongly advise against the SR60 if you're a fan of the bass and treble. I use the SR80s on both on my laptop and mp3 player, and have been rediscovering my music. The phones reveal things I've never heard before, even on compressed, un-remastered Beatles releases.
2. COMFORT: The prevailing opinion is that these phones are uncomfortable. This is quite true--they are very oppressive at first; a lot of undue pressure on the outer ears. It will actually make that tender flesh sore with prolonged use. However, there is a caveat: my experience has been that this is no longer a problem after about ten days of steady use. (Presumably this is the headphones adjusting to my head rather than vice versa). The comfort issue was serious, almost shocking at first, now it is no longer a problem.
3. STYLE: I know this is trite, but the simple, heavy-duty, retro looks of these things are just great. A nice departure from the space-cadet look of a lot of other headphones kids are wearing these days (and forgive me, but the white iPod earbuds, quite apart from flagging the attention of thieves, not only sound terrible but scream pretension).
4. COMMUTING A LOT? Then you might not want to buy these. I would hesitate to recommend these for portable use.
A. The cord, well, you'll have to find a way of tying it back to restrain it--it's just too long (and very heavy--you won't want it dangling from your body). The cord is the biggest drawback. Also, the reinforcements surrounding the jack make the plug itself almost bigger than a lot of today's mp3 players.
B. The second-biggest reason why I wouldn't recommend these for the road is the sound intrusion. The open-air design apparently creates a great sound, but remotely loud environmental noise will totally counteract that.
C. Sound leakage is significant at comfortably loud-ish listening levels; not ideal for subways, buses, etc.
D. No folding design--it's rather difficult to stow these things away unless you have a lot of free space available in a bag.
In short, I love these phones for the sound, but I had underestimated how problematic they'd be for commuting. In retrospect, I'd probably sacrifice a bit of the sound quality for a more convenient and appropriate design. -
"Is CNET Serious!!" on
Pros: It's obvious to me that whoever did this review for CNET is NOT an audiophile. Because if they were they wouldn't have rated these 7.8 and given the CRAP Etymotic ER-6's an 8.3!! Are you crazy?! I've owned both, and there is no comparison. The Etymoti
Cons: The only cons would be, 1. the nature of open designed headphones means that everyone else is going to hear what you're listening to. But that's just the sacrifice you make for true audio. The ear pads are a bit uncomfortable, as other have said, howeve
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"Uncomfortable But sound good" on by caracal223
Pros: GREAT Sound
Cons: VERY Uncomfortable
Summary: Amazing headphones but what was Grado thinking.. They re so uncomfortable.. even with a sock over the pads its still too uncomfortable. At the beginning I couldn't wear them for more than 15 minutes because the back of my earlobe would be hurting LOTS!... I put a sock over the pads to help with the coushioning but still not so comfortable so I can forget I have them on.... I have to always take them off to massage my earlobes from all the intense pain..
It's pretty sad to make such good sounding phone with such insanely crappy system..
The speaker turns and I believe this is the main cause of intense pain... because they turn they always want to turn towards the back of the head and put pressure on the rear of the ear. Now I gotta figure out how to get them to be stuck in one place and stop turning.
Also the headband even on the shortest setting doesnt even touch the top of my head???.. And I don't have a small head..
This also contributes to all the pressure sliding down on the ears!! I had to wrap some material over the top to get some coushion going so they won't slide down...
To summarize, COMPLETE garbage in sense of any comfort or fit on the head, but good sound...
Makes you wonder, did grado think we'd hold the speakers to our ears with our hands just because it sounds so good? -
"Best sedentary headphones" on
Pros: Supple cord with gold-plated plugs, superb detail, extremely nice bass extension & balance; needs a good source to perform; superb value for quality.
Cons: A little bright, but still in break-in; long cord is good at home, but inconvenient when out and about with an MP3 player; a bit fatiguing on a 4 hour plane flight.
Grado SR80 user reviews
