2. misc-audio
  3. 1153965719

How revealing are Grado sr-60s'?


I just bought a pair of these last month and overall they seem like decent headphones, but im still having problems with the overall sound of my system. I dont know if its the phones, or my electronics but im getting a somewhat bright, grainy sound. Electric guitars seem way too thin and dont flow smoothly enough ( cant think of the correct term).The bass seems sort of weak too, with a focus on treble. My amp is an Onkyo TX-8511 and a Toshiba SD-3950. My gear is not high end by any means, but do i really have to buy a $500 cdp and headphone amp to get good sound out of $70 headphones?
dave123456a1b3
joe_b
421 posts
 
I don't think the Toshiba is a good match for the Grado's.
You shouldn't have to spend $500 on a front end to get decent sound out of them.
I get good results with a portable Aiwa (XP-EV501R) cd player that I bought off ebay for $30. I have read that a $60 Sony portable sounds similar to it but I don't recall the model #.
Instead of the Toshiba, I would also suggest auditioning the Pioneer DV-578a universal player, which sells for $100.
dave123456a1b3 OP
17 posts
 

What would make the grados not a good choice for the Toshiba? I dont really see how buying another cheap cdp is going to help.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
Grado house sound is definately more up front than say Sennhessier (SP?). For detailed help on all things headphones, check in at head-fi.org.
dave123456a1b3 OP
17 posts
 

Yeah, I also own a pair of Sennheiser HD-201 (Cheeeeap $20 phones) and they do sound better balanced than the Grados...but they also sound pretty boring which I hear is their house sound. Maybe I need something inbetween these two.
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
not sure you can expect more from $20 phones. Senns are more laid back and that may not be to your liking. With mid-fi equipment, maybe not a bad solution. i think that you should consider a moderate priced headphone amp as your first improvement, and see if you can borrow a mid-price pair of Senns to compare to the Grados.
More to discover