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
swampwalker's avatar
swampwalker
5,138 posts
 
the hd-580s would be a good alternative.
jlambrick
138 posts
 
I've owned the SR-60's for quite some time and love them. Very detailed and neutral to my ears. There is NO extremely low bass however. If that's a major criterion, look elsewhere.
dave123456a1b3 OP
17 posts
 

I'm used to listening to music on my MTX 12" 3 way tower speakers, and although the mids and highs suck on these, at least they have bass.

In comparison the bass on the Grado's is anemic at best. Along with having no bass you have to really crank the volume for the sound to open up. By the time this happens the sound is way too loud for me to tolerate.
dirtyragamuffin
213 posts
 
Grado SR60s are very good phones for the price but the bass improves quite a bit as you move up the Grado line. Bright and harsh I'd say you're hearing a cheap headphone amp. I love Grados but they don't flourish if not plugged into to good gear. Also, make sure you give the Grados a good hundred hours to break in. I agree Senns sound more laid back, but again, good headphones are only as good as the headphone amp you are plugging into. I personally think the highest end Senns are the only ones worth looking at. A friend has Senn HD280s and I wasn't all that impressed with them. I also feel that Senn's headphone cables are shoddy.

I see that you have MTX speakers. May I humbly suggest you are used to hearing hyped bass.

BTW I own Grado SR80s and 225s and have several friends with 60s so I am familiar with them all. Also have a friend who used 12" MTX floor speakers for quite a while.
dirtyragamuffin
213 posts
 
Oh, and I also agree with the person that said many digital rock transfers aren't the greatest. I do find that some can be thin or grainy, especially digital recordings from the 90's. Hey, I love rock from hard ass metal to more laid back stuff. The heavy stuff in particular is mastered very hot and sometimes recorded with unacceptable amounts of clipping--check a nice, refined, good recording against some of the music you are having trouble with and make sure you are not simply hearing the reality of the recording/mastering quality.
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