Grado Prestige Series SR-60i Padded Headphones
by Grado
Our Price: $79.00
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Category: CE
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Manufacturer: GradoModel: SR 60
Product features:
- Brilliant sound for a low cost
- Adjustable headband made of soft vinyl
- Earpieces rotate 360 degrees - great for packing flat
- Mini stereo termination with 1/4-inch adapter
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Grado Prestige Series SR-60i Padded Headphones
Customer Review: High Definition... for sound
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok, so where to begin? Hopefully you'll bear with me here, as the Grados have apparently given me a lot to say.
First off, a quick bit about me. I listen to a very wide range of music, I enjoy rock, jazz, classical, orchestral, "modern" classical, movie soundtracks, as well as a wide variety of "pop" music. I guess you could say I just enjoy well crafted music, melodies, and harmonies. I played trumpet in both concert band and jazz band.
So basically, while I won't claim to be all that technically knowledgable about music or any kind of musical expert, I would say have a fairly good background of what it's all about, and I have a fairly good ear, so to speak. I'd call myself a music appreciator and lover, as opposed to anything that would make me seem "better" than anyone else. I'm just a regular person who really enjoys the beautiful art form that music can be.
I decided to buy the Grado SR60 after much deliberation, research, and reading. I honestly wasn't expecting any miracles, but I just wanted to have a high quality set of headphones.
So, to make a long story short, I broke down and bought the SR60s. Honestly, words don't quite describe what these things do for music. And I could go on and on about some of the technical aspects like some reviewers have, but you've heard it all already and I'll leave that to those who are more knowledgable than I am.
What I can tell you, is that these went above and beyond what I really expected. I listened to a fairly wide variety of material, from many different genres of music, and the conclusion I came to was observed on nearly everything I listened to: I heard the songs like I've never heard them before. I won't say that it was some ridiculously dramatic moment or anything like that, but I literally and honestly got chills after just a few seconds. I knew right away I was hearing things that I've never heard before, whether from speakers or headphones.
The layering and detail was unprecedented (for me). The best analogy I can give is that it's like watching a movie in HD as opposed to standard definition. When you watch a movie in SD, you can see everything that happens. You can appreciate good filmmaking, you don't really miss anything major. But then, watch that same movie in HD, and a whole new world opens up that you maybe never really knew was there. Details and textures that were previously unseen (or barely seen) come to life in glorious detail. The finer nuances are crisp and clear, as opposed to soft, subtle, or unnoticable.
Listening to the Grados was that same kind of experience. It was like taking something that was "balled up" and stretching it out to it's original glory. Layers of music that were sort of hidden underneath now had their own "place" in the music. Instruments that were drowned out before suddenly had a very precise presence, even in the face of where before instruments and sounds that would nearly drown them out completely.
Really, I could go on and on about just what these headphones do for music, but most of it has already been said. The best I can tell you, as a user of mostly mid-range $20-$40 consumer headphones (Sony, Sennheiser CX300 in ear phones, etc), the Grado SR60 is like a breath of fresh spring air in the bright sunshine when you've been cooped up inside for a while.
Again, it's nothing miraculous, nothing life altering, but there's just something so refreshing and ear opening about the way the Grados let the music breathe. The bass doesn't drown out the mid or high range sounds. It's like every instrument, every frequency has its own, individually driven transducer working independently of the rest so as not to be held back.
It's a very amazing feat, really, and for $70, how can you go wrong? You would spend that much on 5-6 CDs (sometimes less). If you have a large music collection, you really have no excuse for not picking up these headphones.
I guess the minor complaints I could see people having are the sound leakage, but you know that going in. Don't get these if you don't want the people around you hearing your music - simple. And they don't block out external noise, and again, lots of people have already mentioned that.
The bass isn't a pounding, thumping bass, for sure. I think perhaps the bass will get a tad bit thicker after some break in time, but even if it doesn't, I'm so happy with the clarity, the response, and the tightness of the bass. You won't get that shaking thud of perhaps some other more bass heavy headphones or cans, but with the Grados the bass is so precise, so well defined that it makes up for the lack of that airy woofing. I've listened to other headphones with a more thumping type bass, and the bass almost always drowns out just about all the detail in the music, including the bass itself being indistinct. With the Grados, you can still hear the fine detail in an orchestral string bass, or the precise thump of a bass drum, without fear of it muddying up all the other instruments.
So make no mistake, the bass response on the SR60s is no slouch. Again, you might not get that deep, pronounced thudding that some headphones are capable of, and the frequency response doesn't go to the extreme low registers like some higher end or more expensive phones might, but it does a solid, accurate job, and most of all, it's crisp, clean, well defined bass that doesn't sacrifice sound quality in the rest of the frequency spectrum when you hear it.
I can't promise you'll love them. I won't promise that you'll even like them, as I just can't be sure what people's expectations are, or what kinds of sound they prefer. What I can tell you is that I've heard instruments I didn't even realize were there until I listened to these, and as I said before, I have a pretty good ear for music. Not to brag, becuase I'm no expert, but I have a good enough ear to know that this isn't snake oil - there is a very real and very significant difference with the Grados when compared to every other headphone I've ever used.
Again, no promises, but for $70, these things breathed new life into my music like I never thought headphones, speakers, or any other sound reproduction devices ever could. I can't say that they're the best, I can't even compare them to others in their price range, becuase I just haven't listened to any others, but all I know is that I'm so happy I took the plunge, and my music has honestly and literally taken on a whole new life that I didn't know it even had. The sound isn't harsh, isn't tinny, isn't fatiguing. There's something so smooth, open, airy, delightful, and refreshing about the sound that you really have to experience it to understand. I give them a definite 5 stars, becuase for the price I paid, I will get my money's worth and more, and they went above and well beyond expectation.
Oh, one more thing - the comfort factor. I had no problems. I have a fairly large head, and they don't press on my ears in any painful way, even after a long listening session. I did take them off a few times for a few minutes at a time becuase my ears got a tad bit warm, but nothing like with headphones that have the vinyl/plastic cushions that virtually seal in your ears. If you adjust them just right, they won't press on your ears enough to make it uncomfortable.
So anyway, thanks for reading my review, I hope I didn't bore you to tears. Please go ahead and comment if there are any mistakes or if something in my review is incorrect, or just with any feedback at all. Most of all, enjoy your Grados!
Description of Grado Prestige Series SR-60i Padded Headphones
The SR60s produce brilliant sound for a low cost. The SR60s have a flexible, soft vinyl headband. The headband and earpeices are connected by metal height adjusters, which adjust the height of your head with the center of your ear. These nifty adjusters also allow the earpiece to rotate a full 360 degrees, permitting them to lie flat on a surface--perfect when packing in a suitcase. The SR60s come with Grado's new earpads. The new pads are a soft, porous, open cell foam that covers the driver-- much more comfy. The SR60s offer good sound quality, plus are easily driven by the output of a portable player or inexpensive home equipment-- a nice combination. They come terminated to a mini with a 1/4 inch adapter and have a straight cord that attaches to both earpeices.The Grado SR60 Headphones produce brilliant sound and offer outstanding listening comfort for a low cost. The SR60s have a flexible, soft vinyl headband. The headband and earpieces are connected by metal height adjusters, which adjust the height of your head with the center of your ear. These nifty adjusters also allow the earpiece to rotate a full 360 degrees, permitting them to lie flat on a surface perfect when packing in a suitcase. The SR60s come with earpads made of soft, porous, open-cell foam that covers the driver much more comfortably than standard foam earpads.
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