I've had my pair of SR80 now for about 7 years. While I don't think they're the best headphones in the world, I find myself falling in and out of love with it more than any other headphones I've ever had, though I've only ever used budget gear. (Personally, I don't believe in paying so much for gear -- I much prefer spending the bulk of my money on buying music rather than fetishizing over gear.) The reasons for falling in love with the SR80 have a lot to do with the sound: it's more or less flat, more trebly than bassy, narrow soundstage, but lively. It's definitely not neutral. And not super sharp. It's mellow, airy, somewhat lazy. And it favours certain genres of music more than others. That's if you're willing to invest some time with it. I remember that I was somewhat disappointed when I first got them. After reading all the rave reviews, I thought they just sounded thin. But it was only because I was more used to a V-shaped sound. Truly it wasn't until a few months listening and getting used to it that I finally appreciated its airy, open sound profile. It also really benefits from burn-in. But once it blooms, you get a sound from it that really is its own unique sonic world. And that SR80 sonic world I think works best for music that is more acoustic, quiet, minimal or mellow - things like folk, jazz, blues, ambient or chamber classical. Certain rock songs sound great on it too, like 70s prog, the swirly psychedelic stuff.

Where the SR80 shows its weakness is when you ask it to reveal details of densely recorded music: things like metal, orchestral, EDM... then the magic just crumbles. It can't keep up with music that needs deep bass rumbles and a super wide soundstage. So, alas, the SR80 is not for everyone. Which is also why I don't use these every day. Some days I just need more bass, or more stage, or more fun, and so I use something else like a pair of nasty Chi-fi IEMs with a gazillion drivers. But I come back to the SR80 periodically... just to retune my ears. And it always requires a few listens before I get used to its peculiar sound. But every time it's the same: I fall in love with it... and after a while, it becomes too routive and then I feel like I need to listen to something else. The voice of God perhaps. Also, and other reviewers have talked about how dinky these things are made. It's true. They look like toys... but mind you, I've had mine for 7 years and they're still alright. The sponge looks like it's going to fall off any time now but they've lasted longer than the sponges on my Audio Technica ATH-M50x (which for me are even more uncomfortable than the SR80). So: to reiterate, the SR80s... they're not for everyone - especially bassheads and V-lovers. Also, they require some patience; you kinda have to stop expecting to be wowed and just grow into them. They're definitely not flashy... but they're super dependable. And if you're willing to give in a little bit, they'll give you back many years of pleasure.

Bought this many years back (~10 years) and have been listening to them on and off since. This is what I found over the years.

Starting with the bad:
These cans are not for everyone. It is not for DJs or sound desk because they are open and won't block out any noise from outside. The band is very crude - a metal band wrapped with vinyl with little to no padding at all. The band is attached to the cans simply by a metal rod. Foam padding doesn't last very long depending how oily or how much you sweat. Thank God these are easily replaceable. Grado has since changed the pad design and I have them too. They don't improve the sound or comfort at all. Personally, I prefer the old ones. I don't like the cables particularly well either. While thick, the thick part is a "skin" and feels flimsy where cable from each can joins tother and I often fear it will break.

In short, the design is very crude and out-date especially since there are so many new players in this area nowadays. We now have such as Parrot with organic design and 5 mics built-in...

The good:
The sound of these cans is amazing. I have a closed pair of headphones (Share SRH940) and I still go back to these little Grados often because of how sweet, open and engaging the sound is. The price is fantastic for the sound. If you are in a quiet environment, it is a beauty. If you must hear your surrounding, it works well too.

Contrary to many's opinion, who stated that Grado clamps too hard and are not comfortable. Because of the simple design, you could stretch the band and reduce the clamping force and make it how ever light or firm you like. Can't say the same about a lot of the others which uses plastic and you run the danger of snapping the band in two! I have seen companies that would manufacture custom band/padding to make these cans more comfortable also.

In addition, these cans are very easy to drive.

So why 5 stars. These Grados are cheap for the (great) sound they produce compared to product that cost a lot more.

- good built quality
- light weight

- uncomfortable
- too bright
- swivelling earpads

I've bought these headphones in the local audio store after reading a lot of raving reviews. After using them daily for 2 months I've decided to sell them because I don't like the sound.

The foam padding is uncomfortable, after one or two hours your ears really get sore because of the stiff foam edge. I've used them in combination with a modded X-Can V2, the sound is very bright and makes my ears tired.

The built quality is good, apart from the splitter that divides the audio cord into left and right. When I bought the headphones the cable was already slightly torn at his part, showing the white interior cable.

Similar Products Used:

Beyerdynamic DT990
Sennheiser HD650

Unbelievable balance across all spectrums of music.
Accurate bass that is not boomy.
Great detail of music. (you can hear every keystroke on piano music).

As many people have mentioned, wearing it over an hour can produce a lot of fatigue on your ears.
Takes some time to fully break-in the headphones.

I normally listen to my music on train/bus rides, but I was in bad need of a decent headphone for work use and occasional home use. On the road i use a set of senn cx300's which get the job done, but I really hate to stick a set of IEM's for a whole day at the office. Thats when my hunt for a good set of inexpensive hifi headphones came in.

After reading many reviews, i had to try the grados. went to a local store here in ny, and plugged up to my ipod. amazing sound. i was convinced and bought it. crystal clarity. you can hear every detail in the singers voice, piano keystrokes, guitar strums. actually, if you plug it up to a radio station and the station has static, you hear ALL the details of the static. thats how fine granularity this set of headphones can pick up. now imagine that was just your normal music.

bass is clean and muddy as it should be. ive tried on bose triports and it was disgusting how bad they overemphasize faux bass.

so far, ive burned in the set for around 12 hours, and the headphones are opening nicely producing even more quality sound as these cans break-in.
not to say that out of the box will produce bad sound, but they do need some sort of break-in period.

as for comfort, yeah, they can get pretty tiring after a while. im hoping to alleviate that with some of the pad mods that people have been talking about.
also, as for the design, it looks cheap, but at the same time , really retro (if thats what you like). my wife says these things are hideous, but she loves the sound also.
a non audiophile will think these are ugggly and cheap. little do they know that there is a concert hall going on in your ears.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Triport (yuck)
Sony mdrv6
Sennheiser 280
Sennheiser cx300

Mid-range sounds almost natural. Foward sounding sound stage.

Ergonomically terrible. The fit on my head is tortuous. No matter how I fiddle with the length on the head band, the 'phones are NOT comfortable. The foam ear rings have disintegrated.

Grado SR-80. I've owned my pair since the late 1980's. I love the sound they produce. I hate to wear them for more than 30 minutes, they are so damn uncomfortable.

Customer Service

None ever sued.

Similar Products Used:

Sony mdr-6, 1994 vintage still made in Japan back then

Good for the price, but at the low end of the audiophile range.

Humped up midbass, lack of deep bass, exaggerated treble. Any good AKG model K301 XTRA, K401 XTRA, K501 would be preferred. SR60 actually has more deep bass, though a bit more muddy.

Compared SR80 to SR60. Preferred the SR60.

Customer Service

Said that lack of deep bass would be resolved with break-in. It never happens. It's a brush-off to get you to get used to the headphones.

Similar Products Used:

SR60, SR200, AKG K601

It has the Grado house sound. Humped up midbass, depressed low bass and slightly hot treble. A good phone for rock music. I prefer the AKG sound now.

The sound is a bit in your face. Good excitement for rock music, but a bit tiring after a while.

Compared the SR80 to SR60. There was a slight difference between the two headphones, but I did not feel the SR80 was better. The SR60 was a better deal.

Similar Products Used:

AKG headphones

High range of flexibility no matter what your music tastes

I think the only downfall to these is the price! But in the end i honestly find them well worth it. It has changed how i listen to music!

I have the Grado Labs GS1000 and i can attest to these being the best sounding headphones ive ever heard bar none! Whether i am listening to classical music to hard hitting rock these headphones deliver! I am using them with a CMOY type pocket sized amp and they seem to drive them great.

Customer Service

Headphones were received within a week.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR80

Great sound quality. Good base (in my opinion, despite people saying otherwise).

Bulky. Clumsy. Not stylish, you get the picture.

Can be painful on your ears if they stick out a little (mine do and I can listen comfortably for about an hour).

You can hear everything that's going on around you, so don't try to use 'em in public places. Incidentally, everyone can also hear what you're listening to, so this also rules out airplanes and trains, in my view.

I've used a good number of lower end headphones like most everyone else who has owned a walkman and more recently, ipod. I wasn't satisfied with the sound quality and after doing some intense research and trying out a bunch of $100-$200 level headphones I chose the Grados. Now I've been using them for about 3 years and I must say that they truly do change the way you listen to music. Before my Grados I didn't enjoy listening to live albums as much because a great deal of the "background noise" was simply that -- fuzzy noise. With the Grados that noise comes alive. You can hear what people are saying in the audience a lot of the time, and the more subtle aspects of music are brought out quite clearly.

While these phones are cumbersome and sometimes sit in my desk drawer for months at a time, when they come out I am always struck by how incredible the sound is. With that said, I haven't tried Grado's higher-end phones.

Bottom line: Great on sound quality, but completely impractical for travel.

Customer Service

No experience.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheisers (various)

Sound quality. Details. Bass (actually quite good, surprisingly).

Bulky. Bad for travel. Not stylish. Open, so you can hear everything that's going on in the room. Don't ever try biking with these things, or trying to use them in a noisy environment. Also, everyone can hear what you are listing to. The sound really projects, which I believe is one of the reasons the quality is so good.

I've used a good number of lower end headphones like most everyone else who has owned a walkman and more recently, ipod. I wasn't satisfied with the sound quality and after doing some intense research and trying out a bunch of $100-$200 level headphones I chose the Grados. Now I've been using them for about 3 years and I must say that they truly do change the way you listen to music. Before my Grados I didn't enjoy listening to live albums as much because a great deal of the "background noise" was simply that -- fuzzy noise. With the Grados that noise comes alive. You can hear what people are saying in the audience a lot of the time, and the more subtle aspects of music are brought out quite clearly.

While these phones are cumbersome and sometimes sit in my desk drawer for months at a time, when they come out I am always struck by how incredible the sound is. With that said, I haven't tried Grado's higher-end phones.

Bottom line: Great on sound quality, but completely impractical for travel.

Customer Service

Haven't had any experience with them.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheisers (various); ipod and sony buds