The Grado SR080's are out of this world! True, they look and feel a little funky, but they more than make up for that in their sound quality. I listened to the 60's and thought the 80's sounded much better.

Cleanly covers the entire frequency spectrum.

Bulky

These are wonderful headphones that emit outstanding detail at all frequencies for the price. While they lose there stability at very low frequencies (this could be due to a lack of power from the source), I found the bass response to be more than adequate. The highs and mids are formidably reproduced and I couldn't ask for more at this price.

I was looking for a portable pair of headphones to play MP3s and MDs. NOTE: These headphones will reveal deficiencies in your source (i.e., I now insist on 160Kbps MP3s. The SR-80s clearly expose the inferior 128Kbps MP3s.) I have not been dissappointed by there perfomance with portables. If you're considering the SR-60s, go for the SR-80s. The $20 won't put you in the poor house and the addition bass stability easily justifies the cost.

Chick Magnets - Well, not exactly, but they do attract attention. People laugh until the try them on. Then they ask, "Where did you get them?". Air Traffic Controller, Titanic Navigator, Pilot; who cares? If I wanted something pretty for others to look at, I'd have bought a painting. I'm content that they're comfortable and securely stay on my head while running. (oh... and did I mention that they sound great!)

Similar Products Used:

SR-60, SONY Models, In-ear Models

Amazing imaging, coloration kept to a minimum. Work beautifully on portable CD players.

John Grado could use a lesson in ergonomic design, and they look plain as can be.

After reading the reviews for these phones I decided to return my Sennheiser HD470's (which I was pleased with) and grab a set of these. I trusted that after 40+ positive reviews and seeing the relatively low price I was missing out on something special, and I was right. The clarity is perfect for me, I feel like I'm getting all I want without the annoyance of having a particular section of frequency the phones aren't very good at. Even when playing Saint-Saens, the organ can't escape the SR80's range, and the bass is very accurate, more like the real thing (pipe organs are really something to behold). They can handle that, and there's no discernable coloration of the rest of the orchestra to boot.
When running poorly encoded mp3s, as some have mentioned, these very clearly show you their flaws. This accuracy is such that I don't have to constantly mess with the volume! No bass boost, no treble cranking, they do it right the first time and need no assistance or fiddling.
A perfect all-around headphone for people who really like to enjoy their music.

Similar Products Used:

Koss TD65, Sennheiser HD470, also demoed other Sennheiser, Denon, Kenwood, Sony

Sound Quality

Looks and comfort

These cans are the probably the closest one can get to true audiophile-quality sound for under $100.00. In sound quality, they will embarrass standard speakers costing more than ten times their price. For the best sound, get a dedicated headphone amp. Sure, it will cost another $200+, but the improved dynamics and detail will be worth it.

If they push against your ears too hard, just take them off and ***gently*** bend open the headband. This will make them more comfortable. I haven't noticed the bass problems a few reviewers have mentioned. Then again, I'm not a "golden ear."

Similar Products Used:

Sennhieser, Sony

Amazing detail, brilliant bass, brilliant treble, brilliant mids, comfortable, sturdy, easily powered by a portable.

Absolutely none

I used to think that these headphones were horrible. Why? Because of what they looked like! I used to be an idiot, too. After spending a few months on a website called www.headwize.com (which is dedicated to headphones) I began to notice just how much people love these headphones. People who once couldn't understand paying more than fifty bucks on headphones (just like me) were going wild over the grado sound. When I first saw them at Magnolia HiFi, I was ecstatic. I was finally going to find what grados sound like! And what did I find out? Never, never on any cheap headphone that I've ever listened to, never have I heard anything like this. The sound is just completely different. It goes beyond anything in the lower price range.

Now if you can't find a place near you that carries Grado (since they are rather rare) and you're worried about buying them without listening first, don't. Buy them. You will NOT be disappointed. You like bass? These headphones have it. Clarity? More than you've ever heard from cheap headphones (and more than most any sony or koss). If you don't like their look, don't let that stop you. You will NOT care once you listen to them. And they look a lot better when you're holding them than they do in a picture. For $100 they're a bargain. So do yourself a favor and buy these headphones!

Similar Products Used:

Sony, AKG, koss

Good bass. Lightweight

Ear Cushions are made of a rather abrasive material

I got these ex demo for 6/10 of their £100UKP asking price. They look absolutely daffy. They let out a hell of a lot of treble which pisses off everyone on the train at decent (realistic(!)) volumes. Don't need bass boosts because they have a lot of deep, powerful bass. Can sound over bright. Cord is made of pretty thick material and I prefer the type of thinner cable that comes with Sennheisers like my HD580s.
I use them mostly with my Sharp MDSR60H minidisc player/recorder and the sound quality is fantastic really. Very open and revealing.
Highly recommended. For home listening, a headphone amp is a must. My brother uses a Musical Fidelity Xcans which is ok I suppose. I'm content with the headphone socket on my Rotel preamp.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD475, Sennheiser HD580, Koss Pro4/AA, Beyer Dt811, Beyer Dt311, Sharp headphones that came with MD.

clarity, fullness, warmth, and, oh yeah, price...

I like the new designs of the Sennheiser cord connections. I fing the SR-80's getting tangled to easily

What can I add to the cacophony of other reviewers... These cans are fantastic. But, some cd players have trouble powering them to high volume levels.

I do wish they would implement a better cord setup as did Sennheiser. I like how the cord connects on the can and the amp.. Oh well... they still are wonderfull sounding cans.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser 490 Live (Junk, returned them immediately)

great clarity, comfortable and very affordable

nothing worth mentioning considering price

I've read many reviews on Grado headphones and had to check them out. Listening to a crappy recording on a bookshelf system, I was taken aback by the sound I got. I love them. I may sound trite but, I listened through my entire collection again, I liked them so much. They made me reevaluate what CDs were recorded well and which were not. Most of my live recordings came to new light. I highly recommend the SR80s. They are not perfect but the flaws just aren't worth the time it takes to type considering one can buy them for less that $100. There are few if any rivals (maybe the AKGs, but I haven't heard them yet)at this price. Nuff Said!

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDVs, Koss and, Bang & Olufsen

Sound is phenominal, WOW. The clarity is astonding... etc.

Comfort, but not too bad.

I am very, very impressed with these cans. Wow! Reading your reviews is what caused me to go with the Grado Sr-80's, thank you.

Jason, will you please email me with the plans for the headphone amp you built from headwize. I went to the page but there are several diagrams. I would like to build one, but don't know which one is best...

Jim@Hostetler.com

Thank you. And I thank all the reviewers on this page as I am just an audiophile newbie, but quickly realizing how deprived my poor ears have been over these years.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser 490, Sony, Grado SR-60

Amazing sound.. SIMPLY amazing!!

Uncomfy-but can be easily fixed, low impedance.

Grado SR80, by far, is the best headphone for the price. for $80, you simply cannot experience such a good sound (from speaker/amp, headphone, whatever). PERIOD. Are earpads bit uncomfortable? try to bend the headbend littlebit and make it into somewhat of an oval shape (imagine an egg standing up). it makes two hour limit (before I scream for my earbud) into 24 hour. These Grados are about 32ohms, which is way way below normal headphones... which means these might be a bit difficult to be driven by a portable CD or MD. So I built an headphone amp for it (costed me about $70-you can find many different plans all over the net - try www.headwize.com). Now do you want to know what these GRADO SR80 REALLY sound like? I say at least 10 times better. It just takes mere 10 seconds to realize the obvious and audiable improvement. I don't know how it got better, but it sounds like angels singing in my eardrum. If you are using Grado headphones with portable units, then all I can tell you is you are only getting 1/10th of the potential. Even if you are not technically sophisticated (like me), headphone amp projects are considerably simpler (usually) than other amplifier projects..

Similar Products Used:

Countless earphones and headhones