Headphone lovers, what do you love, what do you have, Head-Fi fans 2019-21 edition.*

Now this should work

 

A number of years ago I made the mistake of doing some non-reversible mods to my Grado SR-80i's that were recommended on another forum. With the gear I was using at that time, the mods made sense and I liked the way they sounded. My system has since moved several rungs up the ladder since then, and with my more revealing current system, the modded Grados sound very bass-heavy, flabby, and tonally unbalanced. No bueno.

On a whim, I contact Grado customer service to inquire if they would be willing/able to restore the 'phones to stock, and I got a very quick affirmative response. For just $40 including return shipping, Grado will fix my SR80i's! I sent them off a week ago, and expect to have them back in maybe two weeks from now. Very cool!

I'll follow up once I get them back.

 

Their customer service has been really good the few times I used them. The best experience was about 15 years ago, when my old-school Grado HP-1's needed a repair. Those were old enough (early '90s) that they were designed by Joe Grado, not John Grado. And by the time I needed the repair, Joe had retired. But they put me in touch with him. After a brief phone discussion, he arranged for me to send them directly to him and did the repair himself!

 

True, but diminishing returns can occur pretty early for some when it comes to headphones, and the HD6XX is a classic headphone that a lot of people settle with for years. The Sundara is great too.

If I got my Focal Clear at retail price, I don't know if I'd find it worth it honestly. But I got it for $1000, which to me makes more sense (as it's easy to find for that price.)

 

This is my new SRM-007tII with SR -L300 Stax combo.

 

Nice pair! Do you prefer one over the other?

 

The only difference between your set up and mine is that the Audeze's are the LCD 1. The Burson Playmate 2 is simply awesome. I'm still using the stock Opamps but have some Vivid V6s in my old Burson Play which I will eventually install. Like you I am happy to stay with this for quite

a while.

 

Grado SR225e. I love the way music jumps out of it, lively, dynamic, detailed and balanced.

 

Currently have:
MySphere 3.2

AKG Q460

Stax.
Sigma Normal Bias
Lambda Professional
SR-202
Lambda Signature
SR-404 Signature
Lambda Nova Basic
SR-407 Signature
Lambda Nova Signature

Massdrop/Drop Koss ESP/95X

Fostex.
TH7
T50RP mark 3

Beyerdynamic.
DT 880 600 ohm
T1 first generation
DTX 350M
T90
DT 48 200 ohm
DT 770 M

HiFiMan HE500

Denon.
AH-D501
AH-MM400
AH-D310
AH-D510R

Sony.
MDR-CD380
MDR-MA300
MDR-ZX770BN

JVC HA-S400

Sennheiser.
HD 600
HD 4.40 BT
HD 555

Brainwavz Alara

Superlux HD 330


My favourite "headphone" of all is the MySphere 3.2 but that's an earspeaker.
The Audeze LCD-3 pre-Fazor was my favourite for a while, then it was the Stax Lambda Nova Signature.

 

I love the Grado SR325e! I pair them with a Marantz HD-DAC1(DAC-HP amp) fed by my refurbished CEC tl-51X beltdrive cd transport via coax/spdif.
This setup takes me to that special place with a meaty detailed sound with lots of air and incredible vocales. I used to own the original 325's and they could sound a little hot on top

 

Pretty much my favourites, except you need to check out a Stax Sigma Pro or the modified Sigma/404. Way better top end and some slam in the bass.

 

My new Grado Hemps were delivered today (9/9) and they weren't scheduled for delivery until 9/14 - 9/17. As 9/9 is now a "Beatle" day I took this as a significant sign for something!

Right out of the box I new these were special. They are "punchier" than any headphone that I have owned living up the reviews that I read before making the order. It didn't take me long to understand why they had this punch. As I was listening to some of my favorites I could hear the kick drum lock with the bass better than I ever had before. I could better hear the higher pitched "click" associated with the kick pad hitting the drum skin. I would always try to capture this "click" from my recording/mixing days from long ago. To me, this would help the bass interlock with the kick drum with the result being a nice, punchy mix. The Hemp headphones brought this out nicely.

So far, I'm happy with these. Since they are a limited edition I wanted to grab these while I could. I'm looking forward to many happy hours with these!

 

I realized I never followed up, LOL.

I have no idea if Grado replaced the bits of mesh, etc. that I'd futzed with or if they just replaced the drivers with the current version, but the factory-repaired SR80i's sound GREAT now. I have no idea why I perceived them as sounding "bright" before.

 

BTW, I am in headphone heaven with the STAX combo I recently bought( and posted above). I was very happy to acquire one of the last available SRM-007tII new units. I wanted this older 4 tube design. I had been looking at them for quite some time but was reluctant to spend the $. This unit is certainly a keeper and is worth every penny.

 

Sorry to quote myself-just laziness-to re-post the photo of my set-up. I am posting to comment on my Stax sound after a period of break-in. This combo has been used by me for about 1-2 hours a day since acquisition. The amp was and remains dead quiet. No tube rush whatsoever. The sound is clear, detailed, there may be a hint of warmth( certainly in comparison with my SRM-3 solid state Stax amp). Bass is more than adequate and is nuanced. Treble is not rolled off and the mid-range is excellent. Some have said that Stax can be dry, slightly clinical or uninvolving. I have never experienced that but this tubed unit has more goodness associated with the sonic experience-more organic sound if that makes sense. But very clean. Some mono classical recordings from the 50s and 60s have been a revelation. Some of my multi-tracked live Grateful Dead concert recordings from Spring ‘90 sound incredible using this equipment. Every tone is there.

 

My headphone bucket-list is below. Right now I roll with Airpods for around the house and running; also have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 770 (80 ohm) which I really feel are the most comfortable headphone.

Sennheiser HD-800s (open back)
Sony Z1R (closed back)

Not sure which headphone amp I'd prefer. Maybe someone has a recommendation for the two above!

 

I've been reading amazing things about the Singxer SA-1 amp.

 

I would build a Dynalo for dynamic or planar headphones.

 

I really want to try some Z1Rs!!!

 

Love my Quicksilver headphone amp.... using it with Grado RS2e and Klipsch HP3 with great results

 

Just bought myself an Audeze LCD-2 planar magnetic with rosewood finish. It arrived yesterday.

I can't fell comfortable with them, too heavy and the leather headband feels hard on the top of my head.

I hope it will soften with time, because I completely love how it sounds.

 

Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.

 

The comfort of the headband strap can depend on the shape and size of your head. With a narrow pointy head the strap can come in contact with the metal band. With a wider rounder head the strap probably won't touch the metal band. So comfort depends in part on the size and shape of your head. There are some mods and tweaks that can help.

Try extending one or both ear cups one click. See if that helps. If the ear cups aren't extended enough that can pull the headband down and put more pressure on the top of your head. Experiment.

The leather earpads will soften with use. You can use leather care moisturizer to help soften them. The leather-free pads are softer and more supple. But the leather-free material doesn't last as long. The leather-free pads on my LCD-2 Classic are starting to flake. Sometimes leave black flecks on my face. I find the leather-free pads to be more comfortable. I've owned them since their launch date, which I think was 2017.

You can buy replacement earpads for about $80. Info and a video explaining how is on the Audeze online store page: LCD Ear Pads

 

Waiting for my Audeze LCD-5

 

Just checked and the leather band doesn't touch the metal band when I'm wearing. By around 1-2 mm.