Flush with love for the new headphones I just reviewed in the last entry I wanted to pit the Grado SR60s against some other really nice headphones. I connected them to a special headphone amp component that runs on AC. A headphone amp will provide much more power to the headphones than the iPod can provide, but still allows you to listen to music from the iPod. For my testing I used an Antique Audio tube amp with a headphone jack, this renowned hi-fi headphone amp is used by true audio snobs. Using the iPod to its RCA stereo input I hooked up my SR60s and got just a little more of everything the iPod alone gave. The sound clearly held together more cleanly at slightly higher volumes. The bass had more oomph, the mids and highs did sound noticeably clearer but only slightly. That’s a big compliment to the iPod’s ability, that it’s almost in the same league as a high end headphone amp is astounding.
In the Left corner Grado Labs 325
On the Right corner Sennheisser's HD 650
It was time to test “real” high end headphones that the iPod alone couldn’t hope to run properly. A couple of high end players in the headphone industry were the basis of my testing namely, Grado’s own SR325 their top of the “Prestiege” (show on the left corner) line and the Sennheiser HD 650s (in the right corner) often referred to in the cans community as simply the finest headphone made.
Both Grado SR325 and Sennheiser HD 650 were noticeably better sounding than the Grado SR60, the SR60s were humbled and my perception of what headphones can really sound like has been forever altered. Headphones in league with two I tested offer true hi-fi quality sound. Make no mistake, these are pricey headphones, both cost around $300 - $400. But for the money you get perfect sound quality that rivals a component home audio system that people might spend their lives putting together. I know, it’s a bold claim, but this is a different medium for music listening. There are no room acoustics to consider, no merging of speakers or idiosyncrasies with matching components. Even with so-called “open” headphone designs you’re sealed into your own listening environment, the experience takes hi-fi into a slightly different direction, brings you up close and very personal. The music I chose for this listening experience was the Beatles Let It Be Naked album (the Beatles Let it be with the extra instrumtation digitally removed, it sounds perfect!) and Aimee Mann’s music from the Magnolia soundtrack. I ripped high quality MP3s at 320bit rate for as close to CD quality as you can get. The selected tracks had an intimate quality about them and the headphone medium only perfected that quality. I’d strongly advise the uninitiated to try the headphone experience for any nightclub listening, it’s well suited for jazz, folk, country, classical guitar and chamber music. While big band, hard rock drum and bass music do sound nice through good cans I think those musical styles are better suited to a full room hi-fi system, imperfect acoustic reflections and all, warts only add to the experience.
Using both the Grado 325 and Sennheiser HD 650 I could hear inflections in Aimee Mann’s voice I hadn’t noticed before, her singing seems to convey more emotion on a good set of cans. Hearing John Lennon sing Across the Universe was simply eerie, I could close my eyes and imagine it was 1971 and I was in a recording studio with headphones on watching John, Paul, George and Ringo through a pane of glass giving them the thumbs up.
It’s difficult to come to a verdict between the Senheisser HD650 and the Grado 325, there is no clear winner. I guess, technically speaking the Senheisser HD 650s are the better headphone. The HD650s had a slightly better ability to snap to total silence between guitar strokes then take your ears on a rich journey through the very next strum of the guitar. Their detailing was excellent across the spectrum. The Grado Labs 325 didn’t stand out to me in this regard, but somehow I liked them better. The Grado 325s had a certain warm quality that might actually be a form of distortion. There was something my ears were attracted to in the Grado sound, perhaps this is because I have been jaded with affection for the sound of the SR60s, the 325s had all the good offered by the SR60s but more of everything. Where the Grado really stood out is with their ability to crunch with an electric guitar’s effects pedal as in the tunes on the Magnolia soundtrack by Supertramp and the Beatles “I’ve Got a Feeling”. The pleasant acoustic rhythm of The Beatles “Two of us”’ churned along with a honeyed sweetness that seemed to give acoustic guitars more character than the Sennheisser HD650s.
My own preference for the Grado 325s notwithstanding, both are among the finest headphones you can buy. If you’re in an apartment or rent a room and you enjoy watching movies all alone in the dark, you should consider high end headphones as an alternative to the full surround sound system. You’ll be sealed into your own little acoustically perfect world and save a load of money. The only trouble with cans of this caliber is that they won’t be powered to their best by any mobile playback device. Thankfully there are mobile amplifiers you can get rather inexpensively if you must have the best headphones money can buy with you on your travels. Haunt this forum to learn more about portable amps that will power even the best cans on the go.
