Grado SR-80i Open Back Headphones

I got them for around £92 and at this price they are a steal. Very nice clear voice, loudness can be observed as well but not portable headphones and can hurt your top part of your ears if you wear glasses. They work very nice with the iPhone as well and with an Audioengine D1 Premium DAC and Headphone AMP they just shower with you the best sound these can produce. at a budget so then buy this.

I've had these headphones for over 4 years now, to say I am happy with them would be an understatement. I bought them knowing they were open backed but just how open Grados are was a shock. I was used to Sennheiser (565) which were open but nothing like this. If you don't want to hear everything around you and for everything around you to hear you then do not get these headphones. If you can live with that however then they will reward you with probably the most detailed and spacious sound that the money can get you.

They have more bass than the SR60's (which are also stunning) but not a terrific amount more. I see the Grado SR80's as the polar opposite of 'Beats Solo HD'. If you don't know what they are like try them at your local HMV store. They have lots of bass but not very well controlled and much else, to be honest I really hated them (especially for the high price but that's marketing for you). If you like your bass extreme then maybe these Grados are best avoided but if you can live without deafening bass then you can have probably the most clear and refined sound around this price point. If you buy these coming from a much cheaper pair of phones then you will honestly notice things in your music that you never did before and they will light up your music! I really don't think you can be disappointed in these phones for the price as long as you understand their characteristics.

The build quality is great! They can look a little retro but the simple design is one that will not break easily like most adjustable bands do over time. These things are really built to last! Mine look the same now as the day I bought them with one exception - The foam. Mine has just started to disintegrate. I would say that that's a bit soon but I think this is partially my fault but this has actually forced me to fix my main niggle with these headphones (odd shape of the ear cups). These phones are sometimes referred to as circumaural (which means they should go around the ear so as not to cause discomfort). Unfortunately the standard 'L' shape cups gave me a lot of pain after about an hour of use. They are hard angular foam that sits on part of my ear. When they broke I replaced them and got the 'S' shape without knowing that they were different. These are much more comfortable for me so I am very happy now but this will add another £15 to your purchase. This is a pretty horrible problem if it happens to you but it doesn't seem to get mentioned much in reviews so I will assume I am a rare case. I cannot bring myself to remove any points of the score for this issue because the sound quality is so very good. If only they were as comfortable as something like the Sennheiser HD600... Oh well.

Do I need to some this up?... OK:
If Heavy bass doesn't take preferance over clarity & detail, a very open back design (sound leaking) doesn't bother you and your budget is around £100 then look no further.

If your concerned with rich, good quality sound then these headphones are ideal. The build quality is also very sturdy and they have a great retro style. A couple of points to mention; they do leak a lot of sound so a person sitting next to you will hear almost as much as you do and your ears may get warm after lengthy periods of use but i think that's probably true of most over-ear headhpones.

Not sure about them on the first couple of uses, but after afew weeks use they have opened up and produce a really good detailed sound. Money well spent. Excellent service from supplier.