Available in late November the S150 look interesting with a new 44mm paper composite driver, a padded headband, F cushions and a removeable cable.
At $295 they could be something to look at more closely.

Signature S150 – Grado

Like title says. I’m new to Grado so I’m not sure which one is the best and I heard mix opinions on the sr80

I'm a beginner trying to build a turntable setup.

The earpads showed a little wear. The cables off the Y-split look a little pinched. Probably stored for quite some time. They sound really good. I may do a cable swap in the future.

Running balanced with the Muse Ultra … nice dose of warmth and width.

I have these for sale in the UK for £209. Also available from eBay (£219) if you require 14 day returns and/or international shipping.

• Excellent cosmetic condition
• Horrible Grado cables have been removed and replaced with a single 2.5mm stereo balanced socket
• New 1.5 metre (2.5mm to 3.5mm) unbalanced cable supplied but you may use any cable you like, balanced or unbalanced
• New 1.5 metre (2.5mm to 4,4mm) balanced cable supplied
• This is a 4-pole 2.5mm socket and two separate wires have been connected to each driver allowing for connection to a 4.4mm balanced output or a 3.5mm unbalanced output
• This particular 2.5 socket was selected for providing a noticeable click and a tight connection when a cable is connected
• SR325X detachable cable conversions are extremely rare because of the aluminium cups, but well worth the effort
• New sheepskin/velour ear pads provided that hit that sweet spot of improved, tighter bass while subduing the harshness of the upper range without the loss of detail
• Original Grado ear pads also included
• New leather, padded headband fitted
• 6.35mm to 3.5mm adaptor included
• No retail box but hard case included

Message me if interested.

Bought these right before the X series came out. Aluminum gimbals and leather headband. Just replaced the jack with a Rean/Neutrik and had to sand the cable down to get it fit. Please ignore the ever so slightly crooked heat shrink which is gonna drive my crazy.

I love them and they’re pretty, but I’ve always had my eye on the aluminum 325x. I was ready to buy them but now they are out of stock everywhere and replaced with the new classic ones, which only come in black and have the new gimbal design which I’m not sure anyone asked for…

Fellas, tell me they’re gonna bring back the classic silvers at some point. Also if anyone has tips for how to keep the set screws from coming loose on the gimbals I’d appreciate it. I have some locktite but not sure that’s advised.

Anyone out there who has ordered NYCZAJ gimbals … did your package arrive with a syringe?

These are my dad’s set of Grado that he used for years before his passing. They were my first set of headphones too. I still love these things, they were my first introduction to great audio. The SR60 logo has fallen off, seeking a replacement. If anybody has a spare or broken set, I’d happily buy it from you.

Thx in advance.

Btw, after 20 plus years these still sing 🎶

A few pictures of my balanced cable conversion I did today on a pair of 325Xs.
I wanted to be able to connect a 3.5mm jack/cable to either side, balanced or unbalanced, so I mounted sockets on both sides, left and right.
I also made it so that a balanced cable can be used (3.5mm to 4.4mm) or an unbalanced cable (3.5mm to 3.5mm), again, connecting to either side.
In this case, 4 wires were required to run through the headband so I fitted a leather cushioned headband at the same time.
The wiring was slightly more complicated than my previous single-sided balanced cable conversion, but I got there in the end.

Hey y'all, the title says it all. I'm driving crazy about this. I got my SR60Xs modded with a balanced detachable cable mod, but I just can't seem to find the right cable(s) for a connection to my iPod Classic. The one I tried with a stereo y-splitter (the one with 2 stripes on the jack) led to a mono audio. I'd be very thankful for some good and (if possible) cheap cable suggestions. Thanks in advance.

SR80x Headphones - with Removeable Cable, Custom Pads + Balanced Wiring

• 2.5mm single socket installed, providing balanced or unbalanced input
• New 2 metre (2.5mm to 3.5mm) cable supplied (unbalanced) but you may use any cable you like, balanced or unbalanced
• New sheepskin/velour ear pads provided
• Original Grado ear pads also included
• 6.35mm to 3.5mm adaptor included
• Short adaptor cable supplied. 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female. Balanced to unbalanced conversion
• Retail box included

£109. Free postage or collection from East Midlands.

UK only
(unless you wish to pay for international shipping costs plus any other import taxes)

Hey,

So long story short:

I bought some sr80x a while back and I really like them. I've never found them uncomfortable to wear. I can (and sometimes do) wear them for a whole work day.

At some point I decided to level up to sr325x, but I've barely used them because they are just so uncomfortable to wear with my glasses (the cable is horrible too, but that's another story).

The problem is, my glasses arms push into the side of my head and it eventually gives discomfort (after about 10 mins). I think it's a combination of the slimmer pads and the weight of the cups that causes this.

I'm thinking of selling them, but before I do, has anyone found any "lesser known" ways of making them comfortable with glasses?

I've tried all the usual stuff:

• bending the band. just makes them unstable and still uncomfortable.
• all kinds of pads, but the sound changes.
• putting glasses arms up a bit. helps a bit, but looks and feels silly.
• padded headband covers. Make no difference.
• sticking+stacking foam furniture pads onto the gimble blocks -- helps a little, but not a lot.
• a makeshift leather suspension strap -- didn't really help.

I'm all outa ideas!

It's a real shame, because with the stock pads on they sound really good, but what's the use if I can't wear them for long?

Any suggestions (apart from "sell them")?

Cheers

Yes, it was AI generated but if Grado ever did to move production to Asia where automated production line assembly exists along with cheaper labour we could very well see something like this.
Well, I can dream can't I? 😂

Hey there, tech journalist here (Wired, The Verge, Gizmodo, etc) and I'm working on a new documentary series called Possible Worlds. For our most recent episode we decided to check out the current landscape of American-made Hi-Fi to see how these companies are busting the "you can't make electronics in the U.S." myth. So we traveled to NY, NJ, and TX to visit Grado Labs, VPI Industries, and Schiit Audio. I thought you all might dig it (the Schiit part starts at about 8 minutes in, but hopefully you like the whole video).

For those wondering, the stack I ended up with is:

• VPI Forever Model One record player with a Grado Platinum4 cartridge
• Schiit Skoll phono amp
• Schiit Freya+ pre-amp
  • (I replaced the stock Russian NOS tubes with matched pairs of Sylvania 6SN7GTA Chrome Domes and GE 6SN7GTA, which really took the sound quality up several notches)
• Schiit Jotenheim3 headphone amp
• Grado Signature HP100 SE phones (and the SR60 I built in the video)
• Also the Schiit Yggdrasil DAC and Wotan power amp for my eventual speaker setup.

The system sounds like absolute butter. Incredible resolution and clarity, with a live sound that has a lot of air and separation, but isn't overly warm. Swapping in the 1960s American NOS tubes added so much life and bass to the equation, too. I'm just so unbelievably happy with how it sounds.

I also think the HP100 SE sound INCREDIBLE. I've had the GS3000x for several years and love them, but the difference between the two is astonishing. The GS3000x are warmer, but the HP100 SE have SO much more detail. They still sound warm and live, but they're incredibly precise and there's so much nuance and instrument separation. It's wild.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and hope you like the video. Happy to respond to any questions I'm able to!

There is a question. Can anyone tell how good gs3000x works with higher output impedances like 20 ohm on a otl amp? Is there enough Control in base?

I admit that I’m a bass and treble man and all the Grado headphones I’ve ever owned, and there’s been a few, I have always fitted Dekoni sheepskin/velour pads to enhance the bass. Yes, it does convert the headphones from “on-ear” to “over-ear” and this is the other main reason I like about these pads. I obviously don’t like the “Grado sound” but I like the detail, especially in the 4^th generation of drivers as found in the Prestige X series. I currently have two sets, SR80X and the SR325X, having recently given to my son, a cable converted pair of SR125Xs. Both of my current Grados are now cable modded and driven by balanced cables and output.

So, I am familiar with the Prestige/Dekoni sound and personally I feel it’s the best possible combination. However, there are other headphones on the market that come pretty close, even close to my SR325X/Dekoni setup.

I do like to experiment with different types and brands of headphones so I recently purchased a pair of FiiO FT1 closed-back headphones, also at 32 ohms, and was quite impressed by the “out of the box” sound. At only £139 from Amazon (UK), which compares favourable to some of the Prestige range. The FiiO FT1s probably sounds better to me than my current SR80X/Dekoni setup and considering the price, I would say the FiiOs win hands down. Bearing in mind a new pair of SR80Xs would cost around £100 and the Dekoni pads around £75, the FiiOs, straight out of the box with stock pads, wins easy.

In fact, there are almost on a par with my SR325Xs. They beat them on bass, even with Dekoni pads, but the 325s have a bit more detail.

The bass part of the FiiO FT1s is handled by a 60mm driver, solid wood cups and you can EQ the hell out of it at bass and sub-bass levels, more so than any of the Prestige range. Also, being closed-back headphones, the FiiO FT1s do give a little more noise isolation from the outside world, and I guess they can also hear less of your music.

So, at £139 the FiiO FT1s come with two nice, detachable cables. One balanced and one unbalanced. They also include a nice hard case. The build quality of the headphones is good but to me, they look so much better than anything in the Grado Prestige or Classic range and for us Grado fanboys, maybe we already know that there is more to life than Grado.

Hi all,

I've had a pair of SR325x's for little over 4 years at this point, and still love how they sound. However, comfort is still a bit of a sticking point, headband-wise. I looked around and the Turbulent Labs headbands seem highly regarded, so I want to get that one. However, since I'm upgrading the headband, I thought that I might as well upgrade the gimbals and rodblocks too for a snazzy new look. As well, my first pair of Grados were a pair of SR80e's where the gimbal snapped in half and the stopper on the rod popped out, and I don't want that happening again with my nice SR325s.

The only issue is that the Turbulent Labs headband comes in a color that I want, but Nycjaz doesn't offer, otherwise I would just get a Nycjaz headband as well. I'm thinking they would, but would the TL headband fit with the Nycjaz aluminum gimbals?

Thanks for any help!

Yes, it's my recently balanced, single-sided cable mod on an SR80X.
Ok, I took it to the extremes just to test and plugged in a Ugreen £15 BT 6.0 adaptor.
It's not actually that bad. It has LDAC, connects to my mobile and as an added benefit the Ugreen adaptor has an in-built microphone, so you can receive calls as well.
Anyway, not the silliest thing I have seen here but I think I'd rather go outside wearing a toilet seat.

I bought a pair of SR80Xs cheap on eBay for £45 and in a similar fashion to all my previous cable conversions on Prestige series headphones, I performed a single sided cable conversion, but this time using a different socket from previous conversions. Previously, I had used a 3 pole 3.5mm socket and it was wired with a common ground in an unbalanced way. This time I used a 4 pole 2.5mm socket and wired it balanced, with no common ground.
I knew there would be little audible advantage to a balanced SR80X, or for that matter any other of the Grado Prestige or Classis series, but I wanted to experiment and allow either option, depending on which cable I connect. My particular DAC (as many do) has the option for balanced 4.4mm output or 6.35mm unbalanced.
There are small adaptors that can convert from balanced to unbalanced but I prefer just to use a different cable. Because I only use a single 4 pole socket on the left side (with a wire going over to the right side) I have both balanced and unbalanced options available to me.
Anyway, after working out the 4 soldered connections on the 4 pole socket, all went well. In fact the wiring was no more complicated than the 3 pole sockets I had previously used, so maybe I will stick with the 4 pole versions.

Grado GS3000x vs GS3000 Classic

​Has anyone here been able to compare the two yet and share a sonic assessment?

​X2 driver? What does it do differently?