Grado or Ultrasone

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 7:19 am

Sorry - this is in the chat forum because I'm looking for headphones for my iPod.

The two I'm considering are the Ultrasone iCans and the Grado iGrado.

I'm not open to others - particularly in-ears. My ears don't take well to in-ear monitors and I have to keep adjusting over and over and over to keep the sound consistent.

Any thoughts or antecdotal evidence would be fantastic.

Cheers-
J.

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:04 am

Headphones Wink

Wearing a pair of HD280s in Uni right now and I couldn't care less about people's opinions of me.
I stopped liking earphones when I went to inears, actually. And the outears (?) stink with bass and leaking, and since I don't like foam neckband things, cans it was.

I take it you've given consideration to trying a pair from somewhere? And I take it it can't be done.
What's the deal with returns, you could get a pair, try them, send them back...or are there health/hassle reasons against returns?

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:10 am

Yeah, there's the whole health issue.

My only concern with cans is that they're not exactly small and since the places/times I'd need/want them, I'd need to put them in the front of my laptop bag, it doesn't seem like a viable solution.

Otherwise, I'd go with the Grado SR60s. Their size is quite managable and their sound is amazing.

I've been using some Ultimate Ears in-ears lately and besides the fact that they slip out too easily (hey, I'm Italian, I get a little greasy at the end of the day!!!), they hurt my ears (both inner and outer). Yes, I've tried the different sizes - even some custom molds. I'm just not happy with them.

I hate the fact that whatever over-ear cans I get there'd be bleed (though I could care less if others hear what I'm listening to) - I hate having to listen to music AND subway noise, or people chatting on their cellphones, etc.

Oh well - keep em coming.

PS - I'm leaning more and more towards the Grados.

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:19 am

Over ear as in circumaural or those foam pads that sit on your lugs...

I'd say circumaurals don't leak unless you're in a quiet room with the volume cranked, or they don't fit/seal properly.
Foam pads I hate, irritates my ears.
With you all the way on the in-ears, the pair that came with my phone (albeit lousy) fell out a lot. The bigger pads wouldn't fit in my ears and the smaller ones were far too loose. That and they fell off, I lost a small and a medium one, now I have odd sized ones (=off-centre bass) that don't stay in.
What we need is to invent some in-ears that stay in-ear. The kind that doesn't become out-ears on weekends...

Edit: if a word of that was useful, I'll eat my earphones.

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:23 am

Let's say "on-ear" not "over-ear."

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:25 am

We are on-ear in 5...4... Laughing

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:45 pm

It isn't a cheap solution, but custom molded sleeves for in-ears are great - all fit/comfort issues go away.

For listening to music on cans I prefer my Grado SR80s - I tried the 60s but ended up putting the larger pads on them. Now I can't tell the difference between my 60s and 80s - I removed the buttons with the numbers, so I really don't know which is which. The larger pads made all the difference - I never recommend the 60s.

When size matters or I need some isolation, I use my Futuresonics EM3s with custom molded sleeves. I can wear them all day and not have any issues with fit or comfort.

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2008 12:50 pm

I've done the custom molds - I still can't stand them.

Re: the larger Grados - too big for cruising the metro/plane, etc. with.

I did actually buy the iGrados for use though. We'll see how they work.

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