Your Ears Still Have Not Experienced True Joy

I had long pondered the idea of purchasing a new pair of headphones (or for the hip among us - "cans") since I figured among the price difference between my fifty dollar Sony pair and the high-priced headhuggers of such companies as AKG, Sennheiser, and of course, Grado.

As I continued to hear glowing reviews of the Grado SR series of headphones (intended for the beginning audio nut) my overwhelming urge to experience new dimensions in death metal appreciation eventually turned me towards the lofty goal of purchasing the Grado SR225s.

My roommate, my running partners, and almost every other person scoffed at the thought of buying $200 headphones. If you truly want to add a little bit (well - quite more than a little bit) to your listening experience, I find the price to be well worth it. I was rather dismayed the first day these headphones arrived to discover my equipment was doing a horrible job of powering them, and they weren't quite as majestic as I'd thought. Turns out in my haste I merely hadn't completely inserted my headphones in the back of my computer. Brilliance, Phil. Additionally - in the fashion that you break in boots, or let corpses ripen, (don't tell the FBI I said that) headphones of this caliber seem to require a 'burn-in' period in which they just warm up to their full sound. My friend Wen suggested about 48 hours of playing should bring them up to snuff.

There is something else. With these headphones, it seems most people state that a headphone amp (an additional couple hundred dollars of expense) greatly improves the sound of headphones, because it provides a much cleaner power source and better headphone jack than almost any equipment (evidently headphone jacks are made really horribly - since they're not used that often). The Grado SR225s are stated to almost require an amp to sound good. I am not using a headphone amp and I am in aural ecstasy - what does this mean for when I actually pick up a headphone amp? Will my head whip itself around so violently to Amon Amarth's Fate of Norns that I will create permanent brain damage? Quite possibly.

Alright, on to the real beef-flavored broth of this review. One thing you may notice about these headphones. They're ugly. Oh so ugly. Yet when you walk by a knowing audiophile with your Prestige Series homeboys camped warmly on your ear canals, he will smile the secret headphone cabal smile, and you will feel content.

Another thing Grado headphones have a small issue with is comfort. Since they're high-grade headphones, they can be listened to for quite a while without actually giving you a headache, making your ears feel all tired, etc etc. Alas, they are not the epitome of cushy love for your flabby flesh extrusions called ears. I think the main source of my problem is that I wear glasses with them - and my glasses press down on a weird bone behind my ear, and thus makes it a little painful after about an hour and a half to two hours. I also replaced the pads on these bad boys - www.headroom.com carries them and evidently they're much better than the old ones. Maybe I just wasted my money, though, because I certainly haven't ever tried these with the older pads.

These headphones are not the pentultimate of portability either. They're large, a little heavy (not too bad, though, actually) and I think the worst possible thing you could do is sweat with them on. These are no exercise headphones.

Additional thang: the SR series of headphones are open. This means they suck air in from the outside, and similarly noise. They also project noise to the outside more than regular headphones. Noone's seemed to mind very much yet - it doesn't keep my roommate up and during my four hour bus ride to Boston I was accosted by no angry businessmen. The fact of the matter is that open headphones actually produce better sound, for reasons that decieve me. I am not an acoustic engineer.

But I did not buy these headphones to run with, to look cool, or to make sure that the poor suits didn't have to hear my death metal. I bought them to sound awesome. And they do. I only listen to them from my computer and my CD player - neither of which have the power to do these headphones even half justice. And yet with all the music I listen to, these headphones make every instrument so clear - sorted out so I can distinguish each one at the same time, without making the music sound wacky. In every song I hear, I revel in the newfound basslines. My head lolls in amazement of how easy it is to pick out every guitar part going on in immensely layered songs. As many have said, the Grado series of headphones are indeed the kings of rock and roll. The bass is in yo' face, without being all murky and ugly like turning up the EQ too high on your speakers. It's just...perfecto.

I have a feeling you may hear me squealing like a little girl sometime again in the future - oooh, just wait till I pick up an amplifier. To all interested in a big way in music and somewhat nutty about sound quality, I'd give the Grado SR225's a try. My $200 was welllll spent. And after all, the store I ordered from, www.headroom.com, has one of those moneyback thingies if you're not satisfied with your gear. It can't hurt to try 'em out - in fact, it feels quite delicious.