Grado SR60 Stereo Headphones

Buy.com Altec Lansing UHS301 2.5mm Earbud Stereo Headphones $10 Discuss (0)

Buy.com 2-Pack of Earphones w/Mic for iPhone 3G $8 Discuss (1)

Amazon JBuds J2 Premium Hi-FI Noise Isolating Earbuds $14 Discuss (3)

ZipZoomFly Sennheiser PMX80 Sport Neckband Headphones $26 Discuss (4)

You get free shipping and no tax (if you are not in NY) but $69 is standard price for those headphones. They are probably the best cans in sub $100 range though.

Similarly priced Sennheisers are built better, look better and sound better. The Grados look like they were designed in the Soviet Union circa 1950 and they're extremely uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time. They sound OK, but they're nowhere near as good as people claim.

Very good "live" sound but uncomfortable after extended periods. Durable, I've had mine for 4 years with any issues. For $69.00 they blow anything out there.

Yes, they have the retro look and they are not very comfortable but for $70 the sound quality is very good. I would recommend SR80 for about $30 more as it has better bass reproduction.

LJW: What model of Sennheisers you are talking about? I would like to check them out.

Sennheiser HD-515, $80 on Amazon.

If you get a chance to compare them side by side, the difference is really amazing. The Grados sound really great until you try on the Senns and realize how much detail you were missing.

Thanks LJW. I will check them out.

If you want comfort and portable, try the Sennheiser PX-100.
I have 2 Grado SR60 and a PX-100 and the PX100 hold up really well when compare to the SR60.

When talking Sennheiser and ruggedness don't say HD-280 in the same breath. I have two HD-280's that sound great but the plastic where the headband slides in and out to adjust for head size is badly over stressed. Cracked and disintegrated on both, no matter how carefully they are handled.

The HD-515 looks like the engineers at Sennheiser might have learned a lesson with the HD-280.

OTOH the HD-280's sound great, no matter they are falling apart. Earpads appear to be lasting much better than my prior Sony MDR-V6 and MDR-V600's. But the headband is still perfect on the 20+ year old Sonys.

To casual music listeners and gamers looking for headphones that are also good for music here's a HUGE FYI... These Grado headphones (as well as the Sennheiser HD-515's people are recommending) possess an 'open air' (aka 'open' or 'open ear') type design. WTF does that mean? It means that these headphones are not designed to prevent the intrusion of outside sounds from ruining your experience nor will they prevent those loud bass or gunfire sounds being blasted directly into your ears from leaking out into the immediate area. Headphones that will help isolate you from external sounds possess a 'closed', 'closed cup' or 'closed ear' design. Yes, virtually all headphones with noise cancellation technology are of a closed ear design.

Basically open ear/open air style headphones are best used in situations where there is little ambient sound that might interfere with your experience or if you don't want to disturb your loved ones, friends or neighbors.

To post comments, please Sign In or Register.       Forgot Password?

Registration takes seconds! Once registered you'll have members only access to a Favorites bookmark list, a fully customizable User Profile, and the ability to instantly add your thoughts to each discussion topic.