Api 500 Series Summing Mixer ReviewsI'd bet that, 1. 6 years after its introduction, Grado Laboratories' SR6. When introduced, in 1. Grado SR6. 0 was cheap by hi- fi standards. The early '9. 0s were a great era for personal sound. It was a time when, for the first time in my memory, it became possible to buy really good headphones for under $1. Corey Greenberg, in his June 1. Front End Audio is your Ultimate Pro Audio Dealer for all your recording equipment needs. We offer a wide selection of recording gear, expect sales support and always. Tape Op "When you're setting up for a recording session, do you automatically settle on the same mic and preamp that you've used in the past, or do you spend the time. Grado SR6. 0s (Vol. No. 6), noted that, after auditioning many of the affordable headphones then available, . Fortunately for Corey, the SR6. The SR6. 0s' subsequent success is easy to understand. Regular people who hadn't grown accustomed to the absurd prices of high- end gear could buy a pair with no loss of self- respect. Those virtues of value and musical honesty were the ones that attracted me a few years later, when I bought my own pair of SR6. Like Corey, I sought affordable 'phones that would sound good when driven by the feeble output stage of whatever portable device I was using at the time.
No other 'phones I auditioned anywhere near the Grados' price seriously challenged them. The sound of the day was fuzzy and electronic, with boomy bass; either the designers weren't listening to the headphones they designed, or they were aiming for the big, wide middle of the sonic bell curve. The SR6. 0s lacked the combination of negative sound qualities I was hearing from their locally available competitors, and which always reminded me of a hip- hop. We have been using BAE for probably for a little over a year now. Going into the relationship with BAE, I was more under the impression that it would be a lot more of. Funky Junk takes pride of our wide range of knowledge and experience about the equipment you buy, browse through our vast resources section for studio recording. They've given me just two tiny problems: The original earpads were uncomfortable, and I lost the tiny rubber endcaps that secure the earpieces to the headband. A new puppy solved the first problem by eating one earpad, which prompted me to order the far comfier Large Grado Pads, called the S- cushion and widely available online for $1. The second problem never really was one; every six months or so, I spend 1. If the SR6. 0s were a great deal for $6. Updating a Budget Classic. But what about this year? The 2. 01. 0 Buyer's Guide lists a new model, the SR6. The price is higher, but only a little: $7. Is the new version worth the extra $1. Well, even the old version was worth the extra $1. Grado's John Chen tells me that your extra $1. These have been retained in the SR6. The SR6. 0s were free of obvious colorations and unfortunate resonances; so were the SR6. The new edition seems to go a bit deeper in the bass, though I didn't find this subjectively important. The one difference that I did find important enough to affect my experience of the music was that the midrange sounded a touch more vivid. I found most music a little more involving through the SR6. I recall especially . Keep in mind, though, that I'm comparing the new Grados with a pair at least 1. The older 'phones may just be tired. Grado says that the SR6. Their sensitivity was a bit low for my i. Phone (used without a headphone amp). In a reasonably quiet home setting, the volume levels achievable were perfectly adequate, but if you plan to listen on airplanes or in other noisy places, you'll want more volume. Try in- ear 'phones, many of which have been reviewed in Stereophile's pages. They're a better solution than electronic noise reduction. The Verdict. John Grado took over from his uncle Joe Grado, the company's famous founder, some 2. He's revised one of high- end audio's great bargains, and without messing it up by raising its price too much or by compromising its performance. In fact, in my opinion, the SR6. The ultimate high- end headphones for those without deep pockets. You may never let them out of your sight. Very few products survive the test of time. They are replaced with the next new thing even before the consumer can sit and open the box. The thrill is gone before you get the product to work. We live in the era of . Truly. For the better part of ten years, they have been consistently great. For the money, there is nothing better under $1. Combined with a decent portable headphone amplifier such as the Headroom Total Bithead, and the i. Pod (lossless only please), orgasmic audio is possible. Grado Labs has been building headphones a very specific way for many years, and just like Di Fara Pizza (another Brooklyn institution), it is all about getting the basics right. The SR6. 0s do not use the most expensive parts available, something Grado chooses to implement in its more expensive RS1, RS2, and GS 1. SR6. 0s that has always made it one of the most satisfying purchases in audio la- la- land. My first pair lasted almost eight years before the ex- wife used it as a doorstop. I should preface that with . As a result, the diaphragm is not plagued by an excessive level of distortion, leaving the listener with a clean and detailed presentation. Another benefit of the design is that Grado headphones reproduce punchy bass that is clean sounding, taut, and resolute considering the size of the driver. The influence of Grado's fine line of moving coil and moving magnet phono cartridges can be heard in the midrange, where vocals are incredibly coherent and full of body. There is some excess warmth, but I would rather have that than a totally neutral and analytical sounding presentation. Soul over razor sharp accuracy any day of the week. The SR6. 0s also use a copper voice coil wire and copper connecting cord terminated for use with a 3. Grado supplies a mini plug with a 1/4. The headphones slide up and down and swivel on a very simple post, which makes them easy to position on your head. The SR6. 0s are also easy to fold and place inside a notebook bag or duffel. The foam pads that sit on top of the outer ear will eventually require replacement, but they work. The most recent pair that I tried seemed to be more comfortable than the older model that I owned, which is a step in the right direction. Prolonged listening sessions with the SR6. One of the obvious benefits of the i. Pod revolution is that people are buying headphones in tremendous quantities. A recent walk through the Rutgers campus, which surrounds our corporate offices here in New Brunswick, was very educational to say the least. Three out of every 1. Not surprisingly, a majority were wearing the Apple ear buds. Needless to say, we did not see too many people walking around with a pair of full- sized open headphones like the SR6. We let a few people try the SR6. Everyone preferred them to the ear buds, especially when we mentioned that they were only $6. One comedian asked if he could . Kastner, and after one listen through the SR6. Shivers all around. Yes, we are repressed. Well, perhaps not all of us. The SR6. 0s reproduce a very spacious soundstage inside your head, but it is not their main selling point. The fundamental reason to buy these is the superb job they do reproducing the human voice. For $6. 9, the midrange quality of the SR6. There is an openness to the sound that you just do not hear on headphones at this price point, or frankly, under one hundred and fifty dollars. The SR6. 0s main competitor, the Sennheiser PX 1. It lacks the detail or clarity that makes the Grado so good. Jerry Garcia and David Grisman's The Pizza Tapes is a wonderful example of how important, chemistry is between two musicians. The guitar playing just flows effortlessly throughout the recording and it is a very rewarding listen. The resolution of the recording pushes most high- end systems and exposes any of their warts. The SR6. 0s faired very well. The Grados are not the last word in headphones if you are looking for something with a velvety smooth treble. It is not the kind of excessive treble that makes the overall presentation too forward sounding, but make no mistake . Most inexpensive headphones have mediocre to terrible bass. Manufacturers think in terms of . That unfortunately often means a bloated mess that is incredibly fatiguing to listen to and at the expense of the rest of the sound. The SR6. 0s are very well balanced; the bass compliments rather than drowns out the rest of the sound. For the lack of a better word, the Grado SR6. Focus is a good thing. Especially, if you are still listening to MP3s. Heretics. The SR6. With vinyl and a good headphone amp? Crazy good. Sort of like pizza with more than one piece of fresh mozzarella and real sausage. The real deal. Run and buy them. By: Wayne Brooker. Despite a life almost entirely dominated by technology I find it odd that the things I admire the most tend to be very traditional. I suppose there's no reason to assume that a predilection for technology should make me any less appreciative of olde worlde values like quality, craftsmanship and value, in fact it's probably the nature of today's throw- away society that's fuelling my fondness for such things. One of the companies that has made it onto my . Of course survival stories like this are rarely down to luck, there needs to be at least one solid product driving the refusal to be beaten, or as in Grado's case a whole catalogue of them. Joseph Grado started out making phono cartridges on his kitchen table back in 1. Joseph decided the time was right to bow out gracefully, it was his nephew John, who'd been part of the business since the age of 1. Spotting a gap in the market John Grado worked with one of the few remaining employees left, engineer John Chaipis, to develop a prototype headphone design then, after producing their own machine tooling, they introduced their first three models of headphone in 1. In response to requests from their dealers Grado developed a lower priced line which began to fly off the shelves. The rest, as they say, is history. Perhaps one of the best known and most praised models in Grado's lineup is their budget SR6. With the brave claim that they offer genuine, high- end audio capable of satisfying even the most anal of listeners yet at a price that doesn't even make it into triple figures, Grado have amassed a legion of die- hard fans based solely on the merits of the SR6. You may recall I published a 1. SR6. 0s stacked up to their smaller, in- ear counterparts I contacted Grado and asked if they'd send over a set of SR6. I'm thrilled to say they did just that.
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