🟥SR60x \\ SR80x - The Grado Next-Gen _(Z Reviews)_ 

A small company being so deaf towards customers for a rather easy feature (detachable wires) is mesmerizing.

First I thought "huh that cable change doesn't seem so bad" till you scratched the cable and I instantly understood.

Having owned and loved/hated a few sets of Grados the thing that annoys me the most is that over time the cables will inevitably detach from the headphones requiring internal re-soldering AND/OR the horseshoe shaped plastic thingy that allows the actual headphone to swivel breaks. I wrote Grado who sent me a new pair (thingys not headphones) for free. After owning a few different much more expensive headphones and amps I came to the conclusion that for my needs a set of inexpensive and easy to drive SR60 are all I really need. That being said those Hemps are really tempting.

Exactly what I thought when I bought my 80x.. Love the sound, hate the built.. Still these are my fourth Grado, so I am hooked..

Thank you for showing me the shipibo audio mods, they've been a true game changer for me and finally allowed me to use all day! Their pads are super soft and in combination with their aluminum gimbals and padded leather headbands make Grado's extremely comfortable. They're called nyczaj audio now by the way, thank god for audio community for doing what Grado should be doing in terms of comfort!

m8, your videos are a legendary experience

Great review!! I hope to see the 325x review in the future too!

my ears care about the wires when they rub up against my shirt and i get that nasty wire sound

The first thing that you want to do on any grado is mod it to a removable cable by adding (2) 3.5mm jacks. Everything else, including the pads is totally fine.

I refuse to buy a pair until their wire becomes detachable. It doesn't matter how good a wire is, it's always going to eventually break and I'm really bad with soldering. Ah, and they made the cables worse, lovely.

I've been waiting almost a decade for an excuse to buy a grado after listening to my roommate's pair. This company cannot get out of it's own way apparently, I'll continue to wait.

Love a good Zeos attached wire rant....

I’m currently listening to this through my SR 60 X and I have to agree.. The thick braided cable is absolutely annoying. Mine weren’t aligned properly so if I try straightening out the cable block it flips both drivers to the right. The cable will painfully catch your facial/long hair if aren’t careful. Other than that, I still recommend them. I’ll definitely plan on pad swapping these in the near future.

The old SR60 wires were definitely prone to falling apart after some fair usage. I went through multiple cables, and I've never used headphones very regularly in my life either. They would get connectivity issues in them randomly and need to be taped in loops at certain angles to hold a connection too often. This probably happens from occasionally getting run over with a chair and/or stepped on, and maybe there is no escaping this type of damage besides being more careful. My biggest pet peeve with braided cables is that over time, they rub along my desk's veneer covering right angle edges and wear them down.

i have the 80x. love everything about them.

the pause before "...nothing else has improved on the headphone" made me chuckle

Ahh yes, rotating the headphones with the wire, my most wanted feature.

Never had a grado i've liked but still watch erry Z vid.

"I am a big proponent of being able to see from behind... Wallpaper in the description!" I had SR325i back in the day. No issues with the band because the pads would make my ears bleed long before the top of my head got tired. They devolped the notorious rattle, too. Has that been fixed? 💎💎💎💎 I have LCD-4 now and the stock silver plated cable had a TINY bit more resolution than my Periapt cable. So I reterminated it in XLR and used purple heat-shrink, for Zeos.

Best review ever! 🤣

I hate the Grado wires too, but love the Grado sound. GW100 is a pretty awesome solution.

These always looked to me like they had electric cable that you can get at the hardware store and it's cheaper than specialized headphone cable. Now they've put braided nylon cable sleeve on it lmao

This is a monumental upgrade from my 80e. God for this kind of sound I can totally be chilling. The stereo system is now in storage and USB C DAC attached. Memorex commercial anyone?

When you twisted the wire and flipped the friggin headphones, I nearly fell off my chair. Hilarious! @Z Reviews

this guy is so entertaining haha

The sr80z’s will use conduit instead if wires

I liked the GW 100… because it doesn’t have a wire.

Z, the reviews and sound demos are great, but when are you going to use the toothbrush scene from Nisemonogatari as one of the tracks in your demos?

Whaaaat! That cable OMG 😂😂😂

I had the same thought recently - "what the hell happened to Grado's quality"? I did a little research and it turns out the grandson (or something of the sort) took over the business 5-7 years ago and the weird decisions followed. Maybe someone with a bit better head for this business will step in and right the ship. In the meantime, stick with the Grados you have and hope for the best.

I have a pair of 60x and I enjoy them a lot despite the poor build/lack of detachable cables. They’re like the only headphone that are light on my head. Anyway I like how he uses Tank opening from cowboy bebop

Hoping to see Z review the SR80 vs SR125 vs SR325 🤞🏽 🤞🏽 he gives some of the best reviews

You may try and review OpenHearth OH2000. And look at other products of the brand, such as its cables

Z! Any eta when you will be reviewing the 325x? Waiting to hear your review before pulling the trigger and purchasing. 🎧 🙏🏽 ✨

I like the stock pads on the SR80x. I find the Geekria GS1000 pads to be a bit less comfortable. Neither are what I would call comfortable though.

Dekoni makes gr8 pads for these now!

Got the SR80s and from the moment I unwrapped them, I've absolutely hated the wire and the rest feels just as cheap. The wires are stiff and just always in the way. I've seen 30$ headphones with way better feeling build quality.. I too did the pad swap and though it made them even sound better and be more comfortable. I haven't just them after about a mouths time, because I hate the wire...

It’s evolving, just backwards🤗

that wallpaper is way too hot dude

I got 80s in February of 2001. Same damn pads.

Fun video, it's never the wire! I have the SR125 and love those cans.... Paired with the Little dot MKIII and the little dot DAC 1. Any thoughts on those combos? I also have the HD650 paired the same way.... Using the G series pads makes it feel like you have speakers on your shoulders rather than headphones on your head..

I picked these up the day they released on the rumor that the hemp's driver was being standardized across their updated line. Sadly, this is not true at all, and the infinitesimal QoL changes don't justify a $20 price increase.

At that gauge of cable insulation one might as well go full Mogami microphone wire, at least it feels like a wet noodle made of satin

Really wanting to know how all those Dekoni Grado pads sound with these. Velours look promising

It would be interesting to know the value of all the gear in that room

At first, I thought it was an improvement over vinyl jacket wire. It looks much sturdier and feels beefy. But they rub you the wrong way a lot so you try to remain very still when listening to them.

Oh my Science, I finally understood the problem. The reason Grado does not implement detachable wires got so obvious now with this new wire-change on the "x". It is not incompetency as I thought, they are just batshit crazy.

I went straight to Grado SR325x and it sounds fantastic. My very first Grado and well I think I could end here in 2021 for Grado genre. Love the Jazz vocals / Rock.

I play with pads all the time.... I really like the default grado pads. They get really soft with time and give them am "intimate" feel to the sound. I like the big 1000' pads, the in-betweens, the weird sheepskin ones I got from china that went on my custom planar magnetic modded 80x's... The OG pads just do something very pleasant that I quite like. Cable can die in a fire though.

I've been waiting for this video for awhile. I fucking love the way that my SR60xs sound but I absolutely loathe having to put them on because I hate the fucking cable.

I was too late and they weren't making the sr80e anymore. I had to spend MORE money for a cable that was worse. for some reason, they bumped up the price. For the X series. They still sound amazing though and I still recommend them

I'm kind of worried the braided cable will take the finish off of my desk over time. I don't recommend bending the headband.

I have the Hemps and PS500e. If you take the pads off the hemps and put them on the PS500e you have the best Grado made. All the good tone of the hemps with the detail and clarity of the PS500e.

10:00 is exactly the reason why I love Zeos

Plugged the sr80x in to my laptop and it sounded shit, plugged it in to my phone and sounded great. Plenty of bass for hip hop too. Seriously had some super bassy daft punk and drake and it just rumbles with 0 distortion to the drums using the g1000 earpads I also quite like the cable apart from the fact you can’t change them. I get no sound transmission to my ears from the cable scraping against things, it’s also very supple and feels like it’s bombproof

Next-gen Grado, huh? Suuure.

Is there an actual reason for not having a removable connection for the headphone cord? I'm sure it adds a small cost, but I'm sure most people would pay for a replaceable cable.

You've noted not too many watch your whole videos. I do. Even if I'm not all that interested in the product. Maybe I need help. 🤔😇 Re. Grado will they every offer balanced cables?

I'm looking for good on ear headphones that would fit similar to Gradeos as I don't like big bulky headphones. Any suggestions for that? They have to be open. Currently using Koss Porta Pro untill I find something that will be better sounding and at least as comfortable as Koss.

I must be one of the lucky ones, my Rs2e headphones are cable perfect no twist, pads though 🤔

Also there was a song from bebop, eva, and dragin ball in one video.

I'm going to miss the sound signature of the sr80e

You should do a video just on Grado mods

The positive thing is..now you can use the headphone for climbing.

How much is the balanced cable mod typically for the grados, just working it out say 130 hp’s + 50 mod + 30 decent pads ignor new cable, so say 210 ish and crap headband, zero isolation and suddenly I’m thinking these had better be way better than Sundaras

I only have an SMSL AD18, are the 60x + pads the best I can get for around $150 max?

That's the first time I have laughed today LOL mega

Oooh my I need these now I have the grado sr60e bought then second hand but I think I'll buy these new maybe I'll wait for black Friday, if they even do sales, do they do sales?

I still have my RS2e !

I'm looking for headphones for gaming where i could attach the vmoda boom pro.What would you recommend for $150 in 2021?

"Poland" it is first time i hear of them, but they are actually from my city

Since you asked, my ears give a fuck about the wire only if the wire makes noise when I move. Braided cables tend to do that more often, and it's infuriating. Who wants to put on music and sit completely motionless to avoid wire noise? Not me, that's who.

Z!!! WHEN will you review the 325s? debating between the 225 and the 325 ... but need your stamp. :)

Grado should just get rid of those smaller foam pads in use the bigger wider ones for all their headphone at least....the wire however as many of us know is a different story and one they chose to ignore

u/genesyndrome will hook you up with the detachable cable

I don't understand the big problem with the old wires? The new nylon seems really bad to me, but can anyone explain differently what the issue is?

I love my Grado SR335is but the left gimbal is loose. Anyone know where to order replacements? Shipibo isn't an option.

How about gw100? Marketed as their "wireless" headphone. How is the sound? As I remembered from a long long time ago, they didn't sound as good as the 80s or 60s. But I am not sure perhaps I was just not good at listening back then.

10:07 it's evolving, just backwards

Greate review on the new SR60/80 may get a pair and experiment with the different earcup cushions 😊. I have watched many of your videos, and no offence but think you probably have a wide and tall head, as you have had to extend the Grado earcup rods to their maximum length and widen the band. I would say 75% of your viewers and even 75% of headphone enthusiasts do not need to bend the hell out of their expensive headphones. I feel sorry for all the people who loan their pride and joy headphones to you 😅. But it makes for great entertainment on your channel, and guess it is your signature move 😊

Z..I know this vid is a few months old, but have you had a chance to try the 225x? I have a set, and they're really good.

Waiting for SR 325X review

I can spend $400 CAD ($300 USD). I've had 80/80i (i was terrible). Which wired Grado should I buy? I've read all the reviews and still can't make up my mind. I can buy a used 80x right now for $125 CAD or save another $200 for used hemp, new 325x or used RS2e. No amp or DAC, just an android. Also found an MS1 for only $40.

They gave a bs excuse about the cables being best for the grade sound which is just stupid considering how little if at all of a difference cables make to the sound

Was that John Adam's Harmonielehre at the beginning there?

Here is the deal with Grado, I grew up with Grado. It was my first audiofile headphone. Back then, attached cables were a thing with most cheap headphones and it was super common for a headphone back then in that category. I don't have an issue with the build or cable at all. At this price point. After diving back into the audiophile world more hard core and listening to people OBSESSE over cables is new to me and quite frankly out of touch with reality with a can of this price point. Yes it is nice to have a good cable, but holy fuck people you lost your minds about the dam cable! Yes everyone moved on, yes I would like to see detachable cables. But for the love of music it is not THAT big a deal! I listened to Grados since the orignal SR80's were around. I somehow survived and thought that were great and have so many fond memories of them. All stock. They lasted for 10 years before getting utterly destroyed by the dog. They are only a $100 people and sound fuckin fantastic for the money. They can be your last headphone if you are normal person and don't want to dive into audiophilia. The expensive ones, I'd like to see them do better. But quite frankly it never bothered me enough to complain. It's a fuckin Grado, they are retro. They look cool and sound great. They don't fall apart and you are not taking them to battle with you. If you really want there is a plethora of aftermarket options available and people mod them to taste. And that is also just part of the Grado sub culture. You make them your own. But I've never bother to go past cables or pads.

325x review, pleaaaaase!!!

Try the pad mod on the GW100!

The shipibo ear pad link doesnt work. Did the company change names to NYCZAJ??

i just bought my sr60x two days ago and they are coming in tommorow i have high expectations for everything apart from the cable

Only reason I still have my sr60 is because I wanna hear them on tubes before selling. They definitively aren't worth more than ksc75 lol.

Are the Moondrop Variations still on your burning rig?

I wonder what the KPH30i would sound like with the Shipibo Pads...

I love my old ass SR 125 from the 90s. The cable is super annoying, but I came up with an easy fix, just flip your drivers over and route both cables over to one side and now I have a one-sided cable and I’m just holding all the loops up with zip ties. It looks Jenkee, but who cares

Hey zeos, should I buy the sr60x or he400se? I am coming from shp9500 and takstar pro 82 and I like them both.

So, how do you compare these 60x to Koss KPH30i since you declared that grados are now the best open back for cheap?!?

@Zeos KPH40s or Grado whichever?

wow i thought my old sr60 wire is f*cking thic and annoying, but those new ones... good lord....

Please do a Koss vs Grado

Just picked up a pair of SR60xes and I am mostly enjoying it, but also very worried about the cable.