šŸ”¶ Grado SR325x Prestige Series

Yes, but the treble is also much less bright compared to the GH-2, so it might be too dark for someone who loves the GH-2 like yourself.

If the X series is dark then they have changed the whole sound of the 325 series. It is funny that I havenā€™t read about that.

The original was way too bright for my liking. The GH2ā€™s are just about perfect, to me.

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My, ā€žvery personal "opinion on the subject:

Grado Hemp vs. 325x:

No, I donā€™t think the 325xā€™s is ā€œbetterā€.

At least not for friends and fans of the special, very own Grado tuning, which, for example, gave me a lot of magical moments, especially with really handmade acoustic music.

Paired with ā€œthe right ampā€, Gradoā€™s have something of their own / special and therefore very beautiful for their lovers!

With the Hemp, Grado has shown for the first time in which direction Grado would like to go recently:

namely in a tonal tuning adapted to the younger audience, more suitable for the masses. Well-known reviewers like it in the same way.

For me, the 325xā€™s go one step further than the Hemp, yes it sounds good, but it no longer has any character in my eyes / ears, it is the very first headphones from Grado that I can use a ā€žlittle moreā€œ in the heights I wish I miss the magic, the airiness, that being ā€œin the music, the concert, the studioā€ is no longer there.

But thatā€™s just mine, or the opinion of an older generation of Grado fans who really appreciated this independent one.

In addition, if you like this sound tuning, I would absolutely recommend the Hemp, as it is much more comfortable than the 325x due to its weight.

Sennheiser, for example, had the same effect, with its 600ā€˜s and 650ā€˜s, two very good headphones with their own sound quality in their portfolio that had character.

The 660ā€˜s and even ā€œworseā€ the 560sā€˜s have been ā€œoptimizedā€ in terms of sound, are getting closer and closer to studio recording quality, and are therefore terribly boring.

You donā€™t prepare meals without side dishes, spices or a suitable selection of drinks, otherwise you have the very emphasized ā€œown tasteā€, but it is usually either too bland, or too intense or too uniform with other, in this case, manufacturers, but never really tasty".

I hope Grado will take note of this for future products and think, at least occasionally, of his clientele that has grown over time.

Sennheiser has at least done that with their latest IEMs 300ā€™s and 900ā€™s :+1:

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Yeah as someone who used to own a lot of older 80s and a 225 and 325is(which I still have), the 325x is a little bit of departure from the old but I donā€™t necessarily find that a bad thing. Itā€™s just a tad darker than grados have been in the past but still have that ā€œgradoā€ house sound. Mids are still nice and filled in but theres better bass response and a slightly darker upper end on the 325x compared to the 325is. Personally, I find the sound to be less fatiguing over a longer period of time. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Mine arrived on Monday and Iā€™ve been listening throughout the week. Itā€™s a really interesting headphone. There are songs where I absolutely love them, and other songs that sound better on just about everything else I own. Acoustic guitar and female vocals shine, as others have said. For some tracks, Iā€™d put the midrange right there with my beloved HD600s, which I never expected from these headphones. For busier tracks, things tend to get muddled. The staging sort of falls apart and image separation isnā€™t a strength, but I wouldnā€™t knock it too hard for that at the price point. As I said above, Iā€™ve tried several Grados and never took to them. The fact that I like these may be a caution sign to people familiar with and expecting the normal bright signature.

edit: due to the sensitivity, these are pretty microphonic on tube amps. My amp is pretty clean, and I can listen to iems with no trouble. With these I can hear quite a bit of noise from the tubes. I think something like a Dark Voice would be noisy as hell

Iā€™ve got an interesting photo here comparing the 80x, 325x, and 325is. Seems like the 325x has less components inside than the 325is(the plastic ring)

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If I had to guess, thatā€™s probably just to hold the grill in while the newer ones have it glued in. In fact itā€™s probably better to have it glued so there is little to no chance of the grill vibrating, which is most likely why they made that change.

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Your probably right. It also acted as kind of a over insertion stop for the driver housing which I thought was nice, only if you intend on disassembling it that is.

Here are some Hemp drivers as well just in case people were interested in trying to see if there were any visual differences they can spot between the x series and the hemp. Dont mind the terrible framing of this pic, I should have laid those wires down flat lol.

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Finally dove into the Grado sound with the purchase of 325x today. Early impressions based on my first Grado listen:

ā€“ These things have more bass than I thought. Gradoā€™s have the reputation of being thin on the low end, but these things have surprising oomph with the stock pads.

ā€“ I also tried the Geekria G pads recommended by DMS. Definitely increase the comfort and expand the soundstage to a surprising width. Impressive. But they also change the tuning to more a more V-shaped signature, which is taking a tuning that borders on too much treble for me and pushes it over the edge. You lose some of the bass punch from the stock F pads, too.

ā€“ Everyone wasnā€™t kidding about the discomfort of these. The stock F pads are very thin, with openings in the center. I have a decent-sized head, but my ears started to hurt after 30 minutes.

ā€“ If this is the ā€œwarmerā€ Grado, damn, Iā€™d hate to hear what the ā€œnormalā€ or ā€œsharpā€ Grado sounds like. While there were no icepicks to the cochlea like a Beyer or the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x, I could see this sound signature being fatiguing very quickly for me. Itā€™s unrelenting in its brightness and detail. Neither the brightness or detail are mind-blowing separately, but itā€™s grating and tiring as a blend.

ā€“ Pad rolling is fun and easy with Grados. Everyone is right: The sound signature and soundstage change more dramatically with pad rolling with these than any other brand Iā€™ve tried.

ā€“ I expected imaging that punched above the $295 price. I was disappointed. Didnā€™t find the imaging any better than my HD 6XX, which is $50 less new. Of course, the imaging couldnā€™t compare to my LCD-X 2021, but I didnā€™t expect that.

ā€“ The cable is clumsy, but I do must of my listening at the desktop, so no big deal. I would rather have a thick fabric cable like this than the damn Christmas tree tinsel that HiFiMan sends with some of its cans as a stock cable. The Focal Elegia cable was just as stiff and clumsy as the Grado cable, too. I think the Grado cable gets sh*t upon unfairly. Itā€™s not great; itā€™s not awful.

ā€“ The leather headband, with almost no padding, doesnā€™t bother me at all.

Iā€™ll give these more time, but itā€™s unlikely Iā€™ll keep them. The signature is just too fatiguing. I tend to like a neutral-to-warmish signature, but I thought that this ā€œwarmerā€ Grado 325x might suit me.

But Grado is gonna Grado, even a warmer version. I know it works for a lot of people and I respect Gradoā€™s adherence to its ā€œhouse sound,ā€ but itā€™s just too tangy for my ears and brain. I thought maybe I could find a low-priced gem here, but I need something with a warmer, softer signature yet with detail.

Next target probably is a ZMF Aeolus after some months to save.

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Quick update. Iā€™ve always been a skeptic of ā€œburn inā€ with headphones, but damn if these arenā€™t smoother after leaving music running all night and morning. Iā€™m sure ā€œburn inā€ with my brain is happening, too. :)

These just sound so different than my HD 6XX and LCD-X 2021, which is what I sought. I wanted something to fill a hole in my sonic palette:

ā€“ Warm, rolled-off treble, great mids: HD 6XX
ā€“ Neutral, great detail, malleable with EQ: LCD-X 2021
ā€“ Something more treble-oriented, with more bite but not grating (ahem, Beyer): Grado 325x?

Iā€™m still rocking the Geekria ā€œbowlā€ G pads for comfort and a sound signature that suits me better than the stock F pads.

These are growers, baby. I like them the more I listen. More updates to come!

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A comment on comfort: if you can, try ou the Nyczaj (old Shipibo) earpads, they are fantastic. I had an SR80e with three other pads: G, S and F. I struggled with it because I likes the sound of the S pads more, plus the feeling on the skin of the G pads where a little weird. I ended selling it, but recently came across a GW100 with a pair of these pads, and let me tell, theyā€™re on different league. Canā€™t say how it will affect the sound though.

You could also try Dekoni, I really like the foam in their products and the shape seems very similar. Plus Dekoni usually measure to tell you what kind of changes to expect with sound.

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Thanks for the tip.

Definitely will consider your option. But Iā€™m also zeroing in on ZMFā€™s Beyer oval pads with the Grado adapters. A lot of positive feedback on that setup from people with whom Iā€™ve conversed on forums, and I LOVE the ZMF perforated pads for my HD 6XX.

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OK, Iā€™m officially a moron. After about 15-20 hours of break-in, I LOVE the sound of the 325x.

I just need to find more comfortable pads or bend the headband. Comfort is still a big problem.

Thanks!

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Nyczaj (formerly Shipibo audio) headband, pads and accessories really level up comfort and build quality on Grados:

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Besides Nyczaj, a cheaper alternative would be Accessory House in Amazon. Iā€™ve used the XL from then with the SR80e and they are very comfy.

Alternatively, there are some Etsy shops that sell full leather headbands for grado. Never tried any of them but some look really good, and even in different colors.

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The parts from Shipibo are great. I have them on my Hemps. The pads are the most comfortable I tried so far.

How much change to the stock tuning with the Shipibo pads?

I would say the shipibo pads dont change it too much, maintain the grado sound, but are much more comfortable and maybe a slight bump on low end, but not a huge difference imho

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Another good option for pad upgrades on grados: https://www.beautifulaudio.biz/

I have the hybrid pads on my hemp and on the gw100, they also imho add a bit more mids and bass, take a touch off the highs, but not drastically different imho

I feel pretty much the same about the pads.
They have a little more low end and tame the Grado typical peak around 2-2.5kHz a bit.

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