r/Grado

Finished up my modded grado 325x a while ago and I decided at one point I wanted to add a mod to make them into a headset. I tired a few other boom mic cables like a cheap Amazon one that sounded like crap but had to try and the meze boom mic cable and while I liked how the meze boom mic sounded it was a condenser mic meaning it needs more power to run and due to it being a single 3.5 cable when I’d use the splitter it would cause audio static which I wasn’t gonna deal with and I had to be able to use my Zen Dac cause I owned it already and why wouldn’t I want to use a $200 Dac. That’s what lead me to buying an audio interface to get it to work but I could never remove that static and it was still far to quiet. Than comes in the mod mic uni2 it’s basically my only solution and it came with a bonus. Previously I made these headphones explicitly to use a 4.4mm balanced cable mostly for the fun and to see if they really made a difference but with the mod mic I can continue to use my 4.4mm and have a dedicated mic cable unlike the meze boom mic which is only a 3.5mm connector. While I can’t say there is a noticeable sound quality difference in using a 3.5 over a 4.4mm I definitely notice the power difference with a 4.4mm I only need to be at 30% volume for my dac while as using a 3.5 I have to turn it up to 60-70% to get a similar volume level. And just to note the 325x are indeed balanced drivers cause they have 4 wires for each driver idk why grado doesn’t take advantage of this fact and still uses a 3.5mm. Also the nice plastic clips to cable manage the mod mic cable works very well I 3D printed some extras and I haven’t noticed a difference with having it nor is it rubbing on my shirt causing noise. The Mic quality is also an amazing thing to note I do and a Scarlet Solo audio interface so that does help but in general the mic does sound very good and loud which is the important part. Nothing is more annoying than being in discord being asked to turn ur mic up and u simply can’t turn it up any higher but with this mic I don’t have that issue anymore.

But ya TLDR if you want to use a dac and have a mic on your headphones try the mod mic uni 2 cause a whole boom mic cable that ends in one 3.5mm connector will not work and may result in audio static especially if the boom mic is a condenser mic.

Im not fan of the new Classic SR80 with stock F pads but with B pads … yes! More spacious and mellows out the highs and low end. It’s more relaxed with the B pads and comfortable.

First impressions with the new Grado B-cushions after an hour of testing across three models: original Hemps, new Hemps, and Classic 325s.

Comfort & Build
Out of the box, they’re on the stiffer side, though a quick hand wash or standard break-in should soften them up. Your ears sit farther from the driver than with standard pads, but closer than with G-cushions. On my ears, they still feel strictly on-ear, but overall comfort is a clear upgrade. Interestingly, the foam where the pad mounts to the housing is soft, but the surface resting against your ear is much firmer. It’ll be interesting to see how third-party brands replicate these.

Sound Impressions
Classic 325 (Pass): Absolutely not a good pairing. The signature sparkling highs vanish, the mids recede into the background, and the low end gets muffled. Skip these for the 325s.

OG & New Hemps (Strong Recommend): A total winner. While measurements would likely show small changes, to my ears they preserve everything that makes the Hemps special. The signature warmth remains, the highs drop just a fraction without losing energy, and vocals stay forward and engaging. Low-end impact gets a subtle, clean boost.

Verdict
I like them enough that I just ordered a second pair—one set for each of my Hemps (home and office setups). Over the weekend, I’ll be running them through the rest of the lineup: SR60, SR80, SR125, SR225, and the new Classic SR80. Full updates to follow!

Whatever model the Grado Pokemon are, they work great with the B pads, nice bass boost, extra space while keeping vocal crispy.

Hey all, looking to sell my SR80e set with the 3.5mm detachable cable mod to the original cable and to both cups.

Comes with original box and Brand new set of pads.

Just checking on here first with the community before I put them up on the usuals for sale.

Pm me if interested.

How it should be stock.

Running Grado Classic SR80 on the Muse M3 Ultra balanced is a nice pairing. You get some extra width, some warmth in mids and highs

Just these for $200, does anybody know what model these are based on?

I had the 325x in for a mod. On the muse fake “tube” amp, they were amazing. Smoothed everything out. I went searching for a pair of my own but could only find the E versions. So I just pulled the trigger on the new Classic version.

Sound is great but lacks the top end sparkle that impressed me. Mids are not as forward as the X version.

I may still keep them tho …

But …

The cable …

Technically it is softer and flexible from the X version. At the split it’s a tangled mess. Literally tangled out of the box. Not much care went in to install this cable.

Another one down for the books!

On deck, grado Pokemon headphones.

Broken 3.5mm jack so now getting the cable adapter conversion.

Interesting that each cup has four wires. These are supposedly based on the SR80x but only the SR225 and above have 4 wires per cup.

I bought a Valhalla 3 this summer as my first OTL tube amp purchase and have been loving it. I landed on the Valhalla vs the many other options out there specifically because of the Impedance Multiplier as my headphones (RS2x & Arya Organic) are both low impedance. Figured it would be necessary.

The ubiquitous wisdom online suggests low impedance cans do not play well with OTLs due the high output impedance of the amp vs. the low input impedance of the headphones. More specifically, I’ve read that the headphone impedance should be roughly 8x the amp’s output. Thankfully, the impedance multiplier makes this a non-issue.

However, in the months since and using it daily, I’ve found that my preferred settings when paired with my Grados (38ohm input impedance) is High Gain w/o Feedback (60ohm output impedance) with the multiplier off. To me, it sounds better than the low or high gain settings w/ feedback and multiplier on.

So my question is: Why does this work? Why am I not hearing a ton of unpleasant distortion, flabby low end, etc. with this pairing? The Arya Organics absolutely need the multiplier and sound better with it, so is there something about Grados (impedance spikes in certain frequency ranges maybe?) that makes the apparent mismatch a non-issue? Am I misunderstanding this?

tl;dr: 38ohm Grados sound great on tube amp with high 60ohm output impedance, why? how?