Headphones
Grado SR 60i
Widely regarded as the best sub-$100 headphone for decades, the Grado SR60i is a superb headphone for anyone looking for high-performance on a budget. The look of these headphones may be retro, but the performance of these little open-back cans is right up to date for those looking for cheerful and balanced sound on both portable and home gear.
Product Features:
- A classic among audiophiles for very good sound at a budget price.
- Excellent efficiency and sound quality; well suited for portable players.
- Good build quality and replaceable ear-pads for long use life.
- Biggest seller in the entire Grado line.
- Proudly made in the USA.
What's In The Box:
- screw-on 1/4" (6.3 mm) adapter
Applications:
Long considered the headphone to beat in the 'Under-$100' category, stiff competition has recently put the SR60i back into a good race for "Best Sounding Inexpensive Headphones". These mid-sized, open-earcup supra-aural cans will deliver a liquid-sounding midrange, present bright detail resolution in the upper mids/highs, and a cleanly focused bass response. The only possible detraction is a mild discontinuity in the treble ranges which gives it a somewhat "sparkly" sound rather than the ultra-smooth top end of extremely well-extended (and MUCH pricier!) headphones. Some customers express that the supra-aural foam mesh earpad comfort can be a fit issue, but gently bending the headband to conform more closely to the top of the head can help alleviate that problem for most wearers. The whole style thing is another matter altogether; use an SR-60i with an uber-hipster iPod and you'll certainly be busted by the vigilant Fashionista Police. All kidding aside, this is actually a really enjoyable headphone that almost every listener could appreciate and the price sure is right.
Like all Grado headphones, the SR-60i is an 'open' design offering little or no isolation from outside noise. Also, others nearby might hear "leakage" from open-back cans when listening loudly in quiet places or when someone's sitting right next to you (i.e, libraries, workplace cubicles, bed etc.)
A study in effective minimalist design, the Grado SR-60i has a very basic, flexible vinyl headband with simple metal height adjusters that connect the earpieces to the headband, thus allowing for up and down adjustment plus complete 360 degree earpiece rotation. This feature is ideal for laying the headphones down flat--perfect for packing them in a briefcase. The SR-60i are very efficient & well-driven by most portable players or even inexpensive home equipment. The straight-type headphone connection cable measures roughly 7.5ft from the earcups to the plug tip and is attached to both earcups in a "Y" design. It comes terminated to a 1/8" (3.5mm) mini-plug and a snap-on 1/4" adapter handily comes provided on the SR-60i cord. 1-year SR-60 product warranty is handled by Grado Labs, the manufacturer, located in Brooklyn, NY USA.
Specifications:
- Manufacturer Warranty: 1 Year
- Sensitivity: 98 dB/mV
- Coupler Size: Medium
- Weight: 4.4
- Cord Type: Straight Y
- Cord Length: 7 ft. (2 m)
- Microphone: No
- Detachable Cable: No
- Driver Type: Dynamic
- Isolation: 0
- Connector Type: 1/8" with 1/4" adaptor
- Ear Coupler Type: Earpad
- Impedance @ 1kHz: 32
- Wireless: No
- Noise Cancelling: No
- Headphone Type: Earpad
- Warranty: 6 Months
- Acoustic Seal: Open
Additional Resources:
- Manufacturer's Website
- http://www.gradolabs.com/
- Product Reviews
- PC World geek tech Tom Mainelli, November 2006
- Army Times Rob Colenso
- Cool Tech Zone Gundeep Hora Sept. 2005
- Playlist Review
- pcrules.com Adam Faight
- Terry Kok February 2001
- Soundtage! Greg Smith April 1997
- GoodSound! January 2003
- IGN September 2001
- Stereophile Corey Greenburg June 1994
- Cnet, Steve Guttenberg
Average Rating
Posted by Garrett B. from Tempe, AZ on 2010-03-01
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Comfortable, brilliant sound, cheap, durable, with a long cord.
Cons: Comfortable until you hit the 2-3 hour mark, although the band conforms to your head eventually.
I don't know why nobody else likes the look of these, I'm drawn in by how fantastic they look. On campus I get complements about them all the time. Although I do keep my iPod in a pelican case, so I guess that might say a bit about my preferences on aesthetics and durability.
The headphones look a little rough, which I like, and everything feels very sturdy. I don't baby these like I did those BOSE headphones, and they have taken quite a beating, mostly from me tripping over the monstrously thick and long 15 foot cord. These have been flung at the ground from six feet up at speed and even dragged around a bit afterward, but you can't tell save for a few scratches.
My library was already made up of fairly high quality mp3's and lossless. I don't have an amp, but the low impedance of all Grado headphones (32 Ohms across the whole line!) ensures that you'll be fine without one. The treble is crisp, the mids are great, and the bass is punchy, but not overwhelmingly so. I've plugged these into my amp while practicing bass guitar and it sounds great, the large drivers imitate the reverberation incredibly accurately. These headphones are no louder than most other headphones, but everyone else in the room would say otherwise. The incredibly open design means just as much sound leaks out as is directed towards your ears. Your friends will lecture you about hearing damage.
These headphones are great, if you're not incredibly familiar with the world of audiophile sound, these headphones will shake you by the shoulders and demand you get acquainted. I'm looking forward to bigger and better headphones and audio equipment in my future, and it's all thanks to these guys. Believe it when they say they're the best headphones you can get for under $100.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Posted by sonder from Vancouver, Wa on 2010-02-10
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: comfortable, easily charged,long range
Cons: none
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Posted by John from Ann Arbor, MI on 2010-02-09
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great sound for the price
Cons: Poor comfort, sound leakage
When I first pulled these headphones out of the box, I observed a couple of things that I had been expecting. First, they aren't pretty (although I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder). Second, the build quality didn't look to be that stellar either. They have a very odd construction, with mostly plastic parts (injection-molded: some of them still have the telltale rough edges). Fit and finish wasn't anything to write home about.
When first putting the SR 60is on, another expectation was confirmed: these headphones are not comfortable by any stretch of the imagination. They weren't terrible at first, but the longer I had them on the worse it became, until after about an hour I couldn't tolerate wearing them any longer -- they simply press too hard against the ears. I stretched the headband out a bit, which helped a lot, but even so I find that I can't wear these headphones for extended periods of time.
Finally, I hooked these up to my amp and had a listen. And these headphones redeemed themselves almost immediately. I was amazed at the kind of sound quality I was getting from the Grados...at times I almost could have been fooled into thinking these were one of my higher-end cans, if the poor comfort wasn't constantly there to remind me otherwise. The bass is strong, reasonably well-extended, and has a lot of impact. The mids are lush and smooth, and the treble is quite competent, though perhaps a bit harsh at times. The soundstage and imaging are pretty good, a benefit of the open design. The only fairly serious sonic flaw I could find in these is that they seem to have some kind of peak in the response somewhere in the high mids / low treble -- I'm not sure exactly where it is, but occasionally I can hear this peak doing some strange things to my music.
With this sound signature, the SR 60is are remarkably versatile -- I find they perform admirably with just about any type of music, though the impressive impact lends itself particularly to rock and metal.
Overall, these are probably some of the best sounding headphones under $100. If it weren't for the lack of comfort, I would have given these fully five stars. Highly recommended.
Note: the sound quality rating below is for the price. There are plenty of headphones that sound better than these, but very few that come even close for the price.
Edit: after spending some more time listening to these for extended periods of time, I've decided that the comfort really isn't all that bad. It's still not great, but the more I get used to wearing the SR 60is it really doesn't bother me much anymore.
Edit again: after some more listening, I changed the rating on these from four to five stars. You just can't get sound quality like this anywhere else for the same price.
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