My sister and her husband is going to USA in a few days and it seems about time to spend some more on headphones

I currently use a Beyer DT880 most of the time, and around here I seems to be of the few that are satisifed with them. However for certain records I would like a more upfront headphone, and from what I picked up Grados will fit the bill.

An additional bonus is that Grado are silly expensive here, more than $500 for SR-225, so if I don't like them I should be able to sell them easily.

Pricewise SR 125, SR 225 or SR325i seems like suitable phones.

A few questions:

What are "normal" shop prices in USA?

Are they generally easy to come by (e.g. New York)?

Are they ok for low level listening?

And finally anyone with strong preference for any of the mentioned Grados ?

SR225s are my favorite "value" headphone. But that's based on used pricing ($150ish per pair). They sell for $200ish new.

They're ok for low level listening.

Someone else will have to answer the retail questions.

My sister and her husband is going to USA in a few days and it seems about time to spend some more on headphones

I currently use a Beyer DT880 most of the time, and around here I seems to be of the few that are satisifed with them. However for certain records I would like a more upfront headphone, and from what I picked up Grados will fit the bill.

An additional bonus is that Grado are silly expensive here, more than $500 for SR-225, so if I don't like them I should be able to sell them easily.

Pricewise SR 125, SR 225 or SR325i seems like suitable phones.

A few questions:

What are "normal" shop prices in USA?

Are they generally easy to come by (e.g. New York)?

Are they ok for low level listening?

And finally anyone with strong preference for any of the mentioned Grados ?

There's a few places in New York City that has them, so it shouldn't be a problem to pick up a pair if they're in Manhattan. You'll be paying MSRP though.

There's a few places in New York City that has them, so it shouldn't be a problem to pick up a pair if they're in Manhattan. You'll be paying MSRP though.

Compared to prices in Norway that isn't an issue. Grado, Stax and a few other companies have decided that Europeans should pay some sort of extra "fee". Likewise I will save shipping and sales tax compared to buy them from some online store.

Compared to prices in Norway that isn't an issue. Grado, Stax and a few other companies have decided that Europeans should pay some sort of extra "fee". Likewise I will save shipping and sales tax compared to buy them from some online store.

It's simpler than that. In order to get their products in stores outside of the US, grado has to grant some level of exclusivity to distributors. Then the distributors set their own prices.

I'm by no means a Grado expert (I only own SR-60s), but I would stay away from the SR-125s. I had a pair and got rid of them because I didn't like them as much as the 60s. If I were going to go up, the 225s would be the first ones I looked at.

It's simpler than that. In order to get their products in stores outside of the US, grado has to grant some level of exclusivity to distributors. Then the distributors set their own prices.

Then someone has made a mistake cause Grados are in very few stores, even online ones here. And the more expensive models are not available for immediate delivery. The Grado brand is known and people have money so it should be possible to increase the sale. Of course, Norway (4,5 mill. ppl) is a limited market for mid/hi end phones, but there is a big market for lower end phones as there is SkullCandy everywhere.

I'd also go with the SR-225.

Then someone has made a mistake cause Grados are in very few stores, even online ones here. And the more expensive models are not available for immediate delivery. The Grado brand is known and people have money so it should be possible to increase the sale. Of course, Norway (4,5 mill. ppl) is a limited market for mid/hi end phones, but there is a big market for lower end phones as there is SkullCandy everywhere.

I'd guess that John would be happy to discuss with you how you could improve his sales in europe...but be prepared to bring market analysis, a dealer network, and financial backing.

The Australian distributor is kind of funny. On one hand the SR-60 to the SR-325 are extortion compared to the USA pricing, but the RS-2, RS-1 and GS-1000 are very competitively priced, if not lower than US pricing.

Alessandro are much more accessible here.

It's simpler than that. In order to get their products in stores outside of the US, grado has to grant some level of exclusivity to distributors. Then the distributors set their own prices.

so in the end, the higher price we pay oversea is just for those distributors? Grado gains about the same as they do by selling cans in US?

so in the end, the higher price we pay oversea is just for those distributors? Grado gains about the same as they do by selling cans in US?

Most likely, if not a little less.

The sr60 and sr225 are nice.

Biggie.

do not get the sr-325s. awful, awful, awful. brighter than all hell and they made me want to rip out my ears. not as bad as the dt880, but bad.

The 325's arent that bad imo, especially woodied. But the 325i = fail. Dont get the i's

You guys are high... 325i >>>>>> 325, woodied or not.

I see J & R has a store in downtown New York (with Grados available). Is that a good place to start?

I see J & R has a store in downtown New York (with Grados available). Is that a good place to start?

Sure it will be fine. Its going to be MSRP which for the 225's is a fair value. I am in the chicagoland area and all the brick and mortars that carry grados are pretty much the same thing.

I see J & R has a store in downtown New York (with Grados available). Is that a good place to start?

J&R is fine, but you can also search on Head-fi in the member's lounge to find threads on finding headphones in NYC. I went to one store when I was there for a work trip and they had pretty much the whole Grado line on display. Cannot recall the name but it was in one of those threads.

I agree that SR-225 is where it is at for a reasonably-priced Grado, and also agree that 325i is the better can but I still would not buy that over the 225. You could also get some SR-60s for knocking around if you want something more expendable.

If you like the sound of the DT 880s you might not be satisfied with Grados at all. I found them to sound very dark compared to the DT880 (or the K701) sound (besides the 325i, those will seriously hurt your ears after a few minutes). Not bad, but I missed the heights. You might want to try the Alessandro MS1 (MS Pro if you are rich) instead.

However, if you go for the SR 225 be prepared for a much lower resolution than you know from your Beyers... And a much lower build quality.

It was my intention to get something different from the 880s. I'm not so afraid of the darkness, but comfort might be an issue. I will find out out, cause I "ordered" 225s last night.

The problem with Alessandros are that they are more or less unknown in Norway, so I will have a harder time to sell them if I don't like them.

Thanks to everyone for providing input.

If you like the sound of the DT 880s you might not be satisfied with Grados at all. I found them to sound very dark compared to the DT880 <snip>

Grados...dark...faints

It was my intention to get something different from the 880s. I'm not so afraid of the darkness, but comfort might be an issue. I will find out out, cause I "ordered" 225s last night.

The problem with Alessandros are that they are more or less unknown in Norway, so I will have a harder time to sell them if I don't like them.

Thanks to everyone for providing input.

The comfort can be improved by bending the headband. For the SR-225 I suggest flat pads. Or Sennheiser HD414 pads- very cheap and might be easier to get outside the US.

I won't say that Grado's are dark compared to DT880's or K701's, actually, I don't agree with that statement at all. I find my RS-2's to be just as "clear", but not as resolving as my K701's. They're different and I enjoy them alot.

However, if you go for the SR 225 be prepared for a much lower resolution than you know from your Beyers... And a much lower build quality.

Yes, and be prepared for a vast upgrade in fidelity over the dt880's.

Biggie.