Grado SR60i

I purchased a pair of 60i's 18 months ago as they seemed to have a good reputation.

I was very pleased with the sound and comfort but just after I'd had them a year, the plastic c-clip which joins the head-band to the ear-piece broke. I had this fixed (£40) but soon after the left ear-piece developed an intermittent fault where the cable enters the bottom of the ear-piece. Another repair ensued but since that repair, the cable has broken on the other side. Also, both foam ear-pads needed replacing after 10 months of use.

I can assure you I haven't been wearing my Grados to play rugby (although I do use them every day) and I don't have any children or pets who may have been abusing them. I guess I've just been unlucky, especially because others have described the 60i's as being well built with a substantial cable.

Can anyone out there suggest some open backed headphones that will last for longer than the Grados?

Thanks!

I'm glad to hear they've beefed up the cable. Though they were already pretty beefy!

Sadly my old SR60s developed a dodgy connection where the cables join. But before I could do anything about them they went missing. I've got some 'SR80i's in the post though.

I also found the headband came loose. However I must stress that I wore these cans everywhere, I put them through a lot (and lending them to people).

Personally I love their retro look, and have only ever received positive/quirky comments about them.

But what really sells them is their sound quality. Since loosing mine I've been listening on some pretty cruddy in ears. Drumming just sounds like maracas in comparison.

They face no competition in their price bracket (except maybe the SR80s!)

The Grado SR60i's are a strange beast. You could hardly imagine a more stodgy old fashioned design that did a better job of scaring away any design conscious youger person....and yet!....if audio quality is your holy grail there is nothing to compare at a similar price.

The only real competition is the SR80i which more than justifies its higher price.

So if you no longer care about looking cool these are the headphones for you. If you want some stylish street gear to accompany your MP3 player you had better look elsewhere!

http://www.headphone-shop.co.uk

Why does everyone knock the look, I get people coming up to me all the time, "What are those things?" I wish I could inflect emotion while writing but they aren't offended by a lack of fashion but rather a curiosity due to the niche nature of these headphones. Once they try them on, yes I'm that trusting, they are immediately impressed. How could one not be?

I have bought the SR60i a couple of weeks ago now.

after three weeks of intens usuage, these are my impressions:

the good: outstanding sound quality! I get a full experience on my HiFi integrated ampli, but even on my HTC DESIRE built in music player, the sound is still excellent, with deep bass, clear highs and a high volume.

built quality is top notch

the bad: they leak sound alot! I'm doing some music-editing on my PC in the same room as where my children are watching TV.That is a problem with the Grados. The headphones at medium level produce the same noise as my small PC-speakers!

Second major problem : the headphones are not suitable for wearing much longer than 2 hours. After that I get e serious pain round my ears and my head that forces me to take of the headphone every 10 minutes to give my head a break.

When Im editing my music, that is very embarassing and very un-productive.

So I am considering to sell them, and buy another pair.  

Has anyone some advise : a headphone with the same soundquality and built as the Grado, but with comfortable long term fit, and a much lesser sound leakage.

That would be my perfect headphone, but does it exist ?

Thanks for any suggestions!