Grado SR325is Headphone

By Che

A beautiful mixture of funky retro aesthetics and heart-stopping sound, the Grado SR325is cans are something you do not see on the market every day. When I took them out of their box, I couldn’t decide whether I was madly, deeply in love with the design or I hated it with a bloody, fiery passion (a bit polarizing…just a bit). However, once the shock of seeing something out of a radio tower in a World War II movie passed, I realized that I actually really appreciated the unique appearance. Grado used the finest materials to construct the SR325i’s: real leather trimming for the headband (not imitation, like some of their lower end models), anodized aluminum on the open back design, and squishy foam-rubber for the ear cups.

So how do they sound? B-E-A-utiful. Warning: if your music is not well-recorded or of lower quality, it will sound poor. That isn’t the headphones, it’s the music, and it’s a testament to how accurately they reproduce sound. Every music genre sounds great on these crazy things! How often does one make that happy finding?! The Grado SR325i’s have a stereo plug, and do not come with a standard MP3 or computer adapter. If you want one, you’ll have to purchase one separately. The message is clear: these cans are not made for smaller machines. Yes, your music will sound better, but the headphones will not reach their full potential. Do yourself a favor and invest in an amp if you decide to do that.

Drawbacks? Other than the fact that they do not come with an adapter for portable music players? Well – I wouldn’t necessarily classify them as uncomfortable, but let’s just say I did not forget that they were on my head…squishing it.... They loosened up a little bit, but they still are not the most comfortable pair I’ve ever had. In addition, they have outstanding sound, but it does not seem to originate from another source. Nope, the sound from these babies is RIGHT in your ear. If you like headphones with sound that seems to originate from far away, you might be uncomfortable with the close proximity.

The top of the line in the Grado Prestige Series. Winner of Audio Video’s “HI-FI GRAND PRIX AWARD”. Sound: The SR325is embodies all the sound benefits of the Signature series, clean open highs, smooth well defined midrange and bass that will rock. The SR325is is an excellent value yielding performance that one would have to spend 3-4 times their price in competing headphones.