Grado sr 60x open back stereo headphones

Build

So how’s the build on the 60e in my own experience?

I’ve never actually owned a Grado headphone, surprisingly. So I can only speak from experience with regard to demoing them, and taking them home from Audio Advice. It’s obvious that they’ve gone through hundreds if not thousands of hands for a long time. I’ve been going there for roughly 2 years and I’ve never had an issue with any of them.

That’s saying a lot, so I’m going to have to give the build a decent mark.

The headband adjustment is kind of eccentric, in that there’s a small rod that goes through a small piece of plastic and you basically pull the plastic up and down the rod to adjust. It works okay, but doesn’t exactly put your mind at ease with regard to how cheap it feels.

The entire headphone feels like something you’d find in a Toy Store, but I suppose that’s not really indicative of how well they’ve held up.

It’s made of pretty much all plastic, with foam for the ear cups and a long and fairly bulky cable. I would much prefer something smaller and more compact for a headphone of this size and weight. It’s just a little bit too big, with a 3.5mm jack that doesn’t do well with phones. If you have a case on your phone as most people do, you’ll likely have trouble getting the jack all the way in. Kind of a hassle.

The padding on the ear cups feels like something you’d find on a Drug Store headphone in the mid ’90s. Lol.

All in all, the headphone is fairly flimsy but almost deceptively sturdy. I have no idea what to make of this. Let’s ask Marvin:

Apparently, he doesn’t have an opinion.

Consensus/Conclusion

They have an amazing, crystal clear, and pristine sound .. but again they suffer from construction issues and an overall lack of comfort. One solution to the comfort issue is to purchase separate ear pads. The Ear zonk L-Cushion donut pads were a big hit among-st reviewers and did improve comfort levels significantly.

Another method to keep the ear cushions healthy over a long period is to periodically take them off, dab them with a hint of dish-washing soap, wash them a bit, let them dry, and put ’em back on the headphones. This apparently helps keep them springy and fresh yo!

Let’s take a look at the Similarities & Differences!

Returns

Returns process

Returning is easy — Start by filling out this form https://returns.headphones.com/. Please include your serial number and a detailed reason for your return. If you do not provide a return reason, your return may be rejected.

When your return is accepted, an instant store credit will be sent along with a return label. You can use the instant credit to make another purchase right away. If you prefer a refund to your original payment method, we will process the refund to your original payment method once your item has been received and inspected by our team. The inspection process can take up to 5-7 business days.

Once you have received your return label, you have 7 business days to drop off your return. If your return has not been dropped off at the courier within 7 days, an additional 30% restocking fee will apply. If your return is not dropped off within 30 days, your return will no longer be accepted.

To avoid additional restocking fees, your item must be in like-new condition with its original packaging. It must also include all original accessories and manuals. Please add a larger shipping box to protect the original packaging during shipping. The cost of the return shipping will be deducted from your refund.

Return eligibility

Your item must be in like-new condition with its original packaging, accessories and manuals. Please use a shipping box to protect the original packaging during shipping.

The following items are not eligible for returns:

Sale or discounted items,
Final sale items
Special order items
Open-box items
Price-matched items
Accessories, such as ear pads and ear tips (for hygienic reasons)

These items are still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, where applicable.}

Cryptocurrency

If you paid with cryptocurrency, we will refund you either (1) the exact amount of cryptocurrency used to make the purchase or (2) the original USD purchase amount at our discretion.

Restocking Fees

All items have a base restocking fee of 10%. Return shipping costs are deducted from your refund.

The following additional restocking fees apply to the items listed below:

In-Ear Headphones +5%
Affirm Financing +5%
Missing Accessories or original packaging +15%
Products with batteries +5%
Earwax or Dirty headphones +25%
Return of more than 2 items in a calendar year +25%
Failure to ship item within 7 days of receiving return label +30%

Cancellations

All Affirm financing orders have a 5% cancellation fee.

For all other payment methods, your first cancellation is free. Subsequent cancellations have a 5% cancellation fee. We understand that sometimes life happens and an order needs to be cancelled, but we pay a non-refundable payment processing fee for each transaction.

Special order items are non-cancellable and non-returnable. Special order items may ship earlier or later than the estimated shipping window and this will not be accepted as grounds for cancellation.

Policy Abuse

In order to provide a 365-day return policy, we need to take abuse seriously.

We reserve the right to refuse orders from customers we believe have abused, or will abuse, our return policy, at our discretion. This includes customers who spread returns across multiple accounts.

We made our return policy to help you find gear you feel great about for a long time. Most people use it exactly as intended. We don’t want the handful of people who attempt to abuse our policy to ruin it for everyone else.

Similarities & Differences

Similarities

They by nearly all accounts have exactly the same specifications and sound, but there are some subtle differences that I will go into before the final word!

The following “differences” come mainly from my research. To me, they sound identical and I could not discern a real difference over the course of many tracks. Even if there was, I feel like it would have been somewhat of a fabrication and I trust what my ears were telling me. You should too.

Differences

The SR80e’s have a slightly better bass texture. It’s just a tad deeper, punchier, and better defined.
The 80e’s have better driver matching. They have slightly better bass than the other, as alluded to above.
Some however say that the 60e has more bass, while the 80e sounds a bit more forward in presentation. A big gripe with the 80 model in general (i version and e version) is that they sound a bit harsh and sibilant. What does Sibilant mean?
SR80e has a little more speed and accuracy over the 60e. It is just a bit more fast paced, lending itself well to heavy metal bros.
All of the specifications are exactly the same, except for weight and the cable length. The SR80e is 130.4 grams, while the 60e is 124.7 grams. Note: I weighed both on my scale with the cable and they both come in at exactly 7.2 Oz FWIW.
The cable length of the SR80e is 1.83m while the 60e is 2.1m.
The 80e’s are bit more comfortable.

What’s the final word?

Product Description

Everyone loves a thumping bass and kick-drum, but not at the expense of everything else. The Grado SR60e is your entry to the world of full spectrum audio. You’ll actually hear notes you never knew were there. Perhaps your audiophile friends have fueled a desire for the legendary Grado sound but you thought it was out of reach. Try a pair of our affordable open-back headphones and experience fuller, more realistic sound. Club-footed imports can’t match the sonic enlightenment from Brooklyn, USA. Grado has taken one of the world’s most legendary headphones and made it even better. The SR60e has a new driver design, a new polymer to better damp resonant distortion in the plastic housing, and a new cable from plug to driver connection. The way the SR60e’s new driver and plastic housing move air and react to sound vibrations virtually eliminate transient distortions. This allows the signal flow over the new cable to reproduce sound that has tight control of the upper and lower range of the frequency spectrum, while supporting Grado’s world renowned midrange. The SR60e will produce a sound that is pure Grado, with warm harmonic colors, rich full bodied vocals, excellent dynamics, and an ultra-smooth top end.

Summary

Well it looks like the fine folks over at Grado did not learn their lesson from the past. A lot of the same issues that came with the 60i and 80i models are still present in the 60e and 80e. It’s a shame, because these headphones could be some of the finest models on the planet if not for the build and comfort aspect.

Normally when consumers rant and rave about stuff they don’t like in a product, the manufacturers listen (in the case of headphones anyway). Sennheiser is notorious for improving their line of products rather than regressing and ignoring their customer base. It’s odd to me that people keep buying these entry level Grado’s that have glaring problems. Is the sound that good? Well, aside from that unnecessary 2k spike, yeah. Lol.

However, what’s interesting to me is the split between reviewers that have had them for years and years (upwards of 5, 10, and even 20), to people who just flat out cannot stand them. Again, the dichotomy is very strange, especially since people seem to replace them over and over. It’s something I’ve come across quite frequently in reviews.

The positive qualities are still there. Made by hand in Brooklyn, New York, they have startling clarity to the point of being able to hear individual guitar string plucks, lip smacks, fingers sliding up and down frets, and other seemingly trivial things that really make a recording come together. Imagine I’m the dude from Big Lebowski:

“That rug really tied the room together man.” Donny: “Yeah, and he peed on it.”

So think of Grado devising and planning for this super tall building that’s going to be massive and cool and awesome, and house the greatest minds and be really reliable and durable, but then deciding that it would be a great idea to construct it out of balsa wood.

Lol. In all seriousness, this is a set that you’ll want to spend time within the comfort of your own home. They aren’t really made for on the go, and being open back they will leak quite a bit of sound. Related: Closed back vs. Open back headphones.

This also means that the Soundstage is again very solid, if not outright amazing. You will frequently feel out of your head, or as if the band is playing in front of you. Well maybe not that realistic, but it’s still impressive. You won’t be whipping your head around or anything like that though. What is Soundstage?

Before we get into the rest of the review, I must mention this. Many of the reviews directly contradicted each other. Some of the Pros I outline later were Cons to others. While some people commented positively on build and comfort, the consensus however was roughly still the same. An exceptional pair sound wise, but lacking in the other areas mentioned.

What about build?

Final Word

Despite all that, I am still attracted to these. I would recommend them based on detail retrieval alone. There are sounds that the 60e and 80e reveal that I have never heard in other headphones so they definitely still have a lot of value. This would make a great mixing/mastering headphone for sure. They are unafraid to be revealing and honest about pretty much everything you’re hearing. Comfort is pretty decent overall, and build varies depending on who you ask, really.

I got a chance to demo them both on many occasions and instantly fell in love with the clinical yet still natural sound. Even taking into account all of the negative reviews regarding build and comfort, I would still buy them based on their magnificent sound alone (aside from 2k LOL). If you’re into any of the genres above, or just appreciate crystal clear sound, I wouldn’t think twice for the price. They are that good.

Save some dough and go with the 60e yo!

Compare with similar items

	This item GRADO SR60e Prestige Series Wired Open-Back Stereo Headphones	Philips Audio Philips SHP9500 HiFi Precision Stereo Over-Ear Headphones (Black)	Samson Technologies SR850 Semi Open-Back Studio Reference Headphones, Black	Philips Audio Fidelio X2HR Over-Ear Open-Air Headphone 50mm Drivers- Black	Audio-Technica ATH-M40x Professional Studio Monitor Headphone, Black, with Cutting Edge Engineering, 90 Degree Swiveling Earcups, Pro-grade Earpads/Headband, Detachable Cables Included

Customer Rating	4.3 out of 5 stars (905)	4.6 out of 5 stars (7598)	4.6 out of 5 stars (4979)	4.6 out of 5 stars (4582)	4.7 out of 5 stars (5661)
Price	Unavailable	$74.99$74.99	$42.50$42.50	$148.99$148.99	$99.00$99.00
Sold By	—	PHOTOTECH	Amazon.com	PHOTOTECH	TheCameraBox
Color	Black	Black	Black	Black	Black
Fit Type	On-Ear	Over-Ear	Over-Ear	Over-Ear	Over-Ear
Headphones Form Factor	Over Ear	Over Ear	Over Ear	Over Ear	Over Ear
Item Dimensions	3.15 x 6.69 x 7.48 inches	6.7 x 7.9 x 3.9 inches	8 x 8 x 4.8 inches	4.72 x 9.45 x 12.6 inches	11.4 x 10 x 4.1 inches
Item Weight	7.76 ounces	0.66 lbs	1.05 lbs	0.84 lbs	0.52 lbs
Special Features	Just released Grado «e» series headphones	Lightweight	volume-control	Microphone Feature, Lightweight, Noise Isolation, Volume-Control, Universal Phone Control	foldable

This is a detail heads dream.

AKA, me. Lol.

While I do have legitimate gripes (and you will too) about the 2k area, aside from that this is a near perfect headphone as far as sound is concerned. The rest of the mid-range behaves exactly as it should with an ideal zest and precision. It’s incredibly lifelike, and ultra detailed while still somehow coming across in a very natural and organic way. I’m telling you, you’re going to start hearing stuff in songs that has no business being heard.

The 2k problem doesn’t manifest ALL of the time, but when it does you’ll know immediately. Unless you’re old. Then it won’t matter. Haha. No offense to oldsters. “Top of the mornin’ oldster!”

Seriously though, it does kind of ruin the vibe when you’re jammin’ out to some dope tunes. Oh well.

The bass here is rich and articulate, digs deep, and has some nice impact. I actually prefer Indie Pop, EDM type stuff with the SR60e and 80e vs. Metal and Rock. It does well with those genres too, but sometimes can sound muddied up with certain tracks like Built to Spill’s “Carry the Zero.”

Perhaps it’s the recording, but I feel like it’s almost too much of a good thing with regard to guitars and stuff. Way too in your face.

The bass really excels in such an eye opening way that even a staunch bass head with a preference for head rattling low end would be hard pressed not to enjoy a change of pace here; namely the fantastic articulation and clarity.

The treble is fine; it doesn’t really get too out of line or bright which is a welcome change from most other offerings in this price range or otherwise. I honestly didn’t find the treble that problematic. If we complain about a bright treble on a Grado, we’re frankly going it have to complain about it on the majority of headphones in this price range or otherwise. Honestly, when someone complains about treble on any headphone, I just kind of chuckle. Unless you’re working with a darker headphone like an Audeze, most have issues in this area as it’s pretty tough to get it right. Also, nearly every single headphone manufacturer designs their headphone with some sort of peak in the treble. It’s just a fact of life. So deal with it.

I digress..

BUILD SCORE: B-

Are they comfy?

Comfort is pretty good overall. I found that I can wear these for extended periods with slight adjustments from time to time. The cups, though soft, still have a tendency of digging into your ear a bit. Nothing like the horrible L-cushions on an SR325e though.

The headband padding is non-existent, but you won’t really need it because it’s very light and the clamp force is pretty much perfect.

They are on-ear headphones, but they don’t behave like a typical on-ear. For me this simply means that most headphones resting on your ears can get extremely uncomfortable after awhile. The 60e (and 80e) both break this mold by being less irritating overall.

All in all?