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Qwervy
464
Jul 10, 2019
grado sound signature but in a closed back can? i just love the speed and colour of grado's
QwervyGrados owe their sound signature to being extremely open cans. Even their pads are extremely open, try making pads with any fabric (leather, or even velour) over the foam and the sound changes drastically. The Sennheiser HD 820 are the only truly sealed headphones that sound like their open counterpart, to me. Axel and his team spent a lot of time figuring out how to absorb the reflections and resonance of a closed headphone. I will say the Fostex TH 900 sounds remarkably close to the TH 909, and subjectively I enjoy both off of a nice amp, but in truth the TH 900 is carefully vented and technically falls under the “semi-open” category, like the Sony Z1R. Note: I have heard many but not all headphones in the industry, and my subjective opinions are my own, YMMV.
Qwervy
464
Jul 26, 2019
EvshrugThe transient response, and speed leaning to therefore greater response to harmonics and timbre is how the drivers work. The rest of the sound signature is the open backed design. I feel that with a good driver design you could get that speed still. Warmth on the other hand you could achieve by tweaking other aspects. (Edit): In fact transient response should be easier to achieve in a closed back design as the air behind the driver acts as a spring pulling the driver back to where is should be faster.
(Edited)
QwervyI haven’t considered Grado to particularly stand out with their transient response, but then I’ve only heard a few models (and it doesn’t help that I haven’t seen them at any of the CanJam’s I’ve been to over the past 4 years). Most recently I heard some Spirit headphones which seemed similar to Grado, but more “Italian car” than “American car” if you catch my drift. Still, I agree the transient speed of a driver can be mostly be preserved with a closed-back headphone. If the “speed” is what you identify is the “Grado sound,” then I bet you can find a closed headphone with the signature. Are grado’s new Bluetooth headphones closed?
Qwervy
464
Jul 26, 2019
EvshrugI'm fairly certain that the grados new bluetooth headphones are open if I'm not mistaken. I don't have a pair and I haven't looked in a while. For me I think its the combination of transient response and open-ness that lends itself to a really really natural feel throughout the frequency range that replicates the colours present in tracks really well like a pair of warm electrostatic cans. I believe that the same degree of warmth and speed can be achieved with a small sacrifice in open-ness. I wouldn't say that the grados stand out for transient response but I would say that the tuning and transient response are what stand out to me as most of the grado sound. I dont have a massive budget and I cant afford a lot of headphones but within my price range Grado Sr80e's are the fastest cans I have heard (I have also heard the Stax SR-009s but that was at a headphone store and they are too good to fairly compare with anything.
QwervyYou have an awesome store if they stock Grado and Stax!!! Confirmed with a friend that has the Grado BT: they are open-backed.
Qwervy
464
Jul 26, 2019
EvshrugHaha nah it was a store that I found on holiday in Singapore and I only heard the Stax there. I bought my Grados when I went to America. Cool to the Grado BT's I had a feeling they were open.
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