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<p>After having owned a pair of Grado Labs SR60 headphones with a failing driver for a year or so, I finally jumped back on eBay and bought a second generation pair, the SR60i. I liked the bright signature of the SR60, but was unsure how the failing driver was affecting sound and wanted a fully working pair to really evaluate them.</p>
<figure>
<img src="/static/media/grado-sr60i_1000.jpg" alt="Grado Labs Prestige Series SR60i headphones with aftermarket G cushions laying on wood table." width="1000" height="750" />
<figcaption>Grado Labs SR60i with aftermarket G cushions.</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As expected, they were pretty much the same, minus the quiet, rattly second driver. Unfortunately, that meant the high frequency peaks that are characteristic of the Prestige Series were very much present. I like the clarity and detail it provides, but often it's too sharp and hurts my ears after a few minutes of listening, especially on songs with cymbals and high vocals like Elton John's <i>Rocket Man</i>. A quick search online revealed some standard EQ settings which involved dropping the 2 kHz and 5 kHz ranges to correct for the inherent peaks. With that knowledge I fiddled around in that region in EQ while also slightly raising the lower most frequencies to account for the drop off. The result is still a bright, clear pair of headphones, but with a sound that doesn't hurt to listen to.</p>
<p>I had a friend listen, and he mentioned that the bass was still weak, but I think it's plenty even for most electronic tracks I listen to. I do find it lacking in tracks that have extremely low frequencies as the focus. When they are supporting other main themes in the song, I typically find the strength to be just right. I've found my taste to be less bass if it allows for a clearer sound in the middle and high range, but that's likely because I'm used to cheap, muddy audio equipment that boosts low-end frequencies and am looking to get away from that.</p>
<h3>Next Steps</h3>
<p>The reason I ended up purchasing the SR60i was because at $50 shipped, it seemed to be a better deal than purchasing new drivers at a similar cost + the fiasco of the repair. Grado Labs themselves quoted the repair at that price and asked for up to three months to complete the repair. I appreciate they offer a repair service and would gladly use it on a higher end piece of their equipment if ever needed, but at cost parity to a fresh used set and that much time without the headphones, I went with buying a second pair.</p>
<p>With this in mind, I recently stated taking AliExpress seriously, and I have a set of 40mm drivers, 2.5mm jacks, and wire on the way for less than $10 to repair my old SR60. Now that I have a working stock pair, this is an opportunity to try out driver and cable mods (hence the 2.5mm jacks). I'm looking forward to the process.</p>
<p><b>Created:</b> {{ .Date }}</p>
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