Speakers that sound like Grado headphones?

"I must say, though, that my impression of the Grados is the exact opposite of James63's. I find them rich and warm (though not syrupy or bloated), rather than "bright and forward," as James stated (perhaps we're listening to different models)."

Alright I generally try not to argue with people on the forums (it is childish and we all heard different) and I do not mean to disrespect you with my following statements but I don't know how else to put it.

With out dancing around the subject you are wrong about the tonal balance of the Grado SR80. I have owned about 10 different pairs of "high-end" headphones and the Grados are bright with no bass extension. It has been a while sense I have owned Grados but the models I believe I had were the RS-1 ($700ish) and MS-2i ($300ish).

I would guess you just lack the experience of hearing better headphones (nothing wrong with that) that are actually rich and warm. Below I have added a link to a graph that compares the Grado SR80 to a headphone that is "rich and warm" the Sennheizer HD650.

In the graph you can see that the SR80 is up 8db @ 10,000hz, 5db @ 4khz and the bass takes a nose dive at 60hz. The sound stage is also very forward (think horns here) is comparison to the 650 (which I also own). I ran both the Grados and the Senns off of a Benchmark DAC hooked up to a mac mini. Anyway the Grados sound like they measure to me.

http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID

That is easy, none. Headphone listening gives a completely different balance and presentation than speakers, for example the room has no effect at all while with speakers it is the dominant factor. The two channels are totally separate unless you have a device to mix them while with speakers you always hear a mix. The headphones only have to move the small amount of air in your ear while the speakers have to drive the whole room.I have used Stax headphones to evaluate my system for 40 years now and I have yet to hear speakers, including electrostatics, which sound like them. You can try for a similar balance in the sound between the two, just don't expect too much.

I would echo that (pun intended). Speakers sound like speakers and headphones sound like headphones. I have Grados as well and they sound great with my vCan headphone amp. They don't sound like my speakers. Both fun and exciting, but different.

Which grado and what is your price range? What part of the sound do you like?

Most good brands (thiel,Wilson, B&W, Focal,dynaudio, etc) will out class your grados. Grados are bright and forward with little bass extention. But they are fast and dynamic.

Look for balanced speakers that lean toward the forward side (Thiel, Wilson Audio, small Focals 1027,1037) for a grado-ish sound. If you are tight on cash give Klipsch a go.

Brands that sound nothing like grados (and more like Sennhiezers) are Dynaudio, Sonus Faber, etc. They are neutral but lean toward the dark polite side.

Studio monitors in the near field.

ATC speakers like the SCM19 will be similar in sound. They evenly excite the room (uniform wide dispersion across all frequencies) so you tend to get a very similar sound to high quality studio headphones. Of course you get a soundstage and image that is not inside your head (as it is with headphones) - so still lots of differences but the timbre will be similar - fast and dynamic.

I stumbled upon this old thread after recently getting a pair of Grado SR 80 headphones. I really like their tonal balance, and I'm guessing that's what the original poster was talking about (rather than spatial presentation).

I must say, though, that my impression of the Grados is the exact opposite of James63's. I find them rich and warm (though not syrupy or bloated), rather than "bright and forward," as James stated (perhaps we're listening to different models).

Anyway, I really wouldn't mind finding speakers that mirror the tonal balance of the SR 80's, so I thought I'd reopen the discussion. Any ideas? THANKS.
-Bob

Actually, there are speakers that sound like headphones and give a similar sound. Try the older (vintage) Polk SDA Series speakers from the 80s. They acoustically subtract inter-aural crosstalk to give you a headphone like sound. Carver, with their sonic holography did something similar electronically with some of their preamps during the same era. Some really liked the sound, others did not. On certain recordings it could sound very very good.

I have been pursuing the same task for a few years. I liked my Grados enough that I wanted a sound system that had all the good parts (tonal balance) and maybe a bit more resolution. I ended up with Triangle Celius and tube amps in a near-field setup. I got it pretty close. Unlike what some have posted, loudspeakers sound way better than headphones, if your system is good enough.
The Grados made me rethink what I wanted from a sound system. I wanted all my CDs to sound good, I wanted to hear the music not my system. I'm still on the same task and having fun.

Thanx, Russ