Headphone Review - Sony MDR-F1, Sennheiser HD590 and HD600, Grado SR225 and SR325

(2008 Note: Yes, we know this is an old article. The Grado SR325i has replaced the SR325. The Senn HD595 has replaced the 590. And who knows about the Sony? But, we leave the article here because much of it is still relevant and still applies as the upgrades were fairly minor!)

If you are thinking about spending a few hundred dollars on some of the best headphones available, the headphones being reviewed here should probably be on your list of headphones to be considering. Unfortunately, it would be virtually impossible for you to find all of these headphones at the same location to compare with a high quality sound source and a quiet atmosphere not to mention your own choice of music. I currently have access to all of the above headphones and am going to make you envious by comparing them side by side for the next few days. Yes, there are a couple of brands not being evaluated here, and price wise, there are even some more expensive cans available, but in my research these headphones most frequently pop up as reviewers favorites. Listening ears are on... Let’s Listen!

First off, I am going to mention that there are no dogs hear. These are all very high quality headphones and which headphone is best for you will depend on your needs, the type of music you listen to, your sound source, and your budget. I’ll run through them from least expensive to most expensive, but I will make references to other models as we go along:

Grado SR225 ($195): If you have read any of my other reviews, you know I am sold on the high quality, detailed sound that Grado headphones all offer. From the highly acclaimed SR60’s at $69 to the 225’s, no other equivalently priced headphone reveals as much of what is actually on your recording as do the Grado’s. Compared side by side with the Sony’s and the Sennheiser’s tested here, the 225’s continue Grado’s sound superiority. End of review... right! Well, not quite. Some factors other than detailed sound can be more important to many of you.

Comfort wise, though Grado improved their earpads this past year, they still do not come up to the levels of the other circumaural models. All of Grado’s cans are supra-aural and can bother those who are susceptible to ear fatigue when headphones are sitting right on their ears. While after almost four years of using Grado’s myself, I can attest that they do get more comfortable with age and they are actually very light in weight. Having owned a very comfortable pair of Senn HD580’s for two years, I discovered I still preferred listening to my Grado’s. But if your circumstances require you to listen for several hours at a time, you may want to consider another brand. Of all the headphones tested here, the cords on the Grado’s are the most audiophile like. In other words, very thick and durable. However, since it splits and leads into both transducers, it can be a bit cumbersome. (See more on the Grado sound below after the individual headphone notes).

Note on Frequency Response: While most manufacturers tout their very high and very low numbers which can be reproduced by their headphones, I find that for music, the numbers tell me absolutely nothing. Just because a headphone reproduces a sound that a dog can hear, doesn’t mean it is accurate in it’s reproduction of that sound. All of the headphones tested here can reproduce sounds above and below what the average human ear can hear. In fact, if you look at the specifications of your CD player, you will find that it can’t even reproduce those high and low frequencies!

Sony MDR F1 Sony MDR-F1 ($225): These headphones sell at a local department store for $300 and I think the average person going into that department store would probably think these were the best headphones available. As far as design style and comfort, they could be right! I am very impressed with the engineering of these headphones. A lightweight ring covered in a very soft, yet seemingly durable material, rests around the ear. The transducers are placed about a half an inch from the ear angled at them to try to use the natural design of the ear to catch the sound waves. Nothing touches your ear and since these cans are so light weight, they easily are the most comfortable headphones I have ever auditioned. All of the headphones reviewed here are open type headphones which allow sound to leak in and out. But as far as open headphone designs go, these Sony’s are as open as you can get. The result therefore is that anyone within earshot of you will be able to hear virtually all of the sound leaking out. The cord on the F1 enters the headphone on the left side and has a very smart design in that the adapter screws on the 1/8 inch mini connection to allow connection to a 1/4 inch headphone output.

The second most expensive headphone in that store was the Sennheiser HD570’s priced about $100 less. And yes, Sony obviously went all out to include good transducers on the F1’s and they do sound better than the Senn 570’s. So Joe Average consumer who is willing to spend the bucks, but not doing much research, probably will go home with a pair of MDR-F1’s. But, the totally open design of the F1’s, while adding to the naturalness of the sound, also detracts from the ability of the headphone to produce the detail and bass possible with more traditional headphone designs when engineered with very good transducers. Of the five headphones reviewed here, the Sony’s fall at the bottom of my list for sound quality. Don’t get me wrong, these are very good sounding headphones. If I was in a position of needing to wear headphones for hours on end, I would not hesitate to buy these cans. In fact, for movie watching or listening to binaural recordings, I would probably rate these as the best of the batch. And for those of you who don’t like the inside of the head effect headphones can be sometimes accused of, the Sony’s would also likely be you first choice.

Sennheiser HD590 (Orig. $290... Jan.2001 update, price now $250): The HD590’s are the replacements for the 580’s which have been in the process of being discontinued for a while. Sennheiser seems to be playing the corporate game of release new product... sell sell sell... when sales slow... discontinue and release a replacement new product... All of this regardless of quality. Though the design is quite a bit different from the 580’s, only in some minor ways do the 590’s improve upon the 580’s. The cord design connecting to a plug on the left ear solves an intermittent problem which plagued the 580’s. And comfort is a bit improved due to a lighter weight, (which is mostly due to an increased use of plastic). Fortunately, even with the increased use of plastic, these cans appear to me that they will be very durable due to some smart engineering. It seems though that the sound quality of the 590’s has not been improved over the 580’s. To do so would have made them sound better than the HD600’s, and obviously we can’t take away from the sales of their current high end best seller!

Sound wise, the HD590’s offer slightly better detail than do the Sony MDR-F1’s, and quite a bit better bass. When you consider these cans are almost as comfortable as the Sony’s, those of you needing headphones for long listening sessions, may want to spend a bit more money on these for the sound improvements.

Grado SR325 ($295): At this level, Grado takes their great transducers and places them in an aluminum housing which sticks out from the ears like some robot in a sci-fi movie. The concept is to give the sound some room to rumble in. To my ears, it works. Grado has retained the level of detail available with their lesser expensive headphones, yet added a bit more ambiance to create a bit more natural and fuller sound.

As with the SR225’s, the 325’s can be powered by just about any sound source with great results. The comments I made about comfort and cords for the Grado SR225’s also apply to the SR325’s. Though I understand Grado’s emphasis on sound quality, I do wish at this price level they could address comfort a bit more. Ahhh, but that sound! I just can’t seem enjoy other brands of headphones when there is a pair of Grado’s to be listened to! Nuf Said!

Sennheiser HD600 ($350): This is Sennheiser’s current darling which has garnered Stereophile Magazines highest accolades. Except for retaining the cumbersome two sided cord entry which has passed down from it’s ancestors, the build quality on these cans is immaculate, (and they even come in their own hard protective case). Comfort is quite good, (though not quite as good as the lighter 590’s). But if you are a beginning audio enthusiast, I should warn you that these headphones are not the Holy Grail. The 600’s require quite a bit of power to drive them and you should make sure you have some quality electronics to connect them to. If you own a department store level receiver, you are probably wasting your money buying these headphones unless you plan on upgrading in the future. Companies that manufacture mass merchandised receivers scrimp in every way possible to lower price. And this includes the electronics used to drive a headphone. Also, if you plan on driving the 600’s with a headphone amp, be sure you opt for one with more power. Though my Audio Alchemy and Grado headphone amps do drive them, many CD’s I listened to required turning the volume knob far closer to the max than have any other headphone I have auditioned with the amps.

OK, you say you have a good sound source and feel the desire to own the best headphones. Well, The HD600’s are not the most comfortable of those reviewed here. Neither do they offer the best detailed sound of the bunch. But overall, the 600’s seem to offer the most rounded sound of the bunch and comfort level is quite good. Though I personally prefer the sound of the Grado’s to the Senn’s, I can see why the Senn HD600’s get rave reviews since most audio reviewers have access to higher quality electronics to drive them.

Grado Sound vs. Sennheiser Sound:

If you were to go into a high end audio store in a bigger city, and compare two different pairs of $2000 speakers, you might find you definitely prefer one set over the other. This does not mean the other speakers are no good and nobody would buy them if they had a chance to hear both pairs side by side. Different strokes for different folks. Different people have different tastes in music and are listening for different things.

For Example: If you listen to a solo classical guitar up close in person, you hear lots of high pitched squeaks when the guitarists fingers slide over the strings. If you move further away in the room, you will still hear the guitar, but the squeaks will not be quite as obvious. With a good classical guitar recording and Grado headphones, I hear those squeaks. With Sennheiser's, I barely hear those squeaks. Some people don't want to hear the squeaks because they would normally not be standing next to the instrument, but rather somewhat away from it. But I do want to hear the squeaks since that is the way the music actually sounds, (assuming you are listening to a good recording).

Some of you may have read notes from one headphone retailer on the Internet that say the Sennheiser HD600’s are better than the Grado SR325’s because the Grado’s emphasize the treble too much. I assume what they are calling too much treble is what I am calling detail. To me, since I really do like the sound of the SR325's and listen to Grado’s constantly, (mids are clearer to me also), the Sennheiser's sound seems muffled to me.

No one is right or wrong when it comes to higher quality stereo equipment. It just depends on the individuals tastes and musical preferences as to which equipment is right for you. I have access to both the Senn HD600's and the Grado SR325's and I just happen to prefer the sound of the 325's. But I continue to sell both because I know others will prefer the Senn's. If you listen primarily to acoustic music with relatively fewer instruments like I do, you would probably prefer the Grado sound. If you listen primarily to music with larger ensembles or a lot of electronic amplification and production, you may prefer the sound of one of the other circumaural headphones.

Conclusions:

While the unique lightweight open design of the Sony MDR-F1 is far advanced in comfort and three dimensional sound capabilities, compared to the Senn’s and Grado’s at this price level, it is a bit lacking in detail and bass. If you have the need for the most comfortable headphones with very good sound, I can favorably recommend the Sony MDR-F1’s.

The Sennheiser HD590’s offer a bit more detail and quite a bit more bass than do the Sony’s. And comfort wise, they come very close to the Sony’s. If you require very good comfort in your headphone choice and sound quality is very important to you, the 590’s should be worth the extra bucks to you.

Sennheiser’s highly acclaimed HD600’s are the most expensive headphones here and really do require a higher power, high quality sound source to power them. They are not quite as comfortable as the 590’s or the Sony’s, and the dual lead cord is a bit more cumbersome. I really only recommend the 600’s if you are serious enough to invest in a high quality amp, (or if you are lucky enough to already own one).

The Grado SR225’s are the bargain of the bunch. While not quite offering the bass or the fullness of the Senn’s, the detail of the mids and the highs is far superior. The dual lead cord is heavy duty but a bit cumbersome. The comfort, while being passable after break in, is not the best of the bunch. If you wish to experience very high quality sound from just about any source, and don’t plan on listening for hours on end, the price of the SR225’s should lure you.

For me, sound quality is the absolute supreme when I am auditioning headphones. As far as sound goes, I prefer the Grado SR325’s to all models covered in this review. They possess a bit fuller sound than do the 225’s and the bass is also improved. They too can be powered by just about any source. The comfort and cord negatives of the 225’s also apply with the 325’s, but at this price, you are obviously paying for the sound quality. I find that I rarely listen to more than one or two CD’s in a setting, and I personally will continue to listen to the 325’s in most of my listening sessions!

The Big Headphone Review