Private Ear: too much information?

By John Groom

August 2007

Grado SR225 ($449)and SR325i ($549) headphones. Project Head Box II ($249) and Head Box SE ($399) headphone amplifiers.

Grado SR225

Grado SR325i

Project Headbox II

Project Headbox SE

It’s said that we live in an age of too much information. There are times however, when minutiae is important. Take for example, a guitarist that I know. When he is listening to recordings he wants exactness, particularly around issues like the leading edge of a single guitar note or its decay. I suspect that he might like the Grado headphones and the Pro-Ject amplifiers we are examining this edition. Both companies have a house sound with plenty of action in the mid range and attention to detail rather than added warmth.

Moving up

The Grado SR60 ($169) model that was introduced in the previous column is a worthy performer that has been around for a while. I was impressed with it, and curious as to what would happen when we moved up through the range to the more modern designs. Often with headphones our listening is affected, by how something ‘should’ sound, based on previous experience. To assist with objectivity I decided to use a new CD in my collection, Eight Storeys by Randall (SPCSM). This is a delightfully spacious and easy recording with a ‘New Age’ feel.

Getting there

The next step in the Grado sequence that I tried was the SR225s ($449). With this upgrade, the feel of the natural timbre of the instruments is increased. The recording includes a mix of electrical and acoustic sounds and these two categories were now better separated. The reproduction became spacious, less fatiguing and just more natural. The album starts with the sound of someone striking a match and there is no doubt about what it is. You are not yet looking around to see what is burning, but it is moving in the right direction.

Seriously good

I moved up to the SR325i ($549) with some excitement, as these are a much-acclaimed product. On quick inspection, these appear very similar in appearance to the cheaper models. In fact they are all packaged in identical lightweight boxes that will be good for airfreight and the environment. Well done, Grado.

As you would expect, there is a commitment to detail and presence, but beyond that the similarities start to fade. Even when first handled, there is a sense of weight that comes literally from the metal construction, rather than the plastic used in the cheaper models. The sense of weight was also immediately present in listening. One never felt that things would go out of control, giving the 325s a feeling of non-intrusive authority. This authority enables the bass line to bubble along comfortably without overhang into the midrange.

Against this backdrop the treble is left to shine, so that when I started the match lighting sequence I swear I could smell sulphur. This is a brilliant achievement by Grado and it seems petty of me to note that there are people who will enjoy a physically and musically more comfortable experience from other manufacturers.

Help from a friend

The listening to this point had been done through the headphone output on my tried and trusty Pioneer CD player. Not everyone is so lucky to have a headphone socket handy. To take the feed from the analogue output at the back of a CD player into headphones, a headphone amplifier is required. A headphone amplifier can also be used to strengthen the signal from an ipod or a computer.

The Pro-Ject equipment was chosen as a start point as it is well established and an inexpensive entry point. I was straight away taken with simple elegance of the diminutive Head Box II ($249). Volume control and headphone socket are located on the front: with power point, and RCA in and out on the back. No lights, dials or switches. In a crowded work environment the Head Box, just disappears. To get any smaller than this you would have to go on eBay and chase up a battery-powered model.

Often in hi-fi I have noticed that the sound of equipment can mimic its appearance. I was not surprised then, to find that I liked the sound of the Head Box and that it is in fact ‘elegant’, clean and uncluttered but a little shy in the base weight compared with the more expensive competition. On the famous match lighting test, it was now so real that I found myself with an unconscious cringe, as though someone was trying to light the hair at the back of my neck. I was reminded (without the ‘gunge’ of a low grade op-amp) of the expression used to describe early CD players as having the music coming from a ‘black wall of silence’.

More of the same

In the search for sonic perfection, I also tried the Pro-Ject Head Box SE ($399). This is a busy and serious looking piece of equipment covered with heat-sink style fins and provision for two headphone sockets, hence two volume control knobs as well. It has a strikingly blue LED, which can be an irritant if used in an area of subdued lighting. Those who like equipment’s appearance to make a statement, will warm to it, but I didn’t.

The Head Box SE experience refuted my theory about appearance matching sound, as I couldn’t tell any significant difference between the sound of the two Pro-Ject products. The SE however is obviously something to consider if you wish to have more than one headphone used at once.

Gilding the lily

As a footnote to the above headphone amps: it is worth noting that the same 16volt ‘wall wart’ transformer powers them both. I was fortunate to have on hand a compatible power supply from Russ Andrews, designed for use with the Tivoli Radio.

With the Russ Andrews power supply, the sound had more weight and was softer, but the sense of detail was not as obvious. The sound difference was not huge, but certainly large enough to support the contention of manufacturers such as Naim and Perreaux, that the quality of the power supply is a major factor in the final sound.

When choosing headphones (or any other bit of hi-fi gear) there will always be a subjective element to how we listen so that some of us will prefer to listen for detail and others for the comfortable ‘rightness’ of the sound. It is what makes the hobby interesting. For people who listen for informative detail, then Grado and Pro-Ject is a good match.

John is an executive coach and mentor who lives on the North Shore of Auckland