I guess my love of headphones began in the very early nineties when my aim was to own a pair of Form 1s I saved and loved them and still have them (as ornaments!). The introduction of CDs gave me a headache listening to them quite literally I couldnt listen for more than an hour without a headache!! Being a physio I thought it was cervicogenic/postural and gave up really listening through headphones.

With the purchase of my next childhood dream a Beogram 8000 with a 20 EN in 2004 I got out my old vinyl and purchased a pair of sennheiser 585s quite magnificent and no headache listening to vinyl!! wow hours of late night listening accompanied by the occassional cabernet I have grown to love music again with my Beomaster 6000 (80s) or my pioneer 8800 with a 518x (my dads old one).

Last month I felt like upgrading the headphones reading all the reviews I really felt I would be going for the Grados particularly the 1000i. I cheekily went to a local hifi center with my sennheisers and a BM5000 so that I could compare a vast range. To cut a long great day short I tried in the following order:

Seenheiser 600 and 650

Grado SR80/RS1 and 1000i

Denon AH D 500 / 700

so quite a range in price!! Have to say all great and wow to them all. I chose a CD called Is it In by Eddie harris to compare them all Jazz funky type though im mainly a 70 s 80s Guy i do love the musicallity (is that a word? ) of this Cd

Anyway the conclusion Grado loved them they are different to sennheisers  great and I loved the comfort of the 1000i but very expensive. 650s again fantastic BUT the denons blew me away beautiful in design and i felt the grados made me feel like a cyberman (a little bias possibly affecting my decision??) but these closed headphones sounded incredible. I felt completely entranced by the music addicted by the sound!

Did I buy? Yes the denons 700 but not for from the store the guilty bit!! When you can buy £250 cheaper on the internet you cant afford to feel guilty!! After all that I still love the 585s and will keep them but I do feel that the denons take me somewhere else musically!!

ps still love my form 1s just because!!