Cowon iAUDIO 9 & Grado SR80i
 

I recently purchased a kit consisting of iAUDIO 9 and Grado SR80i. I already got used to the interface of the player and I like it, however it seems strange to me that my old earphones (Sennheiser PX 100 II ) actually sound louder then the Grado's. Is it the player not powerful enough to drive them ? would I benefit from a portable amp without sacrificing sound quality ?

Also, what EQ settings do you recommend for the Grado ? So far I've tested the presets and I like the "rock" preset, but this maybe only because it seems to me that it raises the volume a little bit. I think I should mess up with the individual settings myself, but I'm not such a big fan of tweaking things myself, it would be nice for somebody to post some EQ setting for those headphones, just to give me an idea. I listen almost exclusive alternative rock, and some pop-rock.

Thank you!

I had that same player before, with the Grado SR60i. It has plenty of power for your Grados, they are just a completely different sound than the PX100's.
Go into the custom settings, and as a first attempt, bump up the Mach3Bass to 6 or 7, leaving everything else alone....that should make a nice improvement all by itself.:)

It's possible that your i9 is running the EU firmware, just change the region to anywhere other than the EU. For example change to USA.

• Open your system folder
• Delete the "PARAM" file
• Power off
• Power up - no need to change firmware, you are back at the original screen. Now choose your language (DO NOT CHOOSE EUROPE). Last choose your radio setting (any will do).
• Now your volume should be fine and gives it much more power

Edit: I guess I failed to mention, due to health regulations in the EU they force DAP mfg's to put a volume limiter on the player, this is probably why you have weak volume.

I already selected another region than Europe, so I think this is not the case.

I bumped up the Mach3Bass to 7 and left all other settings alone, and indeed it made up for a nice improvement. Still, the PX 100 II sounds a bit louder and warmer. Any other suggestions to warm up the sound a little bit ?

The Grado's are superb when it comes to detail, though.

Try enabling Stereo Enhance, and bump BBE up to 2 or 3.

Marvin if you have to run Mach3Bass @ 7 the grados can't be that nice :D ;) Remember the commercial where's the bass :rolleyes:



Edit: no offense to the OP

Since mine are essentially unusable now, I am trying to suggest things to Hattifnatt from memory.....so far, so good...lol.

It's worth noting, though, my tastes have changed a little bit in the years since I got them. They were a dramatic jump up from the cheapo muddy headphones I had before them...but after trying some other sets down the line, I did find myself EQ-ing in some bass when I used them.

The beauty of the new JVC HA-S500 that I have, is that they do have bass, without sacrificing the mids and highs. No EQ required.

HA-S500's, now we're talking :)

You do know I was yanking your chain. While grados aren't for me either, they have their uses for those that love upper mids and highs with good detail. While I love mids and some highs I do love the warmth from the lows. That said, I would agree with you on EQ'ing in the missed bass on the grados for the OP and the i9 EQ works very well IMO. Although I dial down the frequencies that I do not want to emphasize versus increasing the ones I want more of. With headphones that have really weak bass I might also dial it up a notch or two and still lower the upper mids and highs rather than just boosting the lows too high. AS you know too much boosting can cause clipping and/or distortion ...

Can you provide some more detail about the EQ settings Walkgood ? I'm a total newb when it comes to music, tried to mess up with the EQ but I found it a little bit confusing and finally gave up since it didn't sound that good.

I am aware of this practice, the lowering of some frequencies instead of just boosting, but frankly I have never needed to do so. I realize that yes, boosting too far can cause distortion, but it is not something that I have ever experienced.

Of course, that could be due to my use of Replaygaining down to 89db.....;)