I hate the fact that I can't go anywhere to "try out" headphones and see what I like.
What do you think would be more along the lines of what I'm looking for?
You know, I really don't know. What sound exactly were/are you looking for? You seem to like a mid-centric presentation from your like of your Grados, but you also seem to want more bass which is why you got the US.
Along those lines maybe a Senn? Though I'm not a fan of their sound signature (too muddy, veiled for me) they should have adequate bass and a more filled out/rounded/warm mid range sort of like Grados but not as forward I suppose (I have the 595's and have heard the 600's so that's what I'm going off of here).
I'm not sure of your budget either...
I know you know of Head-Fi, but I'd really look around there for advice. There are simply many more can users there then here so you'll get a lot more info.
I'll agree to having a different opinion than permanent waves.......I think the drivers in mine needed to loosen up a bit. Kinda like a new pair of shoes. At first they hurt, then you get used to them. Do the shoes change - or your feet? Doesn't really matter to me, as long as I can comfortably wear them.:yes:
Rob
And I'll agree you have a right to that opinion of course. I'll also agree that what really matters is whether your "ears" (psycho acoustics) adjust to the sound or not.
However, empirically, this is a non issue. Unlike shoe material which DOES loosen up/break in, drivers do not. At the absolute MOST a driver is "broken in" within a few hours and it's more like a few seconds at the factory when they test the drivers. So the sound out of the box is what you get. This is not opinion but physics.
Also, and I know this is anecdotal "evidence" and thus hardly scientific or trustworthy, but I have put down my various cans for months before picking them up again. When I do, I hear exactly what I heard the moment I first got them (although this is acoustic memory here which is of course not very quantifiable) since my ears are simply not used to their sound after not hearing them for awhile. I've been struck by the difference I hear from my cans just from not being used to/adapted to their sound from using them daily or at least weekly. This is also true for me with speakers.
Anyway, no argument here, and I respect everyone's right to their opinion on the issue even if I don't agree or think it is not a matter of opinion in at least one important sense.
Well I guess I'll keep doing like I did last night. Run em with some slightly louder than listening level hard rock all night for a few days. We'll see if it makes a difference.
In all likelihood it will, at least psycho acoustically IF you are listening to them and thus getting used to their sound signature while doing so. If you find you get used to their sound (psychological burn in) enough to be able to enjoy them (which you already seem to be somewhat), then great and keep them! If not, then don't hesitate to return them.
What I was really warning against by stating that physical burn in is non existent was the clever trap many manufacturers set for their customers. That is, if/when you are dissatisfied with their product and you tell them about it, they will claim it simply needs more time to "burn in", which is usually conveniently set to last longer than the return period (or at least close to it). Many, of course, state on the site or in the packaging to allow for a certain time for "burn in" to preemptively keep you from being dissatisfied/returning the product. And many on sites such as this back up such claims as well, so if you listen to all the talk of burn in and trust it more than fact/what you are hearing, you can be stuck with a product you don't like.
So my advice would be to not listen to your cans at all while "burning them in". Then pick them up after doing so, the later the better (i.e. wait a few days in between hearing them) and see if they sound just like you remember when you first got them (there is no physical reason why they should not). This way your psychological burn in (which will occur as you listen to them and get used to their sound and make you more tolerant of its defects) will not be mistaken for the non existent physical burn in as you have not been getting more used to the sound signature of the cans simply because you haven't been listening to them, just like how my cans sound exactly like I remember them the day I got them after I don't listen to them for awhile and my ears aren't so used to their sound. And each of them have thousands of hours of use on them, so why no change in sound? Because that is purely psychological. Humans are creatures of custom and habit as David Hume observed, so we get used to/adapt to things very easily, even things we dislike but have to do (such as a job we dislike at the start but then come to be able to stand later simply by exposure to it day after day). This perceptual ability we have easily and more reasonably explains such non existent effects as "burn in" than the claims that drivers (much less other electronics) sound somehow change with use/time when there is no empirical evidence of this (besides a very brief time perhaps).