So... what would it be?

do you have a url for that grado headphone? never heard of it

Yes... Both headphones can be found on this page!

or you can try google.

Both headphones get very similar reviews, the only difference I have seen so far, is the cost! The Sennheiser HD 497 cost under $40-$50 and the Grado SR60 cost between $70-$80

However, as I live in the UK, I have seen the Sennheiser HD 497's as low as £35 but the Grado SR60's are for around £75....

Direct Links: Sennheiser HD 497 vs Grado SR60

I got the 497 and its quality is quite high but I will not vote cause I haven't heard the quality of the SR60 yet so my vote will bias the results so please people if you haven't heard both don't vote . All I know 497 = looks and the Grado don't. So based on that I will be choosing the 497 over the SR60 since I wear my headphones outside of the house.

Cheers

I took a look at the ratings of some German Audio magazins. This is what I found:

magazin Senneheiser HD 497 Grado SR-60 Sennheiser HD 495
Audio 65 55
Stereoplay 30
Stereo nothing...

perhaps someone can complete the missing ratings...

The points given by these magazins can not be compared with the points given by other magazins.

That is not much, and I suppose it won't help you . The Sennheiser HD 495 was tested at the end of 1999. The number was quite similar to 497, so I mentioned its scores as I found nothing about the HD 497.

Are the Sennheiser HD 497 quite new?

I found nothing at audioreview.com, which is a very interesting site for audio hardware.

fragtal

edit: tabulators do not work properly...

For £75 and £7.99 you can get a set of Senngeisr HD 580's which are highly recommended. I ordered mine from Here

It may take a week or two for delivery but well worth the wait i think!

Cheers,

Kristian

/EDIT
I saw the Grado's on there as well, i guess that was the site you found them for that price anyway? If not where in the UK did you see them?

You can browse posts about SR-60s and HD497

The Grado SR60 is pretty good for $60, which is around what they go for in the US, but I think at higher prices there are better options. From kritip's link it looks like you can get a HD580 for the price of the SR-60s, the HD580s are far better than the SR-60s, but they're hard to drive, you'd probably want to look into a headphone amp with one. I have HD580s and an amp, and they're amazing.

These magazines are not worth the paper they are printed on.

Kundenverarschung und Kundenmanipulation in Reinkultur.

For my taste most of the Grado Headphones are much too bright.

This problem also have the new Sennheiser HD 570/575/590 - they are much too bright.
I knew the older headphones from Sennheiser and was shocked when I first heart the
new HD-570.

I own the old HD-560 (which has a little bit too much treble in the 7...9 kHz region) and
a AKG K-401 (which have a little bit too much treble in the 5...7 kHz region).

Hmmm...

I relied on them when I bought my loudspeakers and my Sennheiser HD 600 headphones, which reached good test results in all magazines and also have a good reputation in this forum.

Do you mean, that their test results are bought by the different manufacturers??

The Grado SR-60 are uncomfortable headphones and, contrary to Frank's opinion, I find them too tonally dark!

A used/refurb HD 580 is your best bet, though you might hit the $100 figure.