Hi Dan!

Wow! Rick and John have already said it all! I have heard great things about both the KSC 75 and the HD595!!

I would feel totally out of place, however....

...here it comes....if I didn't put in a plug for my favorite Axiom-sound-alike, the (TA-DAA!)Alessandro MS-1!!!

I did lots of research to see which cans best match my Axioms(since Axiom didn't want to build any for me. )and the MS-1s are it!! Compared to SR-80s however, the MS-1s would be a bit more analytical and netural, but a bit less exciting and less "fun"(this is the standard quote of the Grado/Alessandro differences.)

Seriously though, a great set of cans. I can't comment on the bass question other than to say that the bass is much like the bass from my M50s without a sub. Shucks! They sound just like my M50s! Ok; maybe a bit more foreward and a tad brighter, but I never feel sonic shock going back and forth from speakers to cans and back again.

I like the MS-1s so much that(Hey Rick! It's official!!)I'm getting a new set of Alessandro MS2i!! Ya-Hoo!!

Comfort with Grados' is an interesting question; some folks have no problem with stock pads, others......well! I use Sennheiser HD414 pads quarter-modded and reversed and even with 100gm of sockets on the adjusters(don't ask)I was able to get in a ten hour listening test a few weeks back! But yeah; the MS-1 looks exactly like the SR-80 but comes with Grado "Comfy" pads and the choice of 1/4" or 1/8" plug and will run great without an amp....no problem!!

I have my eye on an amp that really has my attention at the moment. The Gilmore Lite. It was originally designed with Grado phones in mind and is extreemly flat and neutral. Ya better like your cans and ya better like your source cause it ain't gonna add anything or take anything away! The proverbial "bare-wire-with-gain!" The price is the same as the micro-amp: $299. It comes with a standard wal-wart power supply which virtually everyone who has tested finds acceptable but they also have a matching dedicated power supply for an additional $225 which is especially helpfull when the power company is having problems supplying good service!!

Oh; and the MS-1s are $99 shipped!
Rich.