Well, here's a few more notes:
iMetal
Very sensitive. Min volume on the laptop is pretty loud.
comfortable. good highs, decent bass. Some microphonics, not bad.
Good bass, perhaps a little strong. Nicely detailed. Good isolation. I like these! Not trying to convince myself I like them, like the Grados. Treble possibly a little thin, could be the source.
Back to the Grados.
switched tips, much better. stronger bass, better treble, mids. poss. still muffled.
direct compare between the two, the grado feels denser. The iMetals seem a bit tinny. Weird. (Sting-Hung My Head)
Megadeth-Hangar 18, pretty much the opposite. Grados sound thin.
Bela Fleck-Variations in C on God Save the King- had a hard time putting both in. Hard to tell.
Fit makes this very difficult.
U2-Elevation. When the bass kicks in, the iMetals move me. Doesn't hurt that I love the song. I can hear the tape hiss on the Grados. Immediately, the midbass feels fat, the treble hot. Makes the song kind of unpleasant, really. How disappointing. Gad, you'd think these things were Axioms or something. Too revealing?
Tried wearing the iMetals for a more extended period while putting clothes away, feeding cats, etc. Now I understand why people were complaining about microphonics. Bangbangbangbang go the cords. I put on the clip, which made them a little better. Still quite tolerable for my purposes. Hopefully the Etys or the Senns will sound as good with less microphonics.
I still want to like the Grados, but I think they would be a compromise to a great extent. And compromising up to my highest priced headphone doesn't make sense.
Still no word from Headroom on whether I can cut open the boxes for the other two and still return them. If not, they're going back un-listened to.
