Champagne Headphones on a Beer Budget After a steady diet of earbuds - good earbuds - I wasn't expecting to hear much improvement from a $100 pair of over-the-ear headphones. But I was in for sonic equivalent of a $14.95 all-you-can eat buffet - but one serving lobster, caviar and truffles. From the first note, the lush fidelity of the Grado SR80i headphones was a delightful shock. The secret to the sound really is a secret, said John Chen, director of sales for Grado Labs, a Brooklyn-based audio manufacturer that makes its headphones in the United States. Part of the secret is that the speakers for the headphones are hand tested to make sure they match. That matters because no two speakers perform exactly alike, but the more closely they match, the better the stereo effect. That means you hear more details and the sounds are more convincingly spread out around you. But how they match them is a secret, said Mr. Chen. It smacks of bit of the lofty and sometimes dubious theories found throughout the stereo business, but whatever - the things sound great at a bargain price. Mr. Chen sent me the SR80i's to try, but also the $400 SR325i's to compare. While the SR325i's certainly had more definition and nuance (I could more easily pick out individual instruments) it was really only an advantage on detailed recordings like symphonic music and the famously fussy Steely Dan discs. On more pedestrian recordings, like banging garage rock and movie music, the more dramatic SR80i's were punchy and more than up to the job. That is tacitly acknowledged by the 3.5mm jack that comes on the 80"s, meaning it's ready for iProducts (it does come with a 1-inch standard adapter to fit the headphone hack on most stereos). The 325"s only come with a 1-inch jack. I would have liked to try the lower line, $80 SR60i's. While there is a risk of getting a less than perfectly matched set of drivers, you might luck out. Or you could just consider the extra $20 for the 80"s a bit of insurance.