There's a competitive market for a cheap, good-sounding portable. At $49, the iGrado tries for portability and clean sound. This phone comes in two variants:the original black, and the translucent white.

- Considerably smaller than the SR60, the iGrado has a behind-the-back design. The ear pressure is fairly hard, despite the pads; in fact, the edges of the pads may dig into your ears over time. It takes about an hour before you might feel pain in one ear or another. As a result, a traditional headphone like the SR60 comes off as considerably more comfortable.

- The iGrado has clear, well-defined highs and decent mids, with a touch of air. The delicacy of highs makes the iGrado sound more elegant than the SR60. Forget about bass bloat; there's a clarity and precision that makes it seductive, especially with classical works. To my ears, the sound is somewhat more more controlled and refined than, say, the ES7, though some tracks show sharpness in the mid-high range.

- The iGrado really clamps onto your ears. As a result, there's somewhat more isolation than you might otherwise expect.

- An ear pad mod will materially improve the sound for many users. I cut a nickel-sized hole in both pads, and a certain "muddiness" melted away - about 10-15 percent improvement in sound. Mods have not improved the discomfort, however.

- There is a possible future issue with durability. Pulling at the cables near the front will very likely cause either one or both channels to drop off. The pads, too, will require some replacement over the short term. The white cables for some units have been known to discolor over use - particularly where they're handled frequently. There are no solutions to these issues. long-term effects - first with the pads, which will almost certainly need replacement in the short term.

-The long cables can become an annoyance over time, and you're probably already aware of the various options.

MY TEST SETUP: MP3-player: Sandisk Sansa Fuze Music: FLAC Amp: Portable FiiO E5

- the stock version is a joke (extreamly uncomfortable) - it looks ugly on your head - very good sound for your money - cheap materials - great texture in sound - sometimes unstable (wobbly) sound - enough bass - some details are lost - after my modding it is very comfortable (i use it with an Sennheiser PX-100 headband) - good for MP3 too - very good value – but you have to mod it (headband issue) - unfortunately no isolation

sound signature i would say: relaxed sounding music performance with some uncertain impression sometimes but amazing value as well