[Ryanmf]

This turned out to be a bit more credible than I expected, though I'm surprised to see Shure rated higher than Grado.

Moepstar is right, Beyerdynamics should absolutely be on the list, and given the success of the TMA-1 Aiaiai should be as well. Also, Audio Technica may have produced some cheap crap in the past, but they should be at least one category higher based merely on the strength of the ATH-50.

[aeberbach]

Absolutely - Grado is fine if you really like supra-aural open headphones, but you can pretty much rule them out if you sit anywhere near another person who doesn't care to hear your music. Another problem with Grado is they "protect" international distributors who are free to add any ridiculous markup they like to arrive at a local price. There can be no competition because headphone vendors like Headroom and Amazon just aren't allowed to ship Grado products internationally under threat of no supply.

[vl]

I'm surprised Grado is at this high position at all - their production quality is absolutely abysmal, they came apart in a year - unlike Sennheiser (using for few years), Audiotechica (using for few years) and Technics/Panasonic (these I use for 15 years!). As for the cost - for same money there is always better alternative than Grados.

[colechristensen]

They may come apart in a year, but they're so simple and so fixable, I prefer them exactly the way they are... and they sound better, which is really why I'm buying headphones.