So much of the online head-fi like chatter on this subject is near voodoo. I bought some Alessandro MS-1's which are tweaked Grado's after delving deep into online opinions, and they're peaky inferiors, an opinion objectively shown by an obscure online debunking I later found.

Beware popular opinion. Grado SR-80i's are good value for money, detailed but they have flaws.

I could live with Stax all day long.