A Koss vs. Grado problem

[tygger]

Hi All,

Meeting a strict deadline on my photographic assignment I had to spend the last 48 hours (with occasional naps) in front of a computer. Since retouching is mostly a mechanical task involving little to no brain activity I decided to use this time to give my Mahler collection a thorough listen.

At a certain moment when I grew a bit tired of the weight of SR-325i (driven by RA-1) I switched to listening to the same music from iPod -> Corda Move -> KSC-75. I was surprised, to say the least. The sound became more consistent, and despite the less resolving power of the 75s I could still distinctly hear groups of instruments in the orchestra, but the sensation of music as a whole strengthened! I listened to a great performance of Mahler's 9th by Scherchen which was very poorly recorded in early 60s. With the 75s I was just paying less attention to recording quality because the music grasped me from the start!

Can this be a sign of my tastes in sound equipment getting worse? If I prefer a pair of cheap clip-ons to Grados, is there a chance that one of these days I may try Those Triports and like them? Maybe some fellow HeadFiers have met this fenomena before.

My 75s are Kramer-modded, recabled and have extra pads on top of original ones (both quarter-modded).

I seem to be losing whatever standards I had regarding headphones!

[HFat]

Originally Posted by tygger

Can this be a sign of my tastes in sound equipment getting worse?

Yes. I fear you may soon end up wearing Senns.
You're already talking nonsenns like "the sensation of music as a whole strengthened"... your only hope is to upgrade your recordings!

I wouldn't worry about the Bose thing. You seem to get a kick out of listening to expensive gear and pretty much everyone can afford those.

[uraflit]

different sound = nice refreshing taste

i go through that experience too, but then sooner or later want more "refined" sound quality... however long that may be depends on you

[Nagasaki_Kid]

maybe it's your RA-1

[MaZa]

Its all about a change. Keep listening to those Koss for quite a while, till their bad sides start to bother you. Switching back to Grados will provide same effect, only in form of superior clarity and energic, simply alive sound. Thats why keeping multiple completely different headphones has its merits.

[tygger]

MaZa, you're right.
Just listened to LedZep's Houses of the Holy with Grados - they truly shine with drive and clarity. What continues to surprise me is this lack of price/SQ constant with the 75s

[Drag0n]

I think its that the MOVE is so much better than the RA1 amp.
The RA1 is due for an upgrade to match the pretty wood finish.
Time for the RA2