Why Grado RS-1 only rated 3 in Headroom? - Page 4

It seems rather pointless to have a Sennheiser vs Grado flame war.....since these are the two house sounds that compliment each other the best!!!! Team Sennheiser and Grado should get along

Ah...Senn vs. Grado debates. Back to the roots of the community!

The HD650s or 600s for that matter, with the zu moebius cable paired with a Headroom Max was some of the best sounds I have ever ever heard. If I had to own such a system, I could easily forget about upgrading ever again. But that sound is different from what Grados offer so thankfully there are options and one can go either way. My main problem is that I have never found Senns to be comfortable, with that clamping vice they call a headband. Since I have never owned a pair, I have never felt comfortable enough bending the phones that were on loan to me. Since I have other headphones, I thus was never really motivated to go after them. However, if I had some money to burn, I would play with the HD650s and pair them with a Headroom Max (new one now I guess, that balanced monstrocity that replaced the old Blockhead). Seems to be an ultimate mating.

As for value, everyone is going to have their own opinions. If one reads through Tyll's site, one will note they love the SR60's and for a long time, they were one of their most beloved and well promoted phones. Despite him not personally enjoying Grados compared with Senns, he is not totally biased against them. He also likes the 225's.

For others, value will always be subjective yet how many think the $18k price tag for the Big O, or even just the original 8-9k askiing price for the HE90's was a bit outrageous? Talk about diminishing returns! Yet...once heard, so many claim it to be the bestest thing since breathing fresh air. Maybe even better than that! Again, if I had the money, I would own the full on Big O and then experiment with the various electrostat amps recently released. But to be sure, I would own a piece of Headphone history in its entirety - the Orpheus. Sure I can get sound that is perhaps on par for much much less, but there is something about that system I want to hear one.

On the headroom scale, the $190 DT990s that many of us picked up should rank a 7.

X2 XD

Maybe one of the reasons the HD6xx's get such a high rating from Headroom is the fact that they synergize very well with Headroom name brand amps. If you buy a headphone in the HD6xx series you need a dedicated amp to get any kind of high-end sound from them and Headroom makes a lot of them. If you buy an RS-1 you don't really need an amp right away and if so they don't synergize that well with Headroom amps which in the end doesn't make as much money for Headroom. They definately won't make as much money selling an RS-1/RA-1(bought by them at cost) combo as they would selling an HD650 and Headroom Home(WAY below cost). Of course they would want to sell a headphone that synergizes well with their own amps, it's a no brainer. I would do the same and I'm sure you guys would as well. In the end I'm sure you can tell I'm a RS-1 fan. I was converted a few years back and don't see myself returning to the dark side for a very long time. Happy listening.

I think they are rated a 3 because similar top of the line headphones from other companies are twice less and are very much comparable in terms of detail, etc... Also can't forget the fact that they come in a skimpy box. They are handmade, yes, but that doesn't really appeal to everyone as much as some people think

Another reason is headphones like the HD6XX series are much cheaper because they are mass produced. This makes them a much better value when compared to the insane amount of money you have to fork over just to get your hands on the RS1's. Even then, I'm pretty sure Grado really inflates their prices because there is no way it costs them even a fifth of the RS1's price to make them. Then again, if they didn't inflate they would probably go out of business pretty quick

So much to buy still =( ,
the audio world is a great motivator, i still need the rsB-52,RS-1s,225's
loads more stuff.

This is what gets me up at 5.30 am and keeps me going all day.

Chef's life. wake,shower,1 hour bus to work plug in,plug out.Eat,poop,sleep.
repeat 6 days a week..

touche

All I can say is that good ol' Ben quite likes his new RS-2s, though I do see fewer of him in my wallet, than if he prefered to sport black plastic Senns.