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RS1/RA1 combo. Something's missing!

post #1 of 7
1/21/03 at 12:34am
Thread Starter 
I've recently been bitten by the high end headphone bug. I heard a pair of koss cans at a local music store. I found this website and set out a goal to get the best setup that I could afford.

I'm sorry to say, but after spending close to a thousand dollars on the Grado RS1/RA1 combo, I pretty disappointed. I thought that for this price, I should be able to listen to everything and it should sound great. WRONG! I will admit, some recordings sound absolutely incredible. I just bought the new James Taylor cd,,,,,Jaw dropping clarity. I also just bought the new Red Hot Chilli Peppers. What I noticed is that when things get a little loud and busy,,,,,,,,,,,everything turns into a big mess.Also a little too forward. It's kinda wierd because it's not piercing brightness but just shy of it. You're on the verge of cringing and then it goes away. This really upsets me because a love large orchestral pieces of music. It's true what people say about that onstage performance. Unfortunately, that's not what I'm looking for when I pop in Tschaikovsky's 5th Symphony. I'm not bashing the cans or the amp, I just wished that could handle a larger variety of music.

So after a substantial investment in this system, I'm still searching the web looking for 'Audio Nirvana'.

I'm looking at this combo for classical: Senn 600/Cardas upgrade cable/ASL MG Head/Cardas Neutral Reference ICs/Sony SACD player. There goes another thousand dollars.

Does this EVER END?????
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post #2 of 7
1/21/03 at 12:48am
Well,

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news (and possibly some flames from some other RA-1 owners), but the Grado amp is the weak link in your system. Although I'm not really a fan of the RS-1 either (I hear it as too bright), I've heard the phones with the RA-1 and different/better amps and the RA-1 just doesn't have the ability to drive this headphone with any power and maintain a sense of coherence to the sound. In a recent audition of exactly this combination, I heard VERY distorted sound when passages got busy and louder. At lower volume settings, it was okay, but still not to my liking. I know the amp was in good working order--I've heard two DIFFERENT RA-1s on two different occasions and heard the same thing. Quite frankly, this amp is a poor choice for your RS-1s.

Yes, the Cardas/HD600 combo is a good one for classical, but I don't really think you're going to get any improvement without an amp change.

There are LOTS of choices available that would sound better. IMO, if you were to stick with the RA-1, I'd choose a darker/smoother amp, such as the RKV. The Corda Prehead (and HA-2 may be almost as good), Sugden, and HeadRoom amps are all good amps to look into.

Good luck with your next decisions. I'm sure others will chime in shortly with their opinions
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post #3 of 7
1/21/03 at 12:52am
One other thing I forgot to mention--the RS-1s DO have a more forward presentation than, say, the HD600/Cardas. This is one reason the HD600s make a good phone for classical. They put you out in the audience of the symphony hall, rather than on the conductor's podium. The AKG 501s are good for classical as well.
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post #4 of 7
1/21/03 at 3:21am
If you haven't, change your pads and see if that fixes your problems. Flat pads, reverse bowl pads, or the senn pads with holes cut in the centre will all get rid of the brightness in the rs-1's. Don't waste your money if you don't need to.

Biggie.
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post #5 of 7
1/21/03 at 4:52am
I think part of the clarity problem lies in the batteries. It's not a good idea to use regular rechargeable batteries. At 9.6V, it sounds much better than at 7.4V.
Also, you are using a PDCP for your source. Check your system with decent source and interconnects (and fresh batteries) before you dismiss the beautiful sound of this combo.
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post #6 of 7
1/21/03 at 11:22am

Re: RS1/RA1 combo. Something's missing!

Quote:
Originally posted by meech
Does this EVER END?????

No, it ever ends.
(well except for vertigo-1 but he's different )
You could try out the 600 at first with the RA-1.
Some here think that this combo doesn't sound bad at all.
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post #7 of 7
1/21/03 at 12:08pm
A couple of things were mentioned that should be tried to maximize the performance of the combo. The RA-1 works bests for me using a 9.6v NiMH rechargeable battery. Plainview makes the only one of these I know of (all others are either 8.4 or even 7.2 v, not good). Try www.thomas-distributing.com to get them. The other mod mentioned is to used pads from the Sennheiser HD-414 headphone. These get very close to the sound of the original pads the RS-1 came with, before they were changed to the current version. You can do a search for further discussion on both of these issues.
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