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Grado RS-1/MSP vs. SR-325/MSII

post #1 of 16
10/10/01 at 11:24pm
Thread Starter 
Just wanna see what's going on here...
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post #2 of 16
10/11/01 at 12:05am
I've never heard the MS2 (only the SR-325) but it was way too bright for my tastes compared to the RS-1 and MS Pro. Go Pro!
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post #3 of 16
10/11/01 at 12:42am
WHAT?
No HP-1 or HP-2 in the line up. Arghhhh....
How about a RS-1 vs HP-1 vs HP-2 vs MSP, hehehe
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post #4 of 16
10/11/01 at 1:54am
Quote:
Originally posted by Vka
WHAT?
No HP-1 or HP-2 in the line up. Arghhhh....
How about a RS-1 vs HP-1 vs HP-2 vs MSP, hehehe
MOL! You'd get an enormous representation of the headphone community, what with like 5 people owning the HP series headphones

But I think the 325s are too bright. Would have grabbed them up from Bob (I guarantee I would have got them first...coincidentally saw them immediately when they were posted, literally seconds) at that ridiculous low price, but they're just irritating with those harsh highs. Maybe a tube amp would help tame the treble beast that is the grado 325...who knows. I've been wanting to try out the RS-1 or HP-1 though, just to hear the differences. Anyone want to loan me a pair =)
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post #5 of 16
10/11/01 at 2:13am
to me, the RS-1's were far superior to the 325's.
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post #6 of 16
10/11/01 at 8:54am
It is all diminishing returns, as is most audiophile gear, you must pay a lot more for relatively small gain in sound quality. Yes the RS-1 is slightly better than SR-325 but it should be at over 2X the cost.

Actually the SR-325 should be called the RS-3 because it shares the same sound characteristics as RS-1&2, noticeably different from the SR-225 and lower. Sound is fuller, more 3D than
the SR family sound, mainly because RS family have larger enclosure around driver among other things.

I will have to start another thread about this myth being spread that SR-325 are bright. I have a new set of these fully broken in and they are in no way bright at all IMO, sound very smooth and natural being driven by Grado RA-1 amp, am baffled by Headroom description of sound. I use modified/flipped comfy pads on all Grados.
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post #7 of 16
10/11/01 at 10:16am
Quote:
I will have to start another thread about this myth being spread that SR-325 are bright.
I agree. SR325 bright? Hardly...
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post #8 of 16
10/11/01 at 11:01am
I think that many times people just repeat what they read on here and headwize instead of hearing these headphones for themsleves. This could account for all these audio myths that are floating around.

Another thing could be that they just have bright systems and it is that that they are hearing that is bright.

System matching is so important, yet it is one thing that most people gloss right over. Or worst, never even think about in the 1st place.
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post #9 of 16
10/11/01 at 12:04pm
Quote:
Originally posted by DarkAngel
I will have to start another thread about this myth being spread that SR-325 are bright. I have a new set of these fully broken in and they are in no way bright at all IMO, sound very smooth and natural being driven by Grado RA-1 amp, am baffled by Headroom description of sound. I use modified/flipped comfy pads on all Grados.
My MSII's are certainly not bright to me on my system. I also agree with KR about APS (Audiophile Parroting Syndrome)
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post #10 of 16
10/11/01 at 12:22pm
Quote:
Originally posted by DarkAngel
Yes the RS-1 is slightly better than SR-325 but it should be at over 2X the cost.

Actually the SR-325 should be called the RS-3 because it shares the same sound characteristics as RS-1&2
Hmm ... I just got rid of my 325s and I strongly feel that the differnce between the 325s and the RS1s (which I own as well) is HUGE!!! I almost find it hard to catergorize the RS1s as grado I have aslo owned the RS80s and I feel that the RS1s are just a totally different phone when compared with the 325s or the 80s. I personally did not care for the 325s. The 325s do sound great but they have a bite to them. I found them to have a "harsh" sound. The bite on some vocals (especially when the word contained t's and s's) was harsh. I could not enjoy these phones for this reason. I think that is a characteristic of the 325s being a bit bright ... at least in my system. I find it hard to believe that people cannot find these phones bright!!! Man I would love to hear their system ... maybe they could give me some pointers on how to tame mine. I swear though ... sometimes those 325s made me feel like I was wearing jack hammers instead of headphones.
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post #11 of 16
10/11/01 at 2:37pm
I still think the 325s are bright. You may differ, but I personally have owned them, using a headroom supreme and a meridian cdp to power them. I much prefer the etys, and what is in my mind a much more accurate and neutral sound. I don't make statements I cannot support through personal experience. If I refer to a generalized conclusion, I will say so.
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post #12 of 16
10/11/01 at 2:51pm
I have to agree with the "bright" label for the 325s. I auditioned them side-by-side with the RS2s, and they were definitely bright to my ears.
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post #13 of 16
10/11/01 at 2:57pm
own 325 and 80 and tried the Senn HD-600. RA-1 amp with Cambridge D500SE player. 325 is bright.
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post #14 of 16
10/12/01 at 1:10am
Thread Starter 
Alright, and as for me...

The 325s sound pretty damn close to the MSP, and in some cases best it at certain things like treble detail (not a surprise really). I get absolutely no sibilance whatsoever. However on songs where the singer ends by trying to shatter the glass around them, they can get fatiguing. Otherwise, I would not call the 325s bright. As to system matching, I tried the 325s from my Sbive + Corda, straight out of a Panasonic PCDP, RKV + Denon, and RKV + *mystery CDP* . Basically I went from the worse case scenario to the best, and the 325s were not harsh from any of the sources...definitely a little more nasty out of the Panasonic with a gritty midrange, but I still didn't get sibilance.

So, I'm clueless here as to the totally different findings. On one hand, I totally understand where people are coming from when they're calling Grados bright, because the SR-80s, MS-IIs, and RS-2s that I owned were indeed piercingly bright. On the other hand, I couldn't even squeeze any sibilance out of the RS-1, MSP, and now these 325s if I wanted to. They just all have a really smooth top end.

For a while I thought I had the answer...dirty power outlets (I heard those first 3 Grados in a dorm room, way out in the middle of a mountain side, now I'm in a nice apartment in the middle of town). But I eliminated that factor by going with the Panasonic PCDP, and the MSP and 325 still sounded pretty similar, except the MSP sounded like the more refined (i.e. more expensive sounding) headphone.

So maybe it's really driver variations? Or maybe just hearing loss...strangly Bob found these 325s harsh, and I just bought the 325s off him, and they aren't harsh to me. Hmm...
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post #15 of 16
10/12/01 at 1:53am
Besides hearing loss or driver variations, maybe your listening volume has lowered such that the treble is more controlled as well.

Also have you done marathon listening sessions yet? Perhaps perception of fatigue from brightness is something that just takes duration.

It could be mood too. I have different levels of tolerance for the brightness of my Beyer DT931's out of a 220 ohm jack depending on perhaps my mood.

Maybe something like looking at a computer screen while listening to them for awhile can trigger treble fatigue.
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