RS-1 or GS1000 for ipod Classic?

The RS1's aren't better than the GS1000, but would sound better out of an ipod.

Quick question: are you planning to use the grado as a portable headphone?

They are both open cans and thirst for power. So better find some closed or noise iso cans that can be easily driven by ipod.

I've owned GS1000, the soundstage is ridiculously, in the good sense, large. It's better than RS1 but in most people's opinion, just not worth for the bucks.

Btw, 575$ is a good price indeed.

GS1000 requires good and well chosen amping and will in my opinion sound like cr.p out of an iPod. It is also big, very loose on the head and extremely open so you will need to turn the volume up way higher than an iPod will be able to do to drown out even minimal background noise. I very much liked the GS1000 I had for acoustic jazz and classical but not at all for rock but all that was driven from my home rig. RS1 I can't comment on

I wouldnt use those grados as a portable outside of the house - in my opinion you'd need something with isolation

Buy the GS1k. There's nothing wrong with it. Lovers of the RS1 have every right to harp about how the GS1k is not necessarily an "improvement" upon their favorite can, which happened to be the Grado flagship before it was replaced by the GS1k. But you have to see these criticisms in their proper perspective. This is a family fight - between Grado lovers - over which can ought to be #1. In fact, these two cans are more alike than anyone cares to admit. It's just that somebody's favorite headphone got one-upped and not everyone thinks that was for the better.

Outside of the Grado community, similar fights have been going on between different factions of other headphone communities. Whenever a headphone maker replaces its beloved flagship with a "new and improved" model, the battle lines are drawn. Sennheiser had a good thing going with the HD600, then came out with the HD650. Lovers of the 600 have been vocal in their denigration of the 650 much the same way Jan Brady cried, "Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!" The same thing happened at Ultimate Ears when UE replaced the UE10 (the world's first custom IEM) with the bassy UE11.

The typical way to fix these disputes is to come up with an all-new product that makes the sibling rivalry obsolete. Sennheiser came up with the HD800. UE came out with the UE18. Westone had its own rifts when it upgraded the UM2 with the Westone 3. It solved this problem by following up the W3 with the UM3X, a more subdued and balanced triple. Because neither version was considered "better" than the other, Westone has enjoyed good sales of both - and without so much negativity. Grado's solution to the RS1/GS1k dispute was to come out with the PS1000.

The GS1k is no second-rate headphone. It was a revolutionary approach to Grado's critics. They said the Grados were uncomfortable: The GS1k has circumaural pads. They said the Grados were harsh: The GS1k recessed the mids by increasing ear/driver distance. They said the Grados had no soundstage: The GS1k offered the widest soundstage of any Grado. They said the Grados lacked bass: The GS1k offered the most bass of any Grado in production.

If you switch out the jumbo pads and replace them with the same bowls (L-Cush pads) used on the RS1, the sound signatures are much closer. The ultimate difference is that the GS1k has more bass while the RS1 has more high-mids and lower treble. A GS1k with two sets of pads can do rock or classical. For certain tracks or certain styles, an RS1 may provide a better presentation but by how much? The fact that we are having this conversation in the first place is really a tribute to the degree to which the RS1 loyalists have convinced everybody there was something wrong with the GS1k, whose own position has been undermined by the fact that it has been dethroned by the PS1000.

But if you just listen to the phone (and change the pads if you need to) you'll find that the GS1k is well worth the price you are being asked to pay.

For a year, I wore my GS1k while taking walks, at grocery stores (hahaha), at the doctor's office, and while working out at the gym. All the talk about how you can only use these at home is bull. There ARE places where it was relatively ineffective - such as on buses (the rumbling of the road would strip the bass) but they were few and far in-between. In most instances, the sound of the music was so much louder than the normal ambience of the world outside that I'd hear little or nothing unless there was a spike in sound - car horns, tire blowouts, etc.

The real reason not to wear these outside is cosmetic. If you don't care about style, you're in the clear.

Using such nice headphones with an ipod is kind of like putting race car tires on a bicycle. The grating treble you heard on your friend's SR225s was very likely due to inadequate amplification. My SR225s sound much better with an amp, because the most audible effect of amplification is to move the headphone speaker the 1/f distance required to produce slow oscillations, greatly improving the bass. Likewise with a dac the role of the generous trebble will be clear- to render gobs of detail present in the high frequencies of music.

And as the above post notes, Grados are not meant to be used outdoors because they do not block ambient noise at all and that will drown out the music and all that expensive sound quality will be inaudible. To hear the music outdoors you'll also have to turn up the volume, which could be worse for your tinnitus.

Sorry to be so negative but those wonderful headphones really are meant to be used indoors. My guess is that your money would be much better spent on good lightweight closed headphones.

It's not that you can't use them out, I just wouldn't. I'd be too scared about damaging the wood.

Fair comment. In fact, with woodies, it really pays to think it terms of wood preservation. Woodies can dry out. They can also rot. My biggest concern was always rain but even inside, you have to take care of the wood just as you would anything else of value.

If, by that, you mean that nobody needs top fidelity while on the run, you may be right. On the other hand, people have a hard time limiting themselves to less - even on the run. Does the average person sporting custom IEMs really need these if they're not on stage? If you can only afford one pair of headphones, get the best pair you can. If those are all you've got while out and about, wear them in good health.

You're right about the intended purpose of these Grados. Nobody markets open-air headphones as what to wear outside. There's no isolation. That openness is a perceived weakness in situations calling for isolation. And if the outside sound is a big enough problem, it'll invade the presentation within the phones. But I'm telling you, from extensive experience with practically every Grado in production, you can take these outside and enjoy them without blowing your eardrums out. You can't use them while mowing the lawn. You can't use them at the airport (at least not outside). But there are many times and places where these cans would be more than fine. Taking walks is one of them. I've done it, many times over.

I've had the chance to compare the two at home for a few days,and,in my opinion,the older GS-1000 have a wider soundstage,and a little less bass than the new "i" model,and since i never tought that the old GS-1000's bass was lacking,i ended up keeping my phones