Sennheiser HD 800 VS Grado PS 1000 - Page 2

 

Haha, I wouldn't even bother replying to this kind of thread.  Obviously the OP just want some Hi-Fi gears for "shows" and have no real interest in actually listening to the music.

 

Nevertheless, hip-pop, when done right, can sound pretty good in audiophile quality.
 

 

Grados are better looking to me, but the best model I've listened to are RS1i's, 1 or 2 steps down from those top end model you want, and they were sweet sounding and good looking.  I really love the looks of Grado, very classic compared to those Sennheisers. The best Sennheisers I've heard were 600hd, which are also super nice, and highly recommended. As much as I want either of these in my collection, and love the Grado looks 3x more, I'd get the Sennheiser. I'd also get some Grado sr 60i if i were you, just so you can try to imagine what the 16x more expensive Ps1000's would sound like (but i'm sure they aren't 16x better sounding):)   

Edited by JamesHuntington - 8/31/11 at 9:30pm

blade007,

I have the HD800 and the GS1000i, unfortunately not the PS1000 that you want. But I'll give my 2 cents.

HD800: very comfortable, very balanced and natural sounding, amazing soundstage which makes music very life-like.

 

GS1000i: very light and comfortable, very bright treble, midrange is recessed and distant-sounding, bass is exaggerated but in a very nice way (I can't stop listening to the bass of 50c In Da Club).

 

Others have said that the PS1000 addressed the distant sounding midrange problem of the GS1000i, but the PS1000 is also said to be very heavy, well over 500g, compared to the feather light GS1000i.

 

I love them both very much, and my advice is to decide between natural sounding vs exciting sounding. Personally I would just get both.

 

just wondering, why limit yourself to hd800 and ps1000 only when you listen to rap? 

Personally, I was against the HD-800 when it was announced. I didn't think it'd be worth it. However, I was interested in the PS-1000.

After listening to the HD-800, I bought one. And after listening to the PS-1000 I decided that I liked the HF-2 better.

I should add that I was, and still generally am, offended by the dramatic rise of headphone prices a couple years ago. It pushed me into speakers which I think are a better value.

Totally!!

 

I'll be brutal but I don't care... very few people here have an idea about requirements of Grado PS1000, especially when they are entitled to tubes. I compared them several times to the HD800 on various solid state and one tube amp, using a couple of different sources. Each time there was too much corruption of natural presentation of music and sounds on the HD800 against the PS1000. There is no contest between the PS1000 and the HD800. With headphones kind of HD800 or T1 you get some unique features being actually smart, tiny artifacts of sound, and some limitations on the other side. The HD800 have artificially short decay and lack the middle treble. Imagine dry leaves flying over the pavement. This is what you get in their highs. The soundstage lacks perspective. It's like pure 3D view in CAD software. When you spend some time with the T1, you realize they are just boring, annoyingly boring, mainly due to flat presentation of sounds in the midrange. There is no depth. The sounds in the midrange mix on one surface. I guess this is the result of high level of THD which you can see in the other graphs from the website that some people here care so much to paste regularly. The flatter the response, the louder you will have to set the volume to have impression of natural reception of music. God bless your ears! When you look at the isophone graphs, you shall realize what is the loudness curve for. You can just listen comfortably at lower volumes.

 

Another thing is when you look at the headphone inventory that people own. Some of them preach the rule that you have a dedicated headphone for certain genres. I have just one pair of the PS1000 and don't even think about the kind of music before placing them on my head. I listen to all genres on just one pair of headphones, The HD565's have virtually no use. I'm keeping them mostly to have a headphone for trying assembled DIY cables using HPSC connectors and that's it. The PS1000 connected to the right amp will serve you well with any kind of music. I enjoy pop, rock, metal, electronica, opera, classical, jazz, folk, rap, add whatever you want as I won't even start thinking if something will suit the Grado or not. When you spend some time with them and let them shine (low impedance of the amp is required), the variable called "headphones" disappears. You can play a bit with cables or sources from time to time but pairing the right amp with them delivers peace of mind. I don't know how much better the LCD2 than the HE-500 is, but the latter are not much better than the HD800 and probably not a bit than the T1. Just different. So, unless there is some progress from the HE-500 to the LCD2, the PS1000 is a clear winner. And they are a bit lighter, too. ;) The headphone that might compete with the PS1000 is the Ultrasone Edition 10. Not as picky as the PS1000 in terms of amp but still requiring high quality headphone setup.

I recall a lot of your impressions, my are pretty at the same level.

 

When you listen to HD800 you listen to HD800, which means, they tell you how they think it should sound like. Natural and life like? Sorry, but that’s something that I can't even think about. Their 3D presentation, no matter what kind of the record you use, let musicians flying around, creating very artificial feeling of space, which is nothing to do with the reality of wide and deep staging. If you want the natural and real presentation, listen to K1000 ones, so, your idea about HD800 may change for life.

 

Listen to PS1000 is very different experience, they are intimate and warm when need it, beautiful midrange, simply seductive voice reproduction. They are punchy and powerful when asking, low end is incredible, deep, articulate and detailed. The instrument separation and musician placement very precise and easy to visualize. These headphones have it all and if I wasn’t that crazy about K1000 they would be my choice.

 

But before all that, make sure your source and amp are equally good, otherwise just forget it.

 

I will repeat myself ones again, go and listen to both of them, next to each other, because no matter what man says, include me, your own ears and  brains are the only 2 friends you got, the rest is just other man opinion.

 

 

Honestly, given your musical tastes, OP, why aren't you looking at the LCD-2?

 

While I'm a huge HD800 fan, I don't think it is the best fit for what you listen to. You want bass, a smooth midrange, and a bit more of a laid back treble. That happens to be the sound signature of the LCD-2. What you don't want for the music you like is something ruthlessly revealing like the HD800.

 

Oh, and avoid the PS1000. I used to own one and I'll have to disagree with the other posters here and say that IMO is totally not worth the price. Not at all. IMO it should not be considered to be in the same class as the HD800, LCD-2, and T1 as far as sound quality. The only thing it competes on is retail price, a race it wins easily. Sound-wise the LCD-2 trounces it at its own game and the HD800 crushes it in terms of detail. Though it depends on what you are looking for out of your sound, I don't think there is any single area where PS1000 exceeds the other top-of-the-line headphone options out there. Of course, YMMV.

 

Also, and this is important, the PS1000 is not in high demand right now (nor has it been for some time). If you buy one at retail expect to take a major haircut if you ever want to flip it and get something else. After buying and selling a number of headphones to try and find one that best fit my tastes, I will say that beginners to "summit-fi" really should consider resale value a bit more in their purchasing decisions. That being said, if you can find one for about 50% of the retail price used, then by all means, go for it.

 

Edit: I just took a look on headphone.com at how the PS1000 measures compared to the LCD-2 and HD800. Wow, just wow. I can't believe how poorly the PS1000 measures in nearly all the important categories relative to the other flagships.

Edited by TMoney - 9/1/11 at 7:30am

 

Where? Where? I wish that was true, coz I would buy a pair quicker than you can say Grado

Yeah, I think the Grados do lose their value more quickly too. Also, I think that most Grado users end up on a wild goose chase with amps and mods, etc, trying to get $1500 worth of sound out of them. I think "less" people would mod their Sennheisers or blame an amp. If bad recording details stand out more with your phones, i.e. Sennheisers; change the music not the phones. This is like comparing Lamborghini and Porshe on different roads. It's a hard choice, but I could make it.