Grado RS-1 too bright?

 Are you finding the bass to be fairly big and bloomy? I find the Arcam rDAC when I had it adds a little coloration

 in that sense ~ big bass across the board, it was almost over the top with my 325i at times.

 As for general brightness, it's such a subjective thing ~ there is no way of telling how sensitive you might

 be to the Grado house sound, but overall you cannot have it all ~ absolute clarity, speed, involvement are

 all Grado character traits, some higher end Audio Technica's also share this trait but it can result in

 fatigue.

 It also comes down to your material - what do you listen to?

 Try getting some flat pads ~ either the factory Grado flat pads or the Sennheiser HD414 yellow pads, that will

 also tame the edge off the upper mids and treble area, bass might prove to be over the top though.

Hello and welcome, Joe. I have an RS-1 from around the same period. To me, it's a very bright headphone at all times, but not to the point of discomfort. No headphone should cause actual discomfort in that way.

Many of us choose to pair our Grados (especially the RS-1) with either tube amps or warmish SS amps to somewhat tame the highs and bring out the sweetness in the mids and fullness in the bass. Unfortunately, I haven't used your amp AND my RS-1 came well broken in, so I can't comment on either of those two parts of your question.

I would personally suggest sticking with them to see if burn in (both physical and psychological) does the trick. They're well worth the effort. Despite having purchased many "higher-end" headphones in the last few years, I still feel the RS-1 best approximates the natural sound of an acoustic guitar.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olias of Sunhillow 

Despite having purchased many "higher-end" headphones in the last few years, I still feel the RS-1 best approximates the natural sound of an acoustic guitar.

 I could not agree with you more there good sir. 

 Add electric axe to that too.

RS-1's become less strident with burn in, and with a properly matched amp... and... with the "tape mod" (search the Grado threads for the tape mod, but it's electrical tape wrapped around the outer edge of the pads).  The tape mod prevents the pads from collapsing and provides better soundstage and mellows the sound.  

Few phones are better (if any) for acoustic music.  Though, I think I like my "new version" Senn HD580's (with the HD600 screens)... perhaps... as well - very similar sound... and... my ATH AD2000's, as well - maybe a bit better.  But, for acoustic material the RS-1's are very hard to beat!  I find if difficult to chose between these phones - though, I think the RS-1's sound more realistic for acoustic guitars, violins, cellos, etc.

The mate very well with all my amps... but... if I were going to focus on the RS-1's primarily, I think I'd get the MAD Ear+ (or variation) - all the reports are superb for that pairing.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by joe chill 

Flats are on the way, hopefully they will arrive tomorrow =)

 Good work - I say try keeping them busy until then - as in keep them playing to rack up the hours before the flatty pads arrive.

 Try them on for size and report back with the results.

My RS1i are on a Mapletree tube amp, which really smooths out that Grado "sparkle" or brightness. I have no problems listening for a few hours at a time.

I also have an rDAC that I'm really happy with. It's coax compares very well to the analog outs of my Rega Saturn CD.

iTunes lossless files from my Mac Mini to the rDAC asynch USB are great. It's pretty much the equal of the Rega Saturn with redbook CDs. HDTracks downloads at 24/88 or 24/96 are spectacular.