The Sony 3K better than the Grado RS1? Are you kidding me? I don't think so! The Sony is not even in the same league!!

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I may be new here, but I don't see that happening.

ken, check out this review by John Sunier:

CD3000 vs RS1

Ah, the old Sunier review. Well rememberd, Markl

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IMHO of course, the CD3000 are better and you even save some bucks. Wide soundstage. Wide soundstage. Wide soundstage.

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Can you compare the soundstage between the HD590 vs. the CD3k? While you are at it, let's have a comparison of all their attributes

Being a Grado man, my views will of course be slanted towards the RS-1.

I've heard a couple of Sony cans (not the CD 3000 though); all I can say is, I think the part about Sonys sounding 'cold' might well be true. They're probably well suited for dj mixing and studio monitoring (professional use), but not much when you have a love affair with your music.

Grados are probably the only headphones that get you upclose and personal with your music. Warm, intimate, and most important, LIVE. But they have also been describe as 'harsh', and tend to reveal the limitations of recordings. I kinda like this 'warts and all' quality, which is why I listen mostly to Grados (especially the RS-1).

Hope this helps.

by reading these forums over the last few months it appeared that sony cd3000 was sliding in popularity. but thats not true . i saw many for sale and thought that they were not popular anymore.


looks like the next popular headphone for those who can afford it is the Sony R10

I have purchased from ross here in down under his Sony cd3000 today and i should have them by the end of the week.

you guys in the states have to remember that here in australia to hear something we have to buy it. Ross told me that you land the sony cd3000 cost him over $1400 AUST$

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I thought about it, especially because I took lots of photos of both the CD3000 and the 590, it would be interesting.

For now, I can tell you that something I noticed as an improvement from the 590 was the soundstage effect. Recordings seem a lot more spacious with the 3000, you're not hearing from headphones, sound is pretty much everywhere around you. Bass is also more natural.

Both are very detailed however, crisp and bright, without being tiring. In fact, I do find their sound very similar, with the major difference being a much better soundstage with the 3000.

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We are much too preoccupied enjoying our Grados.

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I fully agree.


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Or exaggerated soundstage?

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That's not what I said, and there is quite a difference between the two strings.

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Strings. Strings arranged by Paul Buckmaster?

The soundstage quote is yours. The rest are others. I just used one post.

At the risk of getting back on topic of RS-1 and CD3K...

It really depends on the amp...a lot. I'm using the CD3K with the X-Can. Quite frankly, I was going to sell the CD3K until I tried this combo. It's the only amp I've got that lets the midrange of the CD3K fill out. Lots of detail and bass, and fun to listen to. Plugging the RS-1 into the X-Can got a different sound. The midrange was gorgeous...more so than the Sony. Bass is much better with the Sony, as are dynamics. Highs are about equal. However, there's a certain harshness with the RS-1/X-Can combo that's not present with the Sony. That may go away...the RS-1's are new, and not broken in yet. Both headphones are good with the X-Can, but I'd give the nod to the Sony. That particular combo is just plain fun to listen to. It's a really dynamic in-your-face kind of sound that passes Tiefenbrun's foot-tapping test easily. IMO the Sony is more fun to listen to using the X-Can than either the ZOTL or the SHA-1.

Switching over to the ZOTL, the harshness in the RS-1 is not apparent anymore. I'm not sure if it's the RS-1 or the X-Can. Since the harshness isn't present in the X-Can with the Sony, or the HD-600, I suspect some sort of interaction. No idea why, really.

Immediate comparison using the ZOTL was the RS-1 and the HP-1. Those who come to the DC meet this Saturday can hear for themselves, and I'll post my own thoughts after that...

And that's about as far as I've gotten with the RS-1 so far.

markl: no worries...you can say what you want. we are all stating opinions and that is well and good. My objection is when, as you said, you try to offset the Grado fanatics. Since the fanatics had not yet appeared, your response led me to believe you were a Sony fanatic and an outright Grado basher without due cause. As said many times over, they are both excellent cans and I dare say that few would be greatly disappointed by either of them.

So good luck to any and all who can own one or both of these great phones.

Hmm... I've seen aficiondos from Team Grado in other parts of this forum (esp. where we were talking abt flat pads), but I've yet to see any slobbering, salivating, fire-and-brimstone Grado fanatic that markl is talking about.

Or maybe the fanatics have been 'broken in,' which explains their lack of rants and raves?

Anyway, I agree fully with Zanth: there're lots of 'great' headphones out there, but 'great' is highly dependent on your listening tastes, and to some extent, on other equipment and source. I don't expect the whole world to love the RS-1, but I don't appreciate it when the world condemns me for liking it.

A lotta people are 'Team this,' 'Team that,' and some seem to switch teams without much thinking. I think in such a context, it important to form balanced, well-informed and independent thinking without insulting other people's inclinations.

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Just to clarify here, the actual cost, excluding shipping, customs and GST would be about $800-900. Including these costs would probably take it to $1000-1100 (or maybe more, because US dealers will not ship Sony headphones to Australia). I had to pay multiple shipping, customs and GST because I could only buy them through a US intermediary, and because the first pair were defective and so had to be returned.

Ross

PS Ken, it may be a little optimistic to expect delivery by the end of the week, but I will do my best.