[joseph69]

  I'd go with the 60e--much improved and more balanced sound to my ears from the 60i.

But what about compared to the 80e?
All the (e) series are tuned differently than the (i) series.

 

[KG Jag]

 

  I'd go with the 60e--much improved and more balanced sound to my ears from the 60i.

But what about compared to the 80e?
All the (e) series are tuned differently than the (i) series.

And to my ears ears the e's narrowed the already small differences between the 60 & 80.  The 225e is the first full step above the 60e.

 

[music_man]

at the top end i think it is a matter of preference. no doubt at the lower end the e's are probably better across the board. i tend to prefer the ps1k to the ps1ke. which is odd because i would think 50mm driver is much better. just different voicing imo. i mean for that matter there are $300 headphones with 70+mm drivers. i suppose that does not solely tell the whole story about a headphone. on the other hand i have a much better balanced cable than stock on the ps1k but the stock cable on the ps1ke so it is not really a fair comparison. balanced on that headphone is going to make a huge difference just due to the very nature of the headphone imo. i think like maybe when you get up to rs1 and above it is a matter of preference. for the 60,80 even 225 i think the e is better. i agree a 60e is probably better than an 80 non e. that is the thing though they are tuned differently. it is mainly tuning. even at the top end with the larger driver. it is not like it has gobs more bass or anything. just a little. again this may be due to the balanced cable on the ps1k. i am not sure though i would expect way more bass out of the 50mm driver. don't hear it though. i think the 60e is really the only quality headphone at it's price now. no need to flame i am just partial to grado. even love their totl phone cartridge to anything else period regardless of price. i just love their sound. yes, i am a fanboy.

 

[joseph69]

  at the top end i think it is a matter of preference. no doubt at the lower end the e's are probably better across the board. i tend to prefer the ps1k to the ps1ke. which is odd because i would think 50mm driver is much better. just different voicing imo. i mean for that matter there are $300 headphones with 70+mm drivers. i suppose that does not solely tell the whole story about a headphone. on the other hand i have a much better balanced cable than stock on the ps1k but the stock cable on the ps1ke so it is not really a fair comparison. balanced on that headphone is going to make a huge difference just due to the very nature of the headphone imo. i think like maybe when you get up to rs1 and above it is a matter of preference. for the 60,80 even 225 i think the e is better. i agree a 60e is probably better than an 80 non e. that is the thing though they are tuned differently. it is mainly tuning. even at the top end with the larger driver. it is not like it has gobs more bass or anything. just a little. again this may be due to the balanced cable on the ps1k. i am not sure though i would expect way more bass out of the 50mm driver. don't hear it though. i think the 60e is really the only quality headphone at it's price now. no need to flame i am just partial to grado. even love their totl phone cartridge to anything else period regardless of price. i just love their sound. yes, i am a fanboy.

I agree with your statement regarding the balanced cable on the PS1K.
To my ears it has made a nice improvement over the SE with instrument separation/sound-stage and detail due to blending in the mid-bass with the rest of the frequencies nicely.

 

[music_man]

i think it makes a special diference on the ps1k. for instance i heard much less difference on the hd800. the ps1k largely benefits from it. i am not sure if i would then like the ps1ke better with a balanced cable or not. when they had the stock cables at first i liked the e better because i thought i should but then i came back to the original. with the balanced cable the original is certainly better to me than the e with the stock cable. it makes such a difference i am not sure about the e. it is just a pain in the butt to take these apart. not like the senns obviously. or k502. i wish they put a detachable cable on such high end phones. i guess the problem would be the jack because that has like 12 conductors. plus the cable cost more than the headphones but i had the wire already. i think it increased the headstage and separation more than it does on most. the e is really a different headphone so i have no idea if it would make the same improvement but probably. anyways i imagine the brushed cups are in demand. even though that has no bearing on sound. plus those have many thousands of hours. the e only has like 1,000 hours. i would never sell the original that's for sure.

 

[joseph69]

  i think it makes a special diference on the ps1k. for instance i heard much less difference on the hd800. the ps1k largely benefits from it. i am not sure if i would then like the ps1ke better with a balanced cable or not. when they had the stock cables at first i liked the e better because i thought i should but then i came back to the original. with the balanced cable the original is certainly better to me than the e with the stock cable. it makes such a difference i am not sure about the e. it is just a pain in the butt to take these apart. not like the senns obviously. or k502. i wish they put a detachable cable on such high end phones. i guess the problem would be the jack because that has like 12 conductors. plus the cable cost more than the headphones but i had the wire already. i think it increased the headstage and separation more than it does on most. the e is really a different headphone so i have no idea if it would make the same improvement but probably. anyways i imagine the brushed cups are in demand. even though that has no bearing on sound. plus those have many thousands of hours. the e only has like 1,000 hours. i would never sell the original that's for sure.

Absolutely no reason at all to take them apart.  Cut the TRS off and solder the XLR on. I did it to my PS1K/GH1/RS1i. Nuetrik NC4MX-B 4-pin XLR Male ($4.79) from B&H Photo. 

 

[music_man]

I know but if you want a really high end cable for whatever reason you do have to take them apart. which is tricky. plus soldering all those leads in there and remembering which is which is also tricky. the stock cable is very good as far as stock cables go. maybe the best in the industry. if for whatever reason you want a $8,000 cable..... I just happened to have the wire. I would have never went out and bought a 8 grand cable for them. you are correct though it should be fine to just clip the connector at the end. the stock is a great cable quite frankly.  different cables wil change the sound a little but the balanced will make the most difference either way imo. the pure silver cable may have added something i don't really know. in this case i agree there is no reason to stick on a huge dollar cable. plus i had a $200 connector. honestly i doubt all that made any big difference but i had it. i certainly would not go buy that. in fact to get a better cable than the stock the money is not even worth it imo.

 

[joseph69]

  I know but if you want a really high end cable for whatever reason you do have to take them apart. which is tricky. plus soldering all those leads in there and remembering which is which is also tricky. the stock cable is very good as far as stock cables go. maybe the best in the industry. if for whatever reason you want a $8,000 cable..... I just happened to have the wire. I would have never went out and bought a 8 grand cable for them. you are correct though it should be fine to just clip the connector at the end. the stock is a great cable quite frankly.  different cables wil change the sound a little but the balanced will make the most difference either way imo. the pure silver cable may have added something i don't really know. in this case i agree there is no reason to stick on a huge dollar cable. plus i had a $200 connector. honestly i doubt all that made any big difference but i had it. i certainly would not go buy that. in fact to get a better cable than the stock the money is not even worth it imo.

I was just speaking about re-terminating the SE stock cable to XLR which in fact is very simple. And also using the Neutrik 4-pin because its price/quality is fine with me. I found the same exact impressions as you find with the PS1K running in a fully balanced system…the height/width/sound-stage/separation is clearly improved to my ears. I also feel no need to change the stock cable for a very expensive cable. I'm not saying it wouldn't make a difference in the SQ because I don't have any experience with any other cables but the stock Grado cables, but if you have the cable on hand then it would come down to the decision if you feel like taking them apart or not as you mentioned.

 

[music_man]

agreed. the stock grado cable is one of the best stock cables to begin with. i would be surprised if the cable that cost 3x the phones improved the sound 3%. as you said i had it so why not. i wil say taking those apart without even scratching them is a real pain. certainly not for people without extensive electromechanical experience. plus the soldering job is very tricky. i just wonder if the e would surpass the original in my mind with the same cable. ultimately they did not for me personally with the stock cable. at first i proffered them. as i said because i thought i should. they have a similar sound of course but they have a different presentation. i really think that is preference. i wish they would offer a "classic" and e just for the ps1k. it would be too expensive for them and pointless across the entire line of course. i wish they even offered the clasic with the brushed cups. just wishes. i am not in the market for another pair anyways. they are honestly my favorite headphone overall if you check every box. over the utopia,sr009,he90 etc. it is solely a matter of preference and grado does have a distinct sound. i would say most prominent in the ps1k. i guarantee you i could pick those against anything else in a dbt. i think that is fair since that is not taste but pretty darn obvious.heck, those pads feel like nothing else. i use a darkstar or my on amp but even ray cannot use $100 capacitors for instance. it would be unaffordable then.i hardly even listen to headphones anymore but these are the only ones hanging next to my bed. all the others are put away. except i keep out the blue hawaii and hev90 because they look so cool. they have not been powered on in like three years though. no matter what none of them are any match for ultra high end loudspeakers in a treated room. i still love the ps1k regardless. that is just my opinion. it is a big ymmv as i always say. they may in fact absolutely suck to some people.

 

[joseph69]

  agreed. the stock grado cable is one of the best stock cables to begin with. i would be surprised if the cable that cost 3x the phones improved the sound 3%. as you said i had it so why not. i wil say taking those apart without even scratching them is a real pain. certainly not for people without extensive electromechanical experience. plus the soldering job is very tricky. i just wonder if the e would surpass the original in my mind with the same cable. ultimately they did not for me personally with the stock cable. at first i proffered them. as i said because i thought i should. they have a similar sound of course but they have a different presentation. i really think that is preference. i wish they would offer a "classic" and e just for the ps1k. it would be too expensive for them and pointless across the entire line of course. i wish they even offered the clasic with the brushed cups. just wishes. i am not in the market for another pair anyways. they are honestly my favorite headphone overall if you check every box. over the utopia,sr009,he90 etc. it is solely a matter of preference and grado does have a distinct sound. i would say most prominent in the ps1k. i guarantee you i could pick those against anything else in a dbt. i think that is fair since that is not taste but pretty darn obvious.heck, those pads feel like nothing else. i use a darkstar or my on amp but even ray cannot use $100 capacitors for instance. it would be unaffordable then.i hardly even listen to headphones anymore but these are the only ones hanging next to my bed. all the others are put away. except i keep out the blue hawaii and hev90 because they look so cool. they have not been powered on in like three years though. no matter what none of them are any match for ultra high end loudspeakers in a treated room. i still love the ps1k regardless. that is just my opinion. it is a big ymmv as i always say. they may in fact absolutely suck to some people.

I'm sure taking the PS1K apart is some PITA. At one point I was going to because I don't particularly care for the chrome cups and was going to powder coat them another color, but decided to leave them be instead of possibly ruining them aesthetically. I also find nothing wrong with the stock cable, even though I haven't heard a PS1K with an after market cable to compare it with, I also feel no desire to do so. I also  thought I preferred the (e) as well, but then realized I enjoyed the PS1K more…there were differences I preferred in both, but eventually decided on the PS1K, but both are excellent HP IMO and I may possibly revisit the (e) in the future, or the GS2Ke.
 
As far as enjoying the PS1K I'm right there with you 100%. I also own the 007MK2 SZ3/009/BHSE and find them all to offer different presentations which drawn me in very much, but I do find myself listening to the 009/BHSE much more. This is not to say this combo blows the others away, its just where I'm at right now for my listening preference. The PS1K IMO holds its own against any HP I've heard, and I would be more than satisfied with only owning them as my flagship HP.
[size=x-small]Switching between the 3 takes some time for me to get [/size]aquatinted[size=x-small] with their different sound-signatures, but once I do, each offer a very unique listening pleasure. [/size]

 

[music_man]

i am glad i am not alone. other people think my hearing must be flawed. yes, do not take them apart unless you are very skilled with that kind of work. very easily destroy $1,800 headphones. i do also hate the mirror finish. do not know why they did that since most people do not care for it. grado usually listens to customer feedback before they produce a design. so that is odd. those look terrible imo. i did that work luckily before i became disabled. now, i could not possibly. barely have use of my hands. it's alright though. i can also get skilled labor when i need it. the stock cable is fine on these headphones. i just did that because i could and i had the material. i would never go out and buy a cable for these.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

I LOVE the chrome cups. I would much prefer them to the satin cups that were on the PS1000 for a while, and when I had a choice on the SR324is, which comes (mostly) n satin and (rarely) in chrome, I chose chrome.

Our tastes are all different.

 

[music_man]

thats for sure. yuck! i hate those. i guess it is like a porsche vs ferrari guy. whichever suits you really. matter of taste that's all. however i think mosr people would rather have the satin. i have not even checked if they are commanding  a high price. it is like the mdrr10. when it is gone everyone wants it lol.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

If your only obstacle to a PS1000e is the shiny headphones, I recommend that you consider the GS2000e, which are of wood (mahogany) color.  I just got through reviewing them here, and they are just about as good as the PS1000 (better than the PS1000e and not quite as good as the PS1000 in my listens).

 

[music_man]

yeah but i have the ps1000 with the matt cups and a wonderful cable lol. it is interesting other people feel the ps1k is better than the ps1ke. i thought i had to like them better because they are an "upgrade". after i got over my feelings i decided what sounds better to me. as i said they are my only headphones that are out in the open and i have some extremely high end phones. i do like wood though.