[XLR8]

I have some interesting thoughts/experiences.

I have been working flat out and so my trusted collection of Grado's were happily incognito in my draw for quite a while..at my other place.

They were like this for about 4-5 months up until a few days ago when I pulled my delicious RS1i's out.
Initially, for the first 10-15minutes they sounded a tad thin lacking homogeneity, but after a good 1 hour or so, boy did they warm up and open like a butterfly.

Putting them back on today that same lusciousness and warmth it still apparent.
Looks like they needed a tad more burn-in but this is as close as it gets to natural timbre and warmth in sound.

It's pure cleansing this Grado sound for the body, mind and soul...
I hear my RS2i's and HF2's calling my name..

 

[XLR8]

Ok Guys,

I have gone through the whole gamut again.
Rather interesting to re-hear your cans after an exodus. Warmly recommended...

The HF2's have really surprised me. It has the bass of the RS1i and the transparency, and detail and air of the RS2i. If anything it has even more speed than both of them.
Quite the catch...

The RS2i as you would expect has lesser bass than the RS1i but more transparency in the mids and tops.
The RS1i has a wonderful bass and twang up top with an exquisite retrieval of detail.

However, the HF2's are truly unique and seemingly combine the best of both worlds and then some..
Thnx you Grado

 

[joseph69]

I have some interesting thoughts/experiences.

I have been working flat out and so my trusted collection of Grado's were happily incognito in my draw for quite a while..at my other place.

They were like this for about 4-5 months up until a few days ago when I pulled my delicious RS1i's out.
Initially, for the first 10-15minutes they sounded a tad thin lacking homogeneity, but after a good 1 hour or so, boy did they warm up and open like a butterfly.

Putting them back on today that same lusciousness and warmth it still apparent.
Looks like they needed a tad more burn-in but this is as close as it gets to natural timbre and warmth in sound.

It's pure cleansing this Grado sound for the body, mind and soul...
I hear my RS2i's and HF2's calling my name..

I actually had the same experience with my RS1i. After not listening to them for quite sometime, I listened to them a few days ago and thought…wow these sound thin! But after a while of listening, they sounded excellent like they always have. I do believe as well that they needed to be burned-in/warmed up again after not being used for some time.

 

[punkmanmatthew]

My RS1is sound thin even if I just listen to other headphones like the ps1000es for a day then I switch to the RS1is. After a few mins they sound normal again after my ears get used to their sound signature. I think it's more of a case of brain burn in again since ur used to the other sounds of other headphones. It will have to take some swaying me that the actual hardware are needing more burn in.

 

[joseph69]

My RS1is sound thin even if I just listen to other headphones like the ps1000es for a day then I switch to the RS1is. After a few mins they sound normal again after my ears get used to their sound signature. I think it's more of a case of brain burn in again since ur used to the other sounds of other headphones. It will have to take some swaying me that the actual hardware are needing more burn in.

I believe it is both.

 

[punkmanmatthew]

Can't argue with that! Lol

 

[waifu]

I ended up settling on the PS500E.
 
It was really tough. But I went through my iTunes library and just listened to all my music, and decided I liked how the PS500e's sound matched my taste in music. Also, I think the stock Grado G Cushion Pads helped elevate the PS500E (to make up for some of the flaws I felt they had). The GS1000E obviously does things the 500 doesn't, but I guess I just liked the 500E more overall.
 
Was a really tough decision. Honestly, I found it really difficult to A/B headphones back to back. I found it was easier listening to each headphone by itself, and then taking a break. I tried listening to the same song over and over switching back and forth, and it made the 500E sound much worse. I thought that was because the 500E was worse. But it wasn't that, because there were things about the 500E sound that I know I loved, that I couldn't even hear when I was swapping back and forth. My ears just had a really hard time adjusting between sound sigs.
 
Maybe my ears are just weird though. Apart of me wonders if i should try the GH-1 or whatever. But I dunno. I really don't want to stray too far from the 500E's warm sound sig, because I know i'll get ear fatigue. I actually had one of my older Grado headphones the 225. I got it out of storage, and it destroyed my ears. Got a burning sensation in my ear, that got worse and worse. Same issue I had with the 325 when I tried them out a long time ago. 
 
So I think I'm going to just land on the 500E w/ Stock G Cushion pads. I'm really happy with them. I am willing to try anything else out, if you guys feel there is another Grado I would like. But this seems like a good fit for me. 
 
The only other headphone I would consider again, is the LCD-2. I thought the bass slam on those were awesome, and I really liked the smooth/musical sound sig. Very fun. But I hated the Audeze build, it was really uncomfortable (I have a very small head, and the weight hurt my scalp and my neck!). Also just hated how my ears felt boxed in by the clamp. Plus, I think I like the Grado's "energy" that they bring. So yeah. Prob just going to stick with the 500E. 

 

[joseph69]

  I ended up settling on the PS500E.
 
It was really tough. But I went through my iTunes library and just listened to all my music, and decided I liked how the PS500e's sound matched my taste in music. Also, I think the stock Grado G Cushion Pads helped elevate the PS500E (to make up for some of the flaws I felt they had). The GS1000E obviously does things the 500 doesn't, but I guess I just liked the 500E more overall.
 
Was a really tough decision. Honestly, I found it really difficult to A/B headphones back to back. I found it was easier listening to each headphone by itself, and then taking a break. I tried listening to the same song over and over switching back and forth, and it made the 500E sound much worse. I thought that was because the 500E was worse. But it wasn't that, because there were things about the 500E sound that I know I loved, that I couldn't even hear when I was swapping back and forth. My ears just had a really hard time adjusting between sound sigs.
 
Maybe my ears are just weird though. Apart of me wonders if i should try the GH-1 or whatever. But I dunno. I really don't want to stray too far from the 500E's warm sound sig, because I know i'll get ear fatigue. I actually had one of my older Grado headphones the 225. I got it out of storage, and it destroyed my ears. Got a burning sensation in my ear, that got worse and worse. Same issue I had with the 325 when I tried them out a long time ago. 
 
So I think I'm going to just land on the 500E w/ Stock G Cushion pads. I'm really happy with them. I am willing to try anything else out, if you guys feel there is another Grado I would like. But this seems like a good fit for me. 
 
The only other headphone I would consider again, is the LCD-2. I thought the bass slam on those were awesome, and I really liked the smooth/musical sound sig. Very fun. But I hated the Audeze build, it was really uncomfortable (I have a very small head, and the weight hurt my scalp and my neck!). Also just hated how my ears felt boxed in by the clamp. Plus, I think I like the Grado's "energy" that they bring. So yeah. Prob just going to stick with the 500E. 

So I'm a little confused…your keeping the PS500e, but you say with the "stock" G cushions?
The PS500x comes "stock" with L cushions…so which do you prefer with the PS500e, the 'stock" L cushions or the Grados G cushions?
 
As for the GH1 it has a warm sounding tonality with excellent detail. They come with L cushions "stock" but I much prefer them with the G cushions. I don't know your location but you could borrow many HP's (HERE) from The Cable Company loaner program in home for 5% of their retail cost + shipping for 10 days. Your 5% retail cost is then applied as a credit to TCC towards any purchase you might make in the future and also accumulates the more you borrow from them.

 

[waifu]

  So I'm a little confused…your keeping the PS500e, but you say with the "stock" G cushions?
The PS500x comes "stock" with L cushions…so which do you prefer with the PS500e, the 'stock" L cushions or the Grados G cushions?
 
As for the GH1 it has a warm sounding tonality with excellent detail. They come with L cushions "stock" but I much prefer them with the G cushions. I don't know your location but you could borrow many HP's (HERE) from The Cable Company loaner program in home for 5% of their retail cost + shipping for 10 days. Your 5% retail cost is then applied as a credit to TCC towards any purchase you might make in the future and also accumulates the more you borrow from them.

 
So I bought EarZonk G Cushion pads for my PS500E. And one of the things I really liked about the GS1000E, is that it "wrapped around my ears" and had a more enveloping sound as a result of it. I realized the stock G Cushion pads were different then the EarZonk ones. So I swapped my GS1000E stock pads and put them on my PS500E while doing testing.
 
I found I really liked the Stock Grado G Cushion pads with the PS500E (even more so then the EarZonk ones). So I just ordered the Stock Grado G Cushion pads by themselves for my PS500E (as I'm going to send back my GS1000E and so the Stock G Cushion pads need to go back with them).

Hope that makes more sense. So  I'm going to keep my PS500E and just use Stock G-Cushion pads. Was an insanely tough decision. I really liked the GS1000E.

I currently live in So Cal. But I'm really south, so there is no Hi-Fi shops near me. Would have to drive 2-3 hours to LA or other locations that have Hi-Fi shops. So I'm usually stuck using Amazon. Thanks for telling me about the The Cable Company. Sounds really interesting! 
 
I think I should try that program out. Sounds like a really fair deal. And if I like them, I can just pay for them. 

 

[joseph69]

   
So I bought EarZonk G Cushion pads for my PS500E. And one of the things I really liked about the GS1000E, is that it "wrapped around my ears" and had a more enveloping sound as a result of it. I realized the stock G Cushion pads were different then the EarZonk ones. So I swapped my GS1000E stock pads and put them on my PS500E while doing testing.
 
I found I really liked the Stock Grado G Cushion pads with the PS500E (even more so then the EarZonk ones). So I just ordered the Stock Grado G Cushion pads by themselves for my PS500E (as I'm going to send back my GS1000E and so the Stock G Cushion pads need to go back with them).

Hope that makes more sense. So  I'm going to keep my PS500E and just use Stock G-Cushion pads. Was an insanely tough decision. I really liked the GS1000E.

I currently live in So Cal. But I'm really south, so there is no Hi-Fi shops near me. Would have to drive 2-3 hours to LA or other locations that have Hi-Fi shops. So I'm usually stuck using Amazon. Thanks for telling me about the The Cable Company. Sounds really interesting! 
 
I think I should try that program out. Sounds like a really fair deal. And if I like them, I can just pay for them. 

Now I understand.
Glad you tried/enjoyed the PS500e w/G cushions! As I mentioned, a lot of people do enjoy the PS50x w/G.
 
I do believe TCC loaner program will ship to you in CA. It really is an excellent way to listen to a number of HP in home with your own system and then decide which you want to buy.

 

[GreenBow]

@waifu it's excellent that you made you final decision.
 
I liked you introductory post on the Grado Fan Club thread. Where you said your female friends don't get your audio/acoustic fascination. ...I was left thinking, what you might be telling us next. Something like you're going to buy an Asus Strix GTX 1080 soon and you're into high end PC gaming, hahaha...
 
Yeah I think I agree A-B testing is exhasuting. Long story, I recently bought a Chord Mojo DAC and A-B'd it against my Meridian Explorer. Yanking wires in and out got frustrating. Much easier to listen to one for a few days then the other. Both DACs had good and different qualities.
 
You definitely have me itching to hear the PS500e.

 

[joseph69]

  @waifu it's excellent that you made you final decision.
 
I liked you introductory post on the Grado Fan Club thread. Where you said your female friends don't get your audio/acoustic fascination. ...I was left thinking, what you might be telling us next. Something like you're going to buy an Asus Strix GTX 1080 soon and you're into high end PC gaming, hahaha...
 
Yeah I think I agree A-B testing is exhasuting. Long story, I recently bought a Chord Mojo DAC and A-B'd it against my Meridian Explorer. Yanking wires in and out got frustrating. Much easier to listen to one for a few days then the other. Both DACs had good and different qualities.
 
You definitely have me itching to hear the PS500e.

I totally agree with you and @waifu when comparing HP's. 
The best way for me is to compare a challenger to my favorite HP's is to listen to the challenger for a few days, then go back to my favorite and I know immediately if I like the competitor or not.

 

[DavidA]

  I ended up settling on the PS500E.
 
It was really tough. But I went through my iTunes library and just listened to all my music, and decided I liked how the PS500e's sound matched my taste in music. Also, I think the stock Grado G Cushion Pads helped elevate the PS500E (to make up for some of the flaws I felt they had). The GS1000E obviously does things the 500 doesn't, but I guess I just liked the 500E more overall.
 
Was a really tough decision. Honestly, I found it really difficult to A/B headphones back to back. I found it was easier listening to each headphone by itself, and then taking a break. I tried listening to the same song over and over switching back and forth, and it made the 500E sound much worse. I thought that was because the 500E was worse. But it wasn't that, because there were things about the 500E sound that I know I loved, that I couldn't even hear when I was swapping back and forth. My ears just had a really hard time adjusting between sound sigs.
 
Maybe my ears are just weird though. Apart of me wonders if i should try the GH-1 or whatever. But I dunno. I really don't want to stray too far from the 500E's warm sound sig, because I know i'll get ear fatigue. I actually had one of my older Grado headphones the 225. I got it out of storage, and it destroyed my ears. Got a burning sensation in my ear, that got worse and worse. Same issue I had with the 325 when I tried them out a long time ago. 
 
So I think I'm going to just land on the 500E w/ Stock G Cushion pads. I'm really happy with them. I am willing to try anything else out, if you guys feel there is another Grado I would like. But this seems like a good fit for me. 
 
The only other headphone I would consider again, is the LCD-2. I thought the bass slam on those were awesome, and I really liked the smooth/musical sound sig. Very fun. But I hated the Audeze build, it was really uncomfortable (I have a very small head, and the weight hurt my scalp and my neck!). Also just hated how my ears felt boxed in by the clamp. Plus, I think I like the Grado's "energy" that they bring. So yeah. Prob just going to stick with the 500E. 

If you haven't done it yet, create a list of songs that you know really well from the various genres that you listen to and use this list while doing auditions of gear.  It might make it easier in the long run.  My current list is 32 songs: jazz (5), classical (5), blues (2), Kpop (2), Jpop (2), rock/classic rock (4), new age (2), pop (2), country (2), R&B (2), world-Hawaiian (2) and EDM (2).  An even mix of male and female vocals, live and studio, large and small ensemble, and different tempos, all are WAV files.
 
I can understand having a hard time with doing quick A/B auditioning, I've noticed that with a few of my friends when they listen to 4 or more headphones in quick succession they seems to get confused with what they are hearing.  For my GF and I since we switch headphones all the time and usually listen to 5-8+ different headphones everyday the transition from one headphone to another is fairly easy and quick.  I've also noticed that when I was building my first SennGrado and trying to tune it to my liking with dynamat, sorbothane and felt that it made me a little more sensitive and quicker to pick up very small changes that I didn't notice when I first started this crazy hobby.
 
As for the LCD-2, my GF is like you, she likes the sound but can't listen with them for more than a few minutes due to the weight, her favorite headphone is the HD-700, fairly light, very comfortable ear pads, great sound stage, nice tight bass and clear highs when driven properly.
 
Glad you came to a decision with the PS-500e and can now just sit back and enjoy the music.  Hope you are having a great 4th of July weekend,

 

[sayitaintsoap]

Anyone prefer the 225e over the RS2e? I've got both on hand now.
 
RS2e: sound stage is large, like you're in the audience. More relaxed, smooth sounding. Lots of detail.
 
225e: sound stage is smaller but more in your face. Like you're on stage. More upbeat, fun sounding. Not as much detail. 
 
I think the RS2e is objectively better but subjectively, I find myself liking the 225e more. 
 
Though maybe it's just the bum in me subconsciously trying to save myself money because they're both within the return window.

 

[james6333]

Honestly not surprised the PS500e was your choice. They are my favorite grado because of thier different sound signature.