After a few weeks with the semi - vintage Grado RS1 and a little time to roll some different pads and plenty of different tubes....I now can give some impressions of its sound.
Like always, these are just my impressions and made with my ears and my gear...so take that with a grain of salt as YMMV. Blues & rock are my preferred genre.
It has been some time since i had my RS1i, so I can not say for sure how those stack up with this version of RS1, I also have made changes to the rest of my chain and I am sure that those have some effect.
Prior to getting these RS1 headphones, I have been scratching my Grado itch with a pair of 225i headphones.
Without any doubt, I much prefer the RS1 sound, it just more refined, from top to bottom.
I am going to give my impressions of the flat pads with two different tube combinations, one combo is pretty simple and one combo is a bit more extravagant.
First I can say, with out any hesitation , that I like the flat pads better on this older RS1 than I did my RS1i.
When I say flat pads these are the TTVJ flats pads , with the slits around the edges of the pads....not the s- cushion pads.
Listening with this tube combo......1950's RCA 6AS7 power tubes & RCA 1942 6SN7 smoked glass driver tube.
I could listen to the 225i with flats pads, but my current RS1 is much better. The bass is nice and clean and still very much controlled.....the sound stage is a bit narrower, but the depth and texture is very, very nice.....the mids may lose a wee bit, but they are still very present.
I know it sounds strange, but to my ears, with the flat pads and this tube combo...the RS1 sounds
warm. I really like this sound, not a hint of brightness up top.....just a nice warm sound signature, one that I very much enjoy...great Grado transparency and warm sound. Decent amount of air between instruments , but it is more from front to back and not so much wide. Crosby, Stills, Nash - Manassas album sounds amazing.
With the flat pads, I can turn the volume down, compared to the L cushion, but I can listen to these RS1 with a higher level of volume than I ever have listened to Grado headphones before, I have always been a very low volume listener with my Grados.
The flat pads sound warmer than the L-cushion with this combo....only thing is...after a couple of albums, the comfy factor kicks in and it is time for me to swap to the L- cushion.
After listening to both the flats and the L cushion on this combo...I still prefer the L- cushion..not as warm, but it still wins the comfy battle....but make no mistake, the flat pads are very nice sound and a wonderful change of pace.
Still using the flat pads, now with this tube combo....Six 6BL7 as power tubes & two EL3N as driver tubes.
I can still play the volume much louder and the sound just becomes bigger....from top to bottom and from side to side.
The bass slam is wonderful, especially for an RS1. The wonderful Grado mid range is still there and the treble again, is on the warmer side...some may call it rolled off..and it is compared to the normal Grado top end, not as much sparkle...you may or may not like this...most people enjoy the top end sparkle and air of Grado headphones. I sure do, but I also like this version very much...a tamed down version, so to speak.
This sound is not as warm as the combo mentioned above, and with a switch to the L cushion, it becomes easily identified that the sound stage gets wider, but not as much depth...so again...this would be to ones personal preference as to which they like the best.
I also prefer the mids of the L cushion over the flat pads, but I will say that this is the best that I have heard the mids with the flat pads....better than the 225i produced.
In conclusion of the flat pads vs the L cushion, at least in this little experiment, I still prefer the L- cushion.....I still like the over all sound with the L-cushion better, but again...this is just my opinion.
I do like the flat pads better than I have ever heard them before and I will use them from time to time, but I just can not go beyond a couple of albums at a time, and the comfort level gets to me.....I probably favor comfy , more than most
In conclusion of the RS1 semi - vintage - I like it a lot, as i have said, it has been awhile since I heard the RS1i and my chain of gear is now different.
I find this older RS1 to have an over all warmer tone than the RS1i, just can not pin point the reason why , as it could be the headphone or my amp, my amp has a naturally warm signature to it, that is just the nature and tone of it....so it more than likely is a combination of both headphone and gear.
Likes for the semi - vintage RS1
The little bit of extra bass
The ability to turn the volume up and not feel that it is fatiguing but still sound wonderful at low volume and not lose detail.
Over all warmer tone
Thinner and lighter cable & 1/4" plug
How easy it is to change pads, it is top notch....other companies should take note of this
Of course, it's sexy looks
Dislikes....these are really minor and there is not much that I do not like about this headphone
The cord is a tad long, even though I love that it is lighter....still after experience other cables, I think Grado could make a more comfy cable and one easier to work with.
Again, these are just my opinions and what I hear with my gear, so
please take all I have said with this in mind....The over all Grado sound is one that grabbed me from the start when I first heard them, I love that there are really fun and the sound of string instruments is amazing.
Please do not hold me responsible for any misspelled words, as this is way more than I usually type and as my wife sometimes says " you could f%#! up a steel ball, with a rubber hammer" !