[Patu]

Funny that the topic says that RS-1 eats AD2000 for breakfast but in the end you prefer AD2000 by a long shot.

Still haven't heard AD2000 but I agree that RS-1 is awesome. But I got chance to compare the new buttonless model with the "old" one with a button about a month ago.

The buttonless model took the sound slightly towards MS-Pro being more neutral and clean sounding. There was also huge difference in soundstage. With the buttonless model, it was clearly wider but it didn't open up front of you. With the old model it was slightly narrower but clearly in front of you. It's simply a matter of preference between these two. I must say that I liked the new model _slightly_ better. Otherwise they were pretty similar sounding.

 

[hentai]

It seems that many people like ad2000 while i dislike them. Must get my ears checked. haha

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wmcmanus /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree with the quoted parts above, especially the bolded (for emphasis) parts. I think your thread title is quite misleading, given that you "still prefer the AD2000 by a long shot!" Me too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Funny that the topic says that RS-1 eats AD2000 for breakfast but in the end you prefer AD2000 by a long shot.

Well I was going for an attention-getting title ya know. And besides, just because I still prefer the AD2000 doesn't mean another won't rise to the occasion to sound almost as good. In the end though, while the RS1 might eat the AD2K for breakfast, the AD2K makes it out intact and eats the RS1 for dinner.

 

[heiste]

The ADks eat the rs1s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

 

[philodox]

I need to hear the AD2000 at some point. Might be nice to hear an Audio Technica that doesn't sound like garbage.

 

[GlendaleViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif I need to hear the AD2000 at some point. Might be nice to hear an Audio Technica that doesn't sound like garbage.

You and me both, fella. You and me both.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by heiste /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ADks eat the rs1s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Now that's what I'm talkin' bout!

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scott_d_m /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have to agree with Asr, in that the flats add a bit of a farty bass sound which isn't particullary pleasing to my ears. The bowls seem to add a little bit of soundstage while levelling the sound overall. I guess my ears are used to or more suited for the brightness of the RS-1's. Also my RS-1's have been recabled by APureSound, which also probably helps tames the highs a liitle bit.

My APS re-cabled RS-1 just arrived today (#667 arrived Friday) and I am enjoying some Alison Krauss right now with them via Macbook > iBasso D2 and RSA Predator. I think they are less bright with the Predator.

Anyway, I tried the flats and they do tame the treble some, but hurts the soundstage, so I am back to the Bowls for now too. I think they sound good even with music that isn't so energetic.

 

[scott_d_m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif My APS re-cabled RS-1 just arrived today (#667 arrived Friday) and I am enjoying some Alison Krauss right now with them via Macbook > iBasso D2 and RSA Predator. I think they are less bright with the Predator. Anyway, I tried the flats and they do tame the treble some, but hurts the soundstage, so I am back to the Bowls for now too. I think they sound good even with music that isn't so energetic.

Hello HeadphoneAddict,

Once your APS RS1 have a chance to burn-in I would love to hear your thoughts on how APS RS1 sound compared to the stock RS1.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Well, the deal is I bought the used old RS-1 from APS, and they re-cabled them before shipping, so I never heard them stock. The phones are old enough to be burned in, but the cable was still fresh. However, it is less bright now after running them over-night. I haven't found that APS cables need much time to be conditioned, but they do change for the better after a day or two. Alex recommends 100 hours.

I did hear my RS-2 stock, and found they were close to being between a stock HD600 and a APS cabled HD600, so knowing they had real potential I sent them in to be re-cabled. When they came back they had more detail, transparency, layering, and I liked them better than a re-cabled HD600 for everything but classical. My HD600 didn't get used much after that. Stock, the RS-2 don't have the typical Grado sound that you hear with SR-60/80/225/325i/HF-1/RS-1, but more like the MS-1.

With the RS-1 in house now, I suspect the RS-2 wont get much use anymore, but I wont know for a few more days. I'll be the first to admit I have too many headphones. Most of my time will be spent with closed phones like my Edition 9 with APS v3 cable/ALO modded HFI-780, or my open phones like RS-1 and STAX SR-Lambda Signature.

Sometimes, when I want to be a little more mellow, I pull out the Sennheisers or Denon D2000. I haven't had a chance to try the HD600/650 balanced yet, so I may change my mind soon. The rest are either collectors items (HF-1), not common (woodied silver cable SR-60, SR-Lambda, SR-5 gold), or ones that are inexpensive or portable enough that I am better off keeping than selling (normal SR-60, Proline 2500, SR-001 and SR-003).

 

[scott_d_m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, the deal is I bought the used old RS-1 from APS, and they re-cabled them before shipping, so I never heard them stock. The phones are old enough to be burned in, but the cable was still fresh. However, it is less bright now after running them over-night. I haven't found that APS cables need much time to be conditioned, but they do change for the better after a day or two. Alex recommends 100 hours. I did hear my RS-2 stock, and found they were close to being between a stock HD600 and a APS cabled HD600, so knowing they had real potential I sent them in to be re-cabled. When they came back they had more detail, transparency, layering, and I liked them better than a re-cabled HD600 for everything but classical. My HD600 didn't get used much after that. Stock, the RS-2 don't have the typical Grado sound that you hear with SR-60/80/225/325i/HF-1/RS-1, but more like the MS-1. With the RS-1 in house now, I suspect the RS-2 wont get much use anymore, but I wont know for a few more days. I'll be the first to admit I have too many headphones. Most of my time will be spent with closed phones like my Edition 9 with APS v3 cable/ALO modded HFI-780, or my open phones like RS-1 and STAX SR-Lambda Signature. Sometimes, when I want to be a little more mellow, I pull out the Sennheisers or Denon D2000. I haven't had a chance to try the HD600/650 balanced yet, so I may change my mind soon. The rest are either collectors items (HF-1), not common (woodied silver cable SR-60, SR-Lambda, SR-5 gold), or ones that are inexpensive or portable enough that I am better off keeping than selling (normal SR-60, Proline 2500, SR-001 and SR-003).

Thank you for taking the time to respond HeadphoneAddict.

 

[tuatara]

I've had my RS1s for around 5 years now and the ATs for over a year so have had time to get a handle on both.
I have never found the Grados to be shrill with my vinyl source but did have some issues with my previous Arcam cdp. Only ever use bowls, tried flats once and hated them.

The ATs have a feeling of spaciousness or air that the RS1s cant manage but IMO the Grados have a richer midrange which is maybe caused by some congestion there. Both are keepers, the ATs better with the Opera and marginally with the Yammy. The Grado/MAD match is still pretty special to me and alot of others here and is a better pairing than the MAD/AT.

As for recommended music...well I like the Grados with acoustic music, great guitar and string sounds, nice and intimate.
Artists like Richard Thompson,Tom Russell,Will Oldham,Townes Van Zandt, Vic Chesnutt etc where the lack of a big soundstge isn't an issue. The ATs paint a broader picture with a little more space around instruments/voices and maybe just have the edge with vocals.

I do like the Grados more for extended listening which may suprise some of its detractors, the AD2000s I find the least comfortable of my ATs.

In the end I'm just happy to have both. Some recordings sound better on one than the other, some amp pairings are better but which ever I pick I know I'm going to enjoy the music.

 

[s1rrah]

Can't say how pleased I am to read so much confirmation of the RS1's not sounding right with flats.

I too couldn't stand it. Muffled, dirty ... the highs were a bit more disciplined, but the cost was too much.

For the time being, I prefer my RS1's (no button) with the bowls (also, the shack hack mod in my sig is an interesting thing to try).

Regarding the much discussed phenomenon of occasionally shrill high frequency imaging with the RS1's (or Grados in general) ... I've found it's generally a matter of listening volume.

True, at high volumes, certain types of music through my RS1's can indeed begin to cut into my drums but a slight notch down in volume will usually bring the sound back into focus.

I've got HD580's, SR225's, SR80's, (had the HD595's) and Shure SE530's here at the house and the RS1's, by far get 99.0% of my head-time.

Gorgeous and unbelievable detail just keeps me coming back; they're definitely my prized audio possession.

...

...

[size=medium]<sigh> [/size]

 

[orkney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuatara /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ATs have a feeling of spaciousness or air that the RS1s cant manage but IMO the Grados have a richer midrange which is maybe caused by some congestion there. Both are keepers, the ATs better with the Opera and marginally with the Yammy. The Grado/MAD match is still pretty special to me and alot of others here and is a better pairing than the MAD/AT. As for recommended music...well I like the Grados with acoustic music, great guitar and string sounds, nice and intimate. Artists like Richard Thompson,Tom Russell,Will Oldham,Townes Van Zandt, Vic Chesnutt etc where the lack of a big soundstge isn't an issue. The ATs paint a broader picture with a little more space around instruments/voices and maybe just have the edge with vocals. I do like the Grados more for extended listening which may suprise some of its detractors, the AD2000s I find the least comfortable of my ATs. In the end I'm just happy to have both. Some recordings sound better on one than the other, some amp pairings are better but which ever I pick I know I'm going to enjoy the music.

The AD2000s and RS1s have been my main phones for awhile and you're dead on in your comparison. Both great phones, both very musical, with the ADKs being a little airier and, perhaps, a little quicker.

I've noticed something rather odd with the flats/bowls thing though -- my old RS1s, which came with the flats, seem to sound better across the board with them while the newer RS1s, packing bowls, sound a bit muffled and bassy with flats fitted. I wonder if it's possible that the bowl-era RS1s included some form of tweaking in order to voice them for the bowl pads? Either way I find I can get used to bowl or flat, but it's a mug's game to A/B them.

Eats for breakfast? No. Shares the check with, maybe...

best,

o

 

[tuatara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by s1rrah /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can't say how pleased I am to read so much confirmation of the RS1's not sounding right with flats. I too couldn't stand it. Muffled, dirty ... the highs were a bit more disciplined, but the cost was too much. Regarding the much discussed phenomenon of occasionally shrill high frequency imaging with the RS1's (or Grados in general) ... I've found it's generally a matter of listening volume. Gorgeous and unbelievable detail just keeps me coming back; they're definitely my prized audio possession.

My RS1s came with bowls so I figure that's the way they were meant to be used. My 225s came with flats, tried them for a couple of days then got the dealer to swap them for some bowls..much better IMO.

I've always thought the Grados are very sensitive to source and recording, (maybe more so than Sennheiser)because they place you so upfront.
Going from an Arcam 7SE to an E-Sound cdp made a world of difference. I still have some recordings in my collection(mainly cds) that dont sound very good on the Grados but they generally dont sound great on my other phones either.
There are too many poorly mastered, compressed, or low bit rate recordings around and too often their faults are blamed on the phones rather than on the source where it belongs.