[astroid]

I have several cans, 595s, 555s, UR40, HD228s, K501 and a few other ones made by Philips and the like (read - crap).
I really love my HD228s and 595s but i went to a local hifi store and the manager set up a listening room for me to try pretty much anything i wanted.
I tried HD650, HD280, K701s, some beyers and SR60/60i, and SR80.
I walked out with the SR60i,s , i had the moolah for the HD650s (price was £239 - not bad i thought) but i fell almost instantly in love with the 60i.
I want to state firstly that the K701 and HD650 have qualities that the 60i cant compete with , soundstage for one and ultimately micro detail but there were also elements of the K701 and 650 i didnt like, the treble seemed a little strange on the K701 , dont know how to describe it , it was like it was a digitised representation if that makes sense??? The soundstage on the K701 is huge , never heard anything approaching it before , that i did like.
The HD650 is lovely , seems to do almost everything right but it sounded rolled off at the top to me , reminded me of the Shure 530s in that respect.
So i finished the session with the Grados, i had heard they were uncomfortable and an aquired taste treble hot, in your face and that they put you on stage with the performers.....good description really , certainlt thats what the 80s sounded like to me and the 60s sounded a little bass light.
The 60i's are a different story, WOWOWOWOWOWOW love at first listen, i put on 'the seeker' by the Who and it sounded so right on the 60i's, the guitar was exciting and the reverb was just 'correct' on them , with this song they beat the 650s and k701s without breaking a sweat.
Piano's have always been talked about as being tricky , i never gave it much thought until i heard it on the 60i's , it was again 'correct' it had a quality to it that made it sound more 3 dimensional , Gymnopedie No 1 was simply stunning.
I moved on to listening to the soundtrack to the 1980 picture 'ordinary people' (great film - great soundtrack) - the music is Canon in D, i read once that Grado doesnt do classical, well it does violin very well indeed!

I can see me upgrading very soon!!

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Quote:

Originally Posted by astroid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have several cans, 595s, 555s, UR40, HD228s, K501 and a few other ones made by Philips and the like (read - crap). I really love my HD228s and 595s but i went to a local hifi store and the manager set up a listening room for me to try pretty much anything i wanted. I tried HD650, HD280, K701s, some beyers and SR60/60i, and SR80. I walked out with the SR60i,s , i had the moolah for the HD650s (price was £239 - not bad i thought) but i fell almost instantly in love with the 60i. I want to state firstly that the K701 and HD650 have qualities that the 60i cant compete with , soundstage for one and ultimately micro detail but there were also elements of the K701 and 650 i didnt like, the treble seemed a little strange on the K701 , dont know how to describe it , it was like it was a digitised representation if that makes sense??? The soundstage on the K701 is huge , never heard anything approaching it before , that i did like. The HD650 is lovely , seems to do almost everything right but it sounded rolled off at the top to me , reminded me of the Shure 530s in that respect. So i finished the session with the Grados, i had heard they were uncomfortable and an aquired taste treble hot, in your face and that they put you on stage with the performers.....good description really , certainlt thats what the 80s sounded like to me and the 60s sounded a little bass light. The 60i's are a different story, WOWOWOWOWOWOW love at first listen, i put on 'the seeker' by the Who and it sounded so right on the 60i's, the guitar was exciting and the reverb was just 'correct' on them , with this song they beat the 650s and k701s without breaking a sweat. Piano's have always been talked about as being tricky , i never gave it much thought until i heard it on the 60i's , it was again 'correct' it had a quality to it that made it sound more 3 dimensional , Gymnopedie No 1 was simply stunning. I moved on to listening to the soundtrack to the 1980 picture 'ordinary people' (great film - great soundtrack) - the music is Canon in D, i read once that Grado doesnt do classical, well it does violin very well indeed! I can see me upgrading very soon!!

lol, welcome to the club!

i agree with you about the treble of the K701, it does sound a bit digital or artificial. could depend on source and amp, but the soundstage, mids, and detail of it is really nice. and the hd650 is also lovely phone, yes. needs hell of a lot of power though.

yep, grado's sound the most natural to me. it seems like they really improved with the 60i version. i used to own the 80's, my first grado.

 

[estreeter]

Dont write off the Ms-Pros in your headlong rush to upgrade to something like the RS1. You might be surprised if you can audition both - not sure what the price difference is in your neck of the woods tho ...

 

[astroid]

I am thinking about the 225i but not for a couple of months, i dont have the disposable money right now for the HF-2 or i would be on it in a flash, cant believe people are complaining about a typo, why does that matter?
I reckon the people cancelling orders because of that are headphone fans not music fans.

 

[mark2410]

hmm what shop is this, not that im looking just a mental note for the future.

 

[charliex]

I too love my Grados (see my sig). If I were you I'd very quickly beg, borrow and steal and find a way to get the HF-2. It's a rare opportunity, and when I hear it being compared to a PS-1, it will probably be my top Grado upgrade for quite some time, if not my last upgrade in the Grado line.

 

[astroid]

Loud and Clear in Glasgow. Great shop. Mark

 

[xiaobao0707]

still waiting for my first grado (gs1000) to arrive...

 

[krmathis]

I would never have though!

 

[paaj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by estreeter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dont write off the Ms-Pros in your headlong rush to upgrade to something like the RS1. You might be surprised if you can audition both - not sure what the price difference is in your neck of the woods tho ...

The MS-Pro is shipped for $699 WW (+ some customs charges), the RS1 in the NL is 829 Euros... maybe some places you can find it with discount. If you can't find it with discount or from the US I think it's a clear choice. (warranty issues aside)

(seems like UK discount time, many places around £650-700)

 

[nickchen]

x3 on the Alessandro recommendation. Not only that they are easier & cheaper to be purchased in the EU, they are simply the "better" Grados IMO, especially the MS1 and MS Pro.

 

[yomeister]

Don't overlook the MS2. I got mine re-cabled by headfile and they are by far my favorite pair of grados.

 

[salannelson]

I wish I could go to a "local hifi store"....... The best I know of around me is Worst Buy.
Congrats on the new phones. I'm thinking about getting the 60is too.

 

[rodentdog]

Congrats on your new Grado's. Now log off, run like H$LL and never come back. Your wallet will thank you. I have had and loved several Sennheisers over the years, but once I heard Grados, I changed to Team Grado.

 

[crossmd]

That was one of the larger and more incomprehensible walls of text I'm going to read today.

Congratulations on finding something that worked for you though. Especially at that price.