Amen. I sadly had to return the phones I had to fill in for a dead amp for my speaker system but the PS500e reproduce so much musicality from the musicians and instruments. Probably not for all genres, but man do they sing for jazz, rock, folk etc. I'd say their overall sound is better than my...

Worth the investment? For that kind of cash you're quite literally doubling the cost of the phone from what I can tell. What kinds of improvements did you see vs other types of upgrades (e.g. DAC/AMP)

And one more question: what would you consider the closest sound signature match for a closed phone of the upper grado lines (I realize there is a fair amount of variation in "upper", so nuance would be great. For example: PS500 = X, RS1i = Y). Thanks! I've done a lot looking around and seems...

For those that have tested/owned the PS500e: what do you consider it's less expensive sibling in the Grado/Allessandro lineup? I gave the MS2 (new e version driver) a try, but didn't hit the spot. Any recommendations?

+1 - waiting to hook them up to my Fiio E7 (used as DAC) > Schiit Vali to do a more proper test but I still am loving the PS500e straight out of MBP/ipad and that gets a lot of head time for me at home

Check out the grado fan thread, but the 1e have some serious fit issues. Someone made a clever mod to address but still ended up returning bc of comfort. I compared 1e, 1i, and 500e and for me the 500e came out on top with the 1i a close second (really more of a preference than anything specific).

Happy to help, and for what it's worth I'd strongly recommend auditioning (ie buying from somewhere you can return) a ps500e. I can't compare to the older version, but for my tastes it's just a bit more natural and musical and detailed (in the same fun grado way) than the rs1i. All my...

Certainly (although definitely hat tipping to others that have also dug into this territory a bit as well):   RS1i: bright, on stage, treble happy (but still mostly silky), bass extension solid fast but back from the scene, relatively narrow sound stage (instruments), great spacing of notes...

SixWing - your impression is spot on my book. I had no previous experience with grado but have owned akg (271 and q702) along with a host of senns (first was the 414) among others and 1) the 500e brought out my first post and 2) after weeks of comparing the rs1e, rs2e, and rs1i with these I have...

Thanks for the clarification - so yes, it's not the driver but rather the wood ring that I had difficulty fitting the older G cush around. For anyone that's done the G cush add-on to downstream cans (eg not 1000 series), any recommendations on how to fit the G cushs?

Any PS500e owners have success with other pads? I bought the G cush to try if it would loosen up on the bass a bit  but couldn't get it to fit. Just me? The new 44mm driver the issue? Anyone try G-cush with any of the 44mm e-model drivers? Maybe they changed the g cush for the new 1ke series...

Apologies for sarcasm not coming across well over here. definitely appreciative of the warm welcome and thoughtful responses (and I was serious about the creativity of the simple mod to make the RS1e more comfortable, but also serious that it would be really nice for Grado to fix)

I prefer $700 cans to not need hair-tie fix-ups but appreciate the tip and creativity! Maybe I'm a just a snob   <<EDIT>> I'll let others decide whether I'm a snob, but I'm both a) a huge fan of simple creative solution and give big props to KVTaco for the solution. It actually has me...

Nope. The PS500e fit like the RS1i/RS2 e or i. They're definitely heavier, so keep that in mind, but it's still really comfortable at least for me. With the newer 44mm drivers I'm not sure if they'll take the G Cush pads though for those looking to tinker