I am writing this review of the Grado PS500e as a part of the tour program sponsored by TTVJ. Thanks to Todd for giving me the chance to hear these great headphones.
I am chiefly comparing these to my current reference, the Hifiman HE-400. Listening was done with both my laptop and my Concero DAC + Project Ember amp, though it was mostly with just my laptop as I thought it sounded better (much to my surpise). In the past, I've also owned the AKG Q701, Beyerdynamic DT-990 250 ohm Pro, Sony MDR-V6, and others I'm too lazy to list.
Overall: These are a great pair of heaphones. I really like them. They are smooth, fun, engaging, not fatiguing, and resolving while also being very forgiving of poor source material. My music library is all FLAC, but these made even Youtube videos completely enjoyable. I haven't heard any other Grados before, so I don't know what the "Grado sound" really is, but I'd describe these headphones as generally warm, with a full bass response tilted towards the midbass, a slightly forward midrange, and sweet highs. These are NOT what I'd call Hi-Fi—they don't pick the music apart. Rather, they bring it together into a cohesive and natural whole.
Bass: I was surprised by the bass response at first. It's very rich and full. The extension doesn't dig quite as deep as my HE-400, but it's hardly a problem. Rap and electronic music were both a lot of fun. The bass is detailed and fast, but not really tight. There is a sense of body, with harmonic overtones and trailing edges being well developed. Compared to the HE-400, the Grados have more midbass emphasis and the Hifimans' emphasis on the leading edge of notes gives visceral synthetic textures more bite. The Hifimans also go lower. Nevertheless, the Grados present a greater sense of bass pressure overall. I also noticed that their bass presentation was very sensitive to the precise way they sat on my ears.
Midrange: Fantastic overall. My only quibble is that the upper bass can bleed into the mids on bass-heavy tracks. Otherwise, the midrange is spot on. It brings guitars and voices forward, it has a very natural and even tonality, and there is little to no glare in the upper mid presence region.
Treble: Pretty well balanced. There is plenty of treble resolution, but it has a smoothness that makes it less fatiguing than most of the other headphones I've owned. The last bit of extension and sparkle isn't quite there, but that's okay.
Soundstage/ Imaging: The soundstage is small, but it doesn't feel cramped or congested. Intimate and dense are better words. Imaging is decent. The Grados can't replicate the Hifimans' super sharp 3D layering and positioning, but instruments are still clearly separated—I can pick out individual instruments easily. However, this is more a function of resolution than a truly "spatial" sort of separation, if that makes any sense.
Detail/ Resolution: Fantastic. The Grados are just as revealing as my HE-400s, but they are less in your face about. Details blend together into the whole rather than starkly jumping out. Due to their cohesive, dense, warm presentation, the Grados reveal less black space than my HE-400s. The HE-400s present music as if you are in an exceptionally quiet and damped (maybe too damped) room; the Grados present music as if you are in a small basement bar with heavy brick walls that contain the sonic pressure of live music.
Amping: The PS500es are exceptionally easy to drive. Most of my listening was done on my laptop in the 20-50% range. The Project Ember was massive overkill and the Grados revealed a lot of hiss from it. I could also hear some hiss on my laptop, but not as much.
Comfort/ Design: These headphones are supra-aural and they can make my ears sore after a while. They are very light however, so it's not that bad. The build quality is good, but one that bothered me is that the cables aren't really fixed--you can't pull them out of the cups but you can push them in. I heard some fuzzy rattling sounds occasionally, and I had to pull the cables tight to fix it. The cable is also very thick but still flexible.
Closing: As much as I like these, I don't think I'll be buying a pair. My HE-400s give me more of what I'm looking for (precise imaging and separation, deep, textured bass, and a generally clean sound, at the expense of some harshness and fatigue) for almost half the money. However, that's purely a matter of taste. These are excellent headphones.
I am chiefly comparing these to my current reference, the Hifiman HE-400. Listening was done with both my laptop and my Concero DAC + Project Ember amp, though it was mostly with just my laptop as I thought it sounded better (much to my surpise). In the past, I've also owned the AKG Q701, Beyerdynamic DT-990 250 ohm Pro, Sony MDR-V6, and others I'm too lazy to list.
Overall: These are a great pair of heaphones. I really like them. They are smooth, fun, engaging, not fatiguing, and resolving while also being very forgiving of poor source material. My music library is all FLAC, but these made even Youtube videos completely enjoyable. I haven't heard any other Grados before, so I don't know what the "Grado sound" really is, but I'd describe these headphones as generally warm, with a full bass response tilted towards the midbass, a slightly forward midrange, and sweet highs. These are NOT what I'd call Hi-Fi—they don't pick the music apart. Rather, they bring it together into a cohesive and natural whole.
Bass: I was surprised by the bass response at first. It's very rich and full. The extension doesn't dig quite as deep as my HE-400, but it's hardly a problem. Rap and electronic music were both a lot of fun. The bass is detailed and fast, but not really tight. There is a sense of body, with harmonic overtones and trailing edges being well developed. Compared to the HE-400, the Grados have more midbass emphasis and the Hifimans' emphasis on the leading edge of notes gives visceral synthetic textures more bite. The Hifimans also go lower. Nevertheless, the Grados present a greater sense of bass pressure overall. I also noticed that their bass presentation was very sensitive to the precise way they sat on my ears.
Midrange: Fantastic overall. My only quibble is that the upper bass can bleed into the mids on bass-heavy tracks. Otherwise, the midrange is spot on. It brings guitars and voices forward, it has a very natural and even tonality, and there is little to no glare in the upper mid presence region.
Treble: Pretty well balanced. There is plenty of treble resolution, but it has a smoothness that makes it less fatiguing than most of the other headphones I've owned. The last bit of extension and sparkle isn't quite there, but that's okay.
Soundstage/ Imaging: The soundstage is small, but it doesn't feel cramped or congested. Intimate and dense are better words. Imaging is decent. The Grados can't replicate the Hifimans' super sharp 3D layering and positioning, but instruments are still clearly separated—I can pick out individual instruments easily. However, this is more a function of resolution than a truly "spatial" sort of separation, if that makes any sense.
Detail/ Resolution: Fantastic. The Grados are just as revealing as my HE-400s, but they are less in your face about. Details blend together into the whole rather than starkly jumping out. Due to their cohesive, dense, warm presentation, the Grados reveal less black space than my HE-400s. The HE-400s present music as if you are in an exceptionally quiet and damped (maybe too damped) room; the Grados present music as if you are in a small basement bar with heavy brick walls that contain the sonic pressure of live music.
Amping: The PS500es are exceptionally easy to drive. Most of my listening was done on my laptop in the 20-50% range. The Project Ember was massive overkill and the Grados revealed a lot of hiss from it. I could also hear some hiss on my laptop, but not as much.
Comfort/ Design: These headphones are supra-aural and they can make my ears sore after a while. They are very light however, so it's not that bad. The build quality is good, but one that bothered me is that the cables aren't really fixed--you can't pull them out of the cups but you can push them in. I heard some fuzzy rattling sounds occasionally, and I had to pull the cables tight to fix it. The cable is also very thick but still flexible.
Closing: As much as I like these, I don't think I'll be buying a pair. My HE-400s give me more of what I'm looking for (precise imaging and separation, deep, textured bass, and a generally clean sound, at the expense of some harshness and fatigue) for almost half the money. However, that's purely a matter of taste. These are excellent headphones.