jkotorman
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2004
- Posts
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- 10
I just received my new RA-1 and RS-1 today. It's my first real setup and I am not sure if the Grado sound is for me. I have hooked up the combo to 2 standalone Set-top CD players and my computer setup and listened a good 3-5 hours on each setup.
Here are my thoughts and first impressions. Vocals, guitars, and trumpets in my music are very pronounced in a very good way. Very warm and intimate sounding. Unfortunately the drums and bass feel somewhat lacking. They sound distant and in the background. The bass reproduction seems accurate and tight sounding but I feel I have to really focus my ear on it in order to hear it.
On my computer I can use the equalizer in Winamp to get the music where I want it to sound with the Grado combo but that introduces distortion. Would utilizing a different amp (Tube Amp?) allow me to get a better bass response and bring it more into the forefront? I'm thinking about purchasing DT770's to see if that will remedy the situation. I have also reversed the bowls on my headset to bring it closer to my ears. Any other recommendations for headphones with good bass extension/impact? Please share your thoughts if you can. Ideally, I'd like to keep these cans to A/B. I can see now why ppl have invested way too much into this hobby.
UPDATE: 3/8/06
Now that I have had more extensive listening with my setup I feel I'm ready to make somewhat reasonable conclusions based on the music I listen to. First and foremost, the vocals and guitars are very intimate, warm, and welcoming from the RS-1's. The peaky highs that I experienced when I first posted have come down quite a bit due to that fact I recieved them with a lack of burn-in time. Easily 100+ hours is needed to hear these headphones in the proper state. As for the RA-1, I feel they are a bit overly polite driving these RS-1's. It's almost as if the RS-1 is a beast waiting to be unleashed but the RA-1 keeps holding it back . I guess I can be called a basshead for asking for more of the low-end. It's mainly because everything from the mids to highs have such a great impact and the low end seems recessed. The drummer and bassist sound as if they are in the background with respect to the vocals and guitars. Because of the impact the mids and highs have, the music seems a bit unbalanced. Maybe it's the fact this is what the Grado impession is supposed to be but I'm suspecting a better amp would remedy my situation. Can anyone give an answer to that and reaffirm my suspicions?
To those who have the Singlepower PPX3 Slam. Does the amp contribute to improving the presentation of the Bass Drum, Snares, Hi-hat, and Cymbols as well as the Bass Guitar? That's what I'm mainly looking for in terms of sound improvement.
Also of note, because headphones bring the user so much closer to the music, I can really make out distortions/ringing (mainly the highs but some bass as well) in some of my music. Is that due to my source? I wonder how much of a difference the Vinyl counterparts of my CD artists would sound. Are these mainly cabling/interconnect issues or the source itself?
Any help to my questions would be greatly appreciated again. I'm looking for my taste of musical heaven just like everyone else here so all input would be welcome. Thanks again to the Head-Fi community for all the info and making my pockets empty!
Here are my thoughts and first impressions. Vocals, guitars, and trumpets in my music are very pronounced in a very good way. Very warm and intimate sounding. Unfortunately the drums and bass feel somewhat lacking. They sound distant and in the background. The bass reproduction seems accurate and tight sounding but I feel I have to really focus my ear on it in order to hear it.
On my computer I can use the equalizer in Winamp to get the music where I want it to sound with the Grado combo but that introduces distortion. Would utilizing a different amp (Tube Amp?) allow me to get a better bass response and bring it more into the forefront? I'm thinking about purchasing DT770's to see if that will remedy the situation. I have also reversed the bowls on my headset to bring it closer to my ears. Any other recommendations for headphones with good bass extension/impact? Please share your thoughts if you can. Ideally, I'd like to keep these cans to A/B. I can see now why ppl have invested way too much into this hobby.
UPDATE: 3/8/06
Now that I have had more extensive listening with my setup I feel I'm ready to make somewhat reasonable conclusions based on the music I listen to. First and foremost, the vocals and guitars are very intimate, warm, and welcoming from the RS-1's. The peaky highs that I experienced when I first posted have come down quite a bit due to that fact I recieved them with a lack of burn-in time. Easily 100+ hours is needed to hear these headphones in the proper state. As for the RA-1, I feel they are a bit overly polite driving these RS-1's. It's almost as if the RS-1 is a beast waiting to be unleashed but the RA-1 keeps holding it back . I guess I can be called a basshead for asking for more of the low-end. It's mainly because everything from the mids to highs have such a great impact and the low end seems recessed. The drummer and bassist sound as if they are in the background with respect to the vocals and guitars. Because of the impact the mids and highs have, the music seems a bit unbalanced. Maybe it's the fact this is what the Grado impession is supposed to be but I'm suspecting a better amp would remedy my situation. Can anyone give an answer to that and reaffirm my suspicions?
To those who have the Singlepower PPX3 Slam. Does the amp contribute to improving the presentation of the Bass Drum, Snares, Hi-hat, and Cymbols as well as the Bass Guitar? That's what I'm mainly looking for in terms of sound improvement.
Also of note, because headphones bring the user so much closer to the music, I can really make out distortions/ringing (mainly the highs but some bass as well) in some of my music. Is that due to my source? I wonder how much of a difference the Vinyl counterparts of my CD artists would sound. Are these mainly cabling/interconnect issues or the source itself?
Any help to my questions would be greatly appreciated again. I'm looking for my taste of musical heaven just like everyone else here so all input would be welcome. Thanks again to the Head-Fi community for all the info and making my pockets empty!