[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpr703 I did notice some increase in bass going to the MPX3 and Grados definitely seem to love tubes.

My fave amp for my Grados... So big, open, and resonant sounding. If only I could afford one.

Garrett

 

[jkotorman]

Would any headphiles recommend the PPX3 Slam to compliment the RS-1's? Would this warm up the bottom end and make the bass more pronounced for the RS-1's? Would this amp be a good compliment for other possible headphones I may want to try in the future. Here's a list of potential headphones I may give a shot if the price were right:

- Sennheiser HD-595, 600, 650
- Beyerdynamics DT-770, 880

If I were to go with headphones with the most pronounced bass, would I be better off getting the 250-ohm version of the DT770's or the 80-ohm? I remember reading that as long as the 250-ohm was driven by a good amp, the bass would be more pronounced.

As posted elsewhere on these forums, I like the bass to be very short, tight, but very impactful (most important of the 3). Don't dig muddy bass and like my drums to hit and amaze me at proper moments in the music. I like it when the drums in my music sound very hard and solid if those are good descriptions.

As of this moment, I get the sense that my RS-1's are burning in fairly nicely, the highs aren't nearly as screachy as I remember when first listening to them a few days ago. I may purchase flats to remedy the bass situation but have a feeling it may not help. I have listened to them with reversed bowls and even with the pads off to bring the drivers as close as possible to my ears. The only way I can describe the sound, as of now, is that it gives the effect I'm on stage with the guitarists and vocalist right next to me while the drummer is 20-30' away from me (almost sounding a bit wimpy). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy mids and highs as well, as long as all are in balance. I really want to love these headphones so any help/advice provided is greatly appreciated. Thanks to all who have contributed already given the fact I still a newb to all this.

Music I've been testing with the RS-1/RA-1:
- Old Canes - Early Morning Hymns
- American Football - Self Titled
- DJ Dan - Another Late Night
- Bad Boy Bill - Bangin' the Box Vol. 5
- Explosions in the Sky - The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place & Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever
- The Appleseed Cast - Low Level Owl Vol. 1 & 2, Two Conversations, Mare Vitalis
- Jimmy Eat World - Clarity
- The Roots - Illadelph Halflife

 

[robm321]

Since you are new, you should realise that loud listening levels will cause hearing damge. I'd research this a bit. It happens much quicker than it would with speakers.

Also, at reasonable volumes the shrill highs are bearable. As suggested above buy flats and you'll eliminate that and bring more bass. You can go back and forth with the pads (easy to change) depending on the recording.

The RA-1/RS-1 is such a perfect, warm, somewhat romantic pair. It sounds tubier than some tube amps I tried with it. Also, get some rechargeable batteries -cuz after breakin (which will change the sound dramatically) you'll be listening for hours.

 

[Blitzula]

You're getting ahead of yourself with all the amp talk, jkotorman. Start with the flat pads and then think more about it from there.

 

[iamdone]

I find the RA-1 a great match for the RS-1. Nice punchy bass, clean highs without being harsh, and very harmonic mids. I am liking this combo better than my ppa w/diamond buffer I used to have.

Pads are a matter of preference but the flats will definitely give you more bass than reverse bowls. For me, they are too bassy. I can listen to them this way but it doesn't sound balanced and all my focus is on the bass. If you don't find they provide enough bass with flats, I guess you have to seek out a different headphone (PS-1).

I don't think the RA-1 is the cause of the problem. Don't let the cheap parts fool you. They are made for the RS-1 and grados. When I tried it with my ue10, they sound horrible. Actually too much bass and no highs.

Edit: I'm using lithium batteries in mine. I think they're supposed to get about 120-150 hours and there is no voltage drop-off either. I just don't want to deal with changing out the batteries all the time.

 

[jkotorman]

BTW, the RA-1 I have is the AC power version so no worries on the battery situation. My listening volume in most cases starts off at the 10-11 o'clock mark and usually makes it way down slowly to the 9 o'clock mark as the my music listening progresses. I have the combo playing different types of music while I'm here at work. I should have about 60 hours burned in by now so maybe in a week or so I'll have a fairly good impression.

 

[iamdone]

The last thing you can try is headphone positioning. There was another thread that talked about pushing them slightly forward and a little lower to get the best sound. If I can find the thread, I'll post the link.

 

[Turner_Brown]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdone The last thing you can try is headphone positioning. There was another thread that talked about pushing them slightly forward and a little lower to get the best sound. If I can find the thread, I'll post the link.

If no one has mentioned it yet...you should try to put the stock bowl pads on backwards (reverse bowls). This is the way I use my RS-1's most of the time and I find them way more enjoyable this way. Free-mod...try it before you make any hasty decisions.

 

[jkotorman]

Like I've posted earlier, the first thing I did when I got the cans was reverse the bowls. I heard improvement in the bass but then highs were way too screechy. They still need to be burned in and now I can say I've got about 70 hours of burn in time. The highs are toning down nicely but I still want some more bass . The mids are now sounding mighty nice, one of Grado's signatures I'm assuming.

I'll probably order flats in the next few days and can say for certain that these cans seriously needed burn-in. I made the assumption of thinking since I bought them used that he had well over 100 hours of listening time on the combo. In reality, he only had close to 10 hours.

A bit of change to the thread, but does anyone have any opinions of the PPX3 Slam versus the RA-1 amp driving the RS-1's? I read the bass coming out of the Slam is worth the price of admission. I've read everything on these forums concerning the Slam and am hoping this may offer the improvement I'm looking for with my RS-1's. Plus it gives me a viable amp to test out possible headphones I may be interested in auditioning.

 

[hentai]

how about the raptor with rs-1?

 

[swmtnbiker]

One thing to keep in mind with the flats is while they accentuate the lower frequencies, they also almost completely collapse the RS-1's soundstage. You'll also lose a good bit of the air and spatial imaging that the bowls provide. But if you don't like them you can always either return them or sell them here. They go quickly.

 

[Icehawk]

Err, do yourself a favor and don't try a pair of PS-1s because I think those are the Grados you actually want.

 

[jkotorman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Icehawk Err, do yourself a favor and don't try a pair of PS-1s because I think those are the Grados you actually want.

I think I'll have a hard time finding one of those anyway :>. And even if I do, will I be able to get them for a reasonable price? I remember reading they go for up to 1800 bones. I know these RS-1 are capable of producing the bass I want but it requires me to use the equalizer (distortion/ringing). The settings I use aren't even that much higher than flat (6 decibals above max). This is all on the computer of course, not a very good source for my grado's at the moment. Right now, I'm better off getting my music out of a dedicated source plugged directly into the RA-1. One thing I've noticed with the RA-1 versus heaphone out of my Standalone Player is the amp controls the range better and gets rid of some of the brighter parts of the frequencies. To me, there is no difference in quality between the bass of the RA-1 and the HP-out. I wonder if it would be possible to audtion the Slams and return them if I was not happy . Thanks again for all the suggestions.

 

[OceanEnthusiast]

edit: changed my mind, nevermind

 

[panda]

you have one of the best fones with the rs-1, my favorite, the ra-1 amp is love it or hate it thing. i'm not fond of it, it's too polite. pick yourself up a gilmore lite and you will hear strong bass lines along with better everything else...