Quote:
Originally Posted by music_man /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i think zanth said they were the best headphones he ever heard as well. i wonder if he has heard the he90. i am sure he has heard pretty good headphones.
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I haven't heard the HE90's but I sure would love to. I almost had a chance to but the problem was the connection to the amp I had on hand was different and the adaptor was going to take too long to fabricate. The short of it is that I had to return all the electrostatic gear I had on hand at the time before I would have actually been able to use the HE90's. I have never had the opportunity to listen to the full Big O. I sure would love to!
What I have heard for a long time:
R10 (3 different pairs, one being a bass heavy version, 1 pair for 6 weeks at a time, on two different occasions, 1 pair for 4 months another pair for nearly a year)
Omega II (nearly a year, along with the Stax tube amp and a KGSS)
HE60 (with associated amp, about 6 months, and at the same time as Omega II and R10)
I've owned or had in my possession just over a dozen HP-1000's and then the regular batch of Grados I own.
HD800 for 2 weeks
K701 for a week
HE5 for 8 weeks
L3000 for 6 months
For the most part, I'm only missing out on having heard the HE90 (I tough one to never have heard), the K1000's (yet another!) and the Qualias. I have not heard the Ultrazone 9's but I heard the 7's and was not thrilled. I'll be getting a loaner pair of Beyer T1's in January.
The PS-1000's to me, are the best Grado ever. For most aspects of sound reproduction I would choose a John Grado over a Joe Grado, though I acknowledge the differences and I still think the HP-1000's have some of the most thrilling and hard hitting bass ever. I really miss that sound. The PS-1000's though for a John Grado sound fan would likely be the top choice. If one prefers Grados, or the Grado sound and ethos behind sound reproduction as I do, then the PS-1000's being the best Grado I have heard, by extension become the best headphone I have heard.
They are not the best at everything and I don't think I've ever written that anywhere. Where I find many headphones fail (or rather falter) is in relaying the true emotion of the music. I often get exceptionally articulate, detailed and fast headphones particularly from Japanese and German manufacturers (does that leave much else?
) but I often find that this sound tends to shy away from emotion and relies on clinical aspects of reproduction. This is how I found the HD800s to be for instance. They were so exceptional in so many ways and I still may save my pennies and buy them (I really like their top end and their headspace) but I also found I was rather bored listening to music. I found this often with the Omega II's, a LOT with the HE60's but less so with the R10's, even less with the Audio Technica's I've heard and pretty much never with a Grado.
I do enjoy listening to music, as does everyone here, and since headphones are small and easily stored, I don't mind having multiple pairs and would indeed love to have one of each major release. Yet, even when I had so many fine headphones on hand, I found myself often coming back to the PS-1's for instance, or the HP-1's vs. the Omega II's or R10's or HE60's. When I had the L3000's, I had those Grados plus the GS-1000's and although I was putting many hours on the L3000s because I didn't want to miss out on this gracious opportunity, I still found myself migrating back to Grados for the times I just wanted to fade into the music, relax, kick back and think on nothing, at least nothing other than the music I was listening to. Grados do that best for me.
Just like some have constructed a marvellous setup to maximize the R10's, or HE90's, or the HD6x0's and now the HD800's, I too have done so for Grados, and thus, there may be somewhat of an edge for those headphones vs. the headphones from other companies. Still, I did have the KGSS, Stax tube amp, an Emmeline Stealth, Earmax Pro Anniversary, MapleTree Audio (best model at the time), Talisman Audio T35HP, Lehmann SS amp and a Cary 300SEI. It was really intense all the stuff I did have on hand at the same time and so, save for the EAR HP4 and Melos, both of which I was tube rolling to get the best for the Grados, I was also experimenting with multiple combinations. In the end, no matter what, when I was asked by my wife for instance which I would choose, I would look at my table of Grados and point to them. I simply enjoy them more.
At the time I bought the PS-1's and the EAR HP4, I could have bought the R10's or the Omega II with either amp. I had that choice, the money was about the same no matter the option and I still went with the PS-1's and the HP4. If given that same option again today, I would do it again (and this time we all know how much the PS-1's sell for and the R10's).
For those that do not like the Grado sound, they won't get why I think they are better. Sure I'll try my best to describe what I hear and there may be nods in agreement at times, but overall, folks will always think I'm a bit batty for going for a type of sound which happens to coincide with a specific manufacturer time and time again.
I've kinda gone the same route with IEMs. I started with Etys, tried high end Shures, other lower end universals from other companies, but once I heard the Westone sound, I knew it was for me. Now I own their best model. They are the "Grado" in the IEM world. Eventually I'll buy a pair of JH13's simply because so many are claiming insane returns (going so far as to selling off their HD800's and *gasp* R10's)
Make no mistake however, if given the opportunity and I had the funds to do it, I would own one of each of the best headphones out there and that includes the Big O, HD800, R10, K1000, Qualia, L3000, Omega I and II etc. They all offer something spectacular, that, at that level, no other headphone does quite the same way. Since I am not in a position to own more than I have now, with the money I have now, I narrow it down to what I think I will listen to most, enjoy most, smile most with while wearing and listening. The PS-1000's are the best for me in that way.
Truthfully, at this point, I should really stop looking at headphones and concentrate on speakers, but I'm still a few years away from
THAT part of our hobby.
