DavidMahler
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jul 8, 2007
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I’ve been comparing some of the Grado line.
Eventually, I’ll be adding much of these impressions to the “20 Headphones Reviewed Thread”.
I was not a Grado fan for a long time because their ergonomic design bothered me. It still does in some ways, but the sound quality has grown on me quite a bit. I have stated not having a preference for their current top model, the PS1000. For me, the soundstage here doesn’t add to the overall reproduction of sound and the mids are not as generous as some of the cheaper models.
The pairs I currently own are:
The RS1i
The RS1 balanced with a Stefan Audio Art Equinox
The RS2i
The RS1i and RS1 balanced, to me, sound almost identical and I tend to prefer them with flat pads over bowls. Even in balanced mode the RS1 really only has slightly less treble on top than the RS1i and some may prefer more treble because of the detail associated with this region. For me the slightly less treble made the sound just ever-so-slightly smoother. The treble is also quite tailorable by pad choice. The bowls have a significant treble boost (and bass reduction) over the flat-pads.
I don’t notice substantial differences (if any) between the RS1 balanced and not. The RS1i sounds about as good, not really all that different, just a hair more treble to these ears. I listen to these on a TTVJ 307a, Woo Audio 5 and Manley 300b. The way I’d describe the sound is that it’s a hybrid of energy and euphoria. It’s powerful and close-up with a sense of tremendous impact but it is smooth and lacks a lot of the grain associated with treble.
The RS2 seems like a best buy to me, sounding about 95% as good as the RS1 but 200 dollars less. It has slightly less bass bloom than the RS1. I found that I preferred these with the flat pads as well. They are also more comfortable to me. No matter how much I worked on getting the perfect fit though, I would call the Grados amongst the lesser comfortable headphones which I own. Lastly, I find most of the music I reach for with any of these headphones is jazz and rock, but primarily jazz.
-Dave
Eventually, I’ll be adding much of these impressions to the “20 Headphones Reviewed Thread”.
I was not a Grado fan for a long time because their ergonomic design bothered me. It still does in some ways, but the sound quality has grown on me quite a bit. I have stated not having a preference for their current top model, the PS1000. For me, the soundstage here doesn’t add to the overall reproduction of sound and the mids are not as generous as some of the cheaper models.
The pairs I currently own are:
The RS1i
The RS1 balanced with a Stefan Audio Art Equinox
The RS2i
The RS1i and RS1 balanced, to me, sound almost identical and I tend to prefer them with flat pads over bowls. Even in balanced mode the RS1 really only has slightly less treble on top than the RS1i and some may prefer more treble because of the detail associated with this region. For me the slightly less treble made the sound just ever-so-slightly smoother. The treble is also quite tailorable by pad choice. The bowls have a significant treble boost (and bass reduction) over the flat-pads.
I don’t notice substantial differences (if any) between the RS1 balanced and not. The RS1i sounds about as good, not really all that different, just a hair more treble to these ears. I listen to these on a TTVJ 307a, Woo Audio 5 and Manley 300b. The way I’d describe the sound is that it’s a hybrid of energy and euphoria. It’s powerful and close-up with a sense of tremendous impact but it is smooth and lacks a lot of the grain associated with treble.
The RS2 seems like a best buy to me, sounding about 95% as good as the RS1 but 200 dollars less. It has slightly less bass bloom than the RS1. I found that I preferred these with the flat pads as well. They are also more comfortable to me. No matter how much I worked on getting the perfect fit though, I would call the Grados amongst the lesser comfortable headphones which I own. Lastly, I find most of the music I reach for with any of these headphones is jazz and rock, but primarily jazz.
-Dave
