[panda]

wooden chunk inside the driver? that's a scary thought. my old pair had some pieces fall off on occasion on the inner part where the wood was cut (frayed pieces i suppose) but it was always on the surface never got inside.

i wonder what caused the drivers to have that red tint, it looks almost like reddish packing tape. you should try to get a recent pair side by side for a more accurate comparison. a friend of mine recently tried to do one but the vintage pair arrived with one of the channels not functioning.

last i heard a true vintage pair, there was also a new rs1 and i don't remember hearing any differences but it was at a noisy meet and i wasn't exactly looking out for any changes...

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif wooden chunk inside the driver? that's a scary thought. my old pair had some pieces fall off on occasion on the inner part where the wood was cut (frayed pieces i suppose) but it was always on the surface never got inside. i wonder what caused the drivers to have that red tint, it looks almost like reddish packing tape. you should try to get a recent pair side by side for a more accurate comparison. a friend of mine recently tried to do one but the vintage pair arrived with one of the channels not functioning. last i heard a true vintage pair, there was also a new rs1 and i don't remember hearing any differences but it was at a noisy meet and i wasn't exactly looking out for any changes...

Not really inside the driver, but on the back of it where the vents are for the vibration to escape. Looks like a little bit of sawdust from the cups themselves, the insides on RS1s aren't always well finished.

I'd like to do a comparison to a newer RS1 though. To be honest, I'm not totally sure that all vintage RS1 have pink drivers, but the pictures I've seen around Head-Fi look like it. If someone has information otherwise, I'd to know more. There's a lot of information about them here, and the drivers are sometimes referred to as "red mesh..." which I think is only an illusion as the mesh only seems pink at first glance.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/tal...75/index2.html

New RS1s (including the 2005 pair I had) look like this (Note that these flats were added after the fact):

I've found these so far, and all other vintage RS1s I've talked to people about seem to be pink as well:
From this post,

Interesting to note bowls on those.

There's also a lot of mention about vintage having pink drivers here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f113/v...05/index2.html

 

[Henmyr]

The vintage pair I have were only used with flats before I got them. The mesh was completely white in the beginning, but since I mostly use bowls (ear make contact with the mesh), the mesh has now started to get discoloured. The mesh of my '08 RS-1 is still white, even though I use bowls with them. The mesh of the vintage pair does not stay white however, but is turning into something like brown/red/pink-ish.

When looking through the mesh, the '08 drivers and vintage drivers do not look completely the same. The '08 drivers have a silver ring around the middle and the vintage pair have a copper/gold coloured ring around the middle.

 

[Brighten]

I'm enjoying all this talk about the RS-1!

I had seen your name often when reading through some old threads Mercuttio... always wondered where you went. But I'm glad your back!

 

[justthinking]

My RS-1 which I still have and Music-Pro which I sold last year both came in the same green foam and same box as OP's..
I have the RS-1 since 2000 and the M-Pro I believe I accquired in 2002 or 2003 via a trade..
However, my RS-1 is even more strange as one driver is pink while the other drive is white..
I will post some more pictures tomorrow..

PS..is it true that the newer RS-1 sound not quite the same nor as nice as the older semi-vintage or vintage one??

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've found these so far, and all other vintage RS1s I've talked to people about seem to be pink as well: From this post, Interesting to note bowls on those.

COOL, those are MY RS-1. Bowls+RS-1=bad

They have the same spot of gunk on the left driver, similar fraying on the right driver's cloth, and the grain on the wood in the box in this thread: here matches up with mine. I have also never seen a photo of another set with a headband this light.

Im pretty sure the drivers just get stained with age.

 

[Brighten]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif COOL, those are MY RS-1. Bowls+RS-1=bad They have the same spot of gunk on the left driver, similar fraying on the right driver's cloth, and the grain on the wood in the box in this thread: here matches up with mine. I have also never seen a photo of another set with a headband this light. Im pretty sure the drivers just get stained with age.

Nikongod, in your opinion, what is the biggest difference between flats and bowls?

 

[foo_me]

Regarding the color, not sure of all the vintage do have the red/pinkish color.
The vintage pairs that I have heard and really love (mine + JP#s when he owned them) both have the same color mercuttio posted.
That being said, I haven't heard other vintage pairs that don't have that color and I don't know whether there is a difference.
The hallmark sound of the vintage vs recent pairs is as mercuttio described it. More smoother overall and very balanced from the highs to bass.

Was thinking if people attending canjam could bring theirs (I will bring mine), we could do a RS1 comparison with all the different types.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif COOL, those are MY RS-1. Bowls+RS-1=bad They have the same spot of gunk on the left driver, similar fraying on the right driver's cloth, and the grain on the wood in the box in this thread: here matches up with mine. I have also never seen a photo of another set with a headband this light. Im pretty sure the drivers just get stained with age.

Interesting... so maybe the drivers pinken? How about the red / brass ring inside, as opposed to the silver ones on newer RS1 drivers?

Anybody got a pair of RS1 that come in the current pizza box with pinkish drivers?

 

[panda]

the pad difference is a dead horse, but i'll give my opinion anyway. i like the sound of both. the flats sound more natural and the bowls sound more exciting. i used flats because i find bowls uncomfortable.

 

[Mercuttio]

Talked to Grado Labs today, and they are out of the older screws for RS1 housings. Offered to replace the whole gimbal mechanism instead, if I brought it by!

So now my RS1 contains a piece of every RS1 ever built:

Old Vintage RS1 drivers
Semi Vintage wood cups
New RS1i gimbals holding the cups onto the Semi Vintage leather headband

You know, I've knocked the round rods... but they're incredibly easy to adjust and the whole thing feels less stiff now. The cups pivot easier to my ears, and feel lighter on my head with less clamping force... and yet at the same time they're totally solidly attached to my skull.

The only downside is that they rotate a bit more freely, so you've got to be careful of tangles... and that the cutouts aren't circular which I think looks a little nicer.

Overall, I'm VERY satisfied with this RS1! The sound is really quite spectacular and I'll be holding on to them for a very, very long time.

Also, just a side note: Saw the new wood box that Grado's got. SUPER nice, and it fits my green felted foam perfectly. High quality construction, and I will probably buy one at some point in the future to house my mutant RS1.

 

[uberburger101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just as a side note, what's the best way to clean off older pad foam that's stuck to the wood? Doesn't seem glued, but the pads were stuck to the old wood for nearly 10 years in a closet.

Sorry to bump this thread, but have you managed to solve this problem? My pair (I bought used) also had this problem.

I suggest cleaning using some cotton buds and lighter fluid. A friend of mine recommended it to me because he normally has to deal with antique wooden furniture/speakers etc.

Half an hour and a dozen cotton buds later, 99% of that black gunk is gone.

 

[Audiofiler]

Congrats on your find Merc, I have owned several vintage pairs myself of the RS series phones and can attest to their superb sound.

In speaking to John and Kim on the driver cloth coverings, apparently Grado never 'officially' used black silk covering on the RS series. However, I have owned myself a pair and seen other vintage RS' in person bearing the black cloth covering. Perhaps such as the drivers of HP series being used in very early production runs, Grado utilized the black driver covering as well on early RS phones. Another possiblity Kim mentioned that John concurred to was that phones that were sent in for service for recovering perhaps received the black covering from Grado while being serviced.

As far as the headband on vintage RS phones, I never saw a light colored brown such as the pics in this thread. I owned three pairs over the years of the vintage RS with wooden box. All pairs contained the dark brown leather head band (compared to the light brown ver in this thread). Two pairs contained the gold lettering (L/R) and one pair had a faded silver or gold color lettering, almost white in appearance. I had a vintage pair which had the black driver covering but that pair was purchased used. I bought a pair from Grado new which had the gold lettering, white driver covering, and wooden box.

Finally, another tell in determining age (besides no s/n) is the rod caps. If the rod caps are metal VS plastic, the pair is usually more vintage..(or the rod caps are)

The cord on the vintage RS seems more pliable and easier to wind up, etc. Perhaps this is due to age or the cord housing is different?

Merc,

Does your pair at the Y-termination have the old school Joe Grado logo or the John Grado current logo?

Also, if you did not remove the black dust adhering to the wood cups then continue to use the water with q-tip method with small circles to remove. You certainly do not want the pad dust to enter the housing.

Very nice score indeed.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Audiofiler /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrats on your find Merc, I have owned several vintage pairs myself of the RS series phones and can attest to their superb sound. In speaking to John and Kim on the driver cloth coverings, apparently Grado never 'officially' used black silk covering on the RS series. However, I have owned myself a pair and seen other vintage RS' in person bearing the black cloth covering. Perhaps such as the drivers of HP series being used in very early production runs, Grado utilized the black driver covering as well on early RS phones. Another possiblity Kim mentioned that John concurred to was that phones that were sent in for service for recovering perhaps received the black covering from Grado while being serviced. As far as the headband on vintage RS phones, I never saw a light colored brown such as the pics in this thread. I owned three pairs over the years of the vintage RS with wooden box. All pairs contained the dark brown leather head band (compared to the light brown ver in this thread). Two pairs contained the gold lettering (L/R) and one pair had a faded silver or gold color lettering, almost white in appearance. I had a vintage pair which had the black driver covering but that pair was purchased used. I bought a pair from Grado new which had the gold lettering, white driver covering, and wooden box. Finally, another tell in determining age (besides no s/n) is the rod caps. If the rod caps are metal VS plastic, the pair is usually more vintage..(or the rod caps are) The cord on the vintage RS seems more pliable and easier to wind up, etc. Perhaps this is due to age or the cord housing is different? Merc, Does your pair at the Y-termination have the old school Joe Grado logo or the John Grado current logo? Also, if you did not remove the black dust adhering to the wood cups then continue to use the water with q-tip method with small circles to remove. You certainly do not want the pad dust to enter the housing. Very nice score indeed.

Yeah, the rod ends were originally metal... the whole gimbal system was replaced by John because the screws holding the cups had stripped badly. This seems to have been a fault of the initial manufacture, so Grado gave me the new one for free. The L&R on that gimbal setup were gold, which was cool. The new rod system is a little floppier but actually fits my head a tad better (I kept my old leather headband though) so I'm not too upset about losing the vintage gimbals.

I think the cable has the standard logo and not the Joe Grado one... big G and little L. The cable is very flexible though, which is nice in comparison to newer ones.

I got almost all of the black old-pad off of the cups, though I could go again with a q-tip. The cups are in such nice shape, minus one little ding from the original user. Fortunately, the finish wasn't impacted by that at all.

Yeah, the black silk is pretty interesting. I know that these were purchased and only listened to a handful of times because the initial user had lost his hearing, so they were definitely made that way.

The most interesting thing about these headphones is something I've discovered over the past month. These hadn't even been remotely burned in. That, or they settled with time. The sound has expanded greatly from what I remember any RS1 sounding like, and I'd put the sound stage on these in a category matching an HD650 or other headphone with a medium sized expanse. They've also mellowed even further, which is incredibly pleasing.

They followed me in to work today:

 

[Wildsurfer]

Oh so I'm not the only one with this strange box

I have a semi-vintage mspro, very dark wood, exactly the same packaging but silver lettering, I guess that's another version ! I compared it to a recent mspro, the sound is more balanced, without the usual coloration in the low mids.

Some pics (mark_h's pics who it bought it from):