[kingvin60]

My recently purchased Rs1s sound crappy compared to my 225s when using a portable player.
I thought the 32 ohm impedence would make them sound just as good or even better.
Could i have a faulty pair?

 

[Xan7hos]

Impedence is not a measure of sound quality, it's an indicator of how the headphones will react given a certain drive, whether from an amp or headphone out. In this case, the 32 ohm would be an indicator that both headphones ought to have equal loudness when fed an equal drive...so if you had your amp @ 10 o'clock, both should be around the same equal loudness; Of course there's going to be variations given that these are two different models.
 
can you describe exactly what makes them crappy? i.e. are you hearing more noise or distortion? clipping, lack of bass, too much bass, too much treble, etc

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

My recently purchased Rs1s sound crappy compared to my 225s when using a portable player.
I thought the 32 ohm impedence would make them sound just as good or even better.
Could i have a faulty pair?

Possibly.  However, the difference between the SR-225 and RS-1 has nothing to do with impedance.  The drivers are different and the RS- driver is mounted in a different cup than the SR-225.  Those have more effect on the sound.
 
Impedance is only relevant when considered with the output impedance of the amplifier you're using it with.  It tells you about the power transfer from the amp to the headphones.  The driver design and cup shape have a lot more to do with how a headphone sounds.

 

[kingvin60]

My Sony X Walkman works great with the 225s. Maybe it doesn't  produce enough current to
push them properly.
 
Thanks for the info.

 

[zero7525]

Quote:

My Sony X Walkman works great with the 225s. Maybe it doesn't  produce enough current to
push them properly.
 
Thanks for the info.

Maybe, but the sr 225 and the RS1 still have the same power requirements. The most reasonable conclusion is that either, the drivers are faulty, or you don't like the certain sound signature of the rs1 - which quite a number of people have in common with.

 

[kingvin60]

I like the sound signature but bass seems loose and the overall sound is not as full as the sr225.
The 225 i like but i get ear fatigue very quickly. I bought the Rs1s new open box and have maybe 50
hours of burn in.

 

[zero7525]

Quote:

I like the sound signature but bass seems loose and the overall sound is not as full as the sr225.
The 225 i like but i get ear fatigue very quickly. I bought the Rs1s new open box and have maybe 50
hours of burn in.

If you want to tame the sr 225, you should try the dynamat/blutack mod. Listed here: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/183338/grado-driver-mod

It really calmed down the highs of my sr 225, and they are not fatiguing anymore.

The RS1 also have the same tar-like blob on top of the drivers, unlike the prestige series.

 

[kingvin60]

thanks again for the info. thats something i need to try.

 

[kboe]

I too liked my SR-80s far more out of the iPod than I did my RS1is when I had both.  The RS1is needed something like the 2Move at least, even my BitHead did wonders wonders with the RS1is, and the SR-80s too.

 

[kingvin60]

I hear more distortion and the bass is loose. I like the sound signature but its not cohesive and it lacks weight.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Quote:

In this case, the 32 ohm would be an indicator that both headphones ought to have equal loudness when fed an equal drive...so if you had your amp @ 10 o'clock, both should be around the same equal loudness
 

 
I think that's depend on the sensitivity, not the impedance.
 

 

[chrislangley4253]

What is your source exactly? Grados can be driven by portables fine, but don't let that mistake you for not needing a proper source to get all you can out of them The higher up you go in the grado chain the more they benefit from a proper source and amp. Imho.. Also, careful with the dynamat, I don't care for that mod, myself.