Are there any IEMs as good as the Grado RS/1?

[Nick H.]

Hi everyone, this is my first post. What a useful site.

I love my Grado RS/1s - I give them 10 out of 10. I use them with a DMC Xclef player and a Canford portable amp. I listen to most music genres except jazz. My files are uncompressed WAVs.

I also have Shure E-5Cs, for long distance cycling. I give them about 7 out of 10. So, like many of you here, I'm looking for the best IEMs. And I have to use them without an amp when I'm cycling. I've read the reviews and have a hard time deciding which ones I might prefer. Perhaps the Soft 2X would be closer to the RS/1s? Or is it plain unreasonable for any IEMs to sound anywhere near as good as the RS/1s? What score out of 10 can IEMs ever achieve when they're up against such great headphones?

If there is no clear winner in IEMs I'm inclined to go for the 2X because they're soft and more comfortable. I could use them as earplugs too! Plus I read in a review that the 2X might be better for hearing conservation, and I already have some deafness.

 

[solvexyz]

I heard from digihead that Westone ES3 is closer to Grado sound than UE10 pro or sensaphonics soft 2x.

 

[grawk]

I think you're looking for the holy grail there...RS1s are the antithesis of most IEMs...

 

[iamdone]

If you add some treble boost to the sensas, I think they are a little closer to the Grados sound at least in bass punch. They've got a good rhythm like the Grados. The problem is they don't do guitars like the Grados. They're too smooth and lack the aggresive sound.

After I bought the RS1, I started to get dissatisfied with the sensas and bought the ue10 hoping this would be more what I'm looking for. Let's just say I was let down. The Grado are fun, exciting, and sound like you're at the front of a live concert. The ue10 sound great, but it's more like your in the studio monitoring how well the album was recorded. Very technical but listening to all the detail can be enjoyable too.

I've since grown to like the ue10 for portable listening and my sensas have since died (right side shorted out). If I were too do it all over again and had the information I have now, I would gotten the Westone ES3.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdone If you add some treble boost to the sensas, I think they are a little closer to the Grados sound at least in bass punch. They've got a good rhythm like the Grados. The problem is they don't do guitars like the Grados. They're too smooth and lack the aggresive sound. After I bought the RS1, I started to get dissatisfied with the sensas and bought the ue10 hoping this would be more what I'm looking for. Let's just say I was let down. The Grado are fun, exciting, and sound like you're at the front of a live concert. The ue10 sound great, but it's more like your in the studio monitoring how well the album was recorded. Very technical but listening to all the detail can be enjoyable too. I've since grown to like the ue10 for portable listening and my sensas have since died (right side shorted out). If I were too do it all over again and had the information I have now, I would gotten the Westone ES3.

I am going to agree with the Westone ES3 is the right IEM. The mids are bumped up.. like the RS-1s.. get the ES3 if you have the money.

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdone If you add some treble boost to the sensas, I think they are a little closer to the Grados sound at least in bass punch. They've got a good rhythm like the Grados. The problem is they don't do guitars like the Grados. They're too smooth and lack the aggresive sound.

I definitely agree with this. In some ways they're not that unlike top-end Grado, but they're just sorely lacking in bite and edge.

I don't have any experience with the Westone, but I guess the few (one?) reports I've read on it indicates it might be the way to go. But honestly, I doubt any IEM could capture the magic of the RS-1. The Shure E5c are okay (I agree with your "7" rating), but they're definitely not representative of what the top IEM can do. They do have a nice warmth to them, but the Sensas are better in basically every other way. Just wish they took a more Grado-esque (rather than Sennheiser) approach.

Best,

-Jason

 

[GoRedwings19]

I wanted to get a set of iems but I don't think there is really any that suit me. Maybe the UM2's but I would really need someone to post who also has the rs-1's as well for comparisons.

 

[iamdone]

Yeah, I think if you want to get the Grado sound on the go, you just have to get a Grado. I've been worried about too much noise leaking in and out and just looking strange in public. Today was the first time I actually saw someone wearing them out in public. I don't know the model since it had bowls on it but it was plugged right into an ipod without any adapter that I could see.

Anyway, I think I'm definately going to pick up the new streetstyle ones when they're released. I know they won't compare to the RS-1 but everyone thinks the SR-60s are fun and I'm sure these will be too.

I realized that instead of trying to get the best sound, I'm now looking for the most fun and enjoyment.

 

[K2Grey]

Out of curiosity, is there any reason for the uncompressed WAVs over say FLAC? Does the Xclef player not support lossless or something?

 

[Nick H.]

Thanks everyone, the vote seems to be for the Westones. I'm going to the audiologist tomorrow.

K2Grey, I started out with 320 kbps MP3s - I ripped ALL my CDs that way to listen to them on a 20 gig Nomad. Then I realised i was going to have to rip them all over again for better quality. I asked around and was told to use EAC for ripping, and use a series of tools and add-ons to end up with FLAC or Monkey's or something...I forget the details. Not being a techie I got really fed up when I couldn't get this to work, so I decided to stick with uncompressed WAVs. At least I feel sort of 'future-proofed' - I can't imagine a scenario in which I'll ever need to rip my CDs again, and I can be confident that even though I don't understand the technology I'm not accidentally making any choices which will involve any loss of quality - I hope! I like the EAC philosophy, which seems to be "rip slowly and methodically...don't ever sacrifice quality for speed."

Each CD needs about 750 MB but that's tolerable because the Xclef has 100 Gig. I'm going to buy another Xclef so I can take both with me on long cycling trips so I still have music when one battery runs out. (Sometimes I cycle for up to 12 hours and it's difficult to motivate myself without music.) So I should end up with capacity for over 250 CDs - which is enough. My CD collection is not that big.

Does this sound logical to you? I must emphasise that I'm not a techie - I know nothing about ripping software, or formats, or anything....I just love perfect sound when I can find it. My 'gold standard' is a Mark Levinson CD player with ATC 100 speakers...but the speakers weigh about as much as a car, so I had to sell them when I decided to be a nomad.

 

[v4i5r6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick H. Hi everyone, this is my first post. What a useful site.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick H. Thanks everyone, the vote seems to be for the Westones. I'm going to the audiologist tomorrow.

I thought being a junior member with only a couple of posts and armed with MS-1 and Ety 6i has made my self being a good head-fier, and really proud of it. Especially I can now let my wallet rest for the next few months or years...
But seeing your posts in this thread

, makes me in no mans land and confused

.

 

[Nick H.]

Because of the money I've spent? Well, bear in mind that I sold my hi-fi because I don't really have a permanent home. (Or other overheads like a wife or kids!) I spent over £10,000 on my hi-fi, which probably makes me certifiable. But I did it. So the idea of replacing it with $800 of IEMs and an MP3 player (or two) seems very reasonable! I get more pleasure out of my portable now than I did with my hi-fi...so I think everyone should put top quality IEMs at the very top of their shopping list. But my priorities are admittedly abnormal. My car only cost £600.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick H. Because of the money I've spent? Well, bear in mind that I sold my hi-fi because I don't really have a permanent home. (Or other overheads like a wife or kids!) I spent over £10,000 on my hi-fi, which probably makes me certifiable. But I did it. So the idea of replacing it with $800 of IEMs and an MP3 player (or two) seems very reasonable! I get more pleasure out of my portable now than I did with my hi-fi...so I think everyone should put top quality IEMs at the very top of their shopping list. But my priorities are admittedly abnormal. My car only cost £600.

Well Nick if yo uget them, you could do a write up as to how they compare to the RS-1s. I would be interested in hearing. If I was ever to get a second pair of IEMs, it would be the Westone's.

 

[Nick H.]

Will do!

I've been noticing that everyone here who likes Westones recommends the ES-3, even though the manufacturer says 'don't buy them just for listening to recorded music'. But if nobody here tells me different I'm going to order them anyway.

Does anybody use them with an amp? I'm hoping it won't be necessary - my portable amp is way too big and heavy to use on a bicycle.

 

[solvexyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick H. Will do! I've been noticing that everyone here who likes Westones recommends the ES-3, even though the manufacturer says 'don't buy them just for listening to recorded music'. But if nobody here tells me different I'm going to order them anyway. Does anybody use them with an amp? I'm hoping it won't be necessary - my portable amp is way too big and heavy to use on a bicycle.

You might want to read this thread, where digihead explains his experience with Westone ES3.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ht=westone+es3