[WhiteCrow]

well I'm going to buy a high end pair of cans after I graduate here in a few months. I know nothing about any of these and have seen conflicting reviews. This is my price range about 600$. Do your worst head-fi make my future wallet weep*also if I had not bought my HD25-i's I could have the ATM1000 now Q.Q*
 

 

[eucariote]

My vote goes for RS-1.  

 
I like them much, much more than D5000 or any other closed headphone including D7000 & Ultrasone edition 8.  HD600 are also great- less fun with many kinds of music but more versatile.  And they're so cheap that you can also get an amp within your budget.

 

[WhiteCrow]

I already have a pretty viable amp for any of the options I listed. The HD600 would be a good choice as well, and I can try all of these if I ever to 32ohm audio again. I think the RS1 are a bit out of my price range as they are about650-700 on amazon and headroom.
 

 

[wind016]

Very nice headphone choices. I've only had the D7000 and never heard the D5000, but if they sound similar then the D5000 must be excellent. I never A/Bed these headphones so I can't be too detailed.
 
I think I would have a hard time picking. If you want the best vocal reproduction, I would say the W1000 gives the best mid range of the three. However, it's definitely on the bright side of the sound spectrum. I don't think it's more bright than the RS1s though. The RS1s have a treble peak. The W1000 has an upper mids/lower treble peak. It is severely lacking in the sub bass. Almost inaudible. Treble is also clipped. In a way, the W1000 sounds like an AKG K701, but with a good lower mid range where the AKG K701 severely lacked. It's sub bass and treble performance won't impress anyone, but the mid range may be very beautiful to some. Congestion is also a problem with these headphones. Good midrange response + closed headphone tends to result in at least some congestion in my experience. I honestly wouldn't like having the W1000 as my only headphone, but few headphones focus on mid range like it does so it does some things much better. Closed=more intimacy over space as you probably know. So midrange focus and closed design sounds very intimate.
 
I don't recall the Grados having very good sub bass either but they have more resolution than the W1000 at least in the treble. Can't say much because Grados aren't my preferred headphones of choice. I don't like that much treble, though I also can't stand too much upper mids like those on the W1000 these day either.
 
I thought the Denon D7000 was an excellent headphone which I bought for $630, close to your budget. My main problem was the mids. If the mids don't get to you, then they are fantastic headphones. Great sub bass response. Slightly sibilant highs. I would personally opt for the W1000X though. The W1000X has better mids.
 
If you haven't already, get a good linear phase equalizer, like Voxengo VST plugin, and bridge it onto Foobar. I wonder how much more I would have liked those headphones if I had EQed the peaks and dips out before on a good EQ rather than the crappy Itunes one.

 

[WhiteCrow]

alright I will take that into consideration.
 

 

[WhiteCrow]

OOOOOOOOO 32ohm Audio has the W5000's for a fairly reasonable price, rather then buying off amazon and having an unverified source deliver it for...$2 less.

 

[wind016]

I had a problem with the W5000's fit and I personally preferred the W1000 a lot more. Depending on the price, you might want to consider resale value just in case.
 
I did get the chance to compare the W5000 side-by-side with the RS1. Honestly, it was pretty close call. My friend at the time preferred the RS1. In fact, he really liked the RS1. I also preferred the RS1 too XP  Just compare the graphs. The W5000 has the almost signature emphasized mid range character of ATH, but I preferred the RS1's more energetic sound. The W5000 wasn't colored to my liking.
 

 

 

[Mercuttio]

I would also take a long, hard listen to the W1000X. It isn't always right for every song, in the same way as an older RS1, but if it excels at your favorite genre or artist it is an absolute dream. If you do go RS1 though, try to find a used model with the button. I think they're a bit better than the current model; a bit clearer and possibly more bright but with better texture and sparkle. 

 

[WhiteCrow]

well I might not get the RS1/ they are a bit more*about the same price as the w5000* than the RS2, which is significantly cheaper than anything on the list, I will hopefully be able to try all of them out. But any opinions are welcome Not to mention I never see grados other than the sr80i being sold on here*glances at signature*
 

 

[Mercuttio]

Something else to hunt for might be one of the early SR325is... the one that wasn't shiny but made out of aluminum in silver. I liked those a good deal more than the RS2. Better imaging and detail. Brighter sure, but not in a harsh way like the older models. I'd put that phone near par with the RS1i... though it does a lot of things differently. Kind of a separate but equal flavor. 
 
Quote:

well I might not get the RS1/ they are a bit more*about the same price as the w5000* than the RS2, which is significantly cheaper than anything on the list, I will hopefully be able to try all of them out. But any opinions are welcome Not to mention I never see grados other than the sr80i being sold on here*glances at signature*
 

 

 

[TheMiddleSky]

D5000 = if you want to get good cans for bass punch, but have to "sacrifice" the enjoyment of midrange area, it's a bit recessed, and for me, it's hard to enjoy vocal-songs (acoustic, pop, vocal jazz) with them.
 
W1000 = it's what I called as "vocal bloated". The vocal is really full, lush, and some people will feel it's bothersome, because instrument will get covered by vocal, another some people will fall in love with this characteristic though (ex: for songs with strong vocal). At the weak side, W1000 suffer for bass teritory, its small, and don't offering really good sub-bass, also, when I tried it at SS amp, I feel the treble area is weird too, it's like "thin". but when combine with warm and lush tube amp, the treble can become "right" to adding clarity combine with lush vocal.
 
Grado RS-Series
Fast, forward, lot of energy for guitar and rock songs, lack of wide staging. It's really good cans for some genre like metal/rock/acoustic (yeah I like acoustic songs through Grado), but when we talk another genre like classical or jazz, you can look elsewhere.
 
three of them sound so different for me, you just can't say "hey I have 600 bucks, which one is the best among them?"

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

Something else to hunt for might be one of the early SR325is... the one that wasn't shiny but made out of aluminum in silver. I liked those a good deal more than the RS2. Better imaging and detail. Brighter sure, but not in a harsh way like the older models. I'd put that phone near par with the RS1i... though it does a lot of things differently. Kind of a separate but equal flavor. 
 


 

yea I'm not into harsh, I was going to buy them then I heard them and had an instant nope reaction.I hear the RS2/1 are a fai bit warmer than the lower end grado's and thats why I was interested.
 


Quote:

D5000 = if you want to get good cans for bass punch, but have to "sacrifice" the enjoyment of midrange area, it's a bit recessed, and for me, it's hard to enjoy vocal-songs (acoustic, pop, vocal jazz) with them.
 
W1000 = it's what I called as "vocal bloated". The vocal is really full, lush, and some people will feel it's bothersome, because instrument will get covered by vocal, another some people will fall in love with this characteristic though (ex: for songs with strong vocal). At the weak side, W1000 suffer for bass teritory, its small, and don't offering really good sub-bass, also, when I tried it at SS amp, I feel the treble area is weird too, it's like "thin". but when combine with warm and lush tube amp, the treble can become "right" to adding clarity combine with lush vocal.
 
Grado RS-Series
Fast, forward, lot of energy for guitar and rock songs, lack of wide staging. It's really good cans for some genre like metal/rock/acoustic (yeah I like acoustic songs through Grado), but when we talk another genre like classical or jazz, you can look elsewhere.
 
three of them sound so different for me, you just can't say "hey I have 600 bucks, which one is the best among them?"

Hmmm the D5000 are basscannons? and I do have a Full tube amp. The W1000's are looking pretty nice right about now. The D5000 also, so are the mids like supper sennheiser recessed or just slightly ultrasone recessed.

 

[moodyrn]

I have both the w1000 and d7000 and I agree with what other's have said about the w1000. The vocals are nice, even nicer than the d7000. The sound stage is also better than the d7000, but that's where it ends. I really wish the w1000 were more balanced. The bass is non-existant. My er4p(which are also bass lite) has way more bass than those. It's not even just the low bass, but anything under 100hrz. I like them better than the k701, but if you are looking for a really good headphone from top to bottom, I would suggest the d7000. You could find them used for around 600.00

 

 

[Mink]

Again, the recessed mids mantra that is repeated over and over again.
I don't get it.
Just because D5000's bass is big and the treble is extended doesn't mean the mids are recessed.
I listen to a lot of vocal baroque music, Handel Oratoria and Opera's and Bach's vocal music and I never feel the vocals are recessed.
In fact I cannot come up with a specific recording; pop, rock, classical etc. where I feel the vocals need more presence.
I find D5000s mids to be very neutral, pretty flat, more upfront mids would sound unnatural to me.
 
Quote:

D5000 = if you want to get good cans for bass punch, but have to "sacrifice" the enjoyment of midrange area, it's a bit recessed, and for me, it's hard to enjoy vocal-songs (acoustic, pop, vocal jazz) with them.

 

 

[eucariote]

Quote:

In fact I cannot come up with a specific recording; pop, rock, classical etc. where I feel the vocals need more presence.
 

 
Allow me 

 
This is something I posted in the D7000 thread.  These are songs that are thrown out of balance by the combination of intense bass & highs and overpowered mids:
 
Radiohead
OK Computer
Paranoid Android 2:45 - 3:02
Let Down - 3:42 - 4:35
Karma Police 2:35 - 3:40
Electioneering 2:25 - 2:35
Lucky 1:12 - 1:30

In Rainbows
Bodysnatchers 0:42 -  2:05

Broken Social Scene
You forgot it in the people
KC Accidental 1:50 - 2:33
Stars and Sons 2:05 - 2:48

In all these cases, the heavy instrumentation extends both higher and lower than the voice where they are emphasized by the headphones, adding to their total volume beyond the intended mix.  As a result, the voice is at at the same level, or sometimes quieter than the other instruments, almost blending it within a 'wall' of sound.  With speakers, HD600, RS-1, SRH840, etc. the voice is clearly distinct and placed in front of the other instruments.