Ok some initial impressions for those interested.
The RS-1's have the the Joseph Grado Signature UW Bandwidth Reference Cable, balanced, 25 ft long as advertised.
The Blockhead is in essence two Maxes put together. Rugged as all hell though.
The rig consists of the Meridian 588>Dimazio's (balanced)>Blockhead>HD650's(Cardas balanced cables).
The amps I've heard before extensively or owned consist of The Corda HA-2, Older version of the Max, Headamp's Gilmore V1, RKV, Perreaux SHX-1, and the Omega II/007 combo.
In a word, power comes to mind. Power, precision, definition, and spaciality. I was listening to the Meridian with the 325's/RA-1 yesterday and was really pleased, but engaged with the balanced setup, I feel like I'm in the MIDDLE of the stage, not in a surround sound kind of way, but the singer is in front, musicians on the side and back, and so forth. It just seems so natural.
The sound is fast, uber detailing, and even. The bass if tight with an ambiance. You can hear the bass string being plucked, the reverberation, and the sound it's making (almost forming a cloud around the bass string). Listening with some Peter Gabriel, you could hear the limits of his voice when he's trying to sing. Complex songs like "Steam" can flow along like nobody's business with no sloppiness or lost detail, yet you can actually hear ALL of the instruments being played, and pick them out. Or you can just go along with the music. The sound just makes you want to tap your foot and dance. But the levels of texture are just outstanding.
The midrange is FULL. Female vocals just ooze from this setup, not top heavy or anything, just lush enough to really make you pay attention. Coupled with the highs, the presentation is incredibly balanced and even, yet it'll showcase for you whatever you want to pay attention to at the same time. That's the thing with this, you almost have to sit there and pay attention, or listen without doing anything else if you will. It just grabs your attention without letting go. I tried surfing here while listening during the day and I couldn't do it.
The cymbals just shimmer, with just enough air and decay, but to be honest, I've never heard them sound SO good, not like this anyway. Pianos just roll right along, yet you can pick out the keys being pressed. All those little ambiances that may be lost on a given setup are there now, presented on a silver platter. The noise floor is absolutely silent, much like the XP-7. And I find the soundstage to be really "natural" I've owned the CD3000's in the past, and now I know what people may mean when they say they have an "exaggerated" soundstage.
This is all "straight" sound by the way, no filter switches or crossfeed engaged.
This is without a doubt the best I've heard the Sennheiser 650's, or 600's for that matter, and I LOVED the 650's on the XP-7 with the Phillips 963SA.
I'll give the RS-1's a good listen today. I've had the RS-1/RA-1 combo before, but I'm really interested to hear what they sound like with the Joe Grado cables.
I really still don't believe it. I'm in awe.
