[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Shang-Ti Chen But just like I said in general principle a maker should simply NOT hand write anything on its products no matter what.

Why not? If they're writing numbers that help them catalogue/reference the product in case it ever needs a repair, I'm happy to have numbers written on my Grados, especially since they're written in a place that is completely hidden unless you take the headphones apart

Quote:

Do you like your million cost speakers to be uglily written with words? I believe nobody does. It even would lead customers to wonder if their new phones have actually been touched by the dirty hands of the factory workers.

Who do you think makes the RS-1? None other than the factory workers (including Mr. Grado himself) with their "dirty hands." I'm actually happy that my RS-1 have handwritten numbers rather than machined numbers, as it reminds me that they were made by hand and not stamped out by a machine.

 

[dokebi]

Maybe if they used one of those silver markers instead of a sharpie.

 

[Mr.PD]

You got my curiosity up, so I pulled the pads off of mine.
Mine don't have any numbers.
But the glue job is uneven. There is a lot less glue on mine than on the ones in the photos.
I am not sure how old mine are since I bought them used from a fellow Head-Fier who bought them used from a fellow Head-fier.

 

[Permonic]

These are handmade products. While sticking wood/metal/plastic together, some ppl tend to add rather more glue than less. Generaly it's better to add more glue, imagine you will take your cans out of the box and the cups will drop out.

Depends on smoothness of both sticking areas, sometimes the glue comes out. After it becomes dry, say 24 hrs or more, it's time consuming to remove this dry glue layer, ppl don't do it, but for $700 product they should do that. Like violin manufacturers do.

So take it easy. It seems that the glue layer doesn't interfere the mesh, thus no effect on sonic properties. Anyway if you don't like it, I would use a small surgeon's knife to remove the layer carefully. Fine-grained sandpaper is also possible, but be careful on the lacquer layer.

To remove the number, try to erase it with plastic eraser first, if this doesn't work, use a dilutant (an appropriate dilutant for enameled wood).

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Permonic To remove the number, try to erase it with plastic eraser first, if this doesn't work, use a dilutant (an appropriate dilutant for enameled wood).

But before you do, consider that the numbers may have something to do with the specs of your particular pair of RS-1. Removing the numbers may be a bad thing if you ever need to send the RS-1 in for service.

 

[sTaTIx]

I love how individual biases can cause people to make all sorts of excuses and justifications for the flagrant flaws of a product and its company. There seems to be a notion that the handwritten sharpie number creates some kind of "prestigiousness" and shows that the RS-1 is some kind of "luxury item," because the makers lent the care and time to "lovingly" write numbers on them with a felt-tip pen. Gimme a break!

The markings aren't consciously made to present the hand-crafted nature of these 'phones (if they were, then you'd see the number inscribed in cursive with metallic numbers with John Grado's signature of approval underneath!), they're done haphazardly for their own convenience. Not forgetting other faults like the ****ty-as-hell cord entry into the earcup, the cheap-ass foam earpads, and the sickly amount of glue that almost seeps out of the drivers and you have a headphone that's has ludicrous construction flaws that you should not expect from a top-of-the-line $700 piece of audio equipment.

 

[Spent&Bent]

Quote:

Originally posted by sTaTIx I love how individual biases can cause people to make all sorts of excuses and justifications for the flagrant flaws of a product and its company. There seems to be a notion that the handwritten sharpie number creates some kind of "prestigiousness" and shows that the RS-1 is some kind of "luxury item," because the makers lent the care and time to "lovingly" write numbers on them with a felt-tip pen. Gimme a ****in' break! The markings aren't consciously made to present the hand-crafted nature of these 'phones (if they were, then you'd see the number inscribed in cursive with metallic numbers with John Grado's signature of approval underneath!), they're done haphazardly for their own convenience. Not forgetting other faults like the ****ty-as-hell cord entry into the earcup, the cheap-ass foam earpads, and the sickly amount of glue that almost seeps out of the drivers and you have a headphone that's has ludicrous construction flaws that you should not expect from a top-of-the-line $700 piece of audio equipment.

Could be, ofcourse I may be biased because I am a art lover as well, and as such may be more tolerant to uniqueness.

My japanese swords are not that perfect either, infact older swords from around 1500 are poor by todays metallurgic purity standards yet I find them very beautiful in that imperfectness.....

I do, however agree that the grado's could do with some more audiotechnica like care...... especially considering the price.

 

[realityclouded]

Wow, I wasn't expecting the replies this post got.

While I find it uncool that Grado skimped on the build quality assurance of a pair of $700 headphones, it's not something I'd return the phones for if they sound great.

I was just wondering if this is "normal". So far, from the (small) number of responses I've gotten from RS-1 owners, I'm still not sure if all these build defects are considered "normal". I do wonder.. if Grado was sloppy putting the phones together, where else did they slack off or cut corners?

I don't mean to sound harsh, but for $700 I expected more - hand built or not. This is the type of build quality I would expect from $50 headphones. When I saw the handwriting I immediately thought, "Oh great, a refurb/repair/refund control number." This is the first time I've experienced such unprofessional practices on a high end ("flagship"!!) product.

I also looked in the earcups with a flashlight, and the soldering job appears to have been hastily done. The job was done decently enough to not make me want to return the phones, but it just adds to the sloppiness of the build of these phones, and dulls my overall confidence in Grado's ability to produce a quality end product.

I didn't set out to inspect these phones in such an anal manner. Only after discovering the glue and handwriting did I decide to peer into the earcups with a flashlight. The off-centering of the "RS-1" imprinted wood pieces wouldn't have bugged me in the least if not for these other build defects.

Anyways, I'm in the beginning of burn-in day #2. The phones sound better than they did out of the box, but not very different from about 12 hours ago. The sound is very crisp and detailed, but still very cold and bright. I'm hoping it'll warm up by the weekend. I know Grados are generally considered "bright" phones, but compared to what I heard out of an SR60 & SR80, my RS-1 is really, really bright.

If, after breaking these in for four days, I'm blown away by what I hear, I won't care about the glue, the handwriting, or any of what I just wrote above.

Until then, I'd love to hear from more RS-1 owners regarding the build quality of their phones.

 

[Chefguru]

Your can is fine. Little bit more glue then normal but not be a big deal.
I don't really buy to much in to the burning in thing the way some members do so I believe if you find the phone is bright/harsh you might want to try some two things. One, flat pads , two, tube amp ( are you even using an amp btw? If your not using an amp you might want to just look at getting a amp lol).

The rs-1 is a great headphone, very few people don't enjoy it. But there is one thing you need to know. As easy as the grado's are to power, they REALLY need a good source/amp/cables to sound good. If your not using a amp or good source you are better off getting something like a sr-225 and spending the rest of the money on a better system.
Hey and if it turns out you really don't like the grado's you can aways return them

. There is a world of headphones out there.

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Quote:

Originally posted by sTaTIx I love how individual biases can cause people to make all sorts of excuses and justifications for the flagrant flaws of a product and its company. There seems to be a notion that the handwritten sharpie number creates some kind of "prestigiousness" and shows that the RS-1 is some kind of "luxury item," because the makers lent the care and time to "lovingly" write numbers on them with a felt-tip pen. Gimme a ****in' break! The markings aren't consciously made to present the hand-crafted nature of these 'phones (if they were, then you'd see the number inscribed in cursive with metallic numbers with John Grado's signature of approval underneath!), they're done haphazardly for their own convenience. Not forgetting other faults like the ****ty-as-hell cord entry into the earcup, the cheap-ass foam earpads, and the sickly amount of glue that almost seeps out of the drivers and you have a headphone that's has ludicrous construction flaws that you should not expect from a top-of-the-line $700 piece of audio equipment.

Well said sTaTIx... This is exactly what I think in mind.

 

[Hunter_Killer]

Statix is right. To those that think that the hand written numbers somehow represent the hand made nature of the RS-1, wake up to yourselves. The numbers look like ****. It is a vile stain on a beautiful chamber and if they cared about the prestigous image they would have use at least a little more care. -1 for appearance and workmanship, but who cares? We are after the sound.

 

[gpalmer]

Heh, I just wish I had mine back from a lengthy loan so I could check for marker, I don't remember it, but then it has been so long since I saw them...

 

[Zanth]

Mine to not have the numbers. I hardly have any glue at all. My phones have the older brown leather headband and gold lettering.

Perhaps a call to Grado could fix this all up? Grado is AWESOME for customer service. (in my experience) Call them, tell them your problem and see what they say. They may just replace them for a new pair sans numbers and without the excess glue.

Burn-in is quite legit, the sound REALLY settles down after 100 hours.

Two things: 1) amp with high current is a must and 2) your source better not suck.

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Dear realityclouded...
For the tips of burning in your new RS-1... please check out my thread about it here: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=54706

Sincerely,

Shang-Ti

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by sTaTIx I love how individual biases can cause people to make all sorts of excuses and justifications for the flagrant flaws of a product and its company.

"Individual biases?" Wow, I guess now I'm going to be labeled a "Grado fanboy," too

Maybe some people just have a different opinion than you -- one that isn't simply "$700??? No way should anything ever be written on it, dude!!!"


Quote:

The markings aren't consciously made to present the hand-crafted nature of these 'phones

No one said they were.