[RollsDownWindowsManually]

I hit up my local hi-fi shop today....they've had an RS-1 and an RA-1 setup for auditioning for a few days now so I obliged myself to drive over and take a listen. I brought along my Alessandro MS2's for the comparision. The shop also has some SR125's which I threw in the mix occasionaly for good measure.

I used my Creative Zen Vision:M portable digital audio player for source material. On some tracks I listened with my Mustard Seed Labs faith amp, on others I used the RA-1.

Initial impression of the RS-1 vs MS-2:

The RS-1 sounds an awful lot like the MS2. The midbass is stronger and thumps a bit harder, but the low bass is not as forceful as that of the MS2. Highs are slightly sharper, and midrange is very similair. The RS-1's are slightly more comfortable because of their lighter weight (wood v. metal) and angled earpieces.

Creed's "Are You Ready?" from the Human Clay album really brought out the strongest differences between these two headphones in my listening session....the bass guitar dominates the presentation with the RS-1, percussion stands out more with the MS-2.

The SR-125 in comparison to both phones simply lacked bass. The bass impact was shy in comparision to both the MS-2 and RS-1, but the highs were the sharpest of all.

RA-1 vs. Faith amp I could not tell a big difference....they sounded about the same to my ears.

Now to ruffle some feathers:

Ranking:

MS-2
RS-1
SR-125

In conclusion, I actually prefer the sound of the MS-2 over the RS-1. The main reason for this is that the MS-2 presents what I feel to be a more accurate and balanced bass presentation. The midrange and highs between the two are very similair, and although I will give the nod to the RS-1 in the upper treble, overall I still prefer the MS-2. Even without considering that the MS-2 costs about half as much as the RS-1, I have to give the nod to the MS-2 based on sonics alone.

The SR-125 sound great for the money, but if you crave bass impact you should probably look a bit higher in the grado line.

 

[reivaj]

sounds like you are going to need to try out the mspro now

 

[Kees]

I am not surprised.
I prefer my (modded) SR325i over RS-1. By a rather large margin.

 

[augustwest]

"In conclusion, I actually prefer the sound of the MS-2 over the RS-1. The main reason for this is that the MS-2 presents what I feel to be a more accurate and balanced bass presentation. The midrange and highs between the two are very similair, and although I will give the nod to the RS-1 in the upper treble, overall I still prefer the MS-2. Even without considering that the MS-2 costs about half as much as the RS-1, I have to give the nod to the MS-2 based on sonics alone."


The MS2, is by far the best value for the dollar spent in the Grado line-up of phones (and yes, this includes the highly over rated SR225 too). Making the MS2 the sweet spot of the extended Grado family. It is even better deal if you can pick-up a "used" set on the "for sale" forum.

- augustwest

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by reivaj /img/forum/go_quote.gif sounds like you are going to need to try out the mspro now

yeah, now that's a killer can! since the hp1000 and ps-1 aren't readily available and cost a lot of dosh when you find 'em, and the gs-1s seem to be somewhat of a polarizing phone some would regard these as the top available grados. if you like the 2s ck out the ms-pros. they have a rep here as being an rs-1 variant, although mr. grado will not comment on that. there are significant differences in the sound between the rs-1 and ms-pro that, given your ranking, you might well really like this can! i'm surprised that they don't have a bigger following on these forums.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by augustwest /img/forum/go_quote.gif The MS2, is by far the best value for the dollar spent in the Grado line-up of phones (and yes, this includes the highly over rated SR225 too). Making the MS2 the sweet spot of the extended Grado family. It is even better deal if you can pick-up a "used" set on the "for sale" forum. - augustwest

they might be, although others would argue that that honor belongs to the hf-1, especially at it's original price although others would still say that it's a good deal at it's near twice that price market value today.

 

[Ingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by augustwest /img/forum/go_quote.gif and yes, this includes the highly over rated SR225 too - augustwest

Why do you think that? Because a lot of people like them? I'm sure the MS-2 sounds a bit better but you can't get an MS-2 for anywhere near $150 used. You can buy a brand new SR-225 for like $170 shipped.