[WilliamLeonhart]

  RS1i  congested   

 
Not the pair that I owned 

I meant the e. Sorry that was a typo. I'm having the RS1i too, and so far so good.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  RS1i  congested   

 
Not the pair that I owned 

Nor the 4 different pair that I owned either. 

 
 
But if the RS1e is...such a sad development for such a legendary headphone.

 

[sling5s]

What the Heck...
Different sized earpads???
Are you sure?

I've had lots of grados over the 10 years and had all the Grado RS1 versions.  In that period, there was some pads that were loser, or tighter fitting.
Some were slightly deeper and others more shallow.  Especially with bowl pads.  Very small differences but nevertheless...they were not all equal. 

 

[sling5s]

  Nor the 4 different pair that I owned either. 

 
 
But if the RS1e is...such a sad development for such a legendary headphone.

After having gone through all most every RS1 version, I like the idea of RS1e with forward mids and rolled off treble. Another reason to go to Can Jam.  Must hear for myself.  

 

[XLR8]

I've had lots of grados over the 10 years and had all the Grado RS1 versions.  In that period, there was some pads that were loser, or tighter fitting.
Some were slightly deeper and others more shallow.  Especially with bowl pads.  Very small differences but nevertheless...they were not all equal. 

Pardon my asking the reason I asked was that there was debate here on whether the new e series had different pads and from memory the final conclusion and emails to grado confirmed no.
Now there is another post which says rs1e l cush pads are different to retail version.
Have to confirm this and if correct then stacker45 was right to say Frankenstein grados are the new norm.

 

[sling5s]

Pardon my asking the reason I asked was that there was debate here on whether the new e series had different pads and from memory the final conclusion and emails to grado confirmed no.
Now there is another post which says rs1e l cush pads are different to retail version.
Have to confirm this and if correct then stacker45 was right to say Frankenstein grados are the new norm.

Yeah...I'm a little confused too in Regards to RS1e. 

 

[whirlwind]

 

  Nor the 4 different pair that I owned either. 

 
 
But if the RS1e is...such a sad development for such a legendary headphone.

After having gone through all most every RS1 version, I like the idea of RS1e with forward mids and rolled off treble. Another reason to go to Can Jam.  Must hear for myself.  

The rolled off treble would not bother me a bit....it is the comfort  with those drivers not being flush with the cups that I am worried about.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  The rolled off treble would not bother me a bit....it is the comfort  with those drivers not being flush with the cups that I am worried about.

 
Well, looking at the graphs and I am shocked!
 
The old RS1s:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoRS1.pdf
 
Now the RS1e:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoRS1eBowlPads.pdf
 
The bass doesn't extend as deep and the treble falls off a cliff. I can now understand the speakers with a broken tweeter comment. 

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Grado pads disintegrate over time. New pads and old pads give different sound, that I'm pretty sure of.
 
We need a poll. I call for the RS1es. That's right, mates. RS1 'es'.

 

[whirlwind]

 

  The rolled off treble would not bother me a bit....it is the comfort  with those drivers not being flush with the cups that I am worried about.

 
Well, looking at the graphs and I am shocked!
 
The old RS1s:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoRS1.pdf
 
Now the RS1e:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoRS1eBowlPads.pdf
 
The bass doesn't extend as deep and the treble falls off a cliff. I can now understand the speakers with a broken tweeter comment. 

Well, after looking at those charts, Peter......I have to agree that the "e" is a long way from what the "i" was.......and I am not one to spend much time looking at charts....if I did I probably would not have bought any Grado 

 

[stacker45]

Pardon my asking the reason I asked was that there was debate here on whether the new e series had different pads and from memory the final conclusion and emails to grado confirmed no.
Now there is another post which says rs1e l cush pads are different to retail version.
Have to confirm this and if correct then stacker45 was right to say Frankenstein grados are the new norm.

 
I have posted pictrues of the e vs the old G-cush. The pics aren't very good, but hey!, I'm a longshoreman, not a photograph.

 
Regarding the RS1e, I'm not surprised, like I've said before, they are a sidestep of the RS1i, wich were a sidestep of the RS1. It's just that with the RS1e, they're seem to be more people that don't like them, then those that do, like them.
 
And I don't think that the RS1e are going to cost Grado, many sales. People wil symply buy either, N.O.S., or used RS1i. Some may even buy SR325e, or PS500e. I could be wrong, but I doubt that Grado fans will leave the Dark Side, just because they don't like, one model.
 
If I was in John Grado's shoes, I'd simply stop the production of the RS1e, and bring back the RS1i, problem solved!.

 

[joseph69]

  I think within the Grado RS1e, there are some variants.  It always happens.  Few sound brighter or few sound warmer.  And even in the pads, few are deeper and some are shallower.  Just have to get lucky maybe. 

Took me 3 pairs of PS1K's to finally love the 3rd pair…they were all different in sound, the first 2 not by much, but the 3rd pair sounded right/much better than the first 2…in a big way.

 

[Harry Manback]

  Took me 3 pairs of PS1K's to finally love the 3rd pair…they were all different in sound, the first 2 not by much, but the 3rd pair sounded right/much better than the first 2…in a big way.

That just shouldn't be.  I know they tout the "hand made" aspect, but some sort of quality control must insure that the product leaving the door meets standards.  I don't think the transducers in my rs1e are even in the housings evenly.  At first glance they look great, but when you look closely, you begin to see flaws.  Not flaws that make then "unique" and "individual", but flaws that indicate sloppiness in construction, and in quality control.
 
I saved and waited and saved some more for my RS1's.  When the 'e' edition came out, I was even more excited.  Now, I'm just flat disappointed.  Do other major manufacturers have wildly varying build and sound quality issues within the same model?  I know that Sennheiser (not a fan of them by the way) is very consistent.
 
I'm just down, disappointed, and frustrated.  I'm sorry to sound so negative and gloomy.  
 
Edit:  The sound you hear is my printer printing out my return label.

 

[Benfica1]

That just shouldn't be.  I know they tout the "hand made" aspect, but some sort of quality control must insure that the product leaving the door meets standards.  I don't think the transducers in my rs1e are even in the housings evenly.  At first glance they look great, but when you look closely, you begin to see flaws.  Not flaws that make then "unique" and "individual", but flaws that indicate sloppiness in construction, and in quality control.

I saved and waited and saved some more for my RS1's.  When the 'e' edition came out, I was even more excited.  Now, I'm just flat disappointed.  Do other major manufacturers have wildly varying build and sound quality issues within the same model?  I know that Sennheiser (not a fan of them by the way) is very consistent.

I'm just down, disappointed, and frustrated.  I'm sorry to sound so negative and gloomy.  

Edit:  The sound you hear is my printer printing out my return label.

what other quality control issues do you see on the rs1e? I know you're comparing them to the ps500e, but any quality control issues would be across the board, affecting all product lines. If you're dissatisfied with the rs1e I would hope it's because of your personal dislike if there sound signature and not because you come to Headfi and read negative comments that influence and sway your decision. My .02 cents.

 

[joseph69]

  That just shouldn't be.  
Edit:  The sound you hear is my printer printing out my return label.

I agree with you 100%…I shouldn't have had to hear 3 different pairs, but I'm real glad I got one that is right. I also have to say that fortunately this was the only issue I've ever had with Grado, with the exception of receiving a new GS1Ki and one driver didn't work, but after receiving another pair, I didn't care for them anyway.
Find yourself nice used RS-1i on the F/S Forums...or from what I've been reading the RS-2e sounds like the RS-1i.