I couldn't agree more with you joseph. I built my hp rig around my RS1i's so as to maximise their particular sound signature. Everybody does it differently, because there's no right way when it comes to personal preference.
That's what's great about Grado!
You can get more than a few grados and will still derive "basic satisfaction" from all of them.
Even when there are refinements and variations in sounds from one model to the next, "the essence" remains the same. And that's how there are quite a number of people owning 3 to 5 cans of grados, or even a lot more cans.
Even for people like me who is currently on a instant-noodle-diet, while i like my sr325e, it doesn't at all diminish the value of my old sr60, or, if i could actually afford a ps500e (which i've heard), it's completely legit to keep all three, or four with the rs2e, or 5, with sr80e that i also own.
Grado headphones sounds different, but has that "sameness" which, if you happen to like them, then you like them.
Not many brands can be said to have that unique appeal.
I've heard dt770 dt880 dt990 t70 t90 and t1, and i've also heard hd558 hd598 hd600 hd650 and hd700,
and while i'm sure there are people who owns multiple models from the same company, that's likely not because they sounds
different, yet retains the same essence so it's equally satisying.
I mean, i can't really say t70 and t90 has any "sameness" so to speak, and so does dt880 and dt990. I prefer dt880 far more than dt990, and in opposite to the majority, i prefer t70 much more than t90. The same way i feel about hd600 and hd650... Originally, the only headphone i considered to compensate for my ear condition was the hd650. Yet even after long-hours audition, i still couldn't bring myself to pay for the hd650, and ended up getting the he-400i instead. (The fact that hd650 cost $600 here doesn't help with that decision either). OTOH, one song in with the hd600, i already prefer them to the hd650 and my brain doesn't actually adjust to hd650 even after long audition hours. (Though admittedly hd600 and hd650 has that "sameness" in rendering great midrange).
And that's how you get people keeping their sr80/sr225 even when they own an rs1.
I hardly think people that owns a hd800 are keeping their hd558 and can still derive that "basic satisfaction" for keeping both.
I don't know, maybe i'm wrong, but to me, i'm guessing the decision to just pick to keep one, say, rs2e and sr325e for example, will be far,far, harder than my previous experience when deciding which to choose between dt880 to 990 or hd600 to 650, or shure 940 to shure 1540.
