[our martin]

 
Quote:

 
 
 
 It's an interesting divide I'm keen to conquer to too - the Joe and John Grado divide - if you ever see a pair of these show up at your local garage sale
 then may I suggest you pick them up post haste! 

 
 They still have a legendary reputation for a neutral and clear representation - Joe Grado senior still has quite a following from what I understand in
 both the audiophile and pro audio circle. Not surprising when you consider that ol' Joe Grado is considered by many of his elder and younger peers
 as a shining light of genius in his trade - find out more about the man here :-
 
 http://joegradosig.com/hifihistory.html
 
 Acclaimed audio engineer and producer, Bob Ludwig, still calls these his 'go to' headphone for getting the
 best out of his daily masterings - if you can get them in this condition, they make PS1000's look cheap!
 
 
 
 *Edit*
 
 From Bob to Joe
 
 "Quoting Bob Ludwig, he says;
“Hi Joe
 
I recently borrowed the new top of the line Denon headphones and the new $1,300 Sennheiser 800 headphone. After extensive listening, your stock Signature HP1000
headphones after 25 years of constant use and with no maintenance of any kind still wins by a large margin. My opinion.
 
I’m still in awe of the upgrading job you did for me. The vast sound improvement must be heard to be believed. I’ll always be grateful, thank you.”
Bob Ludwig is by far the most respected and sought after audio post processor in the world.today. His works are legendary in the industry.
 
 From Wiki :-
 
 His mastering credits are extensive, and include albums for many major classical artists, such as the Kronos Quartet, and rock acts, including Jimi Hendrix, 
 Megadeth, Metallica, Gloria Estefan,Nirvana, The Strokes, Queen, U2, Guns N' Roses, Richie Sambora, Tool, Simple Minds, Bryan Ferry, Tori Amos, Bonnie Raitt, 
 Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the Bee Gees, Madonna,Supertramp, Will Ackerman, Pet Shop Boys and Radiohead.
He has occasionally undertaken long projects, such as remastering the entire back catalogues of Rush, Dire Straits, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Rolling Stones,^[5]

 Ludwig cites his most musically satisfying projects as: the CD reissue of Music From Big Pink (The Band), There's a Riot Goin' On (Sly and the Family Stone), Led Zeppelin II,

  Painted from Memory (Bacharach &Costello), Spirit (Jewel), Loreena McKennitt, Ancient Voices of Children (George Crumb) (Augie Alexander.)

 
So what material are they made out of then copper or something?

 

[Holleyman]

What would a good shape set of RS-2 cans be worth?  Got a line of a fairly local set that is supposed to be in "like new" shape and was wondering what a good price would be.  The local dealer wants $599 for RS-2is.
Any ideas??

 

[Posam]

 
Quote:

 
 
So what material are they made out of then copper or something?

 
unobtainium 

 

[our martin]

 
Quote:

 
 
unobtainium 

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/594368/grado-hp-1000 goatman70 selling a pair if anyones interested..

 

[Focker]

 
Quote:

Your story sounds a lot like mine.

I started with speakers in stereo, then home theater, and now I've moved on to headphones. Like you, I find myself listening to a lot more music (and I'm headed to 2 concerts this weekend as an indirect result) and falling asleep with headphones on, especially my Grados.
The highest in the Grado line that I've heard is the 80s, which I own. I'd like to hear more, obviously, and hopefully I can once I can finally make it to a meet. The area where I live isn't exactly a hotbed of activity of any kind, especially anything tech-related.

 

I certainly understand the curiosity about moving up the line, and I've had fun doing that, but I can totally understand why you enjoy the 80s so much.  One of my "truths" in headphones is that if I ever were forced to live with only the 80s for the rest of my life, I could do so happily. Even if I had the futuristic uber-mega-Grado XP100000000, I'd still have my trusty 80s around and would have a few uses for them lol.

 

[Focker]

 
Quote:

Focker,
Congrats on the upgrade, looking forward to a review. You should be able to take a day off and get 15 hours in no problem.
Can someone give me some insight into the Little Dot 1+ vs the MKIII. I know I will be getting one in the near future. I see the logic behind the 1+ with higher current at 32 Ohms, but what about the pre-amp of the MKIII will it help buffer the highs a little. Any thoughts are appreciated. Also the MKIII has more options for tube rolling.
By the way I have the 225i.

 

LOL, funny you say that about the "taking a day off work"...NFL draft tonight, multiple concerts with the RS1s later tonight, post-concert recovery set for following morning haha.

 

[Focker]

 
Quote:

 
 

He's referring to the sound that Grado's cartidges and very limited (by today's standards) runs of early headphones made. Things changed in the late 90s and the Grado "house sound" we know now has existed relatively unchanged in most of their headphones through the 2000's. The only really major switch-up was the addition of the XX-1000 models, which are definitely a different kind of thing.

 

Ahh okay, thanks...and great job on the RS1 thread you created..just read your info about them...very interesting!

 

[Mercuttio]

 
Quote:

 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/594368/grado-hp-1000 goatman70 selling a pair if anyones interested..

 

That pricing is INSANE. Those headphones are worth maybe $900 tops, in my book sound-wise. They're great, but holy hell.

 

[Gwarmi]

 
Quote:

 
 

That pricing is INSANE. Those headphones are worth maybe $900 tops, in my book sound-wise. They're great, but holy hell.

 
 
 They certainly seem to get up there - if memory serves me correctly there was a pair with the upgraded cable that was
 being pitched at just on $4000USD awhile back - bloke on here from Dubai snapped them up but did not reveal what
 he actually ended up paying.
 
 This is a sensitive issue to raise, but everyone eventually moves on in this life - and when that happens for ol' Joe
 you can pretty much guarantee that with dwindling numbers of these mystical cans - $3500 may end up looking like
 a good price.

 

[pcf]

 
Quote:

 
 
 
 
 This is a sensitive issue to raise, but everyone eventually moves on in this life - and when that happens for ol' Joe
 you can pretty much guarantee that with dwindling numbers of these mystical cans - $3500 may end up looking like
 a good price.

I think you might be right, still don't understand why their price would suddenly go up in price by 100% in the last year or so though. Joe is still with us.

 

[Mercuttio]

When I was first looking at pairs in 2006, they were $1300 for absolute mint condition. I liked them, but couldn't justify the price over the RS1 which I actually like a little better. I wasn't the only one who felt that way; a lot of reviewers when the RS1 was first introduced felt it was an upgrade sonically. But $3500? What if they break down the line and the parts aren't available? All drivers can fail, and the best case scenario is that you get RS1i or PS500 drivers installed in there.
Quote:

 
I think you might be right, still don't understand why their price would suddenly go up in price by 100% in the last year or so though. Joe is still with us.

 
 

 

[pcf]

 
Quote:

 What if they break down the line and the parts aren't available? All drivers can fail, and the best case scenario is that you get RS1i or PS500 drivers installed in there.
 
 

 
How about a pair of Magnum drivers?
 

 

[Focker]

Hey guys...I know a couple of you were waiting to hear my impressions on the RS1s when I received them today. I hate to disappoint, but at this point I'm going to hold off on any feedback with regard to sonics. I'm thinking that the pair they sent me from Amazon was an open box pair and I can only assume something was wrong with them. I'm sending them back for the time being, and I plan to do what I had initially planned and go out to my local dealer to evaluate a pair that is a little more broken in.
 
Sorry bout that!

 

[nashspacerocket]

Howdy, i've owned two pairs of S125's over the last 6 years. They get daily use for tv and music listening. They are hands down the best sounding headphones i've ever heard. They are also the most unreliable. The fact  that the earpieces can rotate 360 degrees means even if you're careful , they get twisted, and then untwisted. over time the out sheath breaks near the Y connector and then  the inner b&w wires get exposed to the turning and they break. i try to be careful  with my gear, and yet i've gotten through  2 pairs in 6 years (my second pair started cutting out last week), and they  ain't cheap. i've got two pairs of old over the ear sony's that still work perfectly after 10 and 15 years respectively.
So whilst i love the sound of Grado's I really don't like the design and hence the reliability.
 

 

[Mercuttio]

 
Quote:

 
 
How about a pair of Magnum drivers?
 

 
I haven't heard them, but there's no way I'd buy any headphone that doesn't have some sort of fine grille between my ear and the driver. The cheese-cloth, as simple as it is, seems essential in the long-term safety of the driver.