[iscorpio71]

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Wow, I'm seeing a lot of new threads popping up about Grados lately. It's like every 3rd thread is a Grado question.
 
I just joined the ranks with my RS1 purchase from a guy on Craigslist and I'm quite impressed with the sound. I was re-ripping my entire CD collection to my new PC and noticed I have a lot of rock CDs and that got me looking at the Grado line. 
 
Now to find a proper amp for my new cans. Open to suggestions....
Subscribed!! 

Hi, I just got last week the RS1i and looking for an AMP+DAC,  AMP/DAC. The best option I found out so far are: Music Fidelity M1HPA., Benchmarck DAC1 HDR, Burson Audio HA160DS, Woo Audio A6... I'm still deciding and looking

 

[Twinster]

Best match still the MAD Ear+ HD with a good NOS 5751

Wow, I'm seeing a lot of new threads popping up about Grados lately. It's like every 3rd thread is a Grado question.

I just joined the ranks with my RS1 purchase from a guy on Craigslist and I'm quite impressed with the sound. I was re-ripping my entire CD collection to my new PC and noticed I have a lot of rock CDs and that got me looking at the Grado line. 

Now to find a proper amp for my new cans. Open to suggestions....
Subscribed!! 

 

[our martin]

Quote:

Hi, I just got last week the RS1i and looking for an AMP+DAC,  AMP/DAC. The best option I found out so far are: Music Fidelity M1HPA., Benchmarck DAC1 HDR, Burson Audio HA160DS, Woo Audio A6... I'm still deciding and looking

This is one of the best dacs you can get the naim dac it costs nearly two grand in england but i think with the shipping you would have to spend a small fortune for it in the usa,  but still worth considering if you were going down the woo audio wes and stax sr009 route..But getting back to the best amp for the rs1i if you are getting a better dac get the better tube amp like the wa6, I am getting the wa6 for my hd800 with the naim unitiqute..http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Naim-UnitiQute/ http://www.whathifi.com/Review/Naim-DAC/ I have only heard the naim ndx paired with a krell 402e and martin logan clx art speakers and it sounded like an expensive sacd player it was that good..http://www.whathifi.com/review/naim-ndx

 

[Gwarmi]

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this thread moves along at quite a good clip. it would be interesting to know how the figures compare for over the counter and internet sales. find out and get back to me.

 
you've had your RS1i and PS1000 for a while now, any further thoughts on how they compare? does one sound more resolving and "transparent" than the other?

 
 
 It sure does! I've noticed that it really has ramped up the pace of late - hard to say as for the split between counter and i
 internet sales, simply because Melbourne is still an emerging market I believe in terms of beginner Head-Fiers - the best sign
 that suggests this occurence - AT-M50's appear to be everywhere!
 
 I can still recall getting mine years ago and receiving ghostly stares on the tram or train - now the humble the Shure 440/840 and
 M50 are common sightings on the morning commute - guess what this really means (especially in relation to Grado goodness)
 is that  not all of those new Head-Fiers will go on to grow their headphone curiosity but a lot of them will - they will ask themselves '
 These are ok, but what else is out there?'
 
 This is going to translate into good counter sales as these first time folks find that they want a venue who allows them to
 demo the more expensive gear. Just a shame that the only guy who holds Grado in Australia for the time being does not offer
 demos - Melburnians have speculated as to why over the years but he remains firm - no demos.
 
 The biggest difference to my ears between the RS1 and the PS1000 (or any can I've heard for that matter) is best illustrated
 with a bit of a graph called the The Fletcher–Munson curves
 
Tyll Hertsen delved into this area of science when explaining how the PS1000 sounds absolutely great at low volume with no
 apparent loss in detail and separation - I discovered this almost immediately when I got my pair, they seemed to respond to
 volume knob twiddling quite unlike any other set of cans I'd ever owned before - mids on some recordings could be moved
 closer or further back simply by increasing or decreasing the volume - now the foreground and background instrument
 volume will also change but it does not sound quite as linear as with the RS1i or any other can like let's say the Audeze range
 or even the HD800 which tend to exhibit a more constant volume
 
 
 
 

 

 


 
 
 
"The first research on the topic of how the ear hears different frequencies at different levels was conducted by Fletcher and Munson in 1933. In 1937 they created the first equal-loudness curves.^[2] Until recently, it was common to see the term 'Fletcher–Munson' used to refer to equal-loudness contours generally, even though a re-determination was carried out by Robinson and Dadson in 1956 , which became the basis for an ISO 226 standard.
 

 

[Focker]

Hey fellow Grado fans...just another quick update on the PS-500s. I spent a LOT of time with them last night, fell asleep with them on, and then fired them up again this morning. I got through all sorts of different types of music and a couple of different amps.
 
First the amps...Whereas I really preferred the 325s with tubes, I fired up my solid state Meier Jazz amp and the PS-500s were fantastic with it. I think this may be where the fact that the 500s measure as having less treble energy comes into play. The 325s with solid state amps can actually become a bit too bright for me, but the 500s and the Meier amp were sounding really, really good. I usually keep a tube buffer on the signal path for the Meier anyway, so I'll almost always use my Grados and my T1s with tubes, but it was really interesting to see how good the 500s sounded with a very good solid state amp.
 
The 500s do scale with amps more than the 325s and the 80s do. All the Grados I have sound good running from my laptop, iPod and Kindle, but clearly a better amp does improve things, especially with the 500s. I continue to be very pleased with the sound stage, as it's slightly larger than the 325s. I had my iTunes streaming to my headphone rig on shuffle, and the bass on the 500s literally made me jump a couple times when the track started that way. They aren't in the same class as my T1s in terms of bass, but they are a step up from the 325s and the low end is very pleasant.
 
I really can't come up with many negatives with these...if you are a fan of Grados, I honestly can't see anyone not loving them. If I had to nitpick, part of me wishes the styling were a bit more different so as to distinguish it a bit more from the 325s (from a distance I honeslty can't tell which is which), but I'm just reaching for anything negative to say here lol. I will asjust my "upgrade percentage" just a bit more now that I've spent with with my amps...I'd say that the upgrade from 325s to 500s is about 30-35% of the upgrade from 80s to 325s. If you're not sure what I mean by that, just let me know and I'll explain further. But as most of us know, the higher you go in audio quality, the less the improvement will be per dollar spent. That's just a general rule...there are exceptions, of course.
 
The 500s are clearly a very worthy addition to the Grado line and I can easily see why many people consider them as the top value point along with the 225s.

 

[Cla55clown]

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It depends on how much you want to pay either lil dot schiit or woo audio are good options..you would need a decent dac like the hrt2 music steamer to get the best out of the tube amps though..

I've had Schiit on my radar for a while now but I think I'll go with a Little Dot I+ hybrid for now paired with my E10 DAC and then just work up from there....the next upgrade of course being a dedicated discrete desktop DAC (say that 5 times fast, GO!). I also hear that I need to switch out my bowl pads for the original flat pads according to one of the RS gurus in the RS owners thread. 

 

[Focker]

Quote:

I've had Schiit on my radar for a while now but I think I'll go with a Little Dot I+ hybrid for now paired with my E10 DAC and then just work up from there....the next upgrade of course being a dedicated discrete desktop DAC (say that 5 times fast, GO!). I also hear that I need to switch out my bowl pads for the original flat pads according to one of the RS gurus in the RS owners thread. 

You'll love the LD I+...for an inexpensive tube upgrade, I recommend the AEG/Telefunken tubes. I paid about $32 for the pair and very happy with how things sound currently. There's an entire tube rolling thread for the LD I+ on here somewhere though, if you want other options. Lots of directions to go in.

 

[GL1TCH3D]

I auditioned a pair of sr325is today in anticipation of receiving my own pair. Wow. Can't wait
One more question, is there really a difference between the sr325i and sr325is? Or is it really just the cup color that's different.

 

[theRunawayV]

I love grado! I currently am still using my sr60i's but my sr325i's just shipped! Can't wait to begin the burn in process.

 

[Focker]

Wow, all these new Grado owners!! Welcome aboard everyone!  

 

[davidgotsa]

I miss my SR80i...  

 

[Focker]

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I miss my SR80i...  

What happened to them? You just found something you liked better? If you're anywhere near Atlanta you can borrow mine

 

[davidgotsa]

Well, I had to sell them because I needed the cash at the moment to pay for a flight (a few weeks ago). I don't anymore and I'm seriously thinking about buying some Grados now, even though I have technically better headphones. 
 
I live in Europe, close enough.  

 

[Boss429]

Nice review Focker. Sounds like there really something special. 
 
Even with all that, I think I still might go with the 325is again since I now have a tube amp and dont see myself keeping the solid state.

 

[Posam]

Quote:

Nice review Focker. Sounds like there really something special. 
 
Even with all that, I think I still might go with the 325is again since I now have a tube amp and dont see myself keeping the solid state.

What tube amp?