The Grado PS2000e, GS2000e, GS1000i, PS1000: A Tale Of Balanced and Single Ended
I now have had my Grado GS2000e (balanced configuration) and PS2000e (also balanced) for almost three weeks, and so I thought I would share some experiences with them. To summarize the main points up front:
* In single ended use, the GS1000i outperforms the other three headphones on my 10-point listening tests (transparency, sound stage,...);
* Using either the GS2000e or the PS2000e in balanced configuration improves their performance, with the improvement in the GS2000e from balanced use being VERY significant;
* The GS2000e, as a lightweight headphone suited for on-the-go listening, is significantly better in balanced mode than any other headphone I have walked around with;
* The PS2000e, in balanced mode, provides the highest level of excitement (head nodding, breathlessness, however you choose to measure it) of the four headphones.
BACKGROUND
After having the privilege of testing and comparing both the GS2000e and the PS2000e for a week each to my other headphones (and writing a review of each), I just KNEW that I had to have both of them. I bought them, new, from my local Grado dealer, placing the order on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in recognition of "Small Business Saturday." Since my tests with the GS2000e during that review period had indicated that using them in balanced configuration produced an improvement, I ordered both in balanced configuration, resigning myself to the use of XLR-to-6.3mm adapter cords (and a second 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter cord after that for sources with mini jacks).
Since the GS2000e is so light, I immediately began using it for the 20 min twice-a-day dog walks that I take. I quickly notices that its sound was significantly better than any other portable headphone I had taken these walks with. For these walks, I used the Lotoo PAW 5000 player, as recommended by Grado Labs for their headphones, which has a balanced output, and a special 2.5mm-to XLR adapter, found on eBay, to let this source drive my GS2000e's.
Portable walk-about setup includes GS2000e, Lotoo PAW 5000, and 2.5mm-to-XLR converter.
I quickly realized that the sound of the GS2000e, heard amidst the noise of outside suburbs, was better than any I had ever heard on my walks. It was more spacious, more detailed, and had better resolution of instrument positions. Overall, it was just more exciting.
Why?
INITIAL EXPERIMENTS
Since I have developed and used a regimen of systematic testing to compare headphones (10 acoustic features used to rank order three headphones at a time into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, then compute an overall ranking, described
here), I decided to subject my new headphones to these tests. I also added my all-time favorite Grados, the GS1000i (which had bested all of my other Grados in earlier tests, reported in the links in my signature line), and the Grado PS1000, which was the only headphone that had bested the GS2000e. I performed these tests with the Joseph Grado HPA-1 amplifier (single ended).
From top left, the Grado GS1000i, PS2000e, GS2000e, and PS1000, with their respective cables (balanced or single ended) positioned within the headband.
Here are the results... higher scores are better (e.g., 1st place in a three-way comparison on a line in the table earns 4 points and a purple, then blue, red, and yellow as 4th place).
Grado PS1000 outperforms the newer GS2000e and PS2000e in single-ended tests with Joseph Grado HPA-1 amp.
The table shows that the highest overall score (28) goes to the PS1000, meaning that it had outscored the other headphones. In fact, my favorite GS1000i also outscored my two new acquisitions! And the lowest scoring headphone was that GS2000e that had been elevating the sound quality of my walks to a level never before achieved!
Lowest score? Yet most fun? Could my tests be...(perish the thought!) irrelevant?
Well, numeric scores aren't everything, are they? I had devised a "listening excitement" test (
here) during my review time with the PS2000e, using several pieces that I found to be particularly well recorded and exciting, so I compared these four headphones on some of these pieces, noting my impressions of relative levels of excitement and reasons for them.
In "excitement" listening tests (all single ended), the GS1000i outshone the other 3 headphones!
What is going on???
BALANCED VS. SINGLE ENDED LISTENING
Beside the Lotoo PAW 5000 (and Sony PHA-3) portable sources, the only desk-top size balanced amps I have are the HiFiMAN EF-6 and the Sennheiser HDVD800. Both are optimized for their own headphones (the HE-6 and the HD800, respectively) and both have an output impedance that is really too high for the Grado's 32 ohm input impedance (20 ohms for the EF-6; 43 ohms for the HDVD800), but that is what I had to work with!
I began with the GS2000e, performing the 10-feature three-way comparison with GS2000e (balanced), GS2000e (single ended), and GS1000i (single ended, included because it was the antecedent to the GS2000e and was one of my favorites).
GS2000e in balanced mode outscores both the single-ended GS2000e and the (single-ended) GS1000i.
Clearly, the GS2000e in balanced mode moved to the top of the pack, ahead of both the single-ended GS2000e and the long-time favorite GS1000i in single ended mode.
How about the same experiment with the PS2000e? Does using the PS2000e in balanced mode drive it from the bottom to the top of the pack?
Single-ended PS1000 has overall score that is higher, though not significantly so, than the balanced PS2000e.
Nope! The PS1000 still outscores the PS2000e in balanced mode on these tests, though the balanced PS2000e is an improvement over the single-ended PS2000e. However, the score difference is only 2 between the PS1000 and the PS2000e, while differences of 3 or more are significant.
So let us compare the two leaders of the above two comparisons, the PS1000 (single ended) vs. the GS2000e (balanced):
GS2000e in balanced mode outscores the PS1000 single ended headphone.
We are starting to see why, despite its relatively low ranking in single-ended tests, the GS2000e scores so well on my walks with a balanced source... balanced driving really does make a difference for the GS2000e. This is why it sounded so great, used in balanced mode on my twice-a-day dog walks!
Finally, let us perform a direct comparison of the PS2000e in balanced mode with the GS2000e in balanced mode:
Balanced PS2000e and GS2000e score overall the same, though each has its own strengths.
The two balanced premium Grados scored the same overall. The PS2000e excelled in sound stage, subbass, and untangling a complex chord, while the GS2000e shone at transparency and treble detail features.
Likewise, we can revisit the "excitement" factor for just the two balanced Grado headphones:
In "excitement," the PS2000e excels over the GS2000e, having a clearer bass, better sound imaging, and more spacious sound stage.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I absolutely revere both the GS2000e and the PS2000e, the first for bringing my on-the-go listening to a new higher level, and the second for being the most exciting-to-listen-to headphone I have ever heard.
I am planning to purchase the balanced amp recommended by Grado Labs for these headphones, which is the Schiit Mjolner 2, using it to replace my Schiit Lyr 2 (also recommended by Grado) and upgrading my Bifrost Multibit DAC to the Gungir multibit ("Gumby").
