[glpsace]

Welcome to the Button Club!
Congrats on your beautiful new (vintage) headphones.

Thank you so much! I feel blessed

 

[glpsace]

I am so very glad to hear it, Congratulations, they are a special model indeed. Did you get any backstory?

Joe G

Thank you Joe! With backstory, you mean the story of this particular unit? If so, no I don't have a clue

I was surprised when I got it because it is in better shape than I expected from pictures I have seen. The unit still has clamp force and the adjustment is tight and not on the looser end, like my Gold 325. I believe it was either "revised" or was not much used. Just the leather headband, on the inside, has those filament border peeling, curiously only on one of the sides of the headband. But other than that I can't find any flaws at all.

It was the same guy from who I purchased the Gold 325, but once again had to negotiate because he was just asking too much for them. I still paid a little above what I consider the fair price for it, but I really wanted them as they are hard to get by, especially in Europe. Funny is that meanwhile another unit is available in the classifieds for even lesser than I paid. Can't believe it is still available. It seems that not much interest here in Europe.

Edit: wait, now I see that he only has 2 evaluations and from many years ago. Maybe that is why.

 

[Gippy]

Gotta love them influencers.

Grado almost never sends out review samples. You have dishonest reviewers who are in it to just get free gear and not have to pay a cent for it. At this point, you would think one of these reviewers would just spend the money to review the entire x-series line at once and compare them with the previous generation. All of the models combined cost a bit over $5000, which is still less than a single Abyss 1266. I see the same issue but to a more severe degree when it comes to television reviewers. Most of them are shills and hesitate to say anything bad about any model. They want to stay on the manufacturers' good side, and reviewing televisions isn't cheap at all. It got so bad that the r/4ktv subreddit has blacklisted videos from almost every TV reviewer.

 

[dynavit]

This RS1 were my first serious headphones in combination with Sony 1st Walkman. They survived all the other headphones which came and had to go.
But it is not because of nostalgia I kept them, it's their balanced sound, which make them great. Better bass than most other Grados and a smothness one would not expect from Grado-sound. Love them.

 

[elvergun]

You have dishonest reviewers who are in it to just get free gear and not have to pay a cent for it.

Not only do they not pay for it - they get to sell everything in the classifieds.

They review a headphone and give it high praise, then they proceed to hype it up in the forums...and when things are just ripe for the picking, they list the headphone in the classifieds.

Then they go on to review the next most incredible model ever...

 

[TheRealDz]

It sounds condescending to say, but a reliance on measurements (metrics) is what you do to compensate for a lack of experience (judgment).

This happens in the business world as well, where there's no substitute for business judgment. Metrics are important for assessing certain aspects of performance, but there's no substitute for simply having heard hundreds of different components.

Certain reviewers compensate for a lack of exposure to components by spouting out measurements that seem impressive, but are otherwise not indicative of sound quality.

But I digress...

 

[TheRealDz]

A bittersweet moment; I gave my wife a demo of my Turbulent X build and then of my GS3000e. She liked the Turbulent X better.

She claimed the Turbulent X had a better soundstage. I explained (mansplained?) that the GS3000e had a way better soundstage, but what she was hearing from the X was its stark imaging and more close up perspective.

Either way, the X is truly impressive at about 1/10 of the cost of the GS (a fact that I will keep close to my chest).

I recently squeezed even more performance out of the X by hot gluing the drivers to the ear cups - I didn't expect so much more resolution. I also switched out cables for a $30 occ copper/graphene litz cable - which brought a gloriously rich and layered midrange. If only I could try that cable with my GS...

 

[TheRealDz]

BTW, I posted my PS500e with Dekoni Velour Pads in the classifieds.

Basically like new in box, for anyone who has wanted to hear that PS500e sound.

(Also posted a DCA Ether CX, for those of you who need a closed back).

 

[rocketron]

A bittersweet moment; I gave my wife a demo of my Turbulent X build and then of my GS3000e. She liked the Turbulent X better.

She claimed the Turbulent X had a better soundstage. I explained (mansplained?) that the GS3000e had a way better soundstage, but what she was hearing from the X was its stark imaging and more close up perspective.

Either way, the X is truly impressive at about 1/10 of the cost of the GS (a fact that I will keep close to my chest).

I recently squeezed even more performance out of the X by hot gluing the drivers to the ear cups - I didn't expect so much more resolution. I also switched out cables for a $30 occ copper/graphene litz cable - which brought a gloriously rich and layered midrange. If only I could try that cable with my GS...

Nice build.
Are those ZMF pads with an adapter?

 

[TheRealDz]

Nice build.
Are those ZMF pads with an adapter?

Thanks for the kind words!

No, they are $10 Aliexpress pads - I like them so much that I bought a bunch of them. The key is that they are NOT memory foam - which bloats the bass horribly. I have pad rolled with dozens of pads, and this is the one that I keep coming back to for the X and for my GS3000e.

I have the ZMF adapter, but this is not it. The ZMF adapter is too flimsy and too loose, IMHO. I found some thicker, stiffer foam and made my own adapters.

 

[elvergun]

No, they are $10 Aliexpress pads

I found some thicker, stiffer foam and made my own adapters.

Links, please!!!!

 

[TheRealDz]

Links, please!!!!

I was wrong; $7

US $4.90 32%OFF | Perforated Ear Pads Foam Ear Pads 100mm 70mm 105MM 110MM Cushions for Sony for AKG for Sennheiser for ATH for Philips Headphones
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPf8IR8

Both 100 and 105mm fit.

 

[Shane D]

This RS1 were my first serious headphones in combination with Sony 1st Walkman. They survived all the other headphones which came and had to go.
But it is not because of nostalgia I kept them, it's their balanced sound, which make them great. Better bass than most other Grados and a smothness one would not expect from Grado-sound. Love them.

Are you using Shipibo pads?

 

[David222]

I've always been afraid to do a deep clean on my pads. I just wipe with a damp cloth occasionally. Thanks for testing it out for me! I may try it today.

So just send them out to the cleaners

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

The MS-2X takes on the sound of different sources, so far tried sound devices usbpre2, sony zx507, hiby rs2. I also prefer them in that order. The sound devices dac has the least detail, but it's sound is so soft and delicate it sounds realistic, the star of the show is the sound stage with this pairing, when you combine a grado with a source/amp that can make them sound truly open, its audio bliss, kinda like listening to 50k floor standing speakers. The hiby rs2 sounds very intimate and closed in, but has the most texture and vibes, just can't get past being so closed in with an open back headphone, the rs2 excels with iems though. The sony zx507 is a jack of all trades, decent sound stage and detail, but in this pairing has a harder edge to the notes which detracts from realism.

It's quite interesting that depending on your source you may find the MS-2X to either sound in your head or like floor standing speakers!

The HD800S in the background is jealous of the MS-2X, not the other way around