[stacker45]

Quote:

up-grado-itis has hit
i recently got some HD650's and AKG Q701's. i feel it would be pretty cool to upgrade my sr225i aswell
i was thinking RS2i or PS500.(or maybe HF2!)
i guess im looking for a tiny bit less treble... yet more detail retrieval, id like to maintain the airyness which i wasnt totally convinced the ps500 had. bass at all isnt really that important..
I've heard the ps500 and gs1000i
Not at all sure how the RS2i compare though. I heard they are pretty similar to the RS1i (so much so the £200 difference isnt justified)
My Hifi headphone store holds all grado models on display except ps1000 and rs2i.
I feel familiar with the Grado line.. i know what im leaning towards at the moment. but id love a second opinion.
 
 
Thanks

Having been lucky enough to hear all the models in the current Grado line i tought i could be of some help, but you're not making it easy. You say that you've heard the PS500 and GS1000i,  but you don't talk about you're impressions about them.If you'd tell us what you liked and disliked about them, it would be easyer to guide you in the right direction.
 
If i go by what you say you're looking for, my suggestion would have been to go with the PS500s

 

[TwoTrack]

Quote:

Please do a comparison with your RS-1i's using acoustic classical piano paying close attention to the range below middle C.

 
Okay.

 

[obobskivich]

up-grado-itis has hit
i recently got some HD650's and AKG Q701's. i feel it would be pretty cool to upgrade my sr225i aswell
i was thinking RS2i or PS500.(or maybe HF2!)
i guess im looking for a tiny bit less treble... yet more detail retrieval, id like to maintain the airyness which i wasnt totally convinced the ps500 had. bass at all isnt really that important..
I've heard the ps500 and gs1000i
Not at all sure how the RS2i compare though. I heard they are pretty similar to the RS1i (so much so the £200 difference isnt justified)
My Hifi headphone store holds all grado models on display except ps1000 and rs2i.
I feel familiar with the Grado line.. i know what im leaning towards at the moment. but id love a second opinion.


Thanks

I've heard conflicting comparisons of RS-2 to RS-1; some say it's more neutral and among the "flattest" headphones Grado has made, others say it's fairly similar to the RS-1 (but usually those reviews will also follow-up by saying the SR-325 is almost the RS-2 and that all more expensive Grados are a ripoff and bad value and blah blah blah :rolleyes. The RS-2 is one that I'm not familiar with, but I think the RS-1 is a clear improvement over the SR-225 and K701 with no questions asked, as long as you don't want the huge soundstage the 701 offer. The Sennheisers are a different question altogether - they're darker, smoother, and I feel a better kind of compliment to the Grado sound (I prefer the ATH-ESW9 for that role, same idea though).

Personally my advice would be to get the RS-1 if you like the traditional Grado sound, mostly to keep yourself from questioning getting the RS-2 as "what am I missing?" (of course I'm sitting here wondering if the RS-2 is truly more neutral and flat, what I'm missing by not having it - lol) If you want more staging and the bigger fit, the GS-1000 are a good candidate for that. Different balance though.

Buuut...

Having been lucky enough to hear all the models in the current Grado line i tought i could be of some help, but you're not making it easy. You say that you've heard the PS500 and GS1000i,  but you don't talk about you're impressions about them.If you'd tell us what you liked and disliked about them, it would be easyer to guide you in the right direction.

If i go by what you say you're looking for, my suggestion would have been to go with the PS500s

+1 to this.

 

[Cakensaur]

Quote:

Having been lucky enough to hear all the models in the current Grado line i tought i could be of some help, but you're not making it easy. You say that you've heard the PS500 and GS1000i,  but you don't talk about you're impressions about them.If you'd tell us what you liked and disliked about them, it would be easyer to guide you in the right direction.
 
If i go by what you say you're looking for, my suggestion would have been to go with the PS500s

PS500's
What i liked:
The soundstage was more opened up compared to my 225i's but still remained intimate.. and thats what i want these for
I felt the bass had a little bit too much emphasis, i liked it still, but would really prefer a tad less. it came across as not bloated or muddy, but rather that more dominant than im used to with a Grado.
I liked the mids. Vocals moved me with some songs. guitars seemed aggressive, but a bit tamed (they hit me in the face, but knew when to?)
id have preferred a tiny tiny boost in treble energy, but again i liked it.
Generally i loved the ps500, there were minor faults (what headphone doesnt have them) but i was wondering if the RS2i does what the PS500 doesnt.
 
GS1000i:
I'm really sorry, its been a while since i heard it and don't feel confident commenting on its sound,
 
Since you have heard every grado, could you also highlight the main differences between RS2i and RS1i please?
 
Thanks.

 

[joseph69]

Quote:

PS500's
What i liked:
The soundstage was more opened up compared to my 225i's but still remained intimate.. and thats what i want these for
I felt the bass had a little bit too much emphasis, i liked it still, but would really prefer a tad less. it came across as not bloated or muddy, but rather that more dominant than im used to with a Grado.
I liked the mids. Vocals moved me with some songs. guitars seemed aggressive, but a bit tamed (they hit me in the face, but knew when to?)
id have preferred a tiny tiny boost in treble energy, but again i liked it.
Generally i loved the ps500, there were minor faults (what headphone doesnt have them) but i was wondering if the RS2i does what the PS500 doesnt.
 
GS1000i:
I'm really sorry, its been a while since i heard it and don't feel confident commenting on its sound,
 
Since you have heard every grado, could you also highlight the main differences between RS2i and RS1i please?
 
Thanks.

It sound's to me that you are actually describing the sound of the SR325is IMO, which are intimate,less on bass,agressive when called for and nice high frequency's.

 

[preproman]

Sub.

 

[bbophead]

Quote:

Quote:

 

It sound's to me that you are actually describing the sound of the SR325is IMO, which are intimate,less on bass,agressive when called for and nice high frequency's.

+1, IME.

 

[joseph69]

Quote:

Sub.

What do you mean?

 

[lostmage]

Hey, I figured this would be the right place to ask this, but I was going to jump on a pair of SR60is, mainly for metal (most genres) and some rock, but then I also remembered my Q701s aren't amped with a desktop amp yet, so now it's between the 60/80is and a good amp for my 701s, on which will sound better with metal and rock. 
So my question is how 60is would match up to Q701s for this kind of stuff. I would definitely be interested in modding them, and I've modded before, so I'm not afraid to do so.
Thanks.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

What do you mean?

 
Subscribing to the thread.
 
Looking to get a few Grados.  My question is:  What amps are preferred Tubes or Solid State..  I want my setup to be right.

 

[obobskivich]

Subscribing to the thread.

Looking to get a few Grados.  My question is:  What amps are preferred Tubes or Solid State..  I want my setup to be right.

Grados aren't really that picky about amplification in general - there are plenty of "crowd favorites" from both camps, but the majority of tubed amps that are liked with Grados are hybrids (or at the bare minimum OTCs), just because of the low impedance nature of Grados.

In general, Musical Fidelity, Grado, Melos, and Mapletree amplifiers tend to be crowd pleasers, but honestly any reasonably quiet and well put together amplifier will be perfectly suitable (because again, they aren't really picky, and will sound good from more or less everything). I think if you've already got an amplifier that's quiet and clean enough (channel balance, quiet pot, etc) to handle your Denons, you should be perfectly set-up for whatever Grado you'd like to try.

 

[tomb]

Quote:

Grados aren't really that picky about amplification in general - there are plenty of "crowd favorites" from both camps, but the majority of tubed amps that are liked with Grados are hybrids (or at the bare minimum OTCs), just because of the low impedance nature of Grados.

In general, Musical Fidelity, Grado, Melos, and Mapletree amplifiers tend to be crowd pleasers, but honestly any reasonably quiet and well put together amplifier will be perfectly suitable (because again, they aren't really picky, and will sound good from more or less everything). I think if you've already got an amplifier that's quiet and clean enough (channel balance, quiet pot, etc) to handle your Denons, you should be perfectly set-up for whatever Grado you'd like to try.

I disagree.  Grados are singularly well-damped.  (See some of purrin's graphs and reports on Grado decay.)  Connecting them to the current-FOTM super-low-output-impedance amplifers causes them to over-damp, resulting in the harshness and tizziness that many people cite for their dislike of Grados.  The reason Grados do well with many tube amps is not necessarily the "warmth of tubes," but that the output impedance is quite a bit higher than your run-of-the-mill low-output-impedance SS amp.  Grados do quite well on 15 ohm output impedance and higher.
 
This gets complicated to a certain extent because the low impedance of Grados causes fall-off with OTL amps as lowering the bass cut-off point results in extremely large and super-expensive output capacitors (which means shortcuts/cheaper alternatives are often used). Hybrids experience this fault, too, because many of their output buffers still require blocking caps and unless sized large enough, cause bass roll-off or phase distortion in low frequency response.
 
Bottom line, for the best sound with Grados - finding the right amplification is not necessarily so simple. 

 

[joseph69]

Quote:

Hey, I figured this would be the right place to ask this, but I was going to jump on a pair of SR60is, mainly for metal (most genres) and some rock, but then I also remembered my Q701s aren't amped with a desktop amp yet, so now it's between the 60/80is and a good amp for my 701s, on which will sound better with metal and rock. 
So my question is how 60is would match up to Q701s for this kind of stuff. I would definitely be interested in modding them, and I've modded before, so I'm not afraid to do so.
Thanks.

 
I've never heard the Q701's, so I cant comment on their SQ or signature in comparison against the Grado SR80i, but I can tell you that the Grado is an awesome headphone for your music genre's. They have crystal clear high's with very foward mid's and they are not bass heavy. IMO the bass is heard correctly, fast and tight. It is an extremely fun headphone to listen to. I don't know the design of the Q701's but the Grado is an on ear, open back design.

 

[agoston.berko]

Quote:

I disagree.  Grados are singularly well-damped.  (See some of purrin's graphs and reports on Grado decay.)  Connecting them to the current-FOTM super-low-output-impedance amplifers causes them to over-damp, resulting in the harshness and tizziness that many people cite for their dislike of Grados.  The reason Grados do well with many tube amps is not necessarily the "warmth of tubes," but that the output impedance is quite a bit higher than your run-of-the-mill low-output-impedance SS amp.  Grados do quite well on 15 ohm output impedance and higher.
 
This gets complicated to a certain extent because the low impedance of Grados causes fall-off with OTL amps as lowering the bass cut-off point results in extremely large and super-expensive output capacitors (which means shortcuts/cheaper alternatives are often used). Hybrids experience this fault, too, because many of their output buffers still require blocking caps and unless sized large enough, cause bass roll-off or phase distortion in low frequency response.
 
Bottom line, for the best sound with Grados - finding the right amplification is not necessarily so simple. 

which amp has 15 OHM output impedance or higher ?

 

[tomb]

Quote:

which amp has 15 OHM output impedance or higher ?

Most output-transformer tube amps have impedances on the low-Z side of 32 ohms or lower.  Almost any amp that uses output capacitors (OTL's, Hybrids) will have higher output impedances, too.  Again, this is why Grados get the reputation that they sound better with tube amps.  It's just that the cause ("tube warmth") is mis-interpreted.