Guts390
100+ Head-Fier
We shouldn't jump to conclusions and dogpile. I still don't value their input very much, but I won't accuse them of shilling against grado.
Grado Fan Club!
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Riverflow
100+ Head-Fier
Fair enough if the YouTube review made by your employees/associates was released and you was selling grado with them in available at that time.
If that's true, I apologize for the accusation. Still, one can see that a reviewer paid by a retailer might sometimes present a conflict of interest.
I just they came across as hifi snobs tbh, flippant and dismissive because Grado isn't 'cool'
Going back to RS1x/RS2x/GH4 debate…
Which of those three are least shouty?
Which of those three have stronger bass in terms of depth and punch?
Which of those three are least shouty?
Which of those three have stronger bass in terms of depth and punch?
The difference between most Grado headphones and 'other' headphones is baffling. I am so used to pronounced treble by now that even my new Hemp sounds muffled to me. My girl friend thinks the same. There really must be worlds between how we Grado fiends perceive the sound of a headphone and 'the others' do. It's probably just as baffling to them that we actually listen to these vintage-styled plasticky banshees.
But still there is a lot of crap being said about Grado headphones on Youtube. I bought my first Grado because some reviewer basically said 'This is a special headphone, it sounds very weird but it's also so special, i will never give it away'.
Guts390
100+ Head-Fier
I'd say pretty much all grado headphones are very bright. At least in my experience and from what I've seen people say about the models I do not own. Might be remembering wrong. But I've seen a few people describe the rs2x as more lean and natural sounding than the rs1x. Hopefully somebody can chime in about that and you out some more. The rs1x are definitely going to be a good bit warmer than your 325 tho and the highs, while still intense, are pretty controlled and smooth. The rs1x have a very big and spacious sound. The tone is warm. Like I said, they aren't bass monsters. But the bass is really good. Fast, punchy, good extention. If you're looking for booming bass tho, I'd probably consider something other than a grado.
jleewachter
100+ Head-Fier
Exactly! I've personally learned to take most of what youtube 'influencers' say with a hefty grain of salt. They instantly lose at least a bit of their credibility once they have a vested interest in the industry. I'm still a bit salty of how they all dogpiled on the HD8XX w/ basically the only justification being 'it's not as good as the HD800S (which is a horrible reason given that the HD8XX was in a completely different price bracket & could often be had for half the price of the HD800S new.) Glad I didn't listen to them on that one as it remains the best headphone I own (in my humble opinion.)
jleewachter
100+ Head-Fier
I caved and ended up buying a used pair of RS2X from a member here (that maple wood just spoke to me
) so I'll soon be able to compare to the rs1x & other Grados I've owned.) Personally, I've found that, at least w/ the RS1X & RS2e, they were extremely bright when purchased new, but eventually settled into a much warmer (albeit still bright) punchy sound, which more than anything, I attribute to the L pads wearing in & softening over time. Personally, I've found the different pad types/conditions to be a HUGE contributer into how the Grados I've owned sound. When I first got the RS1x/RS2e, I was extremely close to returning them due to how bright they were, but I'm EXTREMELY glad I stuck with them as they eventually settled into being amongst my favorite headphones.
I feel the same way about 6XX. I still have them and use them to listen to acoustic jazz and vocal music, but for rock and metal, they are useless. My SR325x on the other hand are good with everything, be it jazz, blues, metal or edm. That’s why I want to dig deeper into the Grado hole…
I think it's difficult to beat the 325x for it's qualities, special with rock and metal. That thick, warm, punchy, crunchy sound. Everything sounds amazing, whatever the source, amplification, recording quality. I don't think others have the same aspect.
I will dig deeper only if you want something different. I have the RS2x and it's a wild beast, for good and for bad. I have all the bad words for it at first: thin, dry, aggressive, no bass, nothing sounds good. I found really weird at first. But them with some time of use I begin to understand it's magic, and it does like anything else. It's so different. The level o detail, dynamic, speed, texture and it hit, wow. I listen a lot more the RS2x than 325x now, even not sounding great with bad recordings. The 325x is so forgiving. The RS2x is for Grado hardcore fans. It takes dedication. And it takes a long, long time to burn in. You need to be patient. The 325x impresses in the first second.
When I was listening only the 325x I try a HD6xx. It was really boring, with all due respect. I know it do different think and I feel I should try it again soon.
Same here all the way. So glad I have the patient with it. From almost returning to favorite headphone. Wild wild beast.
Guts390
100+ Head-Fier
I second this. Day 1 I was disappointed in my Rs1x. 3 weeks later, I can't bring myself to listen to anything else. Even my daily drivers for years (shure srh 840 original) have been shelved. They sound very different than anything else and once you understand it, there's no going back.I caved and ended up buying a used pair of RS2X from a member here (that maple wood just spoke to me
I decided to buy 325x, after my friend came along to check out my headphones (6XX and Nighthawk) with the new amp. He brought his SR80’s with him which were lying in the drawer for a few years because he preferred his stereo setup. We didn’t even try to listen to his Grados, but he left them in my house for me to check them out. One evening I decided to listen to them while reading a book. I don’t know how it happened but after 15 minutes I stopped reading and focused only on my music. Rage Against The Machine sounded fantastic with those cheap old cans! I listened to them for a whole week and decided to get 325x for myself. They are fantastic, but it only increased my appetite for exploring the true Grado sound. I think I might have caught a Grado virus and want some different flavor to 325x’s. 
Resolve
Sponsor: Headphones.com
I want to clarify a few things here since some folks seem to upset at the various criticism I've levelled at Grado headphones in various videos, and I want to provide a bit of context so there's no confusion as to where I'm coming from. And I don't expect this to be accepted by everyone, given this is a thread comprised of those who enjoy them and likely won't share my opinion on them, which is fine.
For headphone evaluations, when it comes to sound quality, we can say that at the very least there are three important variables that determine what 'good' is, and they are as follows:
So, along these dimensions, I've consistently found all Grados I've encountered to be uniquely horrible sounding to me. However, important to note is that if you change the individual or essentially the 'head' that's wearing them, all three of those factors are likely to change, to the point where I could in theory see how someone else might be able to enjoy them. I've said this in other places before, but we need to collectively stop treating headphones we experience as indications of 'the truth' about those products in all conditions, and instead recognize that this is just how they perform in the specific condition of the head that's wearing them. And, maybe this goes without saying, but our experiences are necessarily unique, largely based on these factors as well.
When doing an evaluation, it's important to consider not just how it sounds subjectively, but also how it's likely to be received by other people. There are countless examples of this consideration on our channel, where something might not be for me specifically but it still could get a recommendation. I feel reviewers have to balance this, since on the one hand we have to give a genuine subjective report of how something sounds (to a real human), but also recognize that we're not every human. We just have one perspective, with one set of ears with a specific preference. So we have to consider how it may perform for others.
Now, the reason why I can't in good conscience recommend them or endorse the purchase of them - without knowing the preferences of the individual - is because of how they perform objectively on industry standard equipment (and we use multiple rigs for precisely the above reasons), relative to what we know people prefer. Now, I'm not talking strictly about the Harman research here, but rather what's known to be preferred in speakers as well from multiple studies on this topic. And, based on the... literal decades of audio research, we can say that categorically, the Grado sound signature is likely to be more palatable for a particular niche than it is to be suitable for what most people like - at least for bass to treble delta. That does not mean that if you love Grados, your taste or preference is somehow inferior.
Of course I recognize that they have a cult following, here and in other places. But I think this is something you have to know is right for you - or at least have a general sense that this is the kind of sound signature you may be after.
To the other points about us being 'influencers' or dunking on stuff that isn't carried by Taron and the other folks who run the store, as he pointed out, we published content that was very critical of certain Grado headphones while they were still in stock. We've done this time and time again with products from other brands carried by the store as well, even going so far as to lose brands over our coverage of their products. We have the freedom to do critical or negative reviews on our platform, and in our view this is a better approach than operating within the traditional youtube economy. Our income is not tied to the sentiment in a review, freeing us from the incentive to gloss over the negatives or only do positive coverage. I've said this before but I feel youtube has become a gigantic hype machine given the monetization models built around affiliate links or paid-for reviews.
But, it's also understandable that we see this criticism from time to time from people who may not understand how we operate. People perhaps rightly look for incentives or reasons for our editorial judgments that might not align with what that person believes to be true.
And in that respect, I get it. It can be difficult to imagine the thing you love is so objectionable to someone else, and so I get the impulse to go looking for any possible nefarious explanation or motivation for why they may have said that. But I have to once again point out the three factors above, and this goes for all cases where people have differing opinions about products. In my view, those three variables are responsible for many disagreements about headphones, and when you fully understand those variables, the disagreement is also understood.
Beyond that, the only mandate we have for our channel is to say it like it is - how we genuinely feel about these products. You may disagree with our takes, and that's fine. We regularly disagree with one another! But I suggest that before jumping to various conclusions around incentives or motivations, consider that based on how these headphones measure on standard equipment, it should come as no surprise that they won't be for everyone. And... I feel it's worth voicing this even if it means raising the ire of those who love the product, and I'll be far more willing to take those knocks in the Grado community than compromise on my editorial integrity.
For headphone evaluations, when it comes to sound quality, we can say that at the very least there are three important variables that determine what 'good' is, and they are as follows:
- Individual anatomy (HRTF)
- How headphone behavior changes depending on the head that wears them (HpTF)
- Preference
So, along these dimensions, I've consistently found all Grados I've encountered to be uniquely horrible sounding to me. However, important to note is that if you change the individual or essentially the 'head' that's wearing them, all three of those factors are likely to change, to the point where I could in theory see how someone else might be able to enjoy them. I've said this in other places before, but we need to collectively stop treating headphones we experience as indications of 'the truth' about those products in all conditions, and instead recognize that this is just how they perform in the specific condition of the head that's wearing them. And, maybe this goes without saying, but our experiences are necessarily unique, largely based on these factors as well.
When doing an evaluation, it's important to consider not just how it sounds subjectively, but also how it's likely to be received by other people. There are countless examples of this consideration on our channel, where something might not be for me specifically but it still could get a recommendation. I feel reviewers have to balance this, since on the one hand we have to give a genuine subjective report of how something sounds (to a real human), but also recognize that we're not every human. We just have one perspective, with one set of ears with a specific preference. So we have to consider how it may perform for others.
Now, the reason why I can't in good conscience recommend them or endorse the purchase of them - without knowing the preferences of the individual - is because of how they perform objectively on industry standard equipment (and we use multiple rigs for precisely the above reasons), relative to what we know people prefer. Now, I'm not talking strictly about the Harman research here, but rather what's known to be preferred in speakers as well from multiple studies on this topic. And, based on the... literal decades of audio research, we can say that categorically, the Grado sound signature is likely to be more palatable for a particular niche than it is to be suitable for what most people like - at least for bass to treble delta. That does not mean that if you love Grados, your taste or preference is somehow inferior.
Of course I recognize that they have a cult following, here and in other places. But I think this is something you have to know is right for you - or at least have a general sense that this is the kind of sound signature you may be after.
To the other points about us being 'influencers' or dunking on stuff that isn't carried by Taron and the other folks who run the store, as he pointed out, we published content that was very critical of certain Grado headphones while they were still in stock. We've done this time and time again with products from other brands carried by the store as well, even going so far as to lose brands over our coverage of their products. We have the freedom to do critical or negative reviews on our platform, and in our view this is a better approach than operating within the traditional youtube economy. Our income is not tied to the sentiment in a review, freeing us from the incentive to gloss over the negatives or only do positive coverage. I've said this before but I feel youtube has become a gigantic hype machine given the monetization models built around affiliate links or paid-for reviews.
But, it's also understandable that we see this criticism from time to time from people who may not understand how we operate. People perhaps rightly look for incentives or reasons for our editorial judgments that might not align with what that person believes to be true.
And in that respect, I get it. It can be difficult to imagine the thing you love is so objectionable to someone else, and so I get the impulse to go looking for any possible nefarious explanation or motivation for why they may have said that. But I have to once again point out the three factors above, and this goes for all cases where people have differing opinions about products. In my view, those three variables are responsible for many disagreements about headphones, and when you fully understand those variables, the disagreement is also understood.
Beyond that, the only mandate we have for our channel is to say it like it is - how we genuinely feel about these products. You may disagree with our takes, and that's fine. We regularly disagree with one another! But I suggest that before jumping to various conclusions around incentives or motivations, consider that based on how these headphones measure on standard equipment, it should come as no surprise that they won't be for everyone. And... I feel it's worth voicing this even if it means raising the ire of those who love the product, and I'll be far more willing to take those knocks in the Grado community than compromise on my editorial integrity.
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Appreciate the candor, @Resolve. I hope you truly do have the autonomy to tell it like you hear it, even with your store's bread-and-butter brands. I personally have no issue with you not liking Grados. When someone posted the negative reviews and I jumped over to the shop and found no Grados, I was hasty in my judgement and took it somewhat as "slamming the competition." Seems I was wrong about that since you did sell Grados at the time of some of the reviews.
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