[jimbob54]

Haha, I can relate to this. I started with the SR225i, then went to the SR325is. Then I tried the SR60i with L-Cush pads just to see if I could in good conscience recommend it to my friends as a nice low-cost headphone. Well, much to my surprise, I actually ended up liking the sound of the SR60i better than the SR225i and the SR325i!

So it was an interesting way to learn that more expensive does not always mean more enjoyable. Especially in this headphone game.

BUT I have since got the G Cush on the 325. Now that is a different story. Cannot fault it but wish they were £30 cheaper. An extra hour on the volume dial to me negates the additional distance from the ears and makes the 325 so much more wearable and also listenable.

Next step is getting the tape out but I am fearful of tearing the foam.

 

[Chris J]

It's possible the RS1i might be too efficient for the Lyr's high power. Meaning the RS1i might have some background hiss using the Lyr. You might want to ask on one of the Schiit threads, as I'm sure someone has tried the Lyr with Grados.

Besides the hiss though, I'm sure music would sound rockin' on it!

Does anyone know how much gain the Lyr has?

 

[Biscuitz]

Quote:

BUT I have since got the G Cush on the 325. Now that is a different story. Cannot fault it but wish they were £30 cheaper. An extra hour on the volume dial to me negates the additional distance from the ears and makes the 325 so much more wearable and also listenable.

Next step is getting the tape out but I am fearful of tearing the foam.

Ah I gotcha. I thought the G-Cush didn't sound too bad on the SR325is, and certainly offers greater comfort. But the G-Cush takes away the intimacy that I specifically like Grados for. If I want comfort and big 10-row soundstage, there are plenty of other headphones that'll get me there.

 

[stacker45]

Quote:

Ah I gotcha. I thought the G-Cush didn't sound too bad on the SR325is, and certainly offers greater comfort. But the G-Cush takes away the intimacy that I specifically like Grados for. If I want comfort and big 10-row soundstage, there are plenty of other headphones that'll get me there.

 
Including Grado's own GS/PS1000

 

[jimbob54]

Including Grado's own GS/PS1000

Lend me the extra £1000 to get there and I am sure I will agree. Double wink.

Seriously though, assuming I had UK equivalent of about $300 for a very different pair of cans to the 325s, what would anyone reccomend? I can get the AKG 701 or at a push Senn 600 for around that. Variety is the spice and all that.

 

[PredatorZ]

Quote:

Much as I love Grados, I do not trust any audio review from Comsumer Reports.
Many years ago they reviewed a Bose system and gave them a lukewarm review.
Bose sued them, Consumer Reports lost.

I'm not too sure how anyone expects Consumer Reports to keep their objectivity after an outcome like that.
Which reminds me, I have another reason to dislike Bose!

Ya, companies like Bose, do more harm than good to the audio industry. I love some of the posts I have read on they're NC headphones, comments like "they really dont sound that bad" or "I only use them to sleep when I fly" where SQ is a secondary issue. One person was bragging about owning the Bose clock radio, like it is some how even mid-fi. Bose won't allow they're products to be displayed in a situation where customers can make direct comparisons to other equipment, that is a bit shady wanting to keep the uneducated audio novice in the dark.

 

[Chris J]

Ya, companies like Bose, do more harm than good to the audio industry. I love some of the posts I have read on they're NC headphones, comments like "they really dont sound that bad" or "I only use them to sleep when I fly" where SQ is a secondary issue. One person was bragging about owning the Bose clock radio, like it is some how even mid-fi. Bose won't allow they're products to be displayed in a situation where customers can make direct comparisons to other equipment, that is a bit shady wanting to keep the uneducated audio novice in the dark.

Have you ever noticed that Bose very rarely advertise in audio magazines?
They seem to advertise everywhere but in audio magazines.
I mean, what's up with that?

 

[Orakurumi]

Ya, companies like Bose, do more harm than good to the audio industry. I love some of the posts I have read on they're NC headphones, comments like "they really dont sound that bad" or "I only use them to sleep when I fly" where SQ is a secondary issue. One person was bragging about owning the Bose clock radio, like it is some how even mid-fi. Bose won't allow they're products to be displayed in a situation where customers can make direct comparisons to other equipment, that is a bit shady wanting to keep the uneducated audio novice in the dark.

Yeah werent the triports the dr dres of their day? Lol

 

[Moustache]

Quote:

Interested too

 
So what I know so far checking the internet :

- The PS500 has less soundstage, is more intimate sounding than the MS2.
- The PS500 has more bass, less treble. The PS500 is more warm sounding in general.
- The PS500 doesn't sound as good with guitars but is better with drums.
- The PS500 seems better with vocals.

Bear in mind that those opinions come from different persons with different tastes and not from me.
I wanted to know wich one was more neutral, but wasn't able find anything about it yet. Judging by these comments, I would say that the MS2 is more neutral.

Personnaly, I don't know wich one I would like better. Usually, I don't like headphones with big soundstage (hence my preference for Grados) because when I put headphones on my head, it's to hear my music more intimately.
I don't find the treble on the Grados fatiguing but I'm pretty sensitive to bass frequencies and I remember that when I had the Hifiman HE-400, I couldn't wear them for long because they had far too much bass for me. I just want the bass to be tight and fast, not deep.

Edit : grammar (my english is terrible).

 

[CH23]

I'm definitely registering for this fan club!

When i first were looking to get into high quality headphones, i read a lot about Grado, at the time i went with the Koss Portapro, as i thought that >€100 was a lot of money for headphones.
(Boy was i wrong)
Then at one point i went to a shop to look for a good pre-amp, and the owner had a SR-80i laying on the table.
I asked him if i could have a listen, and he nodded.

I plugged it into my amp, put on Tubular Bells, and my body shivered.
Two weeks later i went to another audio store, to listen to the SR325is.
No shiver, nothing.
Then i listened to some other headphones they had, the HD800, HD600, some Beyerdynamics, the GS1000(my god if i could afford this) and then the (buttoned) RS2...

He said he could sell them for a nice price beforehand, but, even if they would've been full price, he would have sold them to me.(€399 instead of €650)

Now it's a few weeks later, and i have been enjoying the RS-2 ever since.


Thank you Head-Fi for introducing me to audio quality, and thank you Grado, for such amazing Headphones!


-CH23

 

[joseph69]

Quote:

 
So what I know so far checking the internet :

- The PS500 has less soundstage, is more intimate sounding than the MS2.
- The PS500 has more bass, less treble. The PS500 is more warm sounding in general.
- The PS500 doesn't sound as good with guitars but is better with drums.
- The PS500 seems better with vocals.

Bear in mind that those opinions come from different persons with different tastes and not from me.
I wanted to know wich one was more neutral, but wasn't able find anything about it yet. Judging by these comments, I would say that the MS2 is more neutral.

Personnaly, I don't know wich one I would like better. Usually, I don't like headphones with big soundstage (hence my preference for Grados) because when I put headphones on my head, it's to hear my music more intimately.
I don't find the treble on the Grados fatiguing but I'm pretty sensitive to bass frequencies and I remember that when I had the Hifiman HE-400, I couldn't wear them for long because they had far too much bass for me. I just want the bass to be tight and fast, not deep.

Edit : grammar (my english is terrible).

The MS2i is a very neutral sounding headphone from my experience with once owning a pair.
By the way, they are excellent headphones. Iv'e never heard the PS 500, so I am not comparing the two, I'm just saying the MS2i is neutral.

 

[TwoTrack]

Quote:

The MS2i is a very neutral sounding headphone from my experience with once owning a pair.
By the way, they are excellent headphones. Iv'e never heard the PS 500, so I am not comparing the two, I'm just saying the MS2i is neutral.

 
Not sure about this.  Guitars sound wonderful on my PS500s.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

The MS2i is a very neutral sounding headphone from my experience with once owning a pair.
By the way, they are excellent headphones. Iv'e never heard the PS 500, so I am not comparing the two, I'm just saying the MS2i is neutral.

I have demoed the MS2i at the shop, but not the PS500. I really am not sure which one i would like better since i thought the MS2i was really nice.

 

[joseph69]

Quote:

 
Not sure about this.  Guitars sound wonderful on my PS500s.

I wasn't comparing the two, Iv'e never heard the PS500, so I don't know what they sound like, I'm sure they sound great (their Grados), I was only saying that the MS 2i was a neutral sounding headphone, which also with beautiful sounding guitars.

 

[jaycee1]

Quote:

Much as I love Grados, I do not trust any audio review from Comsumer Reports.
Many years ago they reviewed a Bose system and gave them a lukewarm review.
Bose sued them, Consumer Reports lost.

I'm not too sure how anyone expects Consumer Reports to keep their objectivity after an outcome like that.
Which reminds me, I have another reason to dislike Bose!

I think it's pretty darn cool that a general publication like CR rated grado's #1 and #2 respectively (80i and 60i).
 
CR still kicks a-- IMO. You can't expect them to win every single battle. They still don't accept advertising which is a pretty extraordinary feat IMO, esp. in this day and age.