Grado Fan Club!
Jul 17, 2013 at 1:13 AM Post #8,146 of 67,902
Hopefully, things will settle, its been a bit hectic here as well
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 7:29 AM Post #8,147 of 67,902
The 325is might me the only exception in the prestige series...

325,ps500,rs1 all work well with the g cush in my humble opinion.


wasn't a fan of the G-cush and 325i (maybe the "is" is different) or RS1. i thought the PS500 might be ok because of their bigger bass but i still found them to sound too thin with the g-cush. all the low mids just seem to get sucked right out. with some recordings it sounded good but it was hit and miss. the bowls were more consistent.
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 7:49 AM Post #8,148 of 67,902
wasn't a fan of the G-cush and 325i (maybe the "is" is different) or RS1. i thought the PS500 might be ok because of their bigger bass but i still found them to sound too thin with the g-cush. all the low mids just seem to get sucked right out. with some recordings it sounded good but it was hit and miss. the bowls were more consistent.

Think compatibility depends on the amp and source too. My amp is quite full sounding so don't get the sucked out effect . That's with the 325is. I love the gcush combo.
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 12:45 PM Post #8,149 of 67,902
When I auditioned Grados, I felt the 225i was quite noticeably an improvement over the 80i. maybe just my ears...but I was, like, "wow"...that sounds a lot better! Bigger, fuller, more detail...just more impressive sound.Some would claim, that is mostly due to the pads, but I've been happy w/ the 225i. It was fairly dramatic to me....
 
Then, after some time with the 225i, I listened to 325i at a meet and felt that the differences between the 225 and 325, while there, were less dramatic than the 80 and 225. The 325 felt more detailed and slightly more refined, and a little brighter...more revealing I guess would be the word.
 
For my money, and for plug 'n' play no hassles, the 225i hits the price/performance sweet spot. I also think it's fairly versatile, sounds good for a variety of genres and is a fun headphone particularly with guitar oriented blues based rock which is my preference. Although, I have thrown a fair amount of classical, jazz, standards, etc without complaint. I agree the 225 can be fatiguing. My sense is that the 325 without mods would be more fatiguing.
 
I'll often switch back and forth from my Grados to speakers.Grados produce a little better overall sound  but confine me to one spot and can be fatiguing. Plus, some of my music is aggressive guitar driven rock/punk/metal and I like to be able to crank it sometimes without worrying about damage to my ears!
 
I also think they sound good with more mellow folk, indie, ambient, etc.
 
If I wanted the 325, I'd be inclined to save for the RS1 or 2 or investigate the PS 500-none of which I've been able to audition.
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 1:00 PM Post #8,150 of 67,902
How come nobody talks much about the GS1000 (i-version or not)? 
I listened to a handful of Grados and it's my favorite (with a variety of upstream amps and sources)?
It's one of the only two I own now.
Is it a sonic departure for Grado or what?
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 1:24 PM Post #8,151 of 67,902
Quote:
How come nobody talks much about the GS1000 (i-version or not)? 
I listened to a handful of Grados and it's my favorite (with a variety of upstream amps and sources)?
It's one of the only two I own now.
Is it a sonic departure for Grado or what?

Agreed.
I've only auditioned it once. But it truly was one of those rare " 
eek.gif
 holy jeebus!" moments, where dynamics, texture and timbre were just sublime. 
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 1:42 PM Post #8,152 of 67,902
Quote:
How come nobody talks much about the GS1000 (i-version or not)? 
I listened to a handful of Grados and it's my favorite (with a variety of upstream amps and sources)?
It's one of the only two I own now.
Is it a sonic departure for Grado or what?

In my experience, the GS1000s are the brightest and most sibilant of Grados. 
Tried my best to like and keep them. Re-cabled them with Black Dragon cables, etc etc but finally gave up.
They were the most comfortable headphones. Ever.
 
I am crazy about my PS1000s (also Black Dragon cables) although they're not the most loved ones around, so I can fully understand someone loving the GS1K.
Both GS/PS are a different Grado from the current lineup.
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 2:02 PM Post #8,154 of 67,902
You can try pulling the cups a little bit further from your ear with some beefy socks in between and that's quite similar to what I've experienced with larger pad with RS1. More hiss in the trebles, more details in the mid but the bass and mid get diluted a bit. 
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 5:28 PM Post #8,156 of 67,902
Has anyone tried extra large cups on the RS1i's?


If you mean pads, I have tried the G Cush on my RS1i a couple of times in the last year. For me it somewhat takes away what drew me to the RS1i in the first place, lively, immediate, extremely realistic timbre, and the ability to enjoy all the detail at moderate volume. However, it's hardly a big investment, so I'm glad I bought them just to try.
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 6:15 PM Post #8,157 of 67,902
My big thing is I don't like the pads sitting on my ears, That's why I like the G-cush.  May have to try washing the L-cush and see if they are less irritating that way...
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 6:48 PM Post #8,158 of 67,902
My ears are pretty small, the L-cush (shampooed and conditioned) works for me, BUT I prefer the g-cush on my ps500
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 7:17 PM Post #8,159 of 67,902
well, some new pieces have come in, the first of which a music streamer II+, and the other is a pair of RCA 6ak5's for the little dot I+
so far, very good
 
Jul 17, 2013 at 8:52 PM Post #8,160 of 67,902
Quote:
well, some new pieces have come in, the first of which a music streamer II+, and the other is a pair of RCA 6ak5's for the little dot I+
so far, very good

I just hooked up my LD again with the Modi to the MBP, and I'm going to listen to this set up for a while, when I can. 
Didn't your LD also come with Siemens 6AK5W"s like mine did?
Are the RCA 6AK5's different?
 

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