[jimi30]

I really dont get grado...Most of us talk about excessive brightness. .but is that what makes them enjoyable. ..?? From what ive read there all bright...maybe they have tried to make a darker can ..but just cant pull it of..

 

[whirlwind]

  GS1000e... impulse buy...

 
Congrats

 

[Suisou]

I really dont get grado...Most of us talk about excessive brightness. .but is that what makes them enjoyable. ..?? From what ive read there all bright...maybe they have tried to make a darker can ..but just cant pull it of..

 
I've got a pair of Grados on my head at this very moment with a pair on Sennheiser 600s next to me. You're right that the brightness is the sound signature that many of us (I presume) enjoy from them, but there's a fine line between being bright and being overly bright to the point of fatigue. 
 
I see the validity of darker headphones, but if Grado were to alter the signature to match what the Sennheisers currently deliver, that would deeply sadden me. Which is partly why I've unloaded my E-s and picked up some I-s.

 

[swspiers]

  Are RS-1s without wooden buttons just as true to "Grado sound" as RS-1s with wooden buttons?
 
Earlier in this thread, I asked which Grado headphones best represented the "true Grado house sound" that made rock guitar and organ shine so well, and a number of folks advised that it was the RS-1 or the SR225.
 
See here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/530965/grado-fan-club/17295#post_10744663
 
So I have been searching diligently and without success for an RS-1 with wooden buttons.
 
I have just found a place that has RS-1s in the version WITHOUT wooden buttons (not the RS-1i or RS-1e, but RS-1, which is what I want).  The headphone has the thick cord as did my PS500s (I mention this because in a history of RS-1s, RS-1s with thinner cords are mentioned in one version).  The headphone is Serial Number 10011.
 
Do these button-less RS-1s represent the Grado sound as well as the (earlier I think) buttoned RS-1s?  Any advice you can provide by tomorrow, when I have to buy these because I leave the town they are in, would be most helpful.
 
Thanks!
 
P.S.
 
Clues from another thread indicate that the button was removed to remove a mid-high frequency peak, and that the RS-1s without the button sound better.  Here are two posts that say that:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/260462/does-new-look-of-rs-1-change-the-sound/15#post_3302997
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/260462/does-new-look-of-rs-1-change-the-sound/30#post_3546821

Differences between Grado's are almost impossible to discern intellectually, except for the REALLY BIG differences between the SR/RS-PS-GS series.
 
In a word. YES, they do respresent the Grado sound well, but then they all do.  It's just varying shades of awesomeness!

 

[bassboysam]

My favorite no nonsense rock and roll album:
 

 

[jimi30]

I will check it and rate your music..

 

[bpcans]

I really dont get grado...Most of us talk about excessive brightness. .but is that what makes them enjoyable. ..?? From what ive read there all bright...maybe they have tried to make a darker can ..but just cant pull it of..

jimi, I think your sentiments reflect Grado's intention to make an easily drivable headphone that can be used over a wide range of musical genres and with a lot of different audio gear. I personally don't find my Grado's to be overly bright, but then again I'm middle-aged and deaf. IMO the PS500's were created to appeal to a sector of the market that is lead by Beats headphones, bass heavy rap music, Deafmau5, and others of that musical ilk. (Do I sound like a crotchety old fart yet)? Today over pronounced bass is the norm for people under thirty years of age, they believe this is how music is supposed to sound, which is totally cool. For me, I want a flute to sound like a flute, a violin like a violin, and so forth. I'm not sure this shift is generational because there are many people in their twenty's who love classical music and live jazz recordings.

 

[jimi30]

Agree!!!! But a band I love and have seen many times tool!! Maybe imo the most progressive music...and the biggest feeling at there show is the bass going tho u body...I dont understand why people dont dig bass !!!! As much as treble

 

[jimi30]

Its like I've never walked away from a tool or any gig and thought man that treble was awesome. ..

 

[bbophead]

Agree!!!! But a band I love and have seen many times tool!! Maybe imo the most progressive music...and the biggest feeling at there show is the bass going tho u body...I dont understand why people dont dig bass !!!! As much as treble

I know it may be kinda hard to believe, but not everybody likes the same type of music.
 
Most acoustic music (no amps or speakers!) doesn't have gobs of bass.  That's not the kind of music it is.  So, when they listen back to it on headphones, they don't need that bass emphasis. 

 

[ChronicLiar]

<3 my 325is
 
 
I kiss them
 
 
And no i'm not lying.
 
Anyone try the E Series yet? any major diffrences?

 

[bpcans]

Agree!!!! But a band I love and have seen many times tool!! Maybe imo the most progressive music...and the biggest feeling at there show is the bass going tho u body...I dont understand why people dont dig bass !!!! As much as treble

That's so cool man. Nothing beats the impact of a live show, though it's been awhile since I went to one and after my ears were ringing and my liver was trying to jump out of my body.

 

[jimi30]

The biggest bummer for me is im a huge jimi hendrix fan..but grados just dont work with jimi..

 

[bpcans]

The biggest bummer for me is im a huge jimi hendrix fan..but grados just dont work with jimi..

jimi, so I immediately went and turned on my amp so I could listen to some Hendrix. To me "Spanish Castle Magic" sounded great through my RS1's. I'm just asking what do you mean by Hendrix doesn't work with Grado's? Does Hendrix guitar sound wrong, or is it the entire mix?

 

[ruthieandjohn]

  Are RS-1s without wooden buttons just as true to "Grado sound" as RS-1s with wooden buttons?
 
Earlier in this thread, I asked which Grado headphones best represented the "true Grado house sound" that made rock guitar and organ shine so well, and a number of folks advised that it was the RS-1 or the SR225.
 
See here:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/530965/grado-fan-club/17295#post_10744663 
 
So I have been searching diligently and without success for an RS-1 with wooden buttons.
 
I have just found a place that has RS-1s in the version WITHOUT wooden buttons (not the RS-1i or RS-1e, but RS-1, which is what I want).  The headphone has the thick cord as did my PS500s (I mention this because in a history of RS-1s, RS-1s with thinner cords are mentioned in one version).  The headphone is Serial Number 10011.
 
Do these button-less RS-1s represent the Grado sound as well as the (earlier I think) buttoned RS-1s?  Any advice you can provide by tomorrow, when I have to buy these because I leave the town they are in, would be most helpful.
 
Thanks!
 
P.S.
 
Clues from another thread indicate that the button was removed to remove a mid-high frequency peak, and that the RS-1s without the button sound better.  Here are two posts that say that:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/260462/does-new-look-of-rs-1-change-the-sound/15#post_3302997
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/260462/does-new-look-of-rs-1-change-the-sound/30#post_3546821

Turns out that the headphones are RS-1is, not RS-1s.  The headphones have RS-1 engraved, and their store display labels them RS-1s rather than RS-1i "because the boss wants it that way."
 
However, it is very hard to tell a buttonless RS-1 from an RS-1i.  The differences are that the RS-1i has the heavy cord (thickness of a pencil) and round posts that connect each earpiece to the headband; the RS-1 has a thinner longer cord and square posts.
 
I bought one pair (their demo); they have another, SN 10691 (newer) in stock.  I preferred the sound of the demo one... a bit brighter and more spacious, but with a little less bass.  Might be the simple bit of burn-in they received as demos, but I am pleased with them.
 
Listening to them in sheer delight as I type this (I find that one of my guilty pleasures is to listen to a pair of headphones while reading the posts in their "Appreciation / Impressions" thread here on head-fi.org).