[wigglepuff]

guys whats the difference in sound quality between the sr60 and sr80 models? which is more balanced and not bassy? my shl3300 clamp is killing me so I'm looking for a replacement.

 

[Claritas]

guys whats the difference in sound quality between the sr60 and sr80 models? which is more balanced and not bassy?

80 is a little clearer but has an overpowering treble. Neither is bassy. Both have the Grado treble peaks, so having a little more bass extension and less treble makes 60 sound slightly more balanced.

 

[wigglepuff]

treble peaks are like those screachy noise on guitar strings or cymbals, like a car being side scrapped or simliar to those tdk clef p earbuds? that sound sig actually damaged my ear, my eardrums ring and hurt when i hear those. I guess grados are a no then.

 

[jimr101]

Wigglepuff you might want to take a listen before making your mind up. Ive got older damaged ears myself and it is the clarity of the grado treble sound that does it for me. My samsung phone has a frequency test app that showed me that what I don't like about overpowering bass is that it drowns out the clarity of the trebles. Making the trebles clearer is what makes me enjoy the snap of the bass that I love so much. It cleans the muddiness from the bass for me. That being said I do find the sr325 to be a little extreme treble for my ears while others younger ears love them. Otherwise I do not find the grado treble piercing or screachy in any way. But the final verdict is up to your ears not the opinion of others.

 

[markm1]

   
 
I think that it's a combination of facts that contributed to me not keeping the RS1i, I won't lie, I had read so much positive thigns about them, that my expectations were pretty high.
 
 

I think subtlety and nuance can be issues with the RS1i. It's nothing like the experience of listening to a high end Audeze or Stax set up for the first time. More than likely, it's not going to have that kind of "wow factor". There's no big lush ooo la la sound. No thundering base.
 
It took me a while coming from the 225. Finally, I put on simple, acoustic jazz. And, I heard it. Separation of instruments. Gorgeous piano tone. I could almost reach out and touch where the sound was coming from. I could hear the strumming of an accoustic guitar. And, the guitar sound was gorgeous.
 
Put on some aggressive metal, hard rock, or punk and it just sounds "right". Classic rock is great-Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Dylan, Zeppelin, King Crimson, blues...sound great. Like you're on stage with the band.
 
It's pretty subtle. But, it is there. Now, I just think of my RS1i and LD1+ as affordable great sounding music. Straightforward and uncomplicated.  But, there are no fireworks. No angels singing. Just great sounding music with clarity, detail and nuance.

 

[bassboysam]

I think subtlety and nuance can be issues with the RS1i. It's nothing like the experience of listening to a high end Audeze or Stax set up for the first time. More than likely, it's not going to have that kind of "wow factor". There's no big lush ooo la la sound. No thundering base.
 
It took me a while coming from the 225. Finally, I put on simple, acoustic jazz. And, I heard it. Separation of instruments. Gorgeous piano tone. I could almost reach out and touch where the sound was coming from. I could hear the strumming of an accoustic guitar. And, the guitar sound was gorgeous.
 
Put on some aggressive metal, hard rock, or punk and it just sounds "right". Classic rock is great-Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Dylan, Zeppelin, King Crimson, blues...sound great. Like you're on stage with the band.
 
It's pretty subtle. But, it is there. Now, I just think of my RS1i and LD1+ as affordable great sounding music. Straightforward and uncomplicated.  But, there are no fireworks. No angels singing. Just great sounding music with clarity, detail and nuance.

 


see that has not been my experience with the RS1 at all. of all my headphones it is the only one that has "wowed" people. Most of the time the reactions i get with my other headphones are "that's sounds cool", "very nice". With the RS1 I physically see their eyes light up and a huge grin on their faces along with a big "WOW". Every single time and I share my headphone a lot.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Based on my comparison of two RS1i's at an audio shop, I found significant unit-to-unit difference. I will grant that one was a demo model shown for three months, while the other was fresh out of the box. So there may have been a burn-in effect... The demo unit was brighter (and also lighter to wear, and also lighter-colored wood). I bought that one.

As a result, I would always seek to try multiple units of the same Grado headphone I would purchase. That unit-to-unit difference, combined with our ultra-demanding ears here, might explain some of the appearance of apparent defects being discussed.

 

[elmoe]

Keep in mind there are those of us who prefer the 325s to the RS1s also. Ive heard maybe 5 different RS1/1i pairs and my 325s just sound better to me.

 

[bpcans]

I think subtlety and nuance can be issues with the RS1i. It's nothing like the experience of listening to a high end Audeze or Stax set up for the first time. More than likely, it's not going to have that kind of "wow factor". There's no big lush ooo la la sound. No thundering base.
 
It took me a while coming from the 225. Finally, I put on simple, acoustic jazz. And, I heard it. Separation of instruments. Gorgeous piano tone. I could almost reach out and touch where the sound was coming from. I could hear the strumming of an accoustic guitar. And, the guitar sound was gorgeous.
 
Put on some aggressive metal, hard rock, or punk and it just sounds "right". Classic rock is great-Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Dylan, Zeppelin, King Crimson, blues...sound great. Like you're on stage with the band.
 
It's pretty subtle. But, it is there. Now, I just think of my RS1i and LD1+ as affordable great sounding music. Straightforward and uncomplicated.  But, there are no fireworks. No angels singing. Just great sounding music with clarity, detail and nuance.

 


see that has not been my experience with the RS1 at all. of all my headphones it is the only one that has "wowed" people. Most of the time the reactions i get with my other headphones are "that's sounds cool", "very nice". With the RS1 I physically see their eyes light up and a huge grin on their faces along with a big "WOW". Every single time and I share my headphone a lot.

Bassboysam, I had a similar experience when I had my RS1's at our local hp meet. People were listening hp's twice the price of my Grado's and they invariably said that supposedly superior hp's sounded "nice" and "pretty cool man", but with my RS1's they just sat listening while scrolling through my music. Maybe it could also be that some people just get skittish when wearing someone's $1,500.00 headphones too. Markm1, I like subtlety and nuance.

name="elmoe" url="/t/530965/grado-fan-club/17970#post_10810150"]Keep in mind there are those of us who prefer the 325s to the RS1s also. Ive heard maybe 5 different RS1/1i pairs and my 325s just sound better to me.

[/B]elmoe, it's great that folks can get the satisfaction they want from the 325's without draining the cookie jar. My eighteen year old son prefers the 325's to my RS1's. Go figure?

 

[ferday]

I think subtlety and nuance can be issues with the RS1i. It's nothing like the experience of listening to a high end Audeze or Stax set up for the first time. More than likely, it's not going to have that kind of "wow factor". There's no big lush ooo la la sound. No thundering base.

It's pretty subtle. But, it is there. Now, I just think of my RS1i and LD1+ as affordable great sounding music. Straightforward and uncomplicated.  But, there are no fireworks. No angels singing. Just great sounding music with clarity, detail and nuance.

The only disagreement I have, is that I consider the rs1 to be insanely lush because of the smooth midrange / treble. But that's a definition thing lol

The rs1 have become my solid favorite because they are subtle (well, subtly in your face) and because they aren't WOW...which can be fatiguing to me. They are for me, just a window into a sound I really enjoy.

They are not for everyone...especially at retail price, there are "better" headphones but since we should stick with what we enjoy....

 

[music101]

So far as I know, all their parts are made in the Northeast U.S.

I haven't had any QC problems with the cheap ones (up to and including 225). Not much that can go wrong with those because the housing is plastic.

Interesting. I thought it was mentioned in their recent manufacturing video that they sourced from overseas, but maybe that was just an assumption of mine since everything seems to be produced overseas now.
 
I think you're right: the only QC problems I've been reading about involve their higher end models.
 

Based on my comparison of two RS1i's at an audio shop, I found significant unit-to-unit difference.

As a result, I would always seek to try multiple units of the same Grado headphone I would purchase. That unit-to-unit difference, combined with our ultra-demanding ears here, might explain some of the appearance of apparent defects being discussed.

 
Unit to unit differences is one of the most important and least discussed topics imo. Likely because there's no need or desire to buy multiple sets of the same headphones. This is probably why reviews of the same model can differ so sharply from one another.
 
I do think the QC issue is real: out of phase, drivers not glued in the housing, reversed l/r drivers, and reports of poor sound quality here and there.
 
Grado is not known for producing in huge volume, so I don't think that could be an excuse. They and their suppliers are simply not meeting a high standard of quality.
 
I think I'll be fine with 60e's though.

 

[markm1]

Rs1i-Maybe I'm not using the best descriptives. When listening to orthos at meets, the Grado sound except for ps500 have a clear, detailed sound and forward punch. There is a smoothness in the mids to be sure. But, when jumping from an RS1i to any of the Audeze line, the contrast is signfiicant. If not lush, I might call it fuller, warmer, and sorry to offend....but more robust. Perhaps what I'm hearing is soundstage.
 
Don't get me wrong. I love the RS1. I don't imagine I'd ever sell mine. But, the sensation is almost going from very nice, detailed, clear sounding bookshelf speakers to a tower speakers with more impact. I felt the need to keep turning the volume up. The LCD's and HE's just sounded more robust. The Grado 500 also had some of the same affect but to a lesser degree. The sacrifice might be...and I would need to listen gain....detail. The RS1i is just so detailed. When I mentioned that to Moon Audio where I was listening he said that's why so people like them for studio monitor headphones.
 
I don't notice it at home, since that's all I listen to, but when jumping from one to the other-which is really fun w/ Moon Audio-they had so many flagships right next to each other...it was a real treat-it kind of felt like that moment in The Wizzard of Ozz when the movie jumps from Black and White to amazing vibrant color.
 
But, black and white can be cool. It is less colored by definition and in some ways more honest..less rose colored glasses affect. A pure, direct depiction without the glitz and glam.

 

[ferday]

  Rs1i-Maybe I'm not using the best descriptives. When listening to orthos at meets, the Grado sound except for ps500 have a clear, detailed sound and forward punch. There is a smoothness in the mids to be sure. But, when jumping from an RS1i to any of the Audeze line, the contrast is signfiicant. If not lush, I might call it fuller, warmer, and sorry to offend....but more robust. Perhaps what I'm hearing is soundstage.
 
 

 
the LCD is simply a better headphone.  it has the detail, the soundstage, a liquid sound rather than the forward sound of the grado, and the thunderous bass....i dream of justifying one some day.  my he400 shares this liquid / lush sound but has it's own problems (recessed midrange)...liquid,lush...just shows how these subjective things are hard to pin down
 
for me the rs1 just clicked though.  head-fi always talks about gear "synergy" and all that stuff....it seems i just happen to have a personal synergy with the rs1 which my wallet is thanking me for right now
 
i gave my modded SR80 to a friend of mine who (like me) used to be a major bass head (which usually comes with a preference for a darker sound) and he's totally hooked on the grado sound now.  maybe i'm just getting old LOL but i'm not ditching my hi-fi bass rack anytime soon ha ha ha

 

[markm1]

   
the LCD is simply a better headphone.  it has the detail, the soundstage, a liquid sound rather than the forward sound of the grado, and the thunderous bass....i dream of justifying one some day.  my he400 shares this liquid / lush sound but has it's own problems (recessed midrange)...liquid,lush...just shows how these subjective things are hard to pin down
 
for me the rs1 just clicked though.  head-fi always talks about gear "synergy" and all that stuff....it seems i just happen to have a personal synergy with the rs1 which my wallet is thanking me for right now
 
i gave my modded SR80 to a friend of mine who (like me) used to be a major bass head (which usually comes with a preference for a darker sound) and he's totally hooked on the grado sound now.  maybe i'm just getting old LOL but i'm not ditching my hi-fi bass rack anytime soon ha ha ha

have you heard the new HE560 by chance? It's pretty nice, too.

 

[joseph69]

 

  I think subtlety and nuance can be issues with the RS1i. It's nothing like the experience of listening to a high end Audeze or Stax set up for the first time. More than likely, it's not going to have that kind of "wow factor". There's no big lush ooo la la sound. No thundering base.
 
It took me a while coming from the 225. Finally, I put on simple, acoustic jazz. And, I heard it. Separation of instruments. Gorgeous piano tone. I could almost reach out and touch where the sound was coming from. I could hear the strumming of an accoustic guitar. And, the guitar sound was gorgeous.
 
Put on some aggressive metal, hard rock, or punk and it just sounds "right". Classic rock is great-Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Steely Dan, Dylan, Zeppelin, King Crimson, blues...sound great. Like you're on stage with the band.
 
It's pretty subtle. But, it is there. Now, I just think of my RS1i and LD1+ as affordable great sounding music. Straightforward and uncomplicated.  But, there are no fireworks. No angels singing. Just great sounding music with clarity, detail and nuance.

 
 


see that has not been my experience with the RS1 at all. of all my headphones it is the only one that has "wowed" people. Most of the time the reactions i get with my other headphones are "that's sounds cool", "very nice". With the RS1 I physically see their eyes light up and a huge grin on their faces along with a big "WOW". Every single time and I share my headphone a lot.

Agreed, the 80's and the RS1i's have that "WOW"!!!
 

Based on my comparison of two RS1i's at an audio shop, I found significant unit-to-unit difference. I will grant that one was a demo model shown for three months, while the other was fresh out of the box. So there may have been a burn-in effect... The demo unit was brighter (and also lighter to wear, and also lighter-colored wood). I bought that one.

As a result, I would always seek to try multiple units of the same Grado headphone I would purchase. That unit-to-unit difference, combined with our ultra-demanding ears here, might explain some of the appearance of apparent defects being discussed.

After owning 3 different pairs of PS1K's…the pair I now own sounds different (better) than the 2 previous pairs.
 

The only disagreement I have, is that I consider the rs1 to be insanely lush because of the smooth midrange / treble. But that's a definition thing lol

The rs1 have become my solid favorite because they are subtle (well, subtly in your face) and because they aren't WOW...which can be fatiguing to me. They are for me, just a window into a sound I really enjoy.

They are not for everyone...especially at retail price, there are "better" headphones but since we should stick with what we enjoy....

+1000