carboncopy
500+ Head-Fier
I don't think I need to upgrade my system anymore (McIntosh MCD 500 and MHA150 and McIntosh C22 restored from 1967 and MC225 restored from 1964). It depends a lot on the music you hear. The GS3000e can definitely convince for classical music and jazz. For rock and blues, however, it lacks the punch and dynamics that the GH2 and, by the way, the much brighter RS2e have. It may be that this also comes from the peaks in the frequency response. I think that the distance from the driver to the ear, which is much smaller with the On Ears, also plays a role. I'm always amazed at the breathtaking dynamics that Grado On Ears have across all frequency ranges.
In 2008 I got my first Grado, the GS1000. The PS1000 and GS1000i followed later. I had never considered the on-ear Grados because I found them to be significantly more uncomfortable because of the L pads. I had almost written off Grado. Only recently and because of the helpful hints from this thread, I tried the GH2 as the first on-ear device and found that the L pads are not that uncomfortable when you get used to them. The RS2e followed a few days ago and I am absolutely thrilled with the On Ear Grados. My GS1000i, on the other hand, is gathering dust on the headphone stand. Could it be possible that Grado has the most experience with the On Ears? Wasn't Grado's first high-end headphones an on-ear?
I feel kinda the same. I wanted to have the best (on paper) Grado, hence I bought the PS2000e. Unless it had some fault it was not as dynamic, punchy as my RS2e. There was absolutely no point keeping them. I am contemplating an RS1e and/or a PS500e just to have my own experience with them. But no G pad model for me. But I do listen to a lot of electronica, funk, indie...