Everyone is different but burn-in is definitely real for me, when I bought my (lightly) used SR225e they sounded very aggressive in the upper mids (but after about 50+ hours they sounded absolutely great.
I hope that if you do try another Grado that it sounds sublime and a clear step up.
I’ve had my RS1x for five days now. I’ve logged about 18 hours on them. Wow, are they dreadful!
I love, as I have stated many times, my SR325e. I have often described them as beautifully flawed. I think the larger question is how can another Grado headphone that costs 2 1/2 times as much and has an “upgraded“ driver sound so much worse?
The RS1x is shouty, congested, and has the timbre of a rusty razor scraping against a tin can.
I bought them from Crutchfield with the intention of trying them for the full 60-day return period. Not going to make it.
Only you can judge how much you like them. I would suggest however, that since you have a 60 day return window, keep playing them for about another 80-100 hours. Nothing to lose. Maybe, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Maybe not......
I am on the other side and do very much believe in burn in but of course everyone must decide for themselves. My time in retail audio (35+ years) taught me that among many other little tidbits and pointers.
Many quality manufacturers (Martin Logan comes to mind) not only recommend break in but even suggest how much time to expect results.
I was a dealer for Grado, Stax, Sennheiser and AKG. In my personal experience the time necessary can certainly vary. The RS1x you bought took me well over 100 hours, closer to 200 to fully evolve. My PS2000e continued to evolve until about 300 hours.
If you have not already returned them I would recommend that you forget you even own them. Set up where you can play them with the cups face down on a flat service (to mimic the physical resistance of your head). Put your source on continuous play or repeat. Put them out of your way and just playing medium to medium loud volume and of your progress on the RS1x.
At this point you are not at all happy with them. If you can afford the time come back as the time builds. Your choices for music but it should be a quality recording that is dynamic and full range. (Do Not Use Test Tones).
Roll the dice and see how it might work out for you. They happen to be one of the most popular and well liked current Grado models.
BTW, some Uber expensive electronics are actually run for some hours to final test and to offer initial break in.
I hope you are tempted, you are not hearing them anywhere near their capabilities.
Good luck, might be very interesting. Nothing to lose, everything to gain.
It sounds like you're not going to like them for the long therm, but I do think you should try and take advantage of the return window and listen to them a little more. I've had mine a year and the things that bothered me when I first got them, I'm still hearing - but your situation might be different.
They are all packed with the mailing label attached, but I guess I could open the box and run them in for a couple of days. My wife is out of the country, so it might be a good chance to just let them run for a while.
I am always willing to learn that I am wrong about something.
(I do believe that brain burn-in/eq is a real thing and that your ears do adjust. However, it doesn’t take anywhere near 100 hours.)
I have to admit, I am amused by ESL-1’s suggestion that I put them face down. Will that really make a difference with Grados?
Can people on the internet learn to understand the difference between "I like A more than B" vs "A is pure sunshine straight from heaven and B is a plague of locusts destroying everything in its path" ?
Can people on the internet learn to understand the difference between "I like A more than B" vs "A is pure sunshine straight from heaven and B is a plague of locusts destroying everything in its path" ?
Thank you for the advice everyone. I am not going to go down the burn-in route. I did take them out of the box, hooked them up to a headphone amp, and started playing a 30-hour classical box set. The timbre is so far off the mark (like a plague of locusts) that I'm going to move on. Be well everyone.
I’ve had my RS1x for five days now. I’ve logged about 18 hours on them. Wow, are they dreadful!
I love, as I have stated many times, my SR325e. I have often described them as beautifully flawed. I think the larger question is how can another Grado headphone that costs 2 1/2 times as much and has an “upgraded“ driver sound so much worse?
The RS1x is shouty, congested, and has the timbre of a rusty razor scraping against a tin can.
I bought them from Crutchfield with the intention of trying them for the full 60-day return period. Not going to make it.
A few comments:
1. With RS-1x, the listener is the prime beneficiary of necessary headphone break-in;
2. 18 hours is nowhere close to the time required by RS-1x for effective break-in: think 200 hours with music;
3. Replace the L-cushions with F-cushions. I could not stand the cupped, hollow, screechy sound (especially on saxophone) from the Ls. I have been a happy user of Fs for almost 1-1/2 years. They provide for me sonic impact, great imaging, wide soundstage…
They are all packed with the mailing label attached, but I guess I could open the box and run them in for a couple of days. My wife is out of the country, so it might be a good chance to just let them run for a while.
I am always willing to learn that I am wrong about something.
(I do believe that brain burn-in/eq is a real thing and that your ears do adjust. However, it doesn’t take anywhere near 100 hours.)
I have to admit, I am amused by ESL-1’s suggestion that I put them face down. Will that really make a difference with Grados?
I am glad to amuse you (really). Obviously the thought is that headphones are not played into open space but upon one’s head and there is the resistance you want to mimic. The funny part is that Grados do tend to send/leak a lot of sound out their very open back. Regardless you still need to play against a surface.
At least they make it easy as they lie flat. I need to be more creative with other phone designs.
I hope you do end up finding the performance you expected.
A few comments:
1. With RS-1x, the listener is the prime beneficiary of necessary headphone break-in;
2. 18 hours is nowhere close to the time required by RS-1x for effective break-in: think 200 hours with music;
3. Replace the L-cushions with F-cushions. I could not stand the cupped, hollow, screechy sound (especially on saxophone) from the Ls. I have been a happy user of Fs for almost 1-1/2 years. They provide for me sonic impact, great imaging, wide soundstage…
I guess I’m not going to find out for myself. I would really need the RS1x to be completely transformed by the burn-in process. I’m also not a fan of pad rolling. I have the original L cushions on my 325e, and they work very well for me. I tried the 325x with the stock F cushion and did not like it. Whenever I have tried different pads on my 325e I felt that they had a negative impact.
Basically, I find the timbre of the RS1x so far off the mark that I don’t believe they could ever work for me. 200 hours of burn-in is a lot, and I would need them to become a completely different headphone than I currently perceive them to be, and they would have to be significantly better than the SR325e I already own (and enjoy). I just don’t see that happening. Maybe I’m being pigheaded, and maybe it’s my loss, but that’s the choice I’m making.
I guess I’m not going to find out for myself. I would really need the RS1x to be completely transformed by the burn-in process. I’m also not a fan of pad rolling. I have the original L cushions on my 325e, and they work very well for me. I tried the 325x with the stock F cushion and did not like it. Whenever I have tried different pads on my 325e I felt that they had a negative impact.
Basically, I find the timbre of the RS1x so far off the mark that I don’t believe they could ever work for me. 200 hours of burn-in is a lot, and I would need them to become a completely different headphone than I currently perceive them to be, and they would have to be significantly better than the SR325e I already own (and enjoy). I just don’t see that happening. Maybe I’m being pigheaded, and maybe it’s my loss, but that’s the choice I’m making.
A few days earlier I was criticised for calling the Hemp veiled and dark. In the meantime I could listen to him on a Burson Conductor 3 Reference and man, that was a fine combination. The Hemp was shining , showed open mids and clear hights build upon a deep bass. BUT, the rest of the Grados I could compaire - RS1x and GS1000x, sounded horrible shrill and bloodless with the Burson.
Concerning the best headamp for Grados you can't recommand one amp, that's my experience of the story.
In the meantime I am trying different pads, not only the typical Grados. I have bought me 5mm foam rubber and cut them in the right size for all kinds of pads. Pretty easy and cheap. Certainly I am not the first to mention that pads make more difference than amps.
1.Lesson learned: Leather pads can turn a Grado to a bass Monster, but they bring a lot of disstorsions to the mids.
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your opinion and stop 
sounding like a (well intentioned) cult.
