[Focker]

I find the Grados to be very transparent, which is a quality I love about them. That's partly why I like using tubes in my signal path, though, cause it sort of takes away some of the glare on the highs...it gives digital tracks a more analog feel, and I dig that. 

 

[stacker45]

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This doesn't have to get confrontational, but if you want to get scientific or objective I can tell you that you're mistaken regarding the electrical requirements of Grado cans. You cannot arbitrarily have "lots of current" and the actual amount of current you "see" is dictated by the load and your desired output level. Further, most portable devices (I won't even touch the PC argument because its too over-generalized) are entirely competent to provide more than enough "current" (and power overall) for any Grado model. They're very well designed and very universal headphones. I can personally attest to this as well - I've tried them on everything from the "unwashed masses" of a PC, to setups costing more than most people's cars. And they still sound like Grados, and buying a better model is still more of an improvement than any amplifier or other toy. There is no magical transformation to be had.

 
I generally agree with you,the SR80i's are great sounding headphones,but i believe that the return on investment would be far greater by upgrading the headphones,than getting an amp,after all they're the ones responsable for transforming electrical current into actual sound.
 
I often listen to my GS/PS/HP1000 straight from the headphone output of my vintage Yamaha CA-610II int amp and Marantz 2220B reciever with great results.
 
They're is no doubt in my mind that headphones/speakers have the most impact on the overall sound signature of any system,if you substitute a CD player for another the difference will usually be subtle,if noticable at all,on the other hand substitute the headphones/speakers for a different model or brand and odds are the difference will probably be drastic.

 

[Focker]

I just can't understand why my GS1ks don't sound as good from a headphone jack as all my other Grados do....very odd! 

 

[obobskivich]

On the pricing thing, afaik the RS-1 and RS-2 have been $695 and $495 since around 2003-2004, and the GS-1000 has been $995 since its launch (in 2006 iirc). I think the RS-1 has seen one price increase since launch in 1996 (but it lost a hand-made wooden box in the process). And the SR-60 I think has been consistently under $100 for its entire life. That's one thing that makes the pricing seem "fair" - sure the RS-1 cost more than a lot of their original competition, but they haven't been re-released every two years with a new paint-job or celebrity endorsement, and 10-20% price hike. And that goes for the rest of their line, the RS-1 is just what comes to mind...

On the packaging thing - yeah, I've always liked the minimal but very functional Grado packaging. Like the RS-1 box - it looks very plain, but it gets the job done better than a lot of fancy retail packages do. And no clamshells or other nightmares to open. Very few other manufacturers seem to "get" that concept - but I think a lot of it comes down to shelf appeal. Most Grados simply don't have it, unless they're unboxed.

Some McIntosh eye candy:

 

[maddin]

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The 500s are very balanced to my ears...that's partly why I love them. Im entirely biased, of course, but I'm biased for a reason. Adele actually sounds amazing on my T1s, as well...nice full, balanced sound. They fall just a bit short of the Grados in terms of tonality, though....but yeah, the 500s excel with piano, IMO....I was listening to Billy Joel live on them a while back and it blew me away with how it sounded. I don't listen to Coldplay, but both of the Adele discs I have (19, 21) sound phenomenal. 

To my ears neither the SR325i nor the PS500 are very balanced but I find the SR325i more balanced than the PS500. The SR325i has great mids and excells for voices, guitars, violins. But it has the emphasis with the higs that some people find disturbing. The PS500 sounds fuller because the emphasis is there on the midbass. This can sound great foir some recordings but on others it is just annoying for me because it puts the mids back. I also find voices more distant with it. I guess for me it is the midbass emphasis that makes the PS500 less balanced compared to the SR325i.
Out of my Gradessandro headphones, the most balanced is the MS pro  that I have. With the distancers and the G-cushs it also has a superior soundstage compared to the SR325i and the PS500.
Still I listen mostly to the SR325i because they are so engaging or when I use my ipod with the HF1.

 

[Focker]

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Some McIntosh eye candy:

 
Wowza....that is some classy looking gear...

 

[Personnel Jezuz]

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Wood-housed? Aluminum-housed?
 
I'm very curious myself! I am dying to try wood-housed Magnum V4s. I'm tempted to just pull the trigger.
 
Btw, I'm trying out a pair of RS2i! They're great! And the aforementioned link to "In My Life"... it sounds amazing on RS2i! Except for one flaw...the sibilance. Hmm. I wonder if this RS2i isn't burned in enough, or if it just has sharp treble. My SR60i with L-Cush doesn't have quite that issue.
 
Speaking of SR60i... uh yeah, what a value! Honestly, the SR60i with L-Cush pads sounds nearly identical to this $500 RS2i. I'd pin it literally at like 85% the quality of RS2i. That's a great value at $100! That said, I'd probably not buy the RS2i at $500. If I could get a great used priced around $300-350, it'd be worth it to me though. Sounds better than all the Prestige Series models. To me, that 15% sound quality increase is manifest in the increased and oh-so-wonderful soundstage of the RS2i, the better bass extension, the better bass quality, the better defined mids, and the overall superb instrument separation. That's what I notice most, the instrument separation is awesome! I really like this RS2i! But make no doubt, the SR60i with L-Cush pads isn't far behind!

 
Here's a few pics http://www.head-fi.org/t/632999/custom-magnum-v4-sold
Its only my second dip into grado territory after owning some MS1's which I loved. It might even trigger me to make some mod's myself...God help me!
 
Edit: In fact I've got a PA2V2, which was my first head-fi purchase a couple of years back, to hook up to em! Cannot wait

 

[Posam]

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Pictured above, infinite money.

 

[bbophead]

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To my ears neither the SR325i nor the PS500 are very balanced but I find the SR325i more balanced than the PS500. The SR325i has great mids and excells for voices, guitars, violins. But it has the emphasis with the higs that some people find disturbing. The PS500 sounds fuller because the emphasis is there on the midbass. This can sound great foir some recordings but on others it is just annoying for me because it puts the mids back. I also find voices more distant with it. I guess for me it is the midbass emphasis that makes the PS500 less balanced compared to the SR325i.
Out of my Gradessandro headphones, the most balanced is the MS pro  that I have. With the distancers and the G-cushs it also has a superior soundstage compared to the SR325i and the PS500.
Still I listen mostly to the SR325i because they are so engaging or when I use my ipod with the HF1.

+1

 

[bbophead]

Quote:

Quote:

Pictured above, infinite money.

Blingady, bling, bling.

 

[asmoday]

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Some McIntosh eye candy:

 

 WOW, obobskivich, I am pretty much speechless on that 

I bet it sure sounds sweet too!!!!!!!!

 

[talisman42]

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Some McIntosh eye candy:

 
Even the shadow it casts on the wall humbles me.

 

[Focker]

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To my ears neither the SR325i nor the PS500 are very balanced but I find the SR325i more balanced than the PS500. The SR325i has great mids and excells for voices, guitars, violins. But it has the emphasis with the higs that some people find disturbing. The PS500 sounds fuller because the emphasis is there on the midbass. This can sound great foir some recordings but on others it is just annoying for me because it puts the mids back. I also find voices more distant with it. I guess for me it is the midbass emphasis that makes the PS500 less balanced compared to the SR325i.
Out of my Gradessandro headphones, the most balanced is the MS pro  that I have. With the distancers and the G-cushs it also has a superior soundstage compared to the SR325i and the PS500.
Still I listen mostly to the SR325i because they are so engaging or when I use my ipod with the HF1.

 
That's how I would have expected the comparison to play out based on the FR graph, but I guess that's just further evidence that we all hear differently cause I don't hear anything in the mids but awesomeness on the 500s. 

 

[obobskivich]

Before anyone gets nutter ides - I don't own that rack. That's a brochure image I ripped off of the McIntosh website .

I've heard a somewhat similar setup, but sans the MC2kW blocks, and with the next model down pre-amp (instead of their TOTL three-piece, it had the next down single unit (C2300 iirc), but it had the two piece transport (MD-1000/MA-1000 or something like that, and MC601 or 1.2kW blocks (I didn't pay much attention to the amps; they were hooked up to some Faber Guarneri M's, which sounded nice, but it was like $45,000 for the amps and speakers alone, and they didn't sound *that* nice)).

I liked the transport and think their three-piece preamp is a neat idea, but on the other hand five (!!) cabinets just for CD/SACD playback and preamp is kind of nutty imho (in that image, there is only a CD player and preamp, and two power amps - yes, ALL of those boxes and that's all you get there!). But yes it all does look very swank set-up, even next to more expensive kit from Classe, Accuphase, Levinson, etc - something about that all-glass green'n'blue construction just says "oooo."

I've never heard the McIntosh speakers pictured there (I've never even SEEN them outside of McIntosh brochures - I don't even know where one would go about trying to buy them for that matter). I've always thought their speakers are a bit nutty though (I don't like line arrays or screwy alignments, and they do both).

 

[desertblues]

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That's how I would have expected the comparison to play out based on the FR graph, but I guess that's just further evidence that we all hear differently cause I don't hear anything in the mids but awesomeness on the 500s. 

 
+1 here, I've been listening to my 500's and RS1's straight out of an ipod today and with the pod plugged into my tube amp. Amped or not, the SQ is simply amazing (I prefer the tube, but it's a fairly close call). There is nothing lacking in the 500's mids or bass imho!