[stacker45]

Quote:

PS500's
What i liked:
The soundstage was more opened up compared to my 225i's but still remained intimate.. and thats what i want these for
I felt the bass had a little bit too much emphasis, i liked it still, but would really prefer a tad less. it came across as not bloated or muddy, but rather that more dominant than im used to with a Grado.
I liked the mids. Vocals moved me with some songs. guitars seemed aggressive, but a bit tamed (they hit me in the face, but knew when to?)
id have preferred a tiny tiny boost in treble energy, but again i liked it.
Generally i loved the ps500, there were minor faults (what headphone doesnt have them) but i was wondering if the RS2i does what the PS500 doesnt.
 
GS1000i:
I'm really sorry, its been a while since i heard it and don't feel confident commenting on its sound,
 
Since you have heard every grado, could you also highlight the main differences between RS2i and RS1i please?
 
Thanks.

 
Keep in mind that altough i have heard both, i do not own either of them, so i'm going on memory alone here. but in my opinion, compared to thr RS2is, the RS1is have deeper bass, altough not PS500s deep, a slightly wider soundstage and a bit more treble extension. and, in case you're wondering, i believe that the $200 price difference is justified in this case.
 
Hope this helps.

 

[agoston.berko]

Why is that if I'm listen to Grado/Alessandro headphones I say WOW that's M-U-S-I-C !!!!!!! 
 
BUT (big BUT) if I listen to BeyerT1, SennHD800, AKG 501 - 701, Ultrasone Edition 10, ESW9, Etymotic 4S, Senn IE 80/IE 8  -> or anything else I GET BORED ->I mean WHERE IS THE MUSICALITY GONE ???
even my iGrado sounds more musical compared to Ultrasone 10 or T1 - I mean COME ON !
 
David Mahler I don't understand your "ears" and your TOP 57 LIST.
 
The only headphone I would say it's okay was Audio Technica W1000x - but it was not much better compared to iGrado.
...and I know that I should try out some STAX headphones too in the future - but pricing are ridiculous
 
every Grado sounds brilliant and every other manufacture makes very plastik'y sound. why ? my ears are healthy and I don't work for Grado.
 
akg makes fake surround sound since years. WHY?
senn make the music sound as far sounding as possible. WHY?
ultrasone makes muddy sound. WHY?
beyerdynamic makes music so lifeless. WHY?
 
If Grado would be in Europe I would not complain about this situation, but I just really wanted to share my opinion about today's headphone-industry.
Please don't say "maybe not suitable amping used" or "cables" or "different ear's"  - because I'm fed up with these answers...
the only logical reason that other "headphones" are justified nowadays are the differences between genres.
 
BUT real instrument music genres like jazz, classical, blues are much more realistic on Grados compared to other manufactures.
maybe disco music and todays pop music (big part) sounds best on fake headphones because the music today is focused on weird sounds which Grado can't handle.
 
I already owned several headphones and listened to others too, but I always conclude that Joe Grado and his company are waaaaay ahead of others.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

I disagree.  Grados are singularly well-damped.  (See some of purrin's graphs and reports on Grado decay.)  Connecting them to the current-FOTM super-low-output-impedance amplifers causes them to over-damp, resulting in the harshness and tizziness that many people cite for their dislike of Grados.  The reason Grados do well with many tube amps is not necessarily the "warmth of tubes," but that the output impedance is quite a bit higher than your run-of-the-mill low-output-impedance SS amp.  Grados do quite well on 15 ohm output impedance and higher.
 
This gets complicated to a certain extent because the low impedance of Grados causes fall-off with OTL amps as lowering the bass cut-off point results in extremely large and super-expensive output capacitors (which means shortcuts/cheaper alternatives are often used). Hybrids experience this fault, too, because many of their output buffers still require blocking caps and unless sized large enough, cause bass roll-off or phase distortion in low frequency response.
 
Bottom line, for the best sound with Grados - finding the right amplification is not necessarily so simple. 

 
Well... you should know... since you build some of the best (e.g.  Millett Hybrid MiniMax, etc.).  
 
And... I find Grados do match with some amps suprisingly well (e.g. some CMoys), while not so well with others (OTL tube amps, I've tried with them). I've found they mate very well with my WA6 SEm (TC tube amp), and of course my Soloist (SS amp), as well as my MiniMax (hybrid amp).  I find that with the right matching they don't have strident highs, or uncontrolled base, or small soundstage.  They seem to do better with high current output amps, and not so well with high voltage output amps - and in my instances, with low output impedence amps.
 
And... one of the best matches I've found with Grados and Denons has been the MF X-CAN v8 (hybrid) - a perfect match.  Less so with the X-CAN v3 (hybrid).  But, of course the X-CAN v8 didn't mate well with my Senns, while the X-CAN v3 did.  There must have been a dramatic design change between the two.
 
But... it is not especially easy to match Grados to an amp.  I think they get that reputation, because they're fairly efficient, and can be more easily driven... but... not necessarily with the best sound quality.  

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Why is that if I'm listen to Grado/Alessandro headphones I say WOW that's M-U-S-I-C !!!!!!! 
 
BUT (big BUT) if I listen to BeyerT1, SennHD800, AKG 501 - 701, Ultrasone Edition 10, ESW9, Etymotic 4S, Senn IE 80/IE 8  -> or anything else I GET BORED ->I mean WHERE IS THE MUSICALITY GONE ???
even my iGrado sounds more musical compared to Ultrasone 10 or T1 - I mean COME ON !
 
David Mahler I don't understand your "ears" and your TOP 57 LIST.
 
The only headphone I would say it's okay was Audio Technica W1000x - but it was not much better compared to iGrado.
...and I know that I should try out some STAX headphones too in the future - but pricing are ridiculous
 
every Grado sounds brilliant and every other manufacture makes very plastik'y sound. why ? my ears are healthy and I don't work for Grado.
 
akg makes fake surround sound since years. WHY?
senn make the music sound as far sounding as possible. WHY?
ultrasone makes muddy sound. WHY?
beyerdynamic makes music so lifeless. WHY?
 
If Grado would be in Europe I would not complain about this situation, but I just really wanted to share my opinion about today's headphone-industry.
Please don't say maybe not suitable amping or cables or "different ear's"  - I'm fed up with these answers...
the only logical reason that other "headphones" are justified nowadays are a few differences between genres.
 
BUT real instrument music genres like jazz, classical, blues are much more realistic on Grados compared to other manufactures.
maybe disco music and todays pop music (big part) sounds best on fake headphones because the music today is focused on weird sounds which Grado can't handle.
 
I already owned several headphones and listened to others too, but I always conclude that Joe Grado and his company are waaaaay ahead of others.

Musicality? Sorry, when listening to Grado's one is listening to John Grado's idea of that. They are far from being transparent headphones. I rather look to the music for "musicality" and look to headphones/amps/dacs for transparency to that music.  

 
Many dig the Grado sound and I'm a big fan too. I've owned all of them from the SR-60s to the RS1s (and I've owned the RS1s twice for that matter). But they are very coloured and thus limited with certain genres of music IMO.
 
So no reason to not understand David's ears. They're just fine IMO.

 

[joseph69]

Can anybody give me some input on how a Bellari HA540 will match with the Grado SR325is? Thank you.

 

[agoston.berko]

Most part of the Grado-"coloration" is stem from the extraordinary tranducer finess produced by Joe.
It has nothing to do with unrealistic sound reproduction.
 
Other manufactures can only dream of that transparency. Sorry, but this was my observation.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Most part of the Grado-"coloration" is stem from the extraordinary tranducer finess produced by Joe.
Other manufactures can only dream of that transparency. Sorry, but this was my observation.

Really, so the poor deep bass response, AWOL sound staging and overly bright to piercing treble is due to "extraordinary transducer fitness"? Have you heard a Joe Grado headphone? They are quite different.

 

[agoston.berko]

that's what I'm talking about. You want more bass... this in an unrealistic pretension.
just listen to Alessandro MS Pro and any symphony. It is as realistic as it can be.
no piercing treble 
and bass is there, not missing. you should try.

 

[MacedonianHero]

that's what I'm talking about. You want more bass... this in an unrealistic pretension.
just listen to Alessandro MS Pro and any symphony. It is as realistic as is can be.
no piercing treble 
and bass is there, not missing. you should try.

Real bass doesn't roll off at 90Hz. And the Alesandros do have less treble energy, but still way more than what is on the recording. And you have no idea about how much bass I want or think is natural.

 

[agoston.berko]

there are far more important factors in sound reproduction before sub-90Hz volumes.
just listen to a piano or listen to a gitar or a violin, after that you will understand what I mean about musicality.
 
 

Instrument	Frequency range Hz
Piano (concert)	27.50 - 4,186.00
Bass Tuba	43.65 - 349.23
Double Bass	41.20 - 246.94
Cello	65.41 - 987.77
Viola	130.81 -1,174.00
Violin	196.00 - 3,136.00
Clarinet	164.81 - 1,567.00
Flute	261.63 - 3,349.30
French horn	110.00 - 880.00
Trombone	82.41 - 493.88
Trumpet	164.81 - 987.77
Guitar	82.41 - 880.00

 
 
Human voice

Type of voice	Frequency range Hz
Bass	87.31 - 349.23
Baritone	98.00 - 392.00
Tenor	130 - 493.88
Contralto	130.81 - 698.46
Soprano	246.94 - 1,174.70

 
only the first 4 instruments are in the sub90hz territory.

 

[agoston.berko]

the meaning of timbre is not far away from transparent. both are under category: realistic reproduction.
so if you like the timbre it also means that the transparency will be good.

 

[rgs9200m]

Quote:

Grados have their strengths. The RS1s have some of the best timbre out there. But that said, transparent and true to the recording they ain't.

For some reason I have a special love for my Grados even though I have 009s, TH900s, Audezes, and others, and I couldn't put my finger on why, but I finally noticed that
after listening to all the other headphones that seem to send a direct pure close music message right into my brain, I wanted something a little more distant, open, and refreshing
that could allow me to keep listening for a longer period, and only the Grados could hit the spot, like a breath of fresh air. I even started a new thread about this because
I felt it set Grados apart from all other phones in this respect and wanted to find out if others agreed.
It's a bit like switching to speakers when I put on my Grados.
(I have GS1000is .)

 

[MacedonianHero]

the meaning of timbre is not far away from transparent. both are under category: realistic reproduction.
so if you like the timbre it also means that the transparency will be good.

Not really. There is just too much coloration going on to be even remotely considered "transparent".

 

[MacedonianHero]

For some reason I have a special love for my Grados even though I have 009s, TH900s, Audezes, and others, and I couldn't put my finger on why, but I finally noticed that
after listening to all the other headphones that seem to send a direct pure close music message right into my brain, I wanted something a little more distant and refreshing
that could allow me to keep listening for a longer period, and only the Grados could hit the spot, like breath of fresh air. I even started a new thread about this because
I felt it set Grados apart from all other phones in this respect and wanted to find out if others agreed.
(I have GS1000is .)

And that's where Grados can fit in. Agreed. I have been toying with the idea of a third pair of RS1s.

 

[agoston.berko]

Quote:

For some reason I have a special love for my Grados even though I have 009s, TH900s, Audezes, and others, and I couldn't put my finger on why, but I finally noticed that
after listening to all the other headphones that seem to send a direct pure close music message right into my brain, I wanted something a little more distant and refreshing
that could allow me to keep listening for a longer period, and only the Grados could hit the spot, like breath of fresh air. I even started a new thread about this because
I felt it set Grados apart from all other phones in this respect and wanted to find out if others agreed.
(I have GS1000is .)

 
...like breath of fresh air
GRADO's are amazing. Lucky people You are US-nation.