[hfhimeka]

Recently upgraded to a pair of PS500's after having used the SR-60s for several years.
 
The choice between the RS1i and the PS500 was quite hard!  Both headphones exhibit different sound signatures, but in the end I thought the RS1i was a bit too shrilly to listen to for extensive periods of time.  Other than that, both headphones have great sound stage and I am rather impressed with the airiness of the vocals from the PS500.

 

[bbophead]

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Fellow Grado Fans: if you get a chance to demo the Woo Audio WA7 amp/dac with your high end Grados, check it out. I have had one since May and have listened to nothing else since it arrived. I'm using RS1, PS500 and Q701 phones. I was really reluctant to invest $1000 but wanted to upgrade, and now I can't believe they can sell this one for that price! It is basically a handmade (USA) hybrid tube amp with a really good built in 32 bit dac and separate power supply (also high quality). Build quality is off the charts amazing-ditto the SQ. There are several threads on head-fi devoted to the WA7. My setup: iMac>hi-rez files>Pure Music>WA7. It can drive just about anything. Sorry about the grainy photo:

 
That WA7 looks amazing, I have always liked the way Woo Audio equipment looks.  I'm seriously thinking of buying a WA6 on looks alone.  lol

Seems like I bought my WA6 almost two years ago.  I have NEVER regretted it.  The build is incredible, the look impressive and the sound marvelous.  I don't see me ever getting rid of it, it's just too fine a piece of kit.
 
 

 
 

 

[wje]

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Recently upgraded to a pair of PS500's after having used the SR-60s for several years.
 
The choice between the RS1i and the PS500 was quite hard!  Both headphones exhibit different sound signatures, but in the end I thought the RS1i was a bit too shrilly to listen to for extensive periods of time.  Other than that, both headphones have great sound stage and I am rather impressed with the airiness of the vocals from the PS500.

 
Did you have a chance to audition the HF-2 in between the PS500 and the RS-1i?  I guess it would be interesting to see how that model falls, as you can often find them here on the forum for +/- $400.   I've owned them a few times, but never along with another pair of Grados in order to make an objective comparison.  I did though have a pair of Magnums (v.4?) drivers installed in wooden cups.  To me, I liked the Magnum / Grado signature a bit more.  However, that's really an apples vs. oranges discussion when getting into custom headphones.  Again ... back to the PS500 and RS-1i.

 

[desertblues]

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Seems like I bought my WA6 almost two years ago.  I have NEVER regretted it.  The build is incredible, the look impressive and the sound marvelous.  I don't see me ever getting rid of it, it's just too fine a piece of kit.
 
 

 
 

 
I had never heard of Woo Audio before I discovered these forums, and wondered what all the fuss was about. I have another tube amp which I really like - but I have to say I love the WA7. The quality and value for the money is exemplary. This is one of those rare times when I feel like I got a steal on high-end audio equipment.

 

[hfhimeka]

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Did you have a chance to audition the HF-2 in between the PS500 and the RS-1i?  I guess it would be interesting to see how that model falls, as you can often find them here on the forum for +/- $400.   I've owned them a few times, but never along with another pair of Grados in order to make an objective comparison.  I did though have a pair of Magnums (v.4?) drivers installed in wooden cups.  To me, I liked the Magnum / Grado signature a bit more.  However, that's really an apples vs. oranges discussion when getting into custom headphones.  Again ... back to the PS500 and RS-1i.

Unfortunately, I did not.  I was only able to test drive the PS500 / RS1i since half of the audio stores in Tokyo have sellable headphones all out on display for you to listen to your heart's content.  That being said, I agree with a comment I read previously that these two headphones are more complementary and would be nice to own both!
 
I, too, would be interested in how the HF-2 sounds vs the PS500.  The PS500's pitch on vocals is noticeably lower than that of the RS1i.

 

[jaywillin]

y'all should check out this article by michael mercer!
we may not be able to change the world,well maybe we can, but that's not why we are all here !
what we are here for is the music, and how we listen to it, and we CAN do something about the
hi end audio/personal audio scene
 http://thehighfidelityreport.com/occupy/

 

[jaywillin]

the little dot and the meridian have found a new home, they are going to another ps500, thanks brokenthumb !
 

 

[Focker]

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Yeah, i'm here buddy, to be honest i'm not surprised that the GS1000i are starting to grow on you, that says to me that even though you love your PS500, you kept an open mind regarding the GS1Ki, and gave them a fair shake.
 
Aside from the SR125i, the GS1Ki are probably the least popular Grado model, i guess people go staight to the PS1K, it wasn't my case, since i bought mine GS1K in 2006. When the ''i'' model came out, i compared them to mine, and the only thing i preffered on the old one was that they had a wider soundstage, and since i like to listen to concerts on DVD, i decided to hang on to them.
 
It's too bad that they're always seem to be in the shadow of the RS1i and PS1000, because i think that they offer a pretty good price vs performance ratio, and you are right Focker, when you say that they benifit quite a bit when they're paired with good upstream equipement.
 
And last but not least, i think that the GS1Ki are THE most comfortable Grado headphones, wich makes them ideal for long listening sessions.
 
As the phrase says in one of George Lucas's Indiana Jones movies, ''you have chosen wisely''.

There you are!
 
Honestly, I've always preferred the L-cush, but the G cush are really growing on me...I feel like I'm having a bit of a renaissance with these phones right now lol. They definitely are incredibly comfortable considering how light they are along with the bagels...I think I really just never gave them enough in terms of quality gear to allow them to sound their best.  I knew they were showing signs that they wanted better gear, but I just kept thinking "they're Grados...they can do without" lol. But maybe these are like the PS1ks in that respect and they really do need a quality source and amp in order to get the most out of them.  There's just so little info about them anywhere on head-fi that I didn't even think these would be that "needy". 
 
I have to say, I'm pretty excited....I feel like I've discovered a a lost treasure or something lol...

 

[brokenthumb]

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the little dot and the meridian have found a new home, they are going to another ps500, thanks brokenthumb !
 

 
Very excited to finally hear the Little Dot Hybrid and Meridian Explorer with both the PS500 and SR80i's!  Should be a nice step up over a e7/e9 combo I use for pc listening now.

 

[myears]

Cool, I'm thinking of getting a little dot I+ soon. What would be more appropriate for grados, stock, EF92 or WE408A?

 

[Focker]

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Cool, I'm thinking of getting a little dot I+ soon. What would be more appropriate for grados, stock, EF92 or WE408A?

 
Either of the last two. I didnt' spend a lot of time with the stock tubes, but it was a clear upgrade when I replaced them with some Telefunkens. 

 

[jaywillin]

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Cool, I'm thinking of getting a little dot I+ soon. What would be more appropriate for grados, stock, EF92 or WE408A?

my favorite tube was the mullard 6am6 which is ef91/92 setting
or the rca 5915 which is a heptode, using the ef95 setting
now with the ps500, i liked the erricson 408a, it tightened up the bass
 
when i bought the amp , it arrived with the siemens 6ak5
i never did get the we408's , they are supposed to be good
check out the little dot tube rolling thread, lost of good info
and nice folks too

 

[jaywillin]

ok, my stuff that i was selling has sold ,(except the msii+) and i'm wanting to upgrade from the msii+, $300-$500 budget,
my list of possible's :  bifrost , micromega mydac, peachtree dac it,
what are y'all using thats a step up from the "dragonfly neighborhood"
 
oh, and has anyone heard the halide ??

 

[wje]

How can I catch these buyers of the other models so they can see that I have a GS1000 available for about the price of a new RS-1i?  The GS1000 is complete - original box with hand-written serial # by Grado, original Grado headphone extension, original Grado 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter along with the G-cush pads.  Also, I'll be getting the new variants of the G-Cush and L-Cush from EarZonk that will be included ... along with shipping, too.  Whew!

 

[jaywillin]

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How can I catch these buyers of the other models so they can see that I have a GS1000 available for about the price of a new RS-1i?  The GS1000 is complete - original box with hand-written serial # by Grado, original Grado headphone extension, original Grado 1/4" to 3.5mm adapter along with the G-cush pads.  Also, I'll be getting the new variants of the G-Cush and L-Cush from EarZonk that will be included ... along with shipping, too.  Whew!

the ear zonks work, but they do not work as well as the originals, i tried both the L and G cushes
the L , i gave away, the g's are sitting here, i'll probably give those away too
i will say between the two, the L is closer to the real thing than the G