[alitomr]

If it is for jazz then you MUST buy the HD650. I cant describe how the piano of Michel Camilo sounds in every song of his album TRIANGULO. The bass and the cymbals are just heavenly. As ive said many times I know the time will come when I will get them back just to listen to jazz, where the veil cant be heard :s.

You really have to try them. They are awesome for classical too. I have several CDs that I just dont listen to because they sound way too congested with the HD555 but they came to life when i listened to them through my recdeiver and the HD650. The wweight and separation of the sound left me in awe.

It's really hard to believe sound for those genres can get better for less than 300USD. I must say all this was with an "underamped" HD650 used with the headstage Lyrix and my old panasonic receiver.

 

[wae5]

I listen almost exclusively to audiophile classical discs and, thanks to profound personal weakness, own an embarrassing number of excellent classical phones (Stax Lambda Pro, Stax SR-003, HT880, AD700, HD600, K701, K501 with 701 pads, PK1, MDR-F1, ETY-4P, MS1) and have 2 excellent desktop amps, the LD MKIV SE (tubes) and the LD MKV (SS). The phone I like the most for classical music is the SR325i. It lacks the 5th, 10th or 25th row perspective and doesn’t array the instruments before me in a 3D soundstage like some of the phones on my list do. But when I listen to classical music the last thing I want is the apollonian perspective of the music critic sitting in the 25th row. I want to be immersed in the music! Swept away by the music! Ravished by the music! and the Grado SR325i does this like no other phone on my list. The Grado SR325i is the summit of that long slog through the SR series and some call it the most Grado like of all Grado phones. I haven’t listened to woodied Grados but I’ve read they're more reserved and Sennheiser like than any other Grado. But since I already own the HD600, I'm unwilling to spend $700 to find out if the RS1 is a Sennheiser wannabe. I recommend spending $500 for two excellent classical music phones: Either the HD600 or HT880 for that objective, music critic in you and the SR325i for those moments when you feel compelled to rip off your clothes and be ravished by the likes of the Right of Spring.

 

[F107plus5]

I'm really happy with the way the HD600 and the MS2i compliment each other.

 

[wae5]

And they complement each other too!

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nor_spoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just thought it was a very bold statement to generalize all Grado as electronical sounding. In my ears, the RS-1's does not sound "electronical". I really do not know what he means by that, but when I think of electronical, it is artificial, sort of "digitalized" sounding if you get what I mean. That is definetely not the first thing that comes to mind. RS-1's are colored, yes, but I think they have a natural, organic sound to them, and a nice "sweetness" caused by the beautiful midrange. If I have to choose, I would say the HD650 sounds more "electronical" than the RS-1's, but this is me and my ears speaking. Both are excellent cans IMO. I am not sure of the RS-1's capability with classical music though. I do not listen to the genre, but their soundstage is not very large, and I reckon things can become a bit "crowdy". It has been reported that the GS1000 is very good for that. I have not listened to them yet. And, after all, it all comes down to the rest of the audio chain. The best thing is to audition them for yourself, and listen to each brands sound signature.

As I said, I correctly assumed that he was looking at a lower end one, not the RS1 level. The Sr60-Sr225 are all like that to my ears. The GS1000 isn't but I correctly assumed that he wasn't looking there.

 

[nor_spoon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goit /img/forum/go_quote.gif As I said, I correctly assumed that he was looking at a lower end one, not the RS1 level. The Sr60-Sr225 are all like that to my ears. The GS1000 isn't but I correctly assumed that he wasn't looking there.

Well, he did not say what pricerange he was looking at in his first post, only asking about Grado's in general, so I correctly lol'ed at your statement...

 

[jmht]

The problem about classical is that there's hundreds of cds of the same piece...unlike modern pieces with mostly 1 definitive artist and style of performance, there's a huge variation on pacing, location of the recording, as well as which orchestra is playing creating a huge variation of sounds one the same song/piece.

The danger of getting headphones without trying them is that they all color the sound slightly differently, and so the thing you might like the best about YOUR recording might not be compatible with the headphone's strengths.

I have only heard grados in head-fi meets and unfortunately I've been too abashed to pop in some classical to listen on them. But my impression was that higher frequencies were more up front creating a "in front of the singer" feel. I think it could work pretty well on pieces with few instruments, but it could be pretty detrimental to the sound of a full bodied orchestra when the whole orchestra comes into unison onto the main theme...it could cause some balancing issues there which...once again...will vary to what your tastes are.

Personally, I love a little darkness and bass in my Beethoven symphonies and so Senns are just awesome.

 

[manofmathematics]

I very much preferred the HD600 for classical. For Jazz, I recommend the HD650 or RS-1. The RS-2 was pretty decent with Jazz. Lower model Grado's, I pretty much stuck with rock.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I occasionally use the RS-1 for classical... depends on my mood whether they "work" for me or not.

My favorites for classical are the AKG K-501, the Sennheiser HD-600, and the Beyerdynamic DT880 and DT48. All are in production except for the K-501, but they turn up regularly.

 

[wae5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmht /img/forum/go_quote.gif The problem about classical is that there's hundreds of cds of the same piece...unlike modern pieces with mostly 1 definitive artist and style of performance, there's a huge variation on pacing, location of the recording, as well as which orchestra is playing creating a huge variation of sounds one the same song/piece.

For those of us who love classical music, 100's of recordings of the same peice is not a problem because it increases our chances of finding artists we love performing specific works and if you love a specific piece you can get many different performances of that work. It's not that unusual to find a classical music listener who owns almost every performance of something they love.

 

[nc8000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wae5 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's not that unusual to find a classical music listener who owns almost every performance of something they love.

Now that is the truth and causes untold grief with the wife as the rows of cd's take over more and more of the living room storage units

 

[jmht]

No...it's true. I have at least 6-10 cds of my favorite pieces.

However, there's 1 distinct one that I love...and for the most part, it's usually not the same one that my friends like.

Hence the problems with matching headphones et all for other people's classical tastes. The sound we all want may not be the same....unlike a lot of modern music, there isn't one "definitive" version.

 

[milkpowder]

The RS-1 and RS-2 are closer to the Sennheiser sound than the SR-325i, but that's about it. All three do not have the Sennheiser sound and are far from it. There have already been descriptions made by posters before me so I won't reiterate them.

Whether Grado headphones are suitable for classical depends on genre and recording. I find that most Grado headphones I've listened to (SR-60, SR-80, SR-225, SR-325i, HF-1, RS-2, RS-1) have a pronounced upper midrange. Depending on the sonics of a recording, this may be either slightly unnatural or very unnatural. Whether this will be acceptable is totally subjective.

I, for one, enjoy listening to solo violin on a pair of RS-2 or RS-1 because they are able to replicate the bowhair-on-string grittiness. Sure, it is a bit on the bright side but I still find it very enjoyable. The higher end you go, the better the timbre will be replicated due to the greater definition/detail. The decay is also relatively short which makes for a lively, airy violin sound - something which I absolutely love when listening to a brisk recording of Ernst's Variations on the Last Rose of Summer or Paganini's 1st Caprice.

Small chamber music seems to work well as I tend to prefer listening to chamber music in a more intimate setting. Grados have pretty good imaging overall and can definitely sound intimate. The soundstage of the lesser Grados will be flatter and more one-dimensional compared to higher end ones.

Piano music is a hit or miss depending entirely on the sonics of the recording. Some recordings take on a more mellow tone quality and the Grado's brilliance(/brightness) really works well here. However, most recordings tend to be less mellow and they will inevitably sound a bit too bright and/or appear to lack weight and substance in the lower registers.

What I don't find enjoyable on Grado headphones are large symphonic, operatic, or any other works involving numerous performers on a big stage. The soundstage is still well layered on the higher end Grados, but it is still a bit too forward and compressed for my tastes. The lower midrange is also a tad too thin and lacks the weightiness & warmth to convincingly reproduce the rich lower registers of an organ or symphony orchestra.

 

[Goit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nor_spoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, he did not say what pricerange he was looking at in his first post, only asking about Grado's in general, so I correctly lol'ed at your statement...

 

[vcoheda]

jazz sure. classical, not really.