[GlendaleViper]

Wow, thanks for the great pics! I finally get to see a good angle to compare the depth differences between the RS-2 and RS-1. Looks to be about a centimetre deeper on the RS-1s. Mine are a recent S/N and have the dark wood. It really is just that much nicer.

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, thanks for the great pics! I finally get to see a good angle to compare the depth differences between the RS-2 and RS-1. Looks to be about a centimetre deeper on the RS-1s. Mine are a recent S/N and have the dark wood. It really is just that much nicer.

I'll be getting MS-Pro for home audition tonight. I can take some pictures of RS-2 and MS-Pro side by side so you can see the differences. They're both very light wood though because the MS-Pro's are brand new.

 

[milkpowder]

We need impressions too!

GlendaleViper, beautiful RS-1. I like the fact that the cups are much deeper and the fittings are metal vs plastic! Your headband also looks much nicer

It's only a matter of time before I upgrade

I can't afford to do so for a long time though

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif We need impressions too! GlendaleViper, beautiful RS-1. I like the fact that the cups are much deeper and the fittings are metal vs plastic! Your headband also looks much nicer It's only a matter of time before I upgrade I can't afford to do so for a long time though

Remember that it's not necessary an upgrade.

I'll give you some impressions later but that pair isn't yet even broken in properly.

 

[tonym]

Very, very nice indeed. Always wanted to hear an RS Grado as I'm sure I'm missing out on something!

 

[Rav]

Nice pics

 

[Duggeh]

00o0o0o0oo00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o Woooooo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0000oooooood. XD

Those look pretty damn handsome Jonathan, are you loving the Deep Purple and Focus at the minute then?

 

[milkpowder]

Damn these are incredible headphones. It took me a good 10 hours of listening to get used to the sound, but after that -> pure musical bliss. I guess my ears like change. Must confess my HE60 hasn't been getting much listening time at all.

It's the most refined Grados I've ever heard so IMO far superior to the HF-1 and SR-325i. You must have a good listen after the HE60. It might very well change your opinion of Grados. Maybe not world-class like the O2, H2 or HE60, but definitely top-class headphones. Goodness knows what a nice tube amp will do to it. The upper mids/highs really need to be tamed. I can see myself going deaf listening to these headphones.

I'm currently listening to a Schumann Piano Sonata No.1 played by Evgeny Kissin. For some reason, I actually prefer the RS-2's brighter presentation albeit at the expense of fine microdetail. The RS-2 doesn't really reproduce the ambience of the recording environment. You hear the instruments/performers and that's it. I'd think that the O2 does jazz better simply because of their terrific ambience retrieval (if that's even a term

).

BTW, did you just have an exam? How did it go?

 

[richsto]

Very, very nice (both the cans and violin!). Thanks for sharing.

Rich

 

[Rav]

If you're not liking all the hi frequency, you might try just turning the volume down some ... i find myself listening at lower and lower volumes with my RS1s and not missing out on anything at all. Still get all the music, and less hearing damage

 

[Duggeh]

Glad you're really digging the sound now, I know exactly what you mean about your ears adjusting, I have to do it every time I rig shift between the O2 and the AMT.

Todays exam went, I think, pretty well. Thanks.

 

[Patu]

As promised, I took some pictures of these two. Sorry for the bad quality. They're taken with my crappy pocket camera. Lighting was also bad, it's already late evening here.

Sorry to hijack your thread milkpowder. My photos aren't comparable with yours though.

Side by side:

Another one:

Chambers:

RS-2 closeup (I'm surprised my camera handled this one so well):

Alessandro closeup:

Full size photos: http://www.saunalahti.fi/tuolaaks/Ku...tti/MSPro-RS2/

I will post later about the sound differences. I can say that they sound quite different. Much more than RS-1 vs. RS-2 IIRC.

 

[GlendaleViper]

Milkpowder, one thing you're likely to discover is the low-volume performance of Grados. Indeed, they produce a nice dynamic slam at higher volumes, but fatigue can set in quick. Where they really shine is when you have some time set aside in a quiet environment and listen low. I tend to listen extremely low for about 80% of my home listening, so they've been valuable to me both as a great headphone and as a can that doesn't demand a lot out of my amp's volume pot to get detail and feeling.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patu /img/forum/go_quote.gif snip

*drool* Looking forward to impressions. References to the RS-1 would also help map out my upwards progression (or extinguish such need).

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Milkpowder, one thing you're likely to discover is the low-volume performance of Grados. Indeed, they produce a nice dynamic slam at higher volumes, but fatigue can set in quick. Where they really shine is when you have some time set aside in a quiet environment and listen low. I tend to listen extremely low for about 80% of my home listening, so they've been valuable to me both as a great headphone and as a can that doesn't demand a lot out of my amp's volume pot to get detail and feeling.

Thanks for the recommendation. For certain tracks, I'm forced to turn them down despite not reaching satisfactory bass due to the pretty prominent 2.5kHz peak. Maybe EQ is the way forward

These were my initial impressions from another thread:
Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just received my RS-2 and am loving it. There is one thing that I have to do and that is to use EQ. The 2.5kHz peak is too much for my ears. Without EQ, I can hardly turn the volume up to hear the bass before the upper mid peak becomes too piercing. I am really against EQ because it does have certain inadequacies, but I must use it for the RS-2 otherwise they become unlistenable. Here is the EQ I use for iTunes and rock: This is the EQ for just normal listening: I slightly boost the bass region and lower mids to add some warmth to the otherwise thin sound. The treble is mainly boosted to improve the overall ambience retrieval. 2.5kHz attenuated for good reasons. I don't understand how one can listen to them without attenuating at 2.5kHz. Maybe it's because I'm using them straight out of the Audiophile USB... (incidentally, I don't use EQ with the Baby O) For rock, the RS-2 with a bit of EQ'ing absolutely destroy the HE60. It sounds thinner, more upfront, more lively, has better bass extension and has better bass impact. The HE60 sounds smoother, much more refined, more detailed but nowhere near as thrilling to listen to. It's too tame and too perfect sounding. I'd prefer the HE60 for classical music, but it just doesn't do it for me for rock. I usually don't listen to much rock, but when I do, I listen to Guns 'n Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Darkness, Dire Straits, Coldplay, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Maroon 5, etc... Now that I have the RS-2, I've been given a completely different outlook on rock music and you bet I'll be listening to much more of it I don't recall the SR-325i or even the HF-1 giving me the same pleasure... I wonder how the RS-1 sound. Two thumbs up

 

[Patu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif *drool* Looking forward to impressions. References to the RS-1 would also help map out my upwards progression (or extinguish such need).

Well I must admit that overall I like MS-Pro little bit more now. I don't think they're even completely burned in yet but they do sound amazing already.

RS-2 has slightly less aggressive sound (this was a surprise for me). When compared to MS-Pro it sounds smoother and in long listening it's less fatiguing than MS-Pro. It also has more bass than MS-Pro which in some cases is good thing and in some cases bad. MS-Pro is further away from HD650 sound signature than RS-2 making MS-Pro + HD650 even better complementary pair than RS-2 + HD650.

MS-Pro brings out all the little details on recording. RS-2 is good at this also but MS-Pro is better. MS-Pro has more sparkle in the high end. It also has overall slightly brighter sound and slightly wider soundstage. I'd also say that MS-Pro has more upfront sound.

The difference is similar when going from HF-1 to RS-2 and when going from RS-2 to MS-Pro. It's not as clear between RS-2 and MS-Pro but very similar.

Overall I'd say that RS-2 has mellower, smoother and slightly heavier sound when MS-Pro brings some excitement, sparkle and more details in the sound. They're both awesome headphones.