In my experience:
flats = most bass, least treble, least soundstage
bowls = middle amount of bass, middle amount of treble, middle amount of soundstage
salad bowls (g-cush)= least bass, most treble, most soundstage
Best with flats: All of the joe grado and all of the original john grado models (pre-gs-1000 time frame) work best with the original joe grado flat pads (which you can get from TTVJ for like 30 bucks). They add more bass, help with the hot treble, maintain the airiness of the grado house sound. The original joe and john grades were a little light with the bass, so these are a given.
The sr-60i up to the rs-2i still sound best with the flat pad. Ms-2i is a toss up.
Best with Bowls: The rs-1, msr-pro, ps-500 , hf-2 all sound best with the original default bowls. These four models have an increase in bass from the models under it, and no longer benefit from the driver being closer. The Bowl adds a bit of soundstage, and typically people will not mind the hotter treble that the bowls tend to add.
Best with Salad bowls: The gs-1000 and the ps-1000 both sound best with the large G-cush bowls. This is because of the increase in bass, but also because the drivers have been tweaked for the bigger soundstage. The ps-1000 sounds too bass bloated with anything smaller, the gs-1000's musicality is lost with anything less spacious.
flats = most bass, least treble, least soundstage
bowls = middle amount of bass, middle amount of treble, middle amount of soundstage
salad bowls (g-cush)= least bass, most treble, most soundstage
Best with flats: All of the joe grado and all of the original john grado models (pre-gs-1000 time frame) work best with the original joe grado flat pads (which you can get from TTVJ for like 30 bucks). They add more bass, help with the hot treble, maintain the airiness of the grado house sound. The original joe and john grades were a little light with the bass, so these are a given.
The sr-60i up to the rs-2i still sound best with the flat pad. Ms-2i is a toss up.
Best with Bowls: The rs-1, msr-pro, ps-500 , hf-2 all sound best with the original default bowls. These four models have an increase in bass from the models under it, and no longer benefit from the driver being closer. The Bowl adds a bit of soundstage, and typically people will not mind the hotter treble that the bowls tend to add.
Best with Salad bowls: The gs-1000 and the ps-1000 both sound best with the large G-cush bowls. This is because of the increase in bass, but also because the drivers have been tweaked for the bigger soundstage. The ps-1000 sounds too bass bloated with anything smaller, the gs-1000's musicality is lost with anything less spacious.
