GRADO PS-1: The Be All & End All Of Grados? A Comparative Review

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shang-Ti Chen Dear Jason, great review. So do you feel that RS-1 is more resolving and has more details than PS-1?

It's hard to say. I find they all do very well with resolving microdetails. I find it easier to follow individual instruments with the HP-1000's because the bass does not cloud the lower mid-range, which I found both the RS-1's and PS-1's can do at times. The HP-1000's have a tighter bass so its much easier to follow the notes down below as well, but the PS-1's with their strong bass, is really able to belt it out and those really deep notes shine through more easily with these phones. The RS-1's have good bass, not as bumped as the PS-1's but sloppier as well, not as clean and tight. That is why I used balanced and accurate to describe the RS-1's vs. the PS-1's. Where the RS-1's have less bass so its seems more balanced for the overall sound, it's ability to properly articulate each note is less than the PS-1's. I attributed this phenomenon to the dampening of the PS-1 drivers and the aluminum cups.

As for the highs, I feel they are all equally as detailed and resolving with the RS-1's providing the illusion of more detail because of its more forward high frequencies. When lisetning I could not detect anything new with RS-1's that was not there with HP-1's or PS-1's and I preferred the more relaxed highs of the PS-1's over the RS-1's.

As for the mids, I would have to say they are all very close. Both the PS-1's and RS-1's providing a warmer presentation than the very neutral and perhaps "cool" sounding HP-1's. Depending on the music, I would switch up the phones. If I can't have my perfect Grado, I wouldn't mind having all three of these phones on hand so I can switch up depending on the music. A luxury and one that is not so astronomically unattainable, as for example, owning multiple speakers to do the same

 

[intlplby]

awesome review...... can tell use all the music you listened to for the review

i am asking because reading this review i think just changed my mind

i was going to buy a pair of RS-1s tomorrow (only reason i didn't buy them today is because they are closed on mondays) but after reading this review i feel compelled to consider a pair of HP-1s instead

better construction, better bass and better soundstage make the HP-1s more appealing

i listen to mainly classic rock, indie rock, classic punk, electronic (house, psytrance etc) and a lot of electrocrash and synthpop

do you all think the HP-1s would be a better choice.... i've auditioned the RS-1s and RS-2s, but i don't have a way to audition these......




(at the very least if i prefer the RS-1s in the end, these will have equal resale value to what i pay)

 

[purk]

Zanth,
Thanks for taking your time and write up this awesome review. I never audition any grado which is higher than the SR-325. If the price of the PS1 is around 800 dollars, I probably will bite. Great review, and again...Thanks.

 

[Zanth]

intlplby:

I used a lot of music but I will name a few specifics:

Jazz:

John Coltrane - Spiritual, A Love Supreme
Chris Potter - Gratitude
Miles Davis - A Kind of Blue, In A Silent Way, Sketches of Spain
Bruce Dunlap - About Home
Jesse Cook - Free Fall

Classical

Bach - too much to say but Fugues, St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, Goldberg Variations, Trio Sonatas, Cello Suites (Ma and Cassels), Complete Violin Sonatas

Beethoven - All symphonies

Part - Complete recordings but especially Fratres on Telarc and Passio and Te Deum

Rutter - Magnificat and Requiem

Rock/Pop

Leonard Cohen - Ten New Songs especially, but a bit of all his albums

Tom Waits - Alice mostly

Radiohead - all of it, especially acoustic Creep, acoustic Fog, Pyramid Song

U2 - all of it, especially the Wonderer, Numb, Hawkmoon 269, One

James - Wah Wah (track 8 especially, VERY deep bass here)

Blink 182 - Blink 182 (some really crazy drum hits and solid hard bass)

Pedro The Lion - all of it

White Stripes - all of it

Underworld - all of it, but especially Cowgirl/Rez

Chemical Brothers - all albums

Paul Van Dyk - all albums


I hope that is enough to give you a feel from where I was coming from.

As for picking between HP-1's and RS-1's...it's a tough call. I for one would not sell the RS-1's to own the HP-1's, but on the flip side, I would not sell the HP-1's for the RS-1's. I like them both for very different reasons. The RS-1's are incredible phones for electronic music and better at it than HP-1's. HP-1's don't do anything to the music they just let it through. I like this with Classical and actually with a lot of rock discs because the recordings are often a bit rough and the forward presentation of the RS-1's can give me too much bite at times.

RS-1's are easier to drive though if an amp is an issue. The RS-1's are more beautiful than HP-1's to me, but yes there is no way the RS-1's match the build of an HP-1. I'm sure you can find a used pair around $700 in the FS forums.

 

[Permonic]

Finally a comparative review of Grado's flagships. Thanks a lot, Zanth. You're on my list of favorite and truthful Head-Fi reviewers.

My question is: which earpads have been used in the tests?

BTW it would be nice if you could make the review of Alessandros, MS Pro and MS-2's.

 

[adhoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth adhoc, I didn't have any Alessandros on hand nor the 325's, though a fellow Head-fier does have a pair and he will be coming by at some point to see me soon, so perhaps he can bring them along and I can do a follow up. Though I have to admit, the 325's are just so forward that I can't listen to them for long periods of time. I could do better comparing with 225's. That said, I did have some SR60's on hand, but that would have just been plain mean to the SR60's. Those little guys are wonderful phones for the price but when comparing to the big boys, it just can't keep up. At least not when they are all well amped. I did write a bit about the comparison between the SR60's and the RS-1's and HP-1000's in my previous review and you could extrapolate the results by comparing the two reviews.

i perfectly understand.

thanks again for the review, zanth. i'll take it upon myself to do a prestige line shootout someday, i promise.

 

[Zanth]

Thanks for the compliment Permonic.

I used the flats for the review specifically. In all fairness if I were to use the bowls on some phones and not on others I would not have felt that the phones would be an as equal a footing as possible.

I can't use bowls for RS-1's. I just can't, not for longer than 10 minutes. Bowls on HP-1's is fine and doesn't make that much of a difference in sound compared with flats and this is similarly true with PS-1's though they fall on the right side of the middle between RS-1's and HP-1's here. I prefered the flats on the PS-1's and this worked for me as I had 3 pairs of flats so each phone was equipped.

I have written my impressions on the various differences between pads for Grados here. You could probably throw PS-1's dead center on my grading scale between RS-1's and HP-1's as I've said, except with bass heavy music, then the PS-1's with bowls get an even lower rating than the RS-1's.

 

[Permonic]

Zanth, thanks for the additional info.

 

[Chinchy]

Sounds like just what I need. I've been eyeing the RS-1's for a while for my Grado collection, but have been waiting to pick them up for a decent price used. The PS-1's have been on the wishlist for a shorter period of time, but with a greater "Desire" index. I've found that at least when I listen to Pop/Rock, my HP-2's seem too laid back and neutral, and I can see how they would pair quite well with Classical music. But the rocking bass is what I've been missing, and the two greatest things of the PS-1s that appeal to me from your review are the slight bass heavy tone and the liquidity.

Now I just have to overcome the psychological $1000 barrier.

 

[braillediver]

Thanks for an Excellent, Detailed review.

2 quotes stand out in my mind:

“The left to right or longitudinal axis is nearly as compressed as the RS-1’s, HP-1’s crushing them in perceived distance between left and right temples.”

This is exactly what I perceived in comparing the HP-2’s to the RS-1’s but was unable to put into words.


“I feel the HP-1000’s have the most solid and tangible bass, palpable if one will.”

“Palpable” that describes the bass of the HP-2’s to me.



If I had the bucks I’d send you a pair of Omega II’s to review so I can use your opinion to help me decide on one last pair of headphones.


Keep up the Great Work.

Thanks Mitch

 

[spwal]

Excellent review as usual zanth! makes me remember all the things i love about grado, and makes me question my possible purchase of yet another pair of etys (for school)...

I love the Ety e4s and owed a pair for a while. I think the "micro detail" is there the same way it is with stax earpeakers, but they just lack that realistic bassweight (so do the stax but thats another story).

So i really like the HP-1 that i had for a short period of time, but for those who dont have the luck of owning or listening to a pair, SR 225 do the trick just fine imo. You lose some of that fine detail, but you get a bass and overall believeable balance that just cant be matched by etys or stax.

Sean

Team Grado, again.

 

[skitlets]

im so lost! to save up for the ps-1, ms pro/rs-1, ms2, or the hp1000

 

[emelius]

excellent review!...

is it strange to lust after your own headphones

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