Grado PS-1000 initial impressions
Sep 25, 2009 at 9:14 PM Post #272 of 318
Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhett_Butler /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Nono Wolf you misunderstand, the grilles are fully ventilated, it's the circular outermost edge of the rims I'm talking about. The flat surface is encircled by rubberbands.


Duh! Mine didn't come with the rubber bands... In that case I would let them on the rims.
 
Sep 26, 2009 at 11:31 AM Post #273 of 318
I can't even remember if mine came with rubber bands. Can you take a photo? If mine did, I must've taken them off when I got them (I've been out of town the last couple of weeks so can't recall - get home today for more play time with them).

Just curious all. What do you think the PS1000 should really cost (taking into account that parts and materials are probably worth less than ...!- though of course that's not what we paid for)?
 
Sep 27, 2009 at 7:20 AM Post #274 of 318
i think this is funny actually. maybe the reason they are falling apart is because they are held together with rubberbands? lol. kidding. still, grado needs to learn something about qc and cs!

music_man
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:01 AM Post #275 of 318
After many many months of waiting and unable to cancel my pre-order, I've finally received the PS1000. Mine also came with the brown rubber band around the cup and it's in matte finish. I find the finish a bit odd. I see there's tiny marks and dings all over the metal cup. I was expecting the finish to be smooth and the finish looks nothing like the one cwilson owns. Take a look.

ImageShack -













 
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:25 AM Post #276 of 318
@tamahome77

Yeah, I see what you mean, looks odd indeed, their check service sucking big time.
Well, beside all that, anything about the sound sig?

THX
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:51 AM Post #277 of 318
I've only listened to it for an hour and half so far and had to take a rest. They're the most heaviest headphone I've ever put on and also the most uncomfortable Grado fit-wise. I find putting the headphone on in reverse gives me less pressure on top of my head.

The sound is away from the colored RS1 and approaching towards the neutrel sound sig of the metal cup Grado's. The sound sig is a mix of the woodies and the metal cup Grados but more towards the metal cup. Out of the box, the PS1000 sounds thin compared to my AT's and my HP2, where it has more weight. There's a nice tonality and a nice low to mid bass bump to the sound. The soundstage and airiness kind of reminds me of the JVCDX1000 but without the color. The bass quality and quantity is adequate but does not extend as low as the O2 or the L3000. The bass is snappy and quick. Speed is not as fast as the O2 but I feel it's just as fast as the L3000. Bass impact is adequate but not as hard hitting as the L3000 or O2. Bass impact is about the same as the DX1000. The mids are less forward than the RS1 but about the same as the HP2. The highs extend much farther than RS1/HP2 and is much more revealing/accurate but not as much as the K1000/O2. Actually, out of the box, the PS1000 is too bright and sibilant. Hopefully with some time playing, the hot treble and sibilance will tone down.

I've tried them with all my amps and I find the most suitable amp so far is the MAD Ear+ with stock tube since it tones down the brightness by a bit. I'm not much of a tube roller so I cannot compare the stock with others.
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 11:04 AM Post #278 of 318
Quote:

Originally Posted by tamahome77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
After many many months of waiting and unable to cancel my pre-order, I've finally received the PS1000. Mine also came with the brown rubber band around the cup and it's in matte finish. I find the finish a bit odd. I see there's tiny marks and dings all over the metal cup. I was expecting the finish to be smooth and the finish looks nothing like the one cwilson owns. Take a look.





Look should be the last thing to look at for an headphone, but there's no doubt I wouldn't be happy at all to get such a visually "un-refined" product considering how much it costs (we're speaking about 1700$, no other dynamic phones currently in production do reach such prices). One can argue that sound is what Grado focused on, but frankly with such prices I doubt there really wasn't any room for some improvements in the look department. I seem to remember Headroom is not accepting returns due to cosmetical issues (I guess following Grado's requests) because this finish actually makes every model "unique". I'm sorry, but this is not acceptable for me for a product in this price class. One not knowing the issue would conclude your photos are of a 10years-heavily-used headphone, not of a new product.
Your listening comments don't make me eager to get them either (forgetting for a minute Grado's silly price policy out of USA)...I'm very picky about sibilance, harshness and aggressiveness, my GS1000 is really bad on this when the orchestra grow in size (on chamber or solo music I've to admit the GS1000 is great, or it would be great if mine would still work correctly); looking at your comments it doesn't seem the PS1000 is taking care of this much better than the GS1000...hope for you that some burn-in will help.
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 11:25 AM Post #279 of 318
I've had the PS1000's fr a while now and to be honest I think I prefer the PS1,lighter to wear and warmer sounding
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 4:57 PM Post #280 of 318
My personnal experience fit with Tamahome77. Out of the box the highs were a bit too hot and the bass more prominent. But with burn-in the highs and bass calm down a little, with less sibilance and the mids seems more refined.

They are getting better that's for sure but they're still not perfect. The bass is not as punchy as I would have liked. But they are a lot more better than my RS-1. They are clearly a league above for neutrality, headstaging and refinement.

To date, I have more fun listening to the PS-1000 with my Hybrid (SOHA II) than my B22.
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 5:39 PM Post #281 of 318
Does anyone here prefer GS over the PS1000?
 
Oct 6, 2009 at 7:30 PM Post #282 of 318
I've only had a very brief encounter with the GS1000 non-i edition and that was a long time ago. Fit wise, the GS1000 is way more comfortable to wear. Like others have indicated, the PS1000 is a more refined GS1000. Despite the weight differences, I prefer them over the GS1000 if $$ was not a deciding factor. Someone mentioned that the PS1000, out of the box, sounds like a PS325. I would have to agree that they have some similarities in the sound.
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If the brightness would just tone down a bit and the weight of the headphone more evenly distributed across the head, it would be more pleasurable.
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I must say that I don't care much for the un-refined outer appearance even though I've paid full US MSRP + tax for them. I do think it would be a nice gesture to the customers if Grado would improve on their QC though, especially for a flagship headphone. That aside, as long as the sound suits my personal taste and the drivers don't break down after several months of use, then I'll be quite pleased. I am a Grado's fan to say the least
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Quote:

Originally Posted by DC5Zilla /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Does anyone here prefer GS over the PS1000?


 
Oct 7, 2009 at 12:45 PM Post #283 of 318
I think the PS1000s do improve greatly with burn-in, although I liked their sound from the get-go. Mine seem to excel in particular with percussion and bass definition - great snap, beat, and texture. I really love hearing drums on these cans (and I never was that much of a drum fan before). With time, the PS1000s have also become better resolving and fairly even from top to bottom, though the cans are definitely more weighted toward the lower mid and bass than my HD800s. But then, these are Grados! Along these lines, luckily, I haven't really experienced any sibilance issues. Interestingly, if you press the cans to your ears and keep your hands on the outer cups it greatly affects the sound, but in a very bad way - the cans then become shrill and thin sounding. Oddly, with the GS1000i's, this had the opposite effect - doing so would give me more presence (due to the recessed mids) and a slightly improved sound.

Overall, I also find that the PS1000s have good sonic weight. While the PS1000s don't have the wide soundstage of the GS1000i's, they do not feel confined - rather, you get a nice sense of where the musicians are located and also fine definition - I'm able to hear and place individual instruments, regardless whether I'm listening to a rock or jazz group or a large orchestra - it's just all at a somewhat smaller scale than with the GS1000is.

That said, as with most really good headphones, they are very revealing, particularly of any artifices in the recordings themselves. Example: I was listening the other day to a soundtrack to the Indian film "Dharm," using Media Monkey, and the PS1000s clearly showed that the recording was a patched together sound engineering job - almost unbearably artificial. By contrast, listening to The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East (Im Memory of Elizabeth Reed) or the Grateful Dead Europe '72 (China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider), or Bob Marley Is It Love Remixed (off the Legends Deluxe Edition), or some really nice high-bit downstream stations (jazz and classical), the PS1000s really shined - all those sounded amazing with these cans, allowing me to visualize all the players and instruments - clarity, definition, resolution - superb.

In short, you should definitely give the PS1000s a little bit of time and they should vastly improve; hopefully your dealer has given you a 30-day return option, so I would take full advantage of that. Finally, I've noticed that the improvement, while constant, comes in fits and starts (kind of like losing weight - some days it seems like you've reached a plateau, and then, after a couple of days, you're back on track) - a little patience definitely pays off.

Weight-wise, the PS1000s never bothered me, though of course the GS1000i's are feather light. The weight, as I think Zanth mentioned way back when, is distributed to the sides, so hopefully you'll get used to them (I have a smallish head, so they don't sit very snugly on my head, but that doesn't bother me, and maybe also makes the cans' weight less noticable). As for the physical finish of these cans, I couldn't agree more with all the other posters -at $1700, this is really inexcusable.

In the end, though, despite this issue (and I agree completely that it is a major one) it's still the sound ....
 
Nov 6, 2009 at 7:34 PM Post #284 of 318
Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I have a question. Out of all the Grado cans I had the chance to listen to (only one I did not audit is the new ps1000), the one that I liked most was hp2s. I did not like PS1s that much, gs1000s did not impress me at all. Do you think that ps1000s are closer to gs1000s or hp2s sonically? I can also see some members have both hp2s and ps1000s. Which one do you prefer?

A side question: Did you have any chance to compare ps1000s and hp2s to jh13s?

Any information is greatly appreciated.
 
Nov 6, 2009 at 8:12 PM Post #285 of 318
Quote:

Originally Posted by tamahome77 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've tried them with all my amps and I find the most suitable amp so far is the MAD Ear+ with stock tube since it tones down the brightness by a bit. I'm not much of a tube roller so I cannot compare the stock with others.


I agree that the supplied Sovtek is a nice warm amp, but I have recently just tried a Sylvania Triple Mica Black Plate tube and wow...quite a good improvement in my MAD Ear+HD.

Just something to think about.
 

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