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well if we adopt your logic then it is futile to compare different headphones at all. that won't leave much for us to talk about at this forum.
i think that a comparison between the rs1i and ps1000 is valid and relevant, especially if you are considering buying one of them. and i don't agree that the ps1000 is sonically superior to the rs1i in every way. that's very much a matter of opinion.
I find them to be perfectly complimentary - I cannot recall the last time my DT990-600ohm or even the K601 saw much head time.
Complimentary in the sense that where one shines the other tends fall short concerning the same material at hand. Faced with the
dilemma of having to choose just either one - RS1i or PS1000 - either ownership is going to be rather different and it will require
a different mentality towards the music.
The RS1i laps up most the material put in front of it - assuming of course the mastering is of reasonable quality.
It performs just as any Grado fan would expect - mids are forward, instruments bristle, separation is adequate
and depending on the recording - they can sound rather airy.
The PS1000 by contrast really excels with large works, in particular live recordings where it tends to just draw a larger sonic
picture. Having said that - it is never always the case - that seminal work by Clapton - Unplugged - still sounds better on
the RS1i - for many complicated reasons relating to the PS1000's voicing and the actual recording techniques used at
the time it was recorded 'live' - Clapton's voice is recessed with the flagship yet it is much more present on the RS1i.
Generalizing that the RS1i will always have more present mids than the PS1000 is again too much of a simplistic
conclusion - on some other recordings with both units plugged into the V200 - there is hardly anything in it in
terms of mids presentation, however the PS1000 runs away with it in terms of separation, sound stage and
detail. The frequency figures may not say much, particularly for those empirically minded to suggest any
headphone measuring outside of 20hz-20Khz is pointless since it lies outside the range of the human
ear, nonetheless the respective figures of 12hz to 30Khz for the RS1i versus the PS1000's 5hz to 50Khz
speaks volumes for the differences between their driver design.
The RS1i remains versatile and very much a great headphone at the price point of $695 - the PS1000
on the other hand is a 'feast or famine' headphone that I would suggest does not really suit the
mentality of our times - it reeks of compromise from head-fit to how it will perform across a
record collection - at this price point - most folks expect perfection and the utmost versatility,
nobody wishes to say goodbye to a cherished album or twelve simply because their headphone
does not suit.
Few are prepared to take this compromise and live with it happily on a daily basis.