[mortcola]

I'll join in on this question. I did not hear the original pS1K. All the opinions I heard of it mentioned a certain either lush or exaggerated bass or bass "warmth". I had the "e" version, and found deep extension - simply by identifying musical content that extended into what we refer to as "deep" bass and hearing clean tones with no or minimal loss of signal; however, the "e" was lean, lean, lean - no warmth - in the upper to lower mids. I appreciate your attention to the preference factor - a successfully rendered expression of a designer's "vision", which may or may not give you what you want. But I hear everything from the 2Ke somewhat better,m to my ears, than the e version - clarity, regardless of some atttestation by others to an absence of deep bass and a mid-hump, full and yet real-sounding bas tones, and a feeling of completeness. If it is possible to describe around the preference-factor, what did Mr. Grado get right the first time that you perceive he did not do as well this time? At the moment - and I have some confidence in this - I feel as though I have the full package with the PS2Ke,. I'm not prone to buyer's remorse - I'm really interested in how music hits the psyche-soma such that we have the emotional reaction called "satisfaction"

 

[up late]

i've not compared the original psk and ps2ke directly but the former has significantly more bass presence to my ears. this may be attributable to its u shaped fr - prominent mid-bass and treble. i found that the ps2ke had a more even (but still bright) tonal balance than the psk, with the mid-range being more present relative to the treble and bass. this seems to have been achieved at the expense of bass presence tho, making it sound somewhat bass lite to me. that said, i can understand how this shift towards a more balanced presentation would be regarded as an overall improvement.

as i wrote in an earlier post and for the record, while i found the ps2ke's bass presence wanting, i didn't notice the pronounced mid-bass hump or bass bloat that i do with the psk. so this could be regarded as an improvement in bass quality over quantity for the ps2ke.

i think it was (the now defunct?) headroom that described the psk as "beautiful and extreme". it remains one of the most addictive headphone's that i've experienced because of its combination of crystalline clarity and hyper detail with a sweet and liquid tone, dynamics, spaciousness and sheer verve. its accentuated treble and bass also make it ideal for listening at low volume, but increase that volume and the treble and bass soon become dominant.

 

[music_man]

Kitten. Self explanatory. Although the Drivers and Housings are intact. Grado wanted $350 to undo the damage. As usual Grado is very reasonable. I was never worried about this. The litter is now in a room. I am so confident this will not happen the HE1, SR009 ETC. are still out in the open.


Anyways, I think the Original PS1k not "E" and only with the brushed cups had more Bass and a more well rounded sound. A shimmer, almost Holographic. Not present to this degree in the PS2KE IMO. Plus they were not as much in your face. They were kind of more subdued. A tamer version if you will. If you want something "Hotter" you would like the PS2KE better. It is still more subdued and more refined than any other current Grado. Back when the PS1K came out some people described it as the "un-Grado" A departure in some regard from their offerings until that point. The sound of the PS2KE builds upon the ones to proceed it for sure. However some days I will drive a slower car just because I enjoy other attributes of it. I know per Grado each successor is supposed to be outright better but some may retain qualities people enjoy. They certainly change the sound around and it really just depends what one likes. This "sport" is highly subjective. As for not feeling the need to replace them it was certainly not because I disliked them in any way. Then one might argue obviously money is not an issue to me. Well, I guess I just felt like trying something in a completely different direction and see how that goes. I got the Z1R with the Axios AG cable. I have not even listened to them yet as I am putting 500 hours on them first. I was told they are certainly flagship headphones, as are the PS2KE. However they are so different it would be difficult for the most seasoned Writer to compare them. I did not dislike them so much as just wanted to try something different. They are fine Grado's. I did prefer the PS1K but that is just me, it is personal. However some others felt the same the way. I would not say it is an outright upgrade but rather a sidestep. Those that think the PS1KE fixed issues with those headphones I feel the "E" detracted from them. So it just goes to show if I must say it again this stuff is highly subjective. why I liked it better has absolutely no bearing of if you would. Just for the record I did not dislike the GS2KE. I just did not love them so much I was in a hurry to replace them. Let's be honest in a Year or Two Grado will have even "better" ones. If I do not like them the next thing I will do is order the PS2KE again. Also and very importantly, if you own the ps1000E I and many others feel this upgrade may not be worth $1000. If anything it is an incremental upgrade. I would say $400 would be fair. They may have want to place them at that price point to make them appear to be in a different league of headphones. Another reason I was not in a hurry to replace them. I have the money but do not need to waste it. It is not that big of an improvement. My feeling the original PS1K are the best of the lost makes the price of the upgrade even less worthwhile. To me at least. Of course this is completely up to anyone. If one does not have any then the GS2KE would be a good purchase. If you have the PS1KE and like it I would do a careful A/B and ask yourself if it is $1,000 of an upgrade. I am not trying to start a flame war. This is all well documented. It is not like I am the first person to say this. For $1,000 more I would like to see a complete revamp which it is not. In fact the PS1K is that much different and I happen to like it better. that is all. Of course for the millionth time this is subjective but I think I am a person that knows sound pretty darn well. If you want an honest opinion I am your guy but it is still subjective. Unfortunately you really cannot take what different people say about audio as being written in stone. If only it was that simple. At least I am sure we all agree on that. Bottom line: I am telling you if you are intrigued by what I have said I would not go seek out a PS1K Brushed cup with out hearing it and most preferably A/B'ing it with the PS2KE. Then the most important thing of all, there is no right or wrong in Audio. My preference has no bearing on anything, nor does anyone else's. These are solely "opinions"!

 

[music_man]

Forgot to mention. Perhaps this is exactly what explains my feeling. I was listening to a SS amp with serious oomph behind it. 2x50kva torroids 3000mf caps. It could put out 35wpc@600v! however here is what is important, I listened at very, very low levels. So the amp had tremendous reserve.
Not only that, apparently they were better at low levels. I mean low, like 15db. The most memorable thing was Harp string pluck. It almost made me drool. Nothing, I mean nothing sounded like that on a Harp. It may not have sounded that way without the amp though. Plus they are recabled with a very nice cable. It would be pretty difficult to judge hem without hearing them I suppose as they are not stock.

 

[sling5s]

Amazing that these are in the same league as the Utopias.
I wonder how they compare to the new to be release ATH-ADX5000 which are supposed to be even more detailed and resolving than the Utopias.

 

[up late]

i'd hold off on accepting claims that the ath-adx500 is more detailed and resolving than the utopia until i could compare them for myself. only a handful of people have actually heard the ath-adx500 from what i've seen, let alone compared it to the utopia.

 

[joseph69]

Actually, too me, I'd say it's amazing that the Utopia cost $1000+ more.
I have the Utopia and the Clear out on loan right now, and I own the PS2Ke and prefer them very much over the Utopia. But, the Utopia just doesn't suit my taste. I also prefer the Clear over the Utopia as well.

 

[up late]

i can understand you preferring the ps2ke and the clear to the utopia but what are you basing your valuation on?

 

[music_man]

I would say the Utopia is so much different without even saying worse or better. If you want to use the Utopia as a benchmark and actually compare something similar but much nicer(IMO), then the Z1R. I do not like threads that go "x" is better but costs way less. Of course that is possible. Compare equipment from the same manufacturer. Tell me the PS500 is better than the PS2KE. Even then, due to the sheer subjective nature of this someone may like the lower priced headphone. Even within the same stable. This is all very subjective anyways. 10 people may not all agree on something. I remember once I actually went to buy $5,000 near field monitors for recording and walked out with a $500 pair. In recording it is not so much what sounds better but what an Engineer can work with and provides repeatable results for them. The $500 pair were clearly better for my needs. Now if you take that over to listening enjoyment anything goes. I mean I am sure there are folks on here that will highly disagree the Grado is better than the Focal. Mainly they are not Grado fans. I would say these are so different it becomes very difficult to compare. I think they appeal to Two vastly different listeners. If they are compared and the consensus was the Grado is better how is it any wonder a $1,000 less headphone from a different manufacturer is better? I think maybe you guys prefer Grado to begin with. Not the same sound. If you do feel the sound is comparable and like the Grado better, go listen to the Z1R. Especially with Axios AG cable but now they are more expensive than the Utopia anyways. Instead of replacing the PS2KE I got the Z1R with Axios AG and while it is not the Grado sound I feel it walks all over the Utopia. Pluse the build quality compared to Grado is from a different planet. Not bashing Grado. The original PS1K probably remains my favorite headphone and I have many of the best cans ever made. Either way, please put a good amp behind headphones this price. I usually use Grado with SS. I will probably purchase the PS2KE again. Just wanted to try something different. Not money, but I do not like equipment waiting to be tried after burn in piling up.

 

[up late]

i like grados, the z1r and the utopia. the z1r is not similar to the utopia nor does it "walk all over it" imo, but it is still on my radar as a closed-back headphone to complement it and luxuriate in.

 

[joseph69]

Just on my personal listening preferences between them, that's all.

 

[joseph69]

I'm saying that I prefer the PS2Ke more than the Utopia, I'm not saying it's a "better" headphone, that's up to an individuals preference.

 

[up late]

given that you've quantified your personal preference in dollars, do you think that the ps2ke is worth $1000 more than the ps1k?

 

[joseph69]

given that you've quantified your personal preference in dollars, do you think that the ps2ke is worth $1000 more than the ps1k?

Difficult question to answer, because I don't feel anything is worth its cost these days, but if we enjoy whatever it is we're buying enough, we have no choice but to pay it. Remember, I had sticker shock when I found out the cost of the PS2Ke, but after hearing most of the TOTL headphones, I knew I much preferred the PS2Ke, then realized they're $1000+ less, and this eased my shock. I also made a deal for a new PS2Ke for my HP1000 (HP2), so for me it was worth it. If the offer wasn't available to me, I honestly can't say if I would've purchased them for $1K more than my PS1K, but I will say both are quite different to my ears ($1K difference, probably not) but I'm very glad to own both.
Fair enough answer for such a difficult question?

 

[up late]

i think it's a difficult question for a headphone consumer to answer when they're not privy to the actual costs involved in bringing a headphone to market. consequently, the answer is usually based on personal preference, which is entirely subjective and may not be all that meaningful to others.