[up late]

^ FYI, that review has already been the subject of six previous posts and one of them also contains a link to it

 

[endgame]

And that is just ridiculous.

Sorry but I'm just being honest. Nothing you said made me even remotely want to go out and buy them. In addition, I didn't even know if you liked them until the very end.

 

[shigzeo]

Sorry but I'm just being honest. Nothing you said made me even remotely want to go out and buy them. In addition, I didn't even know if you liked them until the very end.

It isn't my job in a review to make you want to buy a thing. That is the job of advertisers.

 

[colgatetotal]

I wish the review compared the PS2000e against the GS2000e, the wooden flagship, as that one has none of the comfort issues because it's half the weight. I don't think the GS2000e's sound is great at stock but it would've still been nice to read a comparison.

Interesting serial number though, as the GS2000e's use XXX-MM-YY, while the PS2000e seems to use a different format.

 

[endgame]

It isn't my job in a review to make you want to buy a thing. That is the job of advertisers.

Fair enough. It isn't my job to make you feel good about a review that wasn't very good.

 

[shigzeo]

Fair enough. It isn't my job to make you feel good about a review that wasn't very good.

I'm not worried about feeling good or having my ego rubbed. I'm confused about what you think constitutes a review.

Know this: I have no illusions that I'm or of the greats. I see new reviewer essays that speak loads about how far the industry has come and how far behind I may be.

But I don't understand one sentence critiques that hone to essential please to marketing.

The other comment was specific in its criticism.

And the fellow that wanted comparison with the GS2000 made clear what was lacking.

To that: I don't have that headphone and will not purchase it.

The other negative voice offered nothing. Nothing.

 

[endgame]

I'm not worried about feeling good or having my ego rubbed. I'm confused about what you think constitutes a review.

Know this: I have no illusions that I'm or of the greats. I see new reviewer essays that speak loads about how far the industry has come and how far behind I may be.

But I don't understand one sentence critiques that hone to essential please to marketing.

The other comment was specific in its criticism.

And the fellow that wanted comparison with the GS2000 made clear what was lacking.

To that: I don't have that headphone and will not purchase it.

The other negative voice offered nothing. Nothing.

Your review lacked focus and a clear direction. People read reviews to determine whether or not they want to buy something. 99/100 reviews I've ever read usually lead me toward a purchase or away from a purchase. Your review simply left me confused and indifferent towards the Grado's. It lacked important comparisons to similar headphones in its price point. It lacked emotion. It was wordy without saying much. It seemed like a curt, obligated review that lacked even a hint of enthusiasm towards the product reviewed.
I don't know what else to say other than it was simply lifeless and incoherent.
And to be fair, I've read other reviews by you that were VERY good, so this is not a personal attack.

 

[gregorya]

Maybe there could be a separate sub-forum where we can review the reviews...

 

[Ultrainferno]

You've got to love Head-fi

 

[shigzeo]

Your review lacked focus and a clear direction. People read reviews to determine whether or not they want to buy something. 99/100 reviews I've ever read usually lead me toward a purchase or away from a purchase. Your review simply left me confused and indifferent towards the Grado's. It lacked important comparisons to similar headphones in its price point. It lacked emotion. It was wordy without saying much. It seemed like a curt, obligated review that lacked even a hint of enthusiasm towards the product reviewed.
I don't know what else to say other than it was simply lifeless and incoherent.
And to be fair, I've read other reviews by you that were VERY good, so this is not a personal attack.

That is more helpful. Some people love emotion. Some people don't. And I can't be emotional about every product I review. I have no strong feeling toward or away from the PS2000e. I find it the best-sounding Grado as to my preferences, but my preferences are what they are. They do not speak for anyone else. If you came away indifferent, perhaps that is a good indication. I love their sound. I love the PS1000's sound. But it's a love/hate relationship because of weight and constriction with the latter and general fit with the former. I didn't write it from a curt perspective. I understand your opinion about my review. And I respect it. As for headphones in a similar price point... that is a problem. I don't own any in that price point and likely never will. I'm a mid-fi lover, not a hi-end lover when it comes to headphones. I invest in camera stuff for work, not in headphones for play.

And it's impossible to borrow expensive headphones in the same class at the same time for the same time to pull a review together. It's harder for me to throw down 3000$ for a headphone just to compare it.

I never considered it a personal attack. If it were a personal attack, it would be about me, the reviewer. You can trash my review, or critique it - that against an object and something I can't take personally. I don't think this review was poor. I've received some good feedback in PMs, though it appears that I wasn't florid enough in this review for headfi. I certainly couldn't have published this at sixmoons.

 

[up late]

I went to my local headphone dealer today to reacquaint myself with the Z1R and the Utopia and was advised that they had the PS2000e in for audition. And there it was, perched on its stand looking Darth Vader shiny and smaller than I expected, which turned out to be an optical illusion.

I asked my dealer what he thought of it, to which he replied "hands down the best Grado ever made". He said that it had a "wall of sound" effect that he had only heard from planar magnetic headphones like the Abyss. How could I refuse? He set me up with a MacBook pro, a Schiit Bifrost dac and a Woo WA8 - a portable tube headphone amplifier and a sweet little unit it was. I'd brought my lossless test tracks along as usual. The PS2000e looks great and comes with a wider headband, which didn't seem to make any difference to the fit whatsoever. I also asked for a PS1000e for comparison.

I started with the PS2000e and it sounded lovely, if a bit bright. My initial impression was positive, however I felt that it sounded somewhat bass lite, which was surprising. I then switched to the PS1000e and it sounded "off", comparatively speaking. I didn't bother to try and analyse why, it was just apparent to me.

I then asked for the Utopia to compare. Comparing the same two test tracks, the Utopia's highs were more subdued than the PS2000e and it had more bass presence and extension, which was unexpected. Apart from that, the headphones were quite comparable. The Grado sounded "crispier" due to its treble emphasis and the midrange has been brought up in the mix compared to the PS1000/e, but this seems to have been achieved at the expense of bass presence which was lacking to my ears.

As fond as I am of Grado, I'd take the Utopia over it with its more balanced presentation. That said, the PS2000e is a fine headphone imo and the Grado family should be justly proud of what they've achieved with their TOTL can, especially when you think of the audio giants that they're competing against.

 

[james6333]

^ thanks. This is a good comparison.

 

[Metalsludge]

I went to my local headphone dealer today to reacquaint myself with the Z1R and the Utopia and was advised that they had the PS2000e in for audition. And there it was, perched on its stand looking Darth Vader shiny and smaller than I expected, which turned out to be an optical illusion.

As fond as I am of Grado, I'd take the Utopia over it with its more balanced presentation. That said, the PS2000e is a fine headphone imo and the Grado family should be justly proud of what they've achieved with their TOTL can, especially when you think of the audio giants that they're competing against.

Thanks for the impressions. That it even compares with the Utopia seems like high praise, considering how much the Utopia costs. I am leaning towards more treble emphasis lately, so this may be interesting to me, if it is really that comparable to higher end options. Would be nice to get more comparisons though.

 

[up late]

just a few qualifications - it was a short comparison, the ps2000e had five hours on it which may or may not mean something and the utopia's ergonomics were significantly better for me

 

[MacedonianHero]

I went to my local headphone dealer today to reacquaint myself with the Z1R and the Utopia and was advised that they had the PS2000e in for audition. And there it was, perched on its stand looking Darth Vader shiny and smaller than I expected, which turned out to be an optical illusion.

I asked my dealer what he thought of it, to which he replied "hands down the best Grado ever made". He said that it had a "wall of sound" effect that he had only heard from planar magnetic headphones like the Abyss. How could I refuse? He set me up with a MacBook pro, a Schiit Bifrost dac and a Woo WA8 - a portable tube headphone amplifier and a sweet little unit it was. I'd brought my lossless test tracks along as usual. The PS2000e looks great and comes with a wider headband, which didn't seem to make any difference to the fit whatsoever. I also asked for a PS1000e for comparison.

I started with the PS2000e and it sounded lovely, if a bit bright. My initial impression was positive, however I felt that it sounded somewhat bass lite, which was surprising. I then switched to the PS1000e and it sounded "off", comparatively speaking. I didn't bother to try and analyse why, it was just apparent to me.

I then asked for the Utopia to compare. Comparing the same two test tracks, the Utopia's highs were more subdued than the PS2000e and it had more bass presence and extension, which was unexpected. Apart from that, the headphones were quite comparable. The Grado sounded "crispier" due to its treble emphasis and the midrange has been brought up in the mix compared to the PS1000/e, but this seems to have been achieved at the expense of bass presence which was lacking to my ears.

As fond as I am of Grado, I'd take the Utopia over it with its more balanced presentation. That said, the PS2000e is a fine headphone imo and the Grado family should be justly proud of what they've achieved with their TOTL can, especially when you think of the audio giants that they're competing against.

Thanks for your impressions. Any more details of the differences with the PS1000e? Was the P2000e less or more "U" shaped? How was the imaging? Which was "brighter"?

Thanks again!