[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

If the bass of the PS500 is more present than the RS-1, it would probably "mask" any excessive top end. I find the treble of the HF-2 sounds a bit "reined in", not as open as the RS-1 (or 325i). Yet the HF-2 is less bright and sibilant than either of those. So there's a bit of a trade-off. I think Grado has taken his driver about as far as it can go. For a new sound, a totally new driver design (not a series of tweaks) will be required, I think.
 

I completely agree with you. FWIW, my preferences are for the HF-2s now that I've had them with me for a few weeks. The RS1s were fabulous, but I prefer the sound signature of the HF-2s (my new favourite Grado headphones). I am curious to hear the PS500s though.
 

 

[purrin]

 
Quote:

I completely agree with you. FWIW, my preferences are for the HF-2s now that I've had them with me for a few weeks. The RS1s were fabulous, but I prefer the sound signature of the HF-2s (my new favourite Grado headphones). I am curious to hear the PS500s though.
 

I thought you loved your RS1s? You didn't have the HF2's for the longest time?
 

 

[purrin]

Quote:

It's been a while since I've heard the HF-2 and I vaguely remembered how it sounded. However, I do know that I've never really enjoyed its sound signature. Maybe it's my system or the amp I was pairing it with but the bass was kind of bloated and the highs weren't clean or smooth either.
 
I had the chance of auditioning the PS500 today for half an hour and was pleasantly suprised at how well it sounded.
Examining the pair I was auditioning and it looked alright but the powdered coating of the cups didn't appeal to me. The coating gave it a cheap look that resembles some metallic products you import from China. I would much prefer the brushed aluminum of the MS-2s. Take my quick impressions with a grain of salt as I didn't bring my own music/gear and auditioned them through their denon cd player.
 
The feel of the sound has got this HF-2 flavour mixed with a little bit of the RS-1 flavour to it. Sound quality in general is a step up from the HF-2 for sure. I have to agree with some of the posters that it's a very smooth sounding pair of headphones. None of the music I listened to showed any signs of sibilance, which is a huge plus for me as I really disliked the hot treble of the PS1000s. Soundstage is just as wide as the the RS-1 if not wider but there's less depth than the RS-1s. I also feel there's this slight enjoyable hollow characteristic to it that is similar to the RS-1s. Mids are smooth with a tiny bit of warmth but not as sweet and involving as my HP1000s and less warm than the RS-1s. The highs has less sparkle than the RS-1s. It's almost rolled off like my HP1000s which I don't really mind as that helps with recordings of lesser qualities. The real strength of these headphones lies within the bass it produces. The PS500 produces wonderful full bodied defined bass with adequate amount of slam without overwhelming the rest of the frequences. From my limited listening session, it's hard to say whether it hits harder than the RS-1s but I feel it's somewhat comparable.
 
All in all, I had a terrific time listening to the PS500s and am glad I didn't pass on the opportunity to give them a shot.  Unlike last time with the PS1000, kudos to Grado for doing something right this time with the creation of the PS500s.  I might just pull the trigger on this one.

Thanks for the impressions. Sounds interesting. Is the PS500 bass as muddy as the HF2 bass? I found the HF2 to have the muddiest bass relative to all other Grados.
 

 

[Grado77]

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[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

Tonight I was doing A/B with PS500 and 225i with a couple different RUSH Gold cd's, Signals and Permanent Waves. In comparison, the 225i's were bordering on harsh both with vocals and cymbals. Not quite there but really close. The bottom end was so obviously lacking. The PS500, on the other hand, provided a rich fullness in the bottom end with no mud. Solid kick drumming, floor tom, and bass guitar, much more presence. The vocal and cymbal harshness disappeared. The whole frequency range just seemed pumped up, energized. Permanent Waves Gold through PS500 is phenomenal. Anyone proclaiming the PS500 as muddy either has a hole in their head, is listening to a muddy recording, or has an equipment issue.
 
I hate to say this but the 225i that I loved so much felt kind of cheap with with harsher, thin sounding audio. I would have never thunk.
 
The PS500 also feels much more comfortable (and less fatiguing) on my head even with the slight increase in weight of the PS500.
 
All I can say is I hope these PS500 last a long time because I would regret the day I had to go back using 225i knowing what I know now. I still don't have the PS500 broke in too far (15 hours). Wonder what 100 hours is going to sound like?
 
Worth $400 more than the 225i? For me, absolutely, no contest. I thought I was comparing apples to apples but discovered this is more of an apples to oranges affair.

An with that post looks like my mind has been made up. I'm more then likely going to pull the trigger on the PS500's next summer. Thanks a lot for your input and my wallet curses you for making it poor again. I live in Canada and I hope the mark up here on the PS500's isn't as outrageous as it is with some of the other Grado's. These new cans are going to be the most expensive headphones I've ever bought in my life.

On the plus side at least I have all winter to save up.
 

 

[Grado77]

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[DigitalFreak]

Quote:

I had to wait about a month between the the day I placed the order and the day I received them. During that time I was really second guessing my decision as the PS500 is quite a bit more than I ever paid for any headphone. I kept reading about how Grado was an incremental upgrade from phone to phone. I had 125, 225, and 225i and yeah I'd have to generally agree with that assessment.
 
Thankfully, my fears were completely erased and I couldn't be happier.
 
A ski mask, a Glock, and a liquor store might allow you to get you those PS500's quicker .......sometimes we have to go to extremes for premium audio.............(kidding of course).......
 
I am pretty sure it will be worth the wait for you, hopefully you'll get a good deal.

Thanks man, not sure about the ski mask and Glock idea but from what I understand the black market is paying premium for kidney's nowadays. I have two so I could spare one.......OK now I'm getting morbid. I think it's time just to do it the old fashion way and start working some overtime and start eating out less and going to the movies less.
 
P.S.
I'm kidding people I'm kidding I intend to keep all my organs where they are...........for now.

 

 

[Grado77]

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[Gwarmi]

Sing> Tie me PS500 down sport, Tie me PS500 down...
 
Sorry, had to bring Rolf Harris into the thread
 

 

[dleblanc343]

Hey around the price of the ps500's, you may want to look into grado magnum. You can get the whole shabang for near the same price.
 
Quote:

Thanks man, not sure about the ski mask and Glock idea but from what I understand the black market is paying premium for kidney's nowadays. I have two so I could spare one.......OK now I'm getting morbid. I think it's time just to do it the old fashion way and start working some overtime and start eating out less and going to the movies less.
 
P.S.
I'm kidding people I'm kidding I intend to keep all my organs where they are...........for now.

 

 

 

[tamahome77]

Quote:

Thanks for the impressions. Sounds interesting. Is the PS500 bass as muddy as the HF2 bass? I found the HF2 to have the muddiest bass relative to all other Grados.
 

It's been more than a year since I've hear the HF-2 and I was using a different DAC but I remembered the HF2 being more muddier.  I brought the PS500 home yesterday to pair it with my system with the music I'm familiar and noticed the PS500's bass goes wider but not as deep as the RS-1s.  I feel the PS500's bass hits harder with more quantity and is thicker but not as defined as the RS-1 or the HP1000.  The bass feels more speaker-like to me than the other two.  Tried the PS500 with flats and immediately felt the bass was too overwhelming for me so I took it off quickly.  The RS-1 does guitars and cymbals more realistically and even more so with the HP1000.  I really liked the PS500 with Kpop/Jpop/hiphop music while I prefer the RS-1s for rock and ambient music.  Overall, I prefer the HP1000 for all types of music. 

 

[tamahome77]

Quote:

Hey around the price of the ps500's, you may want to look into grado magnum. You can get the whole shabang for near the same price.
 


 

Magnums are great headphones for the price but depending on which version you're listening to, they sound different.  Relatively, they're more forward sounding, brighter and more detailed than the PS500s. 
 

 

[Elysian]

Grado77: Do you have any thoughts on the PS500 vs the RS1i?  The PS500 is $100 cheaper.  I'm wondering how the two compare with one another.  I liked the GS1000i more than the RS1i, but never heard the PS1000i.  I've read the GS and PS line have more in common with each other than GS or RS, so it'd be great to hear how the PS500 compares with the RS1i, or even the GS1000i.

 

[Grado77]

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[bbophead]

This won't help but if you've not read it, could be interesting.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/577145/grado-325is-and-ps500