I got a pair of these in yesterday. After listening last night and for the past few hours, the first thing I have to say is: whoa! While it's still too early to call this my new favorite headphone (my K701 is currently out of commission and my AD2000 is gone), I can say that the RS1 is the most amazing Grado I've heard to date (have heard SR60, SR80, SR225, and SR325i). I have both flats and bowls and vastly prefer the flats. Not only do I find them more comfortable but the change to the sound is just more preferrable - there's a touch more mid-range but the added mid-bass balances better against the treble with the flats. I'll go into sonic details at a later point in time but there are a few things I want to say now. First, the RS1 is the first headphone I've heard that actually captures a violinist's vibrato realistically! I was stunned. I rarely listen to classical but decided to throw some on anyway (just to hear what the RS1 would do) and at first I wasn't even sure what was going on, I thought it was some kind of weird warble. Then I realized it was actually vibrato, wow! The HD650, K701, and AD2000 could never do this, I'm impressed. This makes me want to listen to classical more often. Second, this headphone is surprisingly interconnect-dependent. Last time I heard an RS1 the ICs were the Audio Art IC-3 which were still burning in. Switching to my Signal Cable Silver Res Analog is a total sonic shift, and I do prefer it with the Signal Cable - more clarity, speedier transients, greater dynamics. Third, while the Gilmore Lite probably wouldn't be an ideal sonic pairing for it for most people, I find myself preferring it - it increases the PRAT and energy to an addictive level! And fourth, this headphone is the most ideal I've heard yet for Alison Krauss' music! Union Station has never sounded better - the banjo, guitar, and acoustic bass sound so alive and real, and the RS1 draws out every quick line. I wasn't planning on keeping these, as the main reason I bought these was for a very temporary situation, but listening to these is making me want to keep them...
Quote: Originally Posted by michaelaqua /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don`t like RS1,but I like SR80. care to elaborate more? and whats your setup? amp, source?
Quote: Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif And fourth, this headphone is the most ideal I've heard yet for Alison Krauss' music! Union Station has never sounded better - the banjo, guitar, and acoustic bass sound so alive and real, and the RS1 draws out every quick line. Indeed. If you have Clapton Unplugged give that a spin as well
Quote: Originally Posted by kamal007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif care to elaborate more? and whats your setup? amp, source? In advance system and in my workman .And I prefer 80 to RS1
RS-1 and classical? unfortunate the RS-1 can't handle classical. the RS-1 is a "fun-phone", it's very good for rock. it makes me smile. jazz and classical, use a stax or sennheiser he-series. there is a very very big difference in detail between electrostats and RS-1. greets, stan
Quote: Originally Posted by Rav /img/forum/go_quote.gif Indeed. If you have Clapton Unplugged give that a spin as well Definitely; or any live album for that matter!
Quote: Originally Posted by 19lexicon78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif RS-1 and classical? unfortunate the RS-1 can't handle classical. the RS-1 is a "fun-phone", it's very good for rock. it makes me smile. jazz and classical, use a stax or sennheiser he-series. there is a very very big difference in detail between electrostats and RS-1. greets, stan Why is jazz always paired with classical on this forum as having the same sonic characteristics for headphone use? Does anyone here actually listen to both? Even in an acoustic setup, how do you equate a drum kit, stand-up bass, piano and a horn or two ( or even eight) with a symphony orchestra?!!! If anything, jazz and rock are more alike in this sense.
Quote: Originally Posted by 19lexicon78 /img/forum/go_quote.gif RS-1 and classical? unfortunate the RS-1 can't handle classical. That's a bit of a sweeping statement I don't listen to a great deal of classical, but what i do the RS1 works perfectly well for me. I'll grant you that they don't produce a false 'speaker like' soundsatge, but i happen to enjoy the headstage all the same.
i find that anything involving strings and wood sounds good on a woody grado. fortunately most of my music involves these two things. oh, woodwinds also sound good. brass too. and female voices. and kickdrums. i swear that's it. and crunched OD amps.
jazz and classical are far more complicated than rock. rock is more laid-back. grado is more laid-back. personally, when i listen to jazz and classical i need natural sound and the phones have to be very "fast" to understand the music. the problem with grado, it's sound is too blended and slow. i can't follow this kind of music with grado's.
Quote: Originally Posted by 19lexicon78 rock is more laid-back. grado is more laid-back. Are you kidding me ? It's the first time that I hear someone saying Grados are more laid-back... the only current Grado model known to be laid-back would be the GS1000, that's it. Is that the model you listened to ? If not, you should try it for classical and jazz, pure magic. All others current Grado's are more upfront and involving.
Yeah, sure the Baby-O should kick any Grado's as* for Classical and Jazz but we're comparing apple and oranges here, most stats are faster than dynamic cans by design.
