Grado RS1 vs. RS2

[MacDEF]

Considering that the difference in price is $200, and you no longer get the nice wood box... what are people's impressions of the real differences between them? I'd love to hear from people who have actually done some extensive comparisons. Sam Tellig's Stereophile review seemed to say that there wasn't much difference. I've heard the same from a couple other sources, but I've also heard some people say they are quite different.

I've heard the RS2, but not the RS1. I'm wondering if it's worth someone spending the extra $200 for the RS1, or if it would be better for them to get the RS2 and a pair of Etys or HD600

 

[Vertigo-1]

I've heard both the RS-2 and RS-1 before, but they sounded so wildly different from each other it totally confuses me to this day.

The RS-2 I had was very excessively bright with a laid back, dry midrange, while both the RS-1 and MSP I tried had a very laid back treble and sounded very warm in the midrange and had lots of upper bass peaks. What I heard definitely doesn't sit with how the RS-2 should be 90% of the RS-1, but, that's what I heard.

The 325s I have now for that matter sound totally different from the MS-II I had in the past, for the same reason...the MS-II was horribly bright and dry, while the 325s just sound a little laid back but still have a warmish midrange, and the highs are relatively smooth. To this day I don't know what to suspect or blame for these phenomenons. And I don't think the Vertigo Highs syndrome has gotten THAT bad.

 

[Kubernetes]

I purchased the RS1 because there are now places on the web where you can get them for $500-540 (check Yahoo shopping). Not too bad when you consider that this is about the list price of the RS2. Of course at those same sites the RS2 is going for less than $400.

I've never heard the RS2, and the RS1's, which I had heard, were significantly less in cost than I expected, so I decided to permanently cure myself of upGrado fever and just get the RS1. Haven't looked back since.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

The RS-2 I had was very excessively bright

First of all, Vertigo is calling them excessively bright? Uh-oh!

j/k, Vert. I should stop that

But even weirder is that when I heard the RS2, I actually thought they were warmer and less bright than the PS Grados... ?

 

[KurtW]

I was told that the RS1, which I havn't heard, was much brighter than the RS2, so it's hard to tell what's going on. When I compared the whole Grado lineup except for the RS1, the RS2 was a nice relief from the jacked-up treble of the 125, 225 and 325. I liked the RS2 and still think about getting it now and then but thought it was overpriced. Based on what I heard in the rest of the Grado lineup, my confidence in Grado putting out a better phone relative to the price is very low. Maybe their consistancy isn't very good either, leading to the big variation in opinions.

 

[KR...]

I think that the difference in opinions that you are reading are due to the differences in the systems used with these headphones. System matching is extremely important! When Vert was using the MS-2, what was his system at the time? Was he still using a soundcard for his pop MP3s then? If the answer is yes, then it's pretty clear why he thought they were bright.

 

[Vertigo-1]

I'm pretty sure the source plays a minimal impact in this situation because I deliberately tried my current 325s out of my computer's soundcard using the exact pop/rap MP3s that caused harsh treble before to see if I could even get any harsh treble out of them, and I still got a smooth top end. So that pretty much kills that theory. I also tried it out of my portable CDP and also got no harsh treble. Back when I had the SR80, RS-2, and MS-II, they sounded pretty nasty out of anything, soundcard and portable CDPs both.

It's more like there's a serious variance in manufacturing, or the power supply is just better where I'm living nowdays.

 

[KR...]

Oh ok, cool Vert that's good to know.

Quote:

It's more like there's a serious variance in manufacturing

The difference couldn't be that different. I don't think.

Quote:

or the power supply is just better where I'm living nowdays.

That could very well be.

 

[Xevion]

I have made a quick listen to the RS-2s, I found them maybe a touch bright, but not nearly as much as I expected (This was being driven from a Panasonic 470 I think). Their biggest thing was that they sounded somewhat forward, where Vertigo hears bright, I hear an upper midrange peak of a sort.

Imaging seemed better then the 600s, but the soundstage is not very wide.

If you don't have the 580s already, then I would reccomend picking up the 580/600 and the RS2, while the RS2 may not sound as good as the RS1, having both different headphones would be very nifty as they have rather different sounds. And if I had a choice of having 1 excellent sound or 2 very good but rather different sounds, I would pick the latter, as my moods change, along with my eclectic listening habits.

 

[Gradoistcool]

i personally don´t really care for the RS-2´s that much, the RS-1´s are IMO 100% better, if you don´t get RS-1´s/can´t get them, then get SR325´s with the RA-1. But anyways, the RS-1 is very very smooth and punchy, where the RS-2 is kinda harsh in the treble, no wait make that very harsh in the treble, almost sibilant, anyways, i recommend either the SR325 or RS-1 for you.

 

[DanG]

Vert, I don't think it's really possible to compare the RS-2, RS-1, and MSP with such big time differences between them... you just got the MSP but you sold your RS-2 over six months ago, didn't you? Also, your system has changed quite a bit... Soundblaster Live! vs. a Sony DVP-9000ES?

I compared the MSP and RS-2 side-by-side and found that they are quite similar in many ways -- the same signature sound, I'd say. Yes, there were differences. Here is what I heard:

MSP had clearer treble, perhaps a tad more bass as well, and a clear midrange as well. The RS-2 sounded slightly veiled in the treble in comparison, but the midrange was emphasized a little over the MSP.

These results don't seem to concur at all... perhaps it's the system-dependance, or maybe your audiophilic tastes have changed a bit? A while ago you definitely didn't seem to like treble at all, but now with the RKV, more treble is better.

 

[KurtW]

I checked out the RS1 and RS2s at a store yesterday. They were hooked up to the Grado amp and a Linn Genki (sp?) CD player. I also brought my SR80s as a reference. I thought the 1 & 2 sounded quite similar. The RS2 was right out of the box new and the RS1 had been a demo for a couple of months, so that's another variable. I didn't find either one particularly bright. Their balance was very similar to the SR80, as was their frequency extension. After listening to either the 1 or 2 and switching back to the SR80, however, was like turning on a mono blend circuit in the way the soundstage collapsed. The RS phones are much more refined the the 80, more transparent and detailed and airy. This is a good example of when a frequency response curve wouldn't show much of a difference but the sound is not the same. At times I thought the RS1 might be a little better defined but in a blind test I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the 1 and 2. So I don't think the RS1 is worth $200 more unless you like the bigger pieces of wood or you want piece of mind knowing you have the top of the line.

 

[DanG]

I would guess that the RS-1 was not broken in either -- how many people actually come into a store and ask to listen to a specific $700-pair of headphones? They probably didn't get more than an hour or two of use (maybe a few hours) in the two months they'd been available for demo use.

Then again, I haven't heard a broken-in RS-1 and never under good conditions. Furthermore, when I compared my RS-2 to my MS Pro, the differences seemed to be the ones I expected to hear between the MS Pro and RS-1.

But it's all good.

 

[Vertigo-1]

Quote:

Vert, I don't think it's really possible to compare the RS-2, RS-1, and MSP with such big time differences between them... you just got the MSP but you sold your RS-2 over six months ago, didn't you? Also, your system has changed quite a bit... Soundblaster Live! vs. a Sony DVP-9000ES?

Time may be an issue, but I don't believe the source is. Because the RS-1 plainly sounded much warmer than the RS-2 I had, using the same old soundcard. If the RS-1 sounded just as bright as the RS-2 was for me, I would have suspected the soundcard, but since the RS-1 was downright warm to me, I don't think it was a soundcard issue. It's like I've always said, a better source isn't going to turn a whole headphone's signature sound upside down, it'll only enhance it in better ways (or subtract in better ways if it's a tube based source). I've upgraded to the 9000ES and love it...but it's not exactly turning my headphones into Staxs and Orpheuses either.

 

[r3cc0s]

OKay okay I should have posted a msg way way earlier
but my password was screwed, and thank you Jude for fixing it for me!

anyhoo....

Rs-1 vs Rs-2 was the topic
Difference? I felt not much at all.... Rs2's construction are so simular to the new Rs1, I didn't see a difference at all...
the only thing is the obivous chambers... are large by about 1/4

Okay now... difference in sound?
Well In this test I must admit... I absolutely hate the bowl pad sound for the Grado's no matter any of them!!!!
So I used DONUT PADS!

Sound wise? Rs-1s are a bit more a.k.a richer warmer sounding... it isn't blaitenly obvious, but it's there

Details, virtually the same, and virtually no difference until extremely low frequencies... I think , and I refraise think that it has a bit more deep bass... but

everything sounded so mush alike it wasn't even funny
I didn't notice much soundstage difference, nor any other issue

I feel just like all very high end Audiophile High Fidelity Grade quipment you pay tons more for very little differences of quality...

a.k.a the jump from a Marantz amp to a Mark Levenston