[joseph69]

  So, we have an unannounced, 'new',  RS1e?
I'm a very big Grado fan - but I wish they would have
said something, somewhere about this.
It's not like they haven't been prodded to do so.

When Grado started flush mounting the drivers in the RS1e I contacted them and asked if this was a "new version" and they replied:
"No there is only one version of the RS1e and there isn't going to be another version".

 

[Amictus]

  Received the RS1e yesterday and have been putting it through my usual line up of test tracks. As you can see below my first pair "version 1" purchased back when the "e" series was released with the protruding drivers and black leather head band while the new ones below "version 2" with flush drivers and tan leather headband. They are much more comfortable with the flush drivers and I love the tan headband but what really matters is the sound. Thank God they don't sound anything like what I remember version 1 sounding like, I now think there must have been something wrong with them or they really did some tweaking since then. Version 1 sounded flat, congested with very little bass, while version 2 sounds much more like my RS2e but smoother with a larger soundstage, beautiful mid range and that's with only 4 hours of burn-in. I need a lot more head time with these but it's clear to me they have changed a lot since my first pair, more to come.
 
Version 1

Version 2

 
 
 

 
 

  Wow!, the difference isn't subtle. The tan headband does look better.
I'm happy for you.

 
 

  When Grado started flush mounting the drivers in the RS1e I contacted them and asked if this was a "new version" and they replied:
"No there is only one version of the RS1e and there isn't going to be another version".

Wow! Love that tan headband! This is really good news! I am so pleased for you and for all lovers of Grado headphones.
 
All we need now if for Grado to offer to update/upgrade the RS1F and early RS1e to the present "COMPLETELY UNCHANGED" specification. I would be happy to pay for that.

 

[whirlwind]

 

  So, we have an unannounced, 'new',  RS1e?
I'm a very big Grado fan - but I wish they would have
said something, somewhere about this.
It's not like they haven't been prodded to do so.

When Grado started flush mounting the drivers in the RS1e I contacted them and asked if this was a "new version" and they replied:
"No there is only one version of the RS1e and there isn't going to be another version".

They are definitely mounted different, still not sure if this is a 50 mm   driver though.....Grado says yes, some people say yes, some say no that the housing around the outside of the driver is just wider.

 

[Oracle]

I've put a few more hours in last night with these and I have to say I'm really liking them, it was a gamble to re-purchase these but I'm glad I gave them another try. The warmer sound signature has extended my listening time where with the RS2e and it's more aggressive sound I may only go an hour before switching to something else like my PS500. I really enjoy the RS2e but in just a more limited amount of time. The bass seems to be improving with the RS1e, it was almost none existent during the first hour with them; Burn-in is more apparent with Grado's than any other headphone I've owned.

 

[joseph69]

  They are definitely mounted different, still not sure if this is a 50 mm   driver though.....Grado says yes, some people say yes, some say no that the housing around the outside of the driver is just wider.

Yes, I remember there was quite a bit of confusion about the driver size, but I think I remember most saying that it was a thicker housings which made the drivers seem to be 50mm…not the drivers themselves.

 

[whirlwind]

 

  They are definitely mounted different, still not sure if this is a 50 mm   driver though.....Grado says yes, some people say yes, some say no that the housing around the outside of the driver is just wider.

Yes, I remember there was quite a bit of confusion about the driver size, but I think I remember most saying that it was a thicker housings which made the drivers seem to be 50mm…not the drivers themselves.

That is what I thought, but Grado calls them 50mm.....weird.

 

[Spirulina780]

  When Grado started flush mounting the drivers in the RS1e I contacted them and asked if this was a "new version" and they replied:
"No there is only one version of the RS1e and there isn't going to be another version".

 
I got a similar answer from Grado customer service when i asked about the RS1e:
 
"the RS1e  will not have any changes
 
it is definitely a better headphone than the RS2e
 
and it is a better headphones than the RS1i
 
let us know if you have any questions
 
we are happy to help"

 

[joseph69]

   
I got a similar answer from Grado customer service when i asked about the RS1e:
 
"the RS1e  will not have any changes
 
it is definitely a better headphone than the RS2e
 
and it is a better headphones than the RS1i
 
let us know if you have any questions
 
we are happy to help"

Right, they definitely said there would be no changes, yet a lot of people are under the impression that there are different versions of the RS1e...which I can understand being they flush mounted the drivers some where along the way?

 

[whirlwind]

I am guessing the RS1e still has the rolled of treble....but now the driver does not touch the ear.....correct ?

 

[joseph69]

  I am guessing the RS1e still has the rolled of treble....but now the driver does not touch the ear.....correct ?

Good question?

 

[Oracle]

  Good question?

 
 

  I am guessing the RS1e still has the rolled of treble....but now the driver does not touch the ear.....correct ?

The driver no longer touches the ear, in fact it fits the same as any other Grado now. I've heard this term "rolled off treble" mentioned before but I'm not sure what to listen for. I'll look up this term and keep that in mind while I listen next time.

 

[zazex]

   
 

The driver no longer touches the ear, in fact it fits the same as any other Grado now. I've heard this term "rolled off treble" mentioned before but I'm not sure what to listen for. I'll look up this term and keep that in mind while I listen next time.

 
I've located a couple of explanations which I think are quite good,
at least for starters:
 
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/please-exlpain-the-audio-term-roll-off.128044/
http://www.dictionaryofengineering.com/definition/treble-roll-off.html

 

[GreenBow]

   
 

The driver no longer touches the ear, in fact it fits the same as any other Grado now. I've heard this term "rolled off treble" mentioned before but I'm not sure what to listen for. I'll look up this term and keep that in mind while I listen next time.

 
Rolled off treble means looking like this graph of the early RS1e. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoRS1eBowlPads.pdf
 
Strange because it also shows the bass rolling off at about 100Hz.
 
Strange because Grados generally roll off at about 50Hz, like this graph of the SR125i http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoSR125i.pdf
 
I was really glad though to read your first impressions of your new RS1e. I mean where you said it's smoother than the RS2e and bigger soundstage. That's why I am glad Amictus started this thread. I have seen some fair impressions of the RS1e, which is different to the initial repsonse. Googling the RS1e shows up some 4-5 star responses. Therefor we need a good look at the RS1e now.

 

[Amictus]

   
Rolled off treble means looking like this graph of the early RS1e. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoRS1eBowlPads.pdf
 
Strange because it also shows the bass rolling off at about 100Hz.
 
Strange because Grados generally roll off at about 50Hz, like this graph of the SR125i http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/GradoSR125i.pdf
 
I was really glad though to read your first impressions of your new RS1e. I mean where you said it's smoother than the RS2e and bigger soundstage. That's why I am glad Amictus started this thread. I have seen some fair impressions of the RS1e, which is different to the initial repsonse. Googling the RS1e shows up some 4-5 star responses. Therefor we need a good look at the RS1e now.

When I first started this thread, I wanted to enable a discussion where those of us who had bought a RS1i/e Frankenstein (RS1F) or RS1e could compare notes and impressions and try to work out either a) the extent of the disaster, or b) whether there is a worthy headphone in the new model just waiting for the right mod or long enough burn-in to bring it out.
 
Since then, there has already been a surprising development, in that Grado seemed to have ‘tweeked’ the design in response to community criticisms and expectations, opening up the possibility that a serious successor to previous iterations of the RS1 might be on the cards for us all.
 
Thank you all for your contributions so far, which I, for one, have found really helpful (although costly - you guys persuaded me to buy a GH1!). I am now comparing the PS500, the 'RS1F' and the GH1 with the same music to try and see how things are developing. The major surprise is that the sound of the RS1F has changed very substantially since I first got them and that they are now good for some music. I must say that I was surprised by the consensus that the treble is 'rolled off', as the bright, and sometimes harsh and chaotic, treble was a major source of dissatisfaction to me when I first heard them. Comparing them with the GH1 (which has less than 10 hours on them), I can hear a difference in the treble which is difficult to characterize. I have tried 'The Lark Ascending' by Vaughan Williams for the stratospheric violin solo, and now I am trying the first of Messiaen's Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine for its manic treble-oriented twiddling on piano and chorus (sorry, Messiaen). The RS1F is forward and exciting with a tendency to brittleness which the GH1 seems to avoid. I think that I hear more treble overtones with the GH1, too. So I have learned something here: headphones can have a rolled-off treble and still be a little shrill.
 
Well, I shall continue to report back on my 'RS1F' and look forward to reading stuff from those who have acquired the more recent version... while trying to persuade myself not to get a later RS1e to add to my increasing Grado collection. This way madness lies.

 

[joseph69]

  When I first started this thread, I wanted to enable a discussion where those of us who had bought a RS1i/e Frankenstein (RS1F) or RS1e could compare notes and impressions and try to work out either a) the extent of the disaster, or b) whether there is a worthy headphone in the new model just waiting for the right mod or long enough burn-in to bring it out.
 
Since then, there has already been a surprising development, in that Grado seemed to have ‘tweeked’ the design in response to community criticisms and expectations, opening up the possibility that a serious successor to previous iterations of the RS1 and might be on the cards for us all.
 
Thank you all for your contributions so far, which I, for one, have found really helpful (although costly - you guys persuaded me to buy a GH1!). I am now comparing the PS500, the 'RS1F' and the GH1 with the same music to try and see how things are developing. The major surprise is that the sound of the RS1F has changed very substantially since I first got them and that they are now good for some music. I must say that I was surprised by the consensus that the treble is 'rolled off', as the bright, and sometimes harsh and chaotic, treble was a major source of dissatisfaction to me when I first heard them. Comparing them with the GH1 (which has less than 10 hours on them), I can hear a difference in the treble which is difficult to characterize. I have tried 'The Lark Ascending' by Vaughan Williams for the stratospheric violin solo, and now I am trying the first of Messiaen's Trois petites liturgies de la Présence Divine for its manic treble-oriented twiddling on piano and chorus (sorry, Messiaen). The RS1F is forward and exciting with a tendency to brittleness which the GH1 seems to avoid. I think that I hear more treble overtones with the GH1, too. So I have learned something here: headphones can have a rolled-off treble and still be a little shrill.
 
Well, I shall continue to report back on my 'RS1F' and look forward to reading stuff from those who have acquired the more recent version... while trying to persuade myself not to get a later RS1e to add to my increasing Grado collection. This way madness lies.

Congratulations on the GH-1.
You know what I'm going to say next, right?