[zombie medic]

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU VOTE      THANK YOU
 
hello everyone iv been considering buying the rs1i or the he 500 after i went to try on the sr225i grados at crutchfeild audio. Let me explain what happened there. I drove about a hour down from where i was livivg to try the sr225i out. when i got there though they didn't have it in stock, which was weird because they the said the opposite over the phone. Well instead of trying them out i instead auditioned some headphones that were on show case.The really recognizable ones were the he 300, grado sr80i , sen 598, and a senn momentum along with some other 500 number family senn's. I tryed all of them on and the one headphone that stood out from the rest was the grado can. I just liked the sound that was coming from them especially for rock based music. I thought it was also sort of ok for electronic but idk. I didn't really see that much special coming from the he 300 it sorta felt average to me in sound exsept for alittle bit more bass was there and it was darker. The one thing i did obviously notice about the he 300 is what people have been saying about it being pretty hard to drive. I had to turn the volume up about half way on the nu force amp for it to reach a good volume. At this point all the other headphones that were connected were blaring at top volume. Well to get to the point i bascily narrowed down my next headphone to the rs1i because i listen to about 50% rock based music and 50% electronic. HOWEVER iv heard that people say that the he 500 is a all around better headphone. My price range is about 1100 dollars so i could go with the he 500 and throw in the schiit lyr amp but I'm not sure if this would be a better choice over the grado can. My question is should i go with he 500? im not really sure because i think i realy like the grado sound signature.but im not really sure, i only tested all the cans in a time span of 30 minutes in the middle of a somewhat noisy store so i couldn't really pinpoint all the details. I dont think i will be able to adution both in the future.

 

[KG Jag]

The HE-500 is simply the best value and best can for $800 +/-.  however, you may prefer the colored sound signature of the Grado, which was built for electric guitar, over the neutral 500.
 
As you noted, the 500 requires a decent amp to drive it.  The less expensive Schiit Asgard 2 should do the job, as the Asgard 1 drives my 500 well enough.

 

[drbluenewmexico]

never heard the 500s but ive had my RS1 for twenty years and you would have to pry them from my death defying hands to get them from me at any price.
they are magical....other phones may have improved design, the RS1 are literally classic!

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

never heard the 500s but ive had my RS1 for twenty years and you would have to pry them from my death defying hands to get them from me at any price.
they are magical....other phones may have improved design, the RS1 are literally classic!

In fact it has been "improved" or at least changed over those 20 years.  For example, the RS 1i has a ticker cable.  Older versions have pink drivers, etc.  Most importantly my older "button" RS1 sounds different from my newish RS1i.  I prefer the newer sound but others like one of the older versions the best.

 

[drbluenewmexico]

thanks for the clarifications!  maybe im just used to my original RS1 or they are just super burned in, but i find the newer grades harsh and
too bright for my listening.  im also a big fan of the audio-technica sound and love my w1000s which are a completely different more lush
spaced out sound.  never heard the grade  iems, so no opinion there, but addicted to at oems!
thanks for the technical update, i do appreciate it! drblue
ps i assume you meant "thicker" cable!  wish the rs 1 cables for detachable though...like to try some aftermarket cables...am also interested in the hifiman 400 sound,
those have been recommended to me...

 

[zombie medic]

im still unsure of what to get here. i think im might really like the grado "colored" in your face sound in the rs1i compared to the he 500 but idk. man i wish i could audtion them side by side in my area . I wounder what do you guys consider the sound signature on the he 500 to sound like? iv heard its sorta dark, do they sound anything like the he 300? also what genres go good with the he 500? 

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

thanks for the clarifications!  maybe im just used to my original RS1 or they are just super burned in, but i find the newer grades harsh and
too bright for my listening.  im also a big fan of the audio-technica sound and love my w1000s which are a completely different more lush
spaced out sound.  never heard the grade  iems, so no opinion there, but addicted to at oems!
thanks for the technical update, i do appreciate it! drblue
ps i assume you meant "thicker" cable!  wish the rs 1 cables for detachable though...like to try some aftermarket cables...am also interested in the hifiman 400 sound,
those have been recommended to me...

Nope--the newer, thicker cable is stock.
 
You will probably enjoy reading this:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/420092/classifying-versions-of-the-rs1-your-guide-work-in-progress

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

im still unsure of what to get here. i think im might really like the grado "colored" in your face sound in the rs1i compared to the he 500 but idk. man i wish i could audtion them side by side in my area . I wounder what do you guys consider the sound signature on the he 500 to sound like? iv heard its sorta dark, do they sound anything like the he 300? also what genres go good with the he 500? 

Forget the HE 300 when thinking about the HE 500.  Not only is it two models down line and less than half the price of the HE 500, it isn't even an Ortho like the HE 500 (and 400) is.
 
The HE 500 is almost dead neutral, which means that it will give you the track as it was laid down.  Double so because the covers the entire range from bass to trouble with clarity.  The one thing it does not have is a large or even upper medium sized (for an open can in its price class) sound stage.

 

[zombie medic]

Quote:

Forget the HE 300 when thinking about the HE 500.  Not only is it two models down line and less than half the price of the HE 500, it isn't even an Ortho like the HE 500 (and 400) is.
 
The HE 500 is almost dead neutral, which means that it will give you the track as it was laid down.  Double so because the covers the entire range from bass to trouble with clarity.  The one thing it does not have is a large or even upper medium sized (for an open can in its price class) sound stage.

 
forgive me, i thought origonaly that the he 300 was also an ortho like its upper models and from that i thought it would share atlest some of the sound signature from the rest of the he line.how ever from what you said this seems to be incorrect.
 
from what iv been reading and from what people have been saying ( you included KG Jag). the he 500 would be the logical choice mainly because it would go well with everything that i listen to and not just rock based genre's. Iv also hear it has better treble bass and blah blah blah. so..... im getting the he 500!!! (most likely) 
 
thank you all for your help!

 

[zombie medic]

hey everyone im realy really sorry to drag this dead thread back to life but i simply must know somthing. Iv been looking all over the internet to see which headphone (he 500 vs grado rsi1) is better for MY listing prefrences. so far most people say that the grado sounds really really good with rock and metal,jazz sort of music (which) is about 75% of my libary of music. BUT they also say that the he 500 is "just a class above" i wounder why people think this? I can asume that its because they sound good with almost anything while the grado's only sound good with certain things. Is this the main reason why people say that the hifiman can is better? or is there more.... as you can probly tell i havent had the privlage to comapare these two headphones but i really must know. at first i was thinking of getting the hifi man but then i was thinking to my self i listen to mostly rock so why go for the "all arounder" when theres a headphone that sound god like for rock? there only 2 things that im worred about now. im woundering "how will the grado sound with electronic based music? (discudling dubstep and bass heavy music)

 

[KG Jag]

At this point there is nothing that can appear in print that will help you much, if at all.
 
The only thing that will help is for you to llisten to both on equipment the same or similar to what you will be using to drive them.  There is no substitute.  Either you will put the effort in to make that happen or you won't.

 

[zombie medic]

Quote:

 
 
The only thing that will help is for you to llisten to both on equipment the same or similar to what you will be using to drive them.  There is no substitute.  Either you will put the effort in to make that happen or you won't.

 
lol iv put alot of effort into finding a place to audition them both,long story short in my state and there is simply none as of now that have them both that i can trie .Crucified at one time had them both but i dont know how they will react to someone wanting to rig up to expensive headphones for demo. That and the rs1i is out of stock there. Iv put in the effort but unfortunately theres no way what so ever i will be able to try them both out with current situation. I cant go outside the state right now or order them both online for testing either. so im going to have to go with which one is correct for me in my heart.... so far thats the grado's...
 
Quote:

At this point there is nothing that can appear in print that will help you much, if at all.
 

yeah i the logic part of me was sorta telling my to stop shut up and make a decision on one. But the OCD part of me was urging me to continue endless until i find the awser. (yes i do actually have OCD sorry iv i dragged all this **** out) a normal person would of just made a decision instead of just dragging out endlessly looking for the impossible but as you can see im not really normal xD. so sorry for dragging things out.... sometimes i cant help it...literally!

 

[tomb]

You've been getting very good advice in this thread, but ...
 
I'll admit that I'm a Grado fan, so keep that in mind when I say this - if you liked the Grado sound when you tried the lowly SR80, then I think you're just going to be disappointed if you get anything else.  The HE-500 is a great can, but it's not a Grado.

 

[cel4145]

At this point there is nothing that can appear in print that will help you much, if at all.

The only thing that will help is for you to llisten to both on equipment the same or similar to what you will be using to drive them.  There is no substitute.  Either you will put the effort in to make that happen or you won't.

Agreed.

The decision you are trying to make is like trying to decide between two very, very good culinary dishes based upon what people are saying online. You really won't know until you taste them

Otherwise, you just have to make your best guess.

 

[levinhatz]

Quote:

The decision you are trying to make is like trying to decide between two very, very good culinary dishes based upon what people are saying online. You really won't know until you taste them

Otherwise, you just have to make your best guess.

 
+1. They're both very good. I've owned the RS1i and tried the HE-500. The RS1i clearly wins in the detail/energy department but HE-500 has a wider soundstage and is slightly more neutral. That being said, they're pretty close in terms of overall quality, best to find a way to audition both of them before buying because it will come down to a matter of preference.