[rshdhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 Zanth>I would have to respectfully disagree. As much as I enjoy the Rs-1's for many their unique tone if you will is very off putting. As it add this colouration to every type of music. So you really have to be one the Rs-1 sniper crews to enjoy it for all genre's. So given the GS tonal presentation which is closer to the hp-series than the rs's makes the gs to some a more all rounder. Whereas the GS will appeal to those who previously found the grado's especially the rs's too polarising. I think that many were expecting teh sound like a souped up hp-series, ps- series or more rs-1. Yet while it surpasses some of those in certain aspects of sound reproduction it also lacked in others. I mean your setup is so very good so you had plenty of options to fine tune the sound to your requirements. But there are many on a lower budget which might not have that versatility. I mean you have two of the amps which get recommended as some of the best amps to drive grado's ever. Factor in the tubes at your disposal to refine it further. Though looking at your setup your system is built around the grado sound. This would cover most certainly the Hp, ps- and rs series so there should be no suprises that it sings well with the gs series of headphones in your setup. Looking at your setup synergy has been achieved. Hence why you may not hear the things that others have stated to have heard. And given they use different equipment then of course they may not achieve the same kind of results as the GS as you have. So you are right about the GS. But then again if you had a chance to hear other headfiers setup and then you might be able to hear what they hear. So in the end neither is right or wrong. What is important is that you enjoy them. If you don't then move on and find something that does do it for you. It's all good in the end. As long as it get your rocks off what does it matter.

I dont agree most that setup(amp/source) makes GS sounds bad, like sibilanct high,poor mid, and boomy/airy bass,.etc. I have tested GS with from ampless to $2000 amp for 3 weeks. The difference between ampless and $2000 is not day and night at all. RA1 is the one that really make it outstanding though. But RA1 is no that expensive.

When I put on my RS-1 very first time, I falled in love right away. GS just did not have such magic to me. RS1 is like stunnig scale architecture that impresss first time listener, while GS1000 is an refined detailed art work.

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rshdhead RS1 is like stunnig scale architecture that impresss first time listener, while GS1000 is an refined detailed art work.

Well put and I believe this is an illustration of the very best headphones. Many say the very same thing about the R10's and the HE90 (though some fall deeply in love with the both of these on first listen, others feel that they need longer periods to acclimate their brains to the new sound).

Either way, the phones can do well with most any genre and as Markl has stated time and time again, a good phone should be able to handle any type of music. Given the right system synergy I would think this true of any phone, even something as despised as a Bose triport

 

[GoRedwings19]

Zanth and Rsdhead>Yes you both raise very good points. I don't like to judge individual components on its own merit. I like to judge it as a combo of the whole.

With so many options available these days regarding sources/amps/headphones. It should be possible to build a very nice setup throughout the price range. But even then sometime things don't always work out. The GS is no different to any other component.

Rsdhead>you prefer the rs-1's?

At the end if the GS or Rs or whatever headphone you choose whether liked or hated presents the music in a way that you enjoy it, then that's the main thing.

So Jay the GS series has replaced the hp-series for you? Is this due to the higher cost of the hp-seires to re-obtain? or if something did go worng the hassle of getting replacement drivers? Or generally you prefer the GS sound to the hp-series.

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 So Jay the GS series has replaced the hp-series for you? Is this due to the higher cost of the hp-seires to re-obtain? or if something did go worng the hassle of getting replacement drivers? Or generally you prefer the GS sound to the hp-series.

I think the GS-1000's offer something completely different to any Grado so in this way, given their superiority in many aspects of the audiophile quest, I would rank it above the HP-1000's. However, nothing, no phone, and well no speaker I've heard yet, can match the wonderfully tight, snappy and hard hitting bass of the HP-1000's. That, along with the neutral presentation and a build that is unrivaled and I have to say that they too are most "holy."

If I had to be superfluous with the "holiness" analogies I'd state that the Joseph Grados might be compared to the the Jewish God as the John Grados are being compared to the Christian God

In the end, both are equal but different interpretations bring out different theories on what is the more accurate representation of the real thing.


As for obtaining them, yeah for sure, $1500 for HP-1000's is far more than I can afford or would pay. I don't much mind the obsolescence of the phones as they are built to last forever

Of course, my search continues for a pair. I want one badly.

 

[Audiofiler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth However, nothing, no phone, and well no speaker I've heard yet, can match the wonderfully tight, snappy and hard hitting bass of the HP-1000's. That, along with the neutral presentation and a build that is unrivaled and I have to say that they too are most "holy.".

agreed

Quote:

If I had to be superfluous with the "holiness" analogies I'd state that the Joseph Grados might be compared to the the Jewish God as the John Grados are being compared to the Christian God In the end, both are equal but different interpretations bring out different theories on what is the more accurate representation of the real thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zanth Of course, my search continues for a pair. I want one badly.

me too

 

[GoRedwings19]

Dudes you lost me with the religous analogies.

Do you mean one is Gretzky, the other is Howe and the other is Orr type of analogy?

 

[Zanth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 Dudes you lost me with the religous analogies. Do you mean one is Gretzky, the other is Howe and the other is Orr type of analogy?

Think of it like this:

One is Gretzky and the others are Howe, Orr and Hull

 

[tkam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamdone At first, I thought it fullfilled my wishes. Over time, I realized the soundstage took away from the fun and enjoyment of the RS-1, especially on rock music. Something was missing from my music. The Grado magic was gone. There were only a few albums that didn't sound that great on the RS-1, but it seemed half my music wasn't working for me with the GS1000.

This is pretty similar to my experience with the GS-1000, though I had different expectations than you did. That said I also enjoyed them in the beginning but as time passed the recessed midrange and peaky treble really started to bother me. I found myself not enjoying them with a large portion of my music and I just won't keep headphones that only sound good on half my music.

The RS-1's certainly have plenty of their own flaws but for me those flaws don't get in the way of me enjoying the music like the GS-1000's flaws did.

 

[Blackmore]

I dont want to agree or disagree with anybody. Just one interesting point that i have been missing in your writing guys. Everyone knows that a lot of people just dont like GRADO sound because of their presentation. Very clear, realistic up front sound, direct in your face. So GS1 been made to compromise this shortcoming. If so, why or why you have to rebuild all your system in such dramatic way to get something of them, which maybe not even worth. If I reading this correctly, you all say system or set up around them is the problem. If so please tell me which group people are those who rally can enjoy them. Is this the way to make "unique" kind of phones that only small group can really enjoy. I just dont get it. And what kind of music you can listen with them? I didnt find a single one. Yeah, to sensitive to this or to that...
If Cambridge Audio 640c player and X Can V3 are not good enough, than just forget this one. This is what I think.
I am not angry or anything like that. I am just lost in my conclusions, I guess. I have heard them, didnt like them, DONE! I am not willing to buy a phone that so sensitive to everything. And yes, money plays not the last role up here to.
The conclusion of all that is that this phone is not for big public that didnt like GRADO sound. So for who they are then? For some exclusive and very sensitive ears, please be real. They are just one of the GRADO's. So take it or leave it, right? Well I dont think so. RS1 yes, RS2 yes, but not GS1. First two are really GRADO's and GS1 is everything but not that. I truly want to try them with the right set up, but unfortunately this is not possible. So my opinion still the same.

 

[rshdhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 Rsdhead>you prefer the rs-1's?

In the past 3 months, I have listened to GS1000 a lot more than RS1. Although I am not always faithful to one phone over a long period of time, like HD650 vs RS1 in the past, I am no longer interested in other Grado phone, like HP2 etc. any more. Especially, after testing all the phones I have with some $2000 amp that has been highly praised by many users. I think I know very well how well a phone system can sound.

For fun, I am looking for something exotic, like W5000/K701.

 

[robm321]

OMG and just when I thought this thread was dying...

Instead of the ignorant one liner "Beyer 770" is more refined than the GS-1000, we get true in depth discussion.

Busy at work today but will enjoy reading these posts more in depth later.

Thanks for the dialog - so far better than reading a professional review.

I love headfi.

 

[omendelovitz]

I LOVE my GS1's...as odd as this may sound, they sound balanced (at lower volumes) to these ears (well, maybe a little bass heavy, but I'm a 'smiley' EQ lover anyway, so...) and I'm using an iPod line out with a NN discrete amp - in my case, the amp made all the difference as all the amps I had beforehand didn't pair well with the GS-1's. To make matters even odder, hooking up my GS-1's to the GV5 amp (go Norm!) and my iPod LO really makes these cans a toe-tapper. Now I'm a virgin to the RS-1's (well, almost), but my SR-1000's (HEAVILY MODDED 125's - unrecognizable) are fairly fun and enjoyable to listen to, but the main reason I enjoy the GS-1's remain:

1) transparency - not a detail is ever missed;
2) imaging - best John G has made to date;
3) resolution - even with cheapie sources and amps, every sound generated is distinct from the rest (without drying out the sound too much).

I still believe that these cans are the best compromise b/w my love for the HD650's and the traditional Grado sound (HF-1's and 225's are my favs). From that perspective, they are neutral, and that's what i like! (BTW, not a fan of the SA5000's at all - i.e. I don't like dry, per se)

 

[Audiofiler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore If so, why or why you have to rebuild all your system in such dramatic way to get something of them, which maybe not even worth. If I reading this correctly, you all say system or set up around them is the problem. If so please tell me which group people are those who rally can enjoy them. Is this the way to make "unique" kind of phones that only small group can really enjoy. I just dont get it. And what kind of music you can listen with them? I didnt find a single one. Yeah, to sensitive to this or to that...

These are still new phones, hang in there and the impressions, experimentations, A'B'g results should be more available with time. These are a whole new phone technology, and its presentation and requirements are different than what most systems or combinations of components may be most ideally suited to drive. Building or tweaking components is something I have always done or attempted to in efforts to maximize whatever result I was keen to within the signal path, or generally reducing the obstruction or askew nature of a given phone/sound etc.. I think the GS along with the PS are the only true high end phones(for Grado) that require as much attention to detail on the front end of ones' system. This is not a bad thing necessarily, and to some, the GS's ability to show a weakness or particular trait of sound through the rig is a benefit, to some not so much. I think that the GS, like the PS when it was released initially (I owned one towards the introduction of these, so realize myself the hunt for the proper amp etc), is having growing pains with new users checking them out and finding what they like about the sig before making improvements or changes in their gear. It is kind of like having someone say if they spend all those clams on an elec set of phones they better darn sound good out of my watch-P3 player or my mlevinson transport, G8,Wadia etc..in that, this phone is considered by me as an upper echolen product.
Sometimes changing out the source or having the best of is not the caveat, and well perhaps the amplification or something else is subject. It is not rare to have a new phone that is as different as the GS is VS not only other Grado phones but most dynamics HP's in general, to be experiencing the matching/mating issues I read up on here regarding the GS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore If Cambridge Audio 640c player and X Can V3 are not good enough, than just forget this one. This is what I think.

cool, perhaps synergy is more of a role here with these two components and your music tastes than not. Hope it works out for you..

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackmore I dont want to agree or disagree with anybody. Just one interesting point that i have been missing in your writing guys. Everyone knows that a lot of people just dont like GRADO sound because of their presentation. Very clear, realistic up front sound, direct in your face. So GS1 been made to compromise this shortcoming. If so, why or why you have to rebuild all your system in such dramatic way to get something of them, which maybe not even worth. If I reading this correctly, you all say system or set up around them is the problem. If so please tell me which group people are those who rally can enjoy them. Is this the way to make "unique" kind of phones that only small group can really enjoy. I just dont get it. And what kind of music you can listen with them? I didnt find a single one. Yeah, to sensitive to this or to that... If Cambridge Audio 640c player and X Can V3 are not good enough, than just forget this one. This is what I think. I am not angry or anything like that. I am just lost in my conclusions, I guess. I have heard them, didnt like them, DONE! I am not willing to buy a phone that so sensitive to everything. And yes, money plays not the last role up here to. The conclusion of all that is that this phone is not for big public that didnt like GRADO sound. So for who they are then? For some exclusive and very sensitive ears, please be real. They are just one of the GRADO's. So take it or leave it, right? Well I dont think so. RS1 yes, RS2 yes, but not GS1. First two are really GRADO's and GS1 is everything but not that. I truly want to try them with the right set up, but unfortunately this is not possible. So my opinion still the same.

Your comment about the GS is equally valid as someone who does like them.

Well some of the members here do tweak their systems to the extreme. Just because it didn't work out for you doesn't mean you have to chop and change.

Some members do enjoy their headphone so much they do build systems around it.

It depends on how much you percieve the headphone or whichever component is worth to you to build a setup around. Different people have different requirements and expectations and all at differing price points.

You don't have to spend silly money if you don't want to. If you were happy with the Gs1 and a Cmoy who would criticise you for that if it provided so much enjoyment?

And let's say for example you did keep chopping and changing components there is no guarantee that this would make the gs1k sing to you. You still might not like it.

Headphones I find are a niche product in the overall sense of the hi fi hobby/passion.

 

[Audiofiler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 Some members do enjoy their headphone so much they do build systems around it. It depends on how much you percieve the headphone or whichever component is worth to you to build a setup around. Different people have different requirements and expectations and all at differing price points. You don't have to spend silly money if you don't want to. If you were happy with the Gs1 and a Cmoy who would criticise you for that if it provided so much enjoyment?.

well put..