[Torula Yeast]

I know, I know, last week I was asking about the GS1k bowls, but dang it, I'm gettin' twitchy to hear what the 1k's sound like, even though my current set up sounds so sweet I can't imagine how it could sound any better.

Now I *know* the conventional wisdom is if yer gonna get fancy cans like that, you want the best rig you can rustle up to make 'em sing. But as my sig line shows, my set up is fairly modest, and isn't likely to change too soon if I spring for the woodies. But it so happens I've seen at least one review out there that says the 1k's sound extra-special fab straight out of an mp3 player.

So, my question to the knowledgeable masses is: Would the 1k's be an overreach, sure to leave me disappointed? Or should I sell off various items of my stash and go for broke?

Edited to add: Hey, not a bad topic for my 100th post, eh?

 

[Macromedia]

Just buy them from a store with a good return policy.

 

[Torula Yeast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macromedia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just buy them from a store with a good return policy.

You're right. I just hate the thought of opening a package for such a high-end gizmo and then having to ask the dealer to re-sell it as an opened item. It's a quirk of mine.

 

[unclejr]

... and a great quirk at that. I'm the same way.

The beauty in all of the grados is that they're so easy to drive at 32 ohms that they're sound pretty good from almost any reasonable source. I have found them to be quite detailed, so perhaps the only thing I'd suggest is upgrading your source files to lossless. Or at least try a few out to see if it makes a difference. The general rule is that the higher resolving system you have, the more the bitrate seems to matter. It's been my experience, anyhow.

But those cans will take a lot of great upgrades in source and amplification later on down the road and just continue to please. But they most certainly won't be bad before that.

 

[Mindless]

I doubt they would disappoint you honestly.

However, I'm quite sure you'd do better in investing those $900-1000 in a better source (CD player or DAC) and amplifier to build yourself a decent home rig. Then I'd start thinking about some higher end cans.


As unclejr said though...

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclejr /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... and a great quirk at that. I'm the same way. The beauty in all of the grados is that they're so easy to drive at 32 ohms that they're sound pretty good from almost any reasonable source. I have found them to be quite detailed, so perhaps the only thing I'd suggest is upgrading your source files to lossless. Or at least try a few out to see if it makes a difference. The general rule is that the higher resolving system you have, the more the bitrate seems to matter. It's been my experience, anyhow. But those cans will take a lot of great upgrades in source and amplification later on down the road and just continue to please. But they most certainly won't be bad before that.

They work great unamped out of my portable, but of course, it's nowhere near a $3.5k source and $1.1k amplifier in separation, sound quality and overall enjoyment. I too would suggest you update your music folder with lossless (generally anthing above 900kbps could be regarded as lossless).

I can only speak my mind when I answer. I don't think it's a great idea getting one of the most expensive dynamic headphones in production without a source and amplifier of greater of equivalent price.

 

[unclejr]

A lot of people around here (myself included) believe that the most value driven upgrade path is phones/speakers > source > amp.

 

[F107plus5]

It's a real flip-of-the-coin topic at that. I'm not sure what I'd do in the same situation. I might think that the cans set the standard and the final sound definition and go with the phones and update the system a little at a time.

I dunno, but...yeah; I might.

 

[Macromedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Torula Yeast /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're right. I just hate the thought of opening a package for such a high-end gizmo and then having to ask the dealer to re-sell it as an opened item. It's a quirk of mine.

I'm like that too. Its awkward to return something worth so much.

 

[Progenitor]

Based on my very limited experience with headphones, and experimenting with different sources, I would say that different headphones have different signatures of sound. How good and bad that signature is may depend on equipment upstream of the headphone. e.g. my A900 (being a relatively bright headphone) sounded very sharp from the Audigy 2 to the point that it hurt my ears at high volume. The Sennheiser HD497 did not have this problem. Going from the Audigy 2 (crap source) to the Zhaolu (entry level DAC), I can tell the difference in details, and the sound is less sharp. The difference is small most of the time, but certain piece of music which sounds too sharp on the Audigy 2 is just right on the Zhaolu.

I would say get your GS-1000 first, let me burn in for 2-3 month, and then try to identify weakness with your setup. If you can't hear any, then you've saved yourself $2000. If you do hear the weakness, then go to the board to ask for advise. I reckon that's a much better method than spending loads of money on source and amp which may suit well with the 325i but not with the GS1000.

 

[Torula Yeast]

Thanks, y'all, for weighing in.

Sorry to stir up the source/amp/hp discussion again, as I know there's a thread addressing that matter. But my I was curious about my rig in particular.

Sounds like I can't lose bumping up to the GS1k's and taking it from there, other than some people wonderin' why I'm feeding chopped liver to a champion pure breed when they see my rig in my sig. Heh.

 

[b0dhi]

My GS1000 sounds great straight out of a juli@ sound card, but that's probably more powerful than a portable mp3 player. As much as I like them, $500 of your GS1000 purchase would go towards hearing the defects in the rest of your system. They are ruthless phones. Also, I wouldn't be caught dead lugging around $1000 mahogany phones. The wood scratches easy.

 

[riceboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclejr /img/forum/go_quote.gif A lot of people around here (myself included) believe that the most value driven upgrade path is phones/speakers > source > amp.

I totally agree with uncelejr. Once I got the cans I liked than I updated my files to high end MP3 and Loseless. After that I sprung for a DAC1. Now let me tell you that it made a world of difference. I mean people who have done a blind A/B test found that a good source (DAC1) made the music sound twice as good. Even with files that were at lower bitrate. I brought the DAC1 from Benchmark as it offers a 30 day money back. After hearing them I could never go back. NEVER

.

If you are happy with your cans, upgrading your files and getting a good source will make you happier. Trust me.

BTW, there are other DAC out there like the Apogee Mini-dac that lots of people say make the Grados sound warmer right from the headphone jack. But, Apogee I hear is discontinuing the USB version and going straight to firewire. In any case good luck.

 

[blessingx]

The GS1Ks are the most finicky cans I've ever owned. Even sold my first pair because of the sound. The GS1K is missing the midrange with most top amps, let alone from portables, etc. Don't be fooled by its low impedance. This isn't one of those cases where you need the right setup to do justice to the Grados. You need the right setup for them to sound good, period. Not sure what "modest" means in the title, but be warned.

 

[unclejr]

They sounded fantastic from ALAC > iMod > RSA Tomahawk on low gain setting. Certainly not missing the midrange here, from my listening.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx /img/forum/go_quote.gif The GS1Ks are the most finicky cans I've ever owned. Even sold my first pair because of the sound. The GS1K is missing the midrange with most top amps, let alone from portables, etc. Don't be fooled by its low impedance. This isn't one of those cases where you need the right setup to do justice to the Grados. You need the right setup for them to sound good, period. Not sure what "modest" means in the title, but be warned.

Completely agree. The difference can range from terrible to incredible just by changing the source or Amp.