[SanJoseCanJunkie]

Has anyone heard both of these cans? I'm mostly interesting in soundstage thoughts, forwardness, and detail comparisons.

My desire to listen to the GS1000i has been growing steadily, but since they aren't common fare around here, I figured I'd post this in a lame attempt to satiate my interest (and there aren't many comparisons that I found in search).

 

[SP Wild]

This questions has been bugging me also.

 

[Scooterboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SanJoseCanJunkie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone heard both of these cans? I'm mostly interesting in soundstage thoughts, forwardness, and detail comparisons. My desire to listen to the GS1000i has been growing steadily, but since they aren't common fare around here, I figured I'd post this in a lame attempt to satiate my interest (and there aren't many comparisons that I found in search).

Yes I have owned both. First the AKG 701/702 it is a nice phone at its price point. It had a good soundstage but lacked any sort of depth. To answer your question about detail, it was good at its price point. In my opinion the 701/702 while nice it is a mid fi and not a true audiophile in the strictest sense of that term. In its defense it can be had on the street for about $250.00.

Regarding the GS 1000, this is a very complex phone. It scales very well with audiophile sources, cabling and amplification. It works best with music genres such a classical which is naturally recorded without multimicing and excessive mixing. It has about the same soundstage as the 701 but I find it more natural with more depth, palpability and imaging. I also found that it had more detail than the 701/702. I would categorize this as an audiophile phone because it scales very well with audiophile sources and amplification. It also costs a lot more that a 701/702.

Now for the "downside" they aren’t "common fare” with a lot on this forum because they are not as forgiving to non-audiophile sources (both hardware and software) as other phones such as the 701.

Hope this helps and good listening.

 

[jax]

I've had both too. A few more observations. The K70x is more picky about amplification. It can easily sound thin with the wrong amp. Check the forums to see what folks are liking with it. Both are very detailed phones. Both do well at soundstage, but I'd say the Grado is a bit more encompassing/3-D. GS1000 is a champion at low-level listening - you don't feel like you're missing anything when the volume is turned down. K70x are not as good there. GS1000 seem to me to have a recessed midrange...a dip perhaps. This was my may complaint of them. It makes vocals seem recessed. I found the Grados more engaging though, and a much more enjoyable can than the AKG's. If they would push the midrange up a bit I would not have sold mine. If I were a rock listener I would not choose GS1000's though...just not rich/full enough in the mids. Better bass than the AKG's though. Hope that helps.

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

What about brightness? Any difference on the upper registers?

 

[MarkJnK]

I was a K701 fan and went through a number of amps until I found what I thought was a terrific match, the WA6se. Prior to the WA6se the k701 sounded a bit thin, still enjoyable, but always felt like something was missing. With the WA6se and the right tubes the K701 came alive with amazing performance with jazz, classical, acoustic guitar and vocals, with nice bass and incredible sparkling clarity. I was absolutely addicted to the detail, and everything else I tried sounded dead in comparison... until I tried the GS1000. The GS1000 in my opinion takes all the good points from the K701 and adds a deep bass and fun engaging sound that just makes you keep listening. I owned both at the same time and within a day decided to sell my beloved K701 as there wasn't anything it could do that the GS1000 couldn't. As another bonus, the GS1000 can sound great with any genre, from jazz to metal, where the K701 was strictly a jazz/classical/acoustic can. My K701 became much richer and musical after 200hrs of break in, but admittedly there were still a few moments where the highs would bite me, the stridency on certain recordings was a little fatiguing. The GS1000 doesn't have any stridency or sibilance. In fact it has a sound that just allows me to melt into my chair and listen to anything in my library with absolute relaxation and comfort.

*edit* one more point is that the K701 wasn't very forgiving of poorly recorded music, while the GS1000 isn't as picky, and sounds good with anything I throw at it, and stunning with well recordded tracks.

 

[SP Wild]

Thanks for the insight. From what I have gathered the GS1000i is overall better than K701. What is of utmost importance for me however is "tone", if the K701 is considered neutral to slightly lean (depending on amp) I am getting an impression that the GS1000i can be slightly fuller (warmer, darker) to neutral (depending on amp) would this be a correct generalisation.

 

[stokitw]

To be honest, you should be ignoring the "neutral" concept when talking about sound. A good system should give you what's on the record straight out. It's a difficult thing to take care of every aspect of fidelity, so different brands have different approaches. Grado headphones used to narrow the distance between you and instrument to achieve the superior detail level to other phones within similar price range. It's not the case of GS-1000. GS-1000 is the first Grado phones gives you both detail and proper distance. In fact, it does that much better than other phones. Some other phones some times stress too much on the concept of sound stage therefore gives you a strange feeling about where you're in the concert hall. In that case, the sound is just not realistic enough, not matter how "neutral" people may say. The only "downside" of GS-1000 is that now those badly recorded CDs are more exposed which may not a pleasant thing. For example, I bought this Heifetz transcription of Gershwin recently. Under DT990, I think "alas, he is not Heifetz afterall..". Under GS-1000, all those detail shows up effortlessly, then I find "this guy plays really well!" However, GS-1000 also reveals many mysterious background noise on this record (may be something wrong in the tape or CD pressing?) straight out. That sometimes can be annoying...

 

[SP Wild]

I beg to differ - for me tonal balance is primary - even a cheap phone with my preferred tonal balance will be preferred over a technically superior phone with all the audiophile language attached to it that has a tonal balance which I do not prefer.

No matter how good the HD800 is - it's tonal balance just is not to my liking - universally referenced as neutral - so we have a consensus. The D7000 for instance has a "neutral" midrange but because of the bass presence the overall tone is to the "warm" side of neutral (as referenced to HD800/K701 neutral tonality - as generally accepted)

My opinion is different I subjectively would consider the D7000 neutral, the K701 is lean (less bass presence), the HD800 is bright (excessive treble coupled to lean midrange and low bass presence), the HD650 is warm (Bass present, lower midrange emphasis, less treble presence) - However we must take the general consensus and establish a common reference point for everyone to be able to mentally conjecture a headphones tonal balance - without this the other subtleties are useless.

 

[carledwards]

Both phones are picky about amps and they can both be way too bright with the wrong amplification. I find the Grado to have more low-end and a deeper soundstage. Its ability to spread out instruments can be truly amazing. The AKG excels at tonal balance where all the registers are evenly represented. Its soundstage is impressive but can't compete with the Grado when considering the ability to separate instruments in a mix. Again, everything depends on the right amp, IMO.

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP Wild /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the insight. From what I have gathered the GS1000i is overall better than K701. What is of utmost importance for me however is "tone", if the K701 is considered neutral to slightly lean (depending on amp) I am getting an impression that the GS1000i can be slightly fuller (warmer, darker) to neutral (depending on amp) would this be a correct generalisation.

This is hard to answer because I don't think any of us know exactly what neutral is, or what the original recording was meant to sound like, as we weren't there, we only hear what our various gear is telling us. So I can say that the K701 is just slightly leaner/cooler through the mids than the GS1000, about the same through the higher frequencies, and certainly leaner through the bass. Overall the GS1000 sounds warmer and more comfortable, but not overly warm or dark in my opinion. Mids on the GS1000 are slightly recessed compared to the K701, but still clear and detailed. The GS1000 can have a slightly boomy bass with some recordings, and tight detailed bass with others. I think the bass boost is definitely part of the Grado colour, which adds a warmth that I like. On my WA6se, I get some bass boominess when using the high gain jack, and none in the low gain jack.

 

[alex30]

Can someone please comment on the comfort of the GS 1000.
I like what I am reading about it's sound but worry about the comfort as I wear my 'phones for hour upon hour.
At present I use the AKG K702 for light music and the Denon 2000 for heavier stuff. I find this a reasonable but slightly cumbersome solution to the problem of not having the ultimate 'phone.
Would the GS 1000 do the job of these two 'phones in a comfortable manner.
I find both my 'phones very comfortable.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP Wild /img/forum/go_quote.gif I beg to differ - for me tonal balance is primary - even a cheap phone with my preferred tonal balance will be preferred over a technically superior phone with all the audiophile language attached to it that has a tonal balance which I do not prefer. No matter how good the HD800 is - it's tonal balance just is not to my liking - universally referenced as neutral - so we have a consensus. The D7000 for instance has a "neutral" midrange but because of the bass presence the overall tone is to the "warm" side of neutral (as referenced to HD800/K701 neutral tonality - as generally accepted) My opinion is different I subjectively would consider the D7000 neutral, the K701 is lean (less bass presence), the HD800 is bright (excessive treble coupled to lean midrange and low bass presence), the HD650 is warm (Bass present, lower midrange emphasis, less treble presence) - However we must take the general consensus and establish a common reference point for everyone to be able to mentally conjecture a headphones tonal balance - without this the other subtleties are useless.

I'm agree with you, maybe you can try the K-1000, K271, GMP 435 with the newer oval pads. Even the HD-600 have a nice tonal balance but just a little dark compare to the K702.

 

[SP Wild]

I have no interests in finding a successor to my K701s - I find them glorious as a neutral reference. I know Grado's are famous for their "color" hence my curiosity - if some believe the K701 is "brighter" than GS1000i than I am in the clear as I do not find the K701 "bright" and I do not like said characteristic.

 

[alex30]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP Wild /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have no interests in finding a successor to my K701s - I find them glorious as a neutral reference. I know Grado's are famous for their "color" hence my curiosity - if some believe the K701 is "brighter" than GS1000i than I am in the clear as I do not find the K701 "bright" and I do not like said characteristic.

Hi,
I think you are spot on. The AKG is a glorious all round headphone that does all genres well. I am not saying that a different 'phone will not do some things better, I prefer the Denon 2000 for rock and heavier music, but if I could only have one it would be the AKG. Of course I am only talking from my limited experience. I doubt if any of us have tried every available 'phone but I am working on it !