[M Rael]

The picture shows the enclosures with the screen sides facing each other. The RS1 has a slightly larger diameter but the biggest difference is the depth of the enclosure behind each driver.
The RS1 clearly has more volume.

The HP1000 Series has an industrial feel and machine-shop craftsmanship thats really impressive. You can see the set screws in the pic that hold the drivers in place. Opening the wood case (my pair is old) and seeing the RS1's for the first time reminded me instantly of a precious little wood chess set (for some strange reason).. they looked miniature sized in an odd way. On close inspection its obvious that the RS1 is made with the help of hot glue (again) but overall its a very nice package. I dont consider it a bargain in terms of the build quality detail you get, but its ok, and its from Brooklyn.

I dont know if the extra enclosure volume is responsible for the bass oooompf in the RS1 but its the first thing I noticed compared to the HP2. I agree with the person who said the HP seemed less influenced by pad types compared to the RS1. I prefer bowls on the HP but the RS1 seems nicer to me with flats. Much nicer.

If I had to choose between the two and give up one, what would I do? I would say 'screw you I aint choosing and nobody is making me, now get the hell away from me before I knock you on your ass' (or words to that effect)

 

[The Quality Guru]

Quote:

If I had to choose between the two and give up one, what would I do? I would say 'screw you I aint choosing and nobody is making me, now get the hell away from me before I knock you on your ass' (or words to that effect)

So they are keepers, then?

How do you think they compare to the W2002's that you recently sold- how about in overall transparency and detail? (What didn't you like about the W2002's that made you sell them anyway?).

Quote:

I dont know if the extra enclosure volume is responsible for the bass oooompf in the RS1 but its the first thing I noticed compared to the HP2. I agree with the person who said the HP seemed less influenced by pad types compared to the RS1. I prefer bowls on the HP but the RS1 seems nicer to me with flats. Much nicer.

To those who have tried it, how close do the "modded comfies" come to the sound of the flat pads?

 

[M Rael]

QG: I probably wouldnt go as far as Corey Greenberg did in his praise of the RS1 (he prefered it to his HP2) but I'm leaning in that direction. I sold the W2002 because I just dont sit at home and listen very often. I could do other things with that bread. I loved the thrill of the hunt, and I think the W2002 is a great sounding can, but I have no need to collect 101 different headphones and then hang on to them till judgement day.

I listen while I work as much as I'm able. Especially the RS1 is easy to use off a portable, and they are light! I had a Stax T1 amp and their 303 earspeakers and I didnt enjoy it as much as I do the top end Grados at work. I'll end up with the HP2 for home and the RS1's for work, and I'll use the RS1's a lot more because of it.

p.s. The Strokes 'Hard To Explain' starts with a beat featuring a fast drum machine sound off to one side. This snythetic sound is duplicated in time by a 'real' high hat, struck closed, in the center of stereo. The RS1 has NO problem resolving this, and is not bettered by the HP2 at this. Its a small example, but hey, its an example.

 

[Zanth]

Hi MRael,

That was me who mentioned that the HP-1000s are seemingly immune to the needs of flats to function. The RS-1s though...as you say, are in need big time.

Build quality for the HP-1000s is definitely over the top. I there is a reason for the differences. The HP-1000s were meant for studio use and hence I believe Joe felt they would be dropped, thrown around and maybe trampled on by a heard of angry Gremlins upon hearing the New Kids on the Block. The RS-1s though...were meant for audiophiles, who would theoretically treat their phones with the care of a mother handling her new-born child.


Glad you are having fun with them. Incidently two of the best cans ever made, but I don't have to tell you that.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by Zanth That was me who mentioned that the HP-1000s are seemingly immune to the needs of flats to function

The recent RS1 posts were very helpful to me, thanks!

By the way, heres how you remove the drivers from the RS1:

You need to find as stiff a piece of thin metal as possible that will fit through the vent screen holes (I used a thin allen screw wrench.) You insert the rod in several screen holes around the EDGE, where the speaker meets the inside of the enclosure, and tap lightly. Eventually the speaker will begin to move out from the enclosure, and you tap in such a way to keep it as flush as it comes out. It takes a bit of force, but obviously you start small and work your way up.. if you tapped and instantly shattered the wood enclosure and squashed the speaker, its a sure sign you used too much force.

The speaker in the RS1 looks vastly different than the one in the HP2.

 

[kelly]

Thanks for the info and pics, M Rael. You're good for somethin' after all. (Even if you are a bit dodgy about that whole W2002 incident.)

I'm honestly surprised you like the HP-1000 so much from a portable. I think despite its low impedance rating, the headphone benefits tremendously from an amplifier (much the same way the HD600 does). By comparrison, I found the W2002 and RS-1 to care a little less about the amplifier. Wonder if I'm alone in that perspective.

What source did you have behind that Stax T1?

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly (Even if you are a bit dodgy about that whole W2002 incident.)

Tut, tut. Thats how rumors get started

You dont believe it can be as simple as I've said it. I just A) dont keep stuff I dont actively use, and B) realized how little 'sit still and listen' type use I was getting out of them. So I sold them. I didnt lose money on the deal, I can tell you that much. Also: (not mentioned before because I was saving it for you) I just sold a pair of Thiel CS1.5 speakers on audiogon today for $950. I sold them for exactly the same reason I sold the W2002. The are great speakers but in the long haul they turned out to be wrong for my listening style and my situation.

I like the HP2 from a portable ok, but then I have a twin 9V battery mint tin amp that Apheared gave me, so I have the juice to drive them. I'm going to like the RS1 better though, I can tell that much already. Easier to drive and also better suited to my music and at-work needs.

I am advertising the Stax T1 on audiogon as we speak. From there maybe ebay. It was being fed from the non-variable line outs of a Sony X707ES CD player (but with a HeadRoom Static unit in between.) Great sound.

 

[kelly]

M Rael
It's only for your own benefit that I tell you this (honest) but you may want to plug that Stax system in to a good source (just go audition one at a store, they shouldn't mind you bringing in something so small to audition).

I wouldn't fault anyone for wanting one headphone around that was easy to drive and sounds ok from a bad source. The W2002 would have been that for me but I couldn't bare to treat something rare and expensive (and nice, from an aesthetic view) like something that could just be thrown around and I wasn't going to carry a suitcase with me wherever I took it. If the RS-1 isn't too bright for you, as it is for me, and you don't think it's too expensive to use it that way, then yeah, that'd be nice to have.

The HP-1000 is simply not in that category for me. I'm sure it does sound better from that CHA47 than from a headphone jack but I'm also sure it sounds better from bigger and better headphone amps. And to a greater extent than the RS-1. The RS-1 is probably nice to take with you on trips and whatever, but if you're going to hang on to the HP-1000 (and especially if you're not going to keep that Stax), think seriously about taking the leap on a better amp.

 

[Beagle]

Thanks for the nice pic M Rael.

The enclosure size of the HP-2 looks the same as the aluminum air chambers on the SR325.

My experience is that a larger air chamber increases bass response at the expense of upper midrange/lower treble presence.

What would be cool is taking an HP-2 enclosure to a machine shop and asking them to run off some duplicates which could be sold to Grado owners who could load their RS-1/2 innards (drivers, wiring) into them.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by kelly I'm sure it does sound better from that CHA47 than from a headphone jack but I'm also sure it sounds better from bigger and better headphone amps.

Once I hit the play button on the PCDP I stop concerning myself with critical evaluations. Naturally, I seek out the highest level that I can (in headphones), but I'm not constantly thinking about the headphones once I hit play. What I do know is that during the time I'm working on a job I have access to some of the best, if not the best portable headphones money can (pun) buy.

Grados are the best dynamic headphones that can be comfortably worn around the neck when your not using them; thats what I've come up with, and sure, like everything, there are areas where you can progress on the $$ curve towards purer sound. My point is: I would rather have PCDP sound using the RS1 while I make $$$ at work, and just enjoy that fact, than to fret and stress about matching amps and cables on a more expensive home-only system that I dont have time to listen to as much and that 'pins me down' while I'm doing it. When I listen at home its at my expense; when I listen at work its at the customers expense (not literally (!) I always do a good job.)

Yeah the HP2's would sound great out of a Melos, right? Its a given. I just dont want to be in a mental place where I'm placing my critical faculties always above the music. Its not healthy

You dont know how fun it is to listen to RS1's on a PCDP when you finish listening and realize they helped you breeze through a few or several hundred dollar job. They become your friends.. your companions.. you dont turn around then and criticize their 'ultimate performance' every chance you get. And compared to what? I already have the best!

Beagle:
are you wanting to try making a HP1000 housing out of titanium instead of aluminum?

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally posted by Beagle What would be cool is taking an HP-2 enclosure to a machine shop and asking them to run off some duplicates which could be sold to Grado owners who could load their RS-1/2 innards (drivers, wiring) into them.

Why would anyone would want to do that since that's what the SR325 and MS2 are for the most part?

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally posted by M Rael Yeah the HP2's would sound great out of a Melos, right? Its a given. I just dont want to be in a mental place where I'm placing my critical faculties always above the music. Its not healthy You dont know how fun it is to listen to RS1's on a PCDP when you finish listening and realize they helped you breeze through a few or several hundred dollar job. They become your friends.. your companions.. you dont turn around then and criticize their 'ultimate performance' every chance you get. And compared to what? I already have the best!

They might sound even better if you mod them for a Blockhead, but I don't think that's going to happen. Maybe some people might be concern that you are not even coming close to hearing what these headphones can really do (and you are not, obviously) but why should anyone care really? As long as you are enjoying them, keep on doing what you are doing I say!

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Hey, how about some pictures of flat pads vs. bowl pads?

Biggie.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally posted by KR... Why would anyone would want to do that since that's what the SR325 and MS2 are for the most part?

No, the HP-1 is all aluminum and the SR325 has only the rear chamber area in aluminum. The driver housing is plastic. And there is a plastic ring insert in each aluminum chamber in the 325. Big difference.

I mean the whole thing done in aluminum, and use the RS-1 drivers and wire and you have a better phone than the RS-1 or HP-1.

I don't have a digital camera but maybe someone who owns the HP-1 or 2 and the SR325 can post pictures with the pads off. You'll see what I mean.

 

[KR...]

Quote:

I don't have a digital camera but maybe someone who owns the HP-1 or 2 and the SR325 can post pictures with the pads off. You'll see what I mean.

Golly, you mean like the ones I took myself?