[hur1214]

I could not find any comparision done with RS2i and HD650..... I own Little Dot Mk III with Grado SR225, but I want to upgrade. My teste(styles) of music are like Green Day, Blink 182, Led Zeppelin, U2, Metallica and some blues(Buddy guy). Yes, mainly funk and rock.

I never had chance to hear Senn HD650 nor HD600. I only used Sonys and Grados(125 and 325) before.

Would be nice to go Senn? or should I keep in love with grado?

 

[Inzane]

Funk and rock are perfect for the RS-2, it has more refinement and instrument separation then the 325i/225i so if you liked those you'll love the RS-2i.

 

[GreatDane]

I think you'd appreciate having the HD 650 which offers a nice change from the Grado sound so having both could be nice.

 

[hur1214]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inzane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Funk and rock are perfect for the RS-2, it has more refinement and instrument separation then the 325i/225i so if you liked those you'll love the RS-2i.

Thanks, I might go and see/try RS2i today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreatDane /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think you'd appreciate having the HD 650 which offers a nice change from the Grado sound so having both could be nice.

But, the problem is there are no place in Vancouver, Canada I can try HD 650.
ummmm........... headache.

 

[nickchen]

The fanboys will riot, but IMO Gradessandros don't scale as much as other brands. You've propably already got 85% of what is to be got from a Grado with your SR225.

Keep it and get something completely different as a "relaxed" complement (e.g. the HD600/650, I bet they are cheap 2nd hand these days). I expect the HD600 to be more suitable for your genres than the HD650.

 

[niranhopper]

Hi

I own an RS2 for the last one and a half years. Last month i bought a HD650 but returned them. i had burnt them for 60+ hrs before doing any comparison.

My impressions was that HD650 was more refined and had a greater soundstage. The sound was more heavier than the grado; guess it was because of the bass. This made them sound slightly closed when compared with the RS2. I have to admit that HD650 was more refined due to the neutrality but the RS2 was more lively and a joy to listen to. I missed the sparkles on the HD650. Though the sparkles are annoying on some records, i cant live without them.

I found the RS2 more comfortable than the HD650 cause the HD650 pressed hard above my ears. I am very lucky to find the grados comfortable

. I also found the sound of HD650 more fatiguing and less involving due to the heaviness of the sound.

My opinion is that grados do guitars better and so i am keeping them. For orchestral and complex music, the HD650 are significantly better than the grado mainly because of the neutrality and soundstage. You can always give the HD650 a try. For me, they made me love my grado and now i am waiting for HF-2

.

P.S. - I am grado fan and didnt spend much time on the HD650.

 

[KingStyles]

Why the rs2's and not the rs1's?

 

[Uncle Erik]

If you like the Grado sound, then a RS-2 (or a used RS-1) would probably be to your liking. The HD-650 is a different beast altogether. I don't know if you'd enjoy the sound. It's been reviewed plenty of times, but it's a smoother, darker experience with better soundstage.

I think there are meets going on in Seattle and Portland this summer - why don't you drive down so you can check out some Sennheisers and much else? Everyone is welcome at meets. Just show up and bring any gear you want. Meets are the best way to get a lot of information quickly as well as talk to a bunch of experienced members. You'll learn more at one meet than spending a month reading posts.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think there are meets going on in Seattle and Portland this summer - why don't you drive down so you can check out some Sennheisers and much else? Everyone is welcome at meets. Just show up and bring any gear you want. Meets are the best way to get a lot of information quickly as well as talk to a bunch of experienced members. You'll learn more at one meet than spending a month reading posts.

There is a meet in Seattle tomorrow (Sunday). I'm thinking of making the trip up to Seattle for the meet.

As for the Grado or Sennheiser thing. It's a case of you have to listen to each to know which is right for you. The Grados above the SR225/325 level get some magic for certain ears and certain music. The Sennheiser HD600/650 does some nice things as well, and the HD600 shouldn't be dismissed just because it has a lower model number (I personally don't think the difference in the HD650 is worth the extra cost over the HD600). Which is right or better is up to the individual.

Grado and a HD600/650 is a nice pairing. They compliment each other. One of my future headphone purchases will be a SR325 or higher level Grado.

 

[priest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif The fanboys will riot, but IMO Gradessandros don't scale as much as other brands. You've propably already got 85% of what is to be got from a Grado with your SR225. Keep it and get something completely different as a "relaxed" complement (e.g. the HD600/650, I bet they are cheap 2nd hand these days). I expect the HD600 to be more suitable for your genres than the HD650.

I completely agree with this advice. I have the SR125 and bought the RS2i expecting a revelation. It did not happen, although I really enjoyed the RS2i. They were definitely better, but not three times better, and I could not justify keeping them for that kind of money. The HD 650 will give you a completely different sound, and you'll save some money too because they are more reasonably priced.

 

[tintin47]

Instead of the RS-2, I would go used RS-1. Better than the 2 in most ways, and you can have a used RS-1 at an equal or lesser price than a new rs-2.

 

[Vandal]

HD600.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hur1214 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I could not find any comparision done with RS2i and HD650..... I own Little Dot Mk III with Grado SR225, but I want to upgrade. My teste(styles) of music are like Green Day, Blink 182, Led Zeppelin, U2, Metallica and some blues(Buddy guy). Yes, mainly funk and rock. I never had chance to hear Senn HD650 nor HD600. I only used Sonys and Grados(125 and 325) before. Would be nice to go Senn? or should I keep in love with grado?

I would go with the RS1. After a while with the RS2s, you will be itching for an upgrade and the RS1s are my favourite in the Grado line. However I prefer both to the HD650.

 

[AtomikPi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hur1214 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I could not find any comparision done with RS2i and HD650..... I own Little Dot Mk III with Grado SR225, but I want to upgrade. My teste(styles) of music are like Green Day, Blink 182, Led Zeppelin, U2, Metallica and some blues(Buddy guy). Yes, mainly funk and rock. I never had chance to hear Senn HD650 nor HD600. I only used Sonys and Grados(125 and 325) before. Would be nice to go Senn? or should I keep in love with grado?

I'm really surprised you're satisfied with the LD Mk III - it's an OTL tube amplifier which tends to not play nice with low impedance (32 ohm in the case of Grado) phones. You might want to try your phones with a low output impedance SS or transformer coupled tube amp.

To me it seems like for your choice of music Grado is a good choice - I agree that going to the RS1 would make more sense since you would never have to worry about upgrading. IMO the higher end grados (GS1K and FWIR PS1K) are quite different from the RS1 versus the RS1 and RS2 are pretty similar.

 

[majkel]

The RS2i are simply, obviously better headphones in terms of musical fidelity, speed, comfort and materials used.

Regarding scalability - compared to the Grado's, Sennheisers don't scale at all. You plug them to the DAP and it's almost great. Then you plug them to a headphone out, it's again almost great. Finally, you plug them to a high-end setup and once again it's almost great. As you all know, the scalability of world "almost" is huge, and Sennheiser loves to confirm it with each model. Too bad, the impression of "almost" never disappears.