subtle
Formerly known as F1GTR
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2007
- Posts
- 2,094
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- 105
After randomly inspecting people's signatures lately, just by going from thread to thread, I've noticed a lot of people list the headphones they currently own, have owned in the past, or would like to own sometime in the future. Many times I notice Grado being left completely off the list. I'm curious to know what are the main factors for people choosing not to try out and/or own a Grado? Is it their physical appearance? Is it word of mouth on the possible comfort issues? Their reputation for being up front and putting you on stage and in to the action? The claim that they don't particularly work well with classical/opera music? Or is it something else altogether?
The reason I ask is because I am now enamored with their sound, yet I used to personally avoid them simply because of their physical appearance . Over the years I have tried many different manufacturers headphones. I started with Sennheiser back in the early 90's, can't recall which model number it was, and just loved what they had to offer. I used them for many years before I got the itch to try other options in order to see if I was missing anything. I sampled some Beyerdynamic's and Sony offerings, again I can't remember the models, and I liked them quite a bit. Each had their own unique presentation to the sound that I enjoyed, but nothing convinced me to stray from Sennheiser.
I remember seeing the Grado line while I was shopping and I refused to try them because I thought they looked cheap. I remember the merchant telling me their prices and just thinking "for that!" Looking at the Sennheisers and then at the Grados, I just ignored them. Well 1997 rolled around and things changed forever. A buddy of mine I used to play in a garage band with, I play piano and him guitar, knew I loved my headphones and he called me up insisting that I drop by sometime that week to check out his new RS-1. Of course I had read about them before and seen pictures, along with the HP-1000, but they were what I considered then in "crazy price" territory. I had a difficult time spending the $100-150 that I had dropped on the Sennheisers and couldn't fathom paying more than 3-4x that for a headphone. To make a long story short, that day was like an epiphany. I remember putting them on my head, clicking play on the cd player, and hearing Led Zepplin like I never had before. I think my mouth was hanging open for a good minute or two before I realized how dumbfounded I was. I simply couldn't believe the definition I was hearing from the guitars and the midrange was just unreal. It was a major wake up call for me and a true reminder to never judge a book by its cover.
It took me a few weeks but I eventually saved up enough money for a pair of my own. I bought them and never looked back. I found out about head-fi one night, a couple of months ago, because I was looking over ebay and saw a pair of GS-1000's listed. I hadn't heard about them before, just because I really wasn't keeping up with headphones that well and had gotten myself in to speakers, so I did a google search which quickly led me to a discussion thread here. After reading through that, I started searching for other Grado threads and soon found about the PS-1's as well. I read over all of Zanth's review threads and, upon completion(curse you Zanth!
), knew I just had to try the PS's, the GS's and eventually the HP-1000's. Then I found out about all of these new headphones that had been developed since I last paid attention, specifically the HD600 and HD650. Of course I also discovered all of the high dollar options that I never knew existed and my intrigue for headphones kicked right back in. Good times.
So I sit here today, having recently sold off that beloved pair of RS-1's that I had for almost ten years, donning my newly acquired PS-1's, and I'm in love all over again. My wallet isn't sharing the same love, but luckily my income is a bit higher than it was in the late 90's. Now head-fi has me saving up for a variety of items. The GS's, a new amplifier, a new source, either the HD600 or 650, and maybe even one of these crazy looking K1000's. It also has me quite intrigued by these rare Sony R10's and Qualia, specifically the latter. After looking at the pictures of that cool headphone, reading about its amazing detail retrieval, and knowing I'm a sucker for detail, I've added that one to my list of must hears as well. This disease is fantastic.
Anyhow, all of this got me thinking and leads me to my question. If you haven't tried Grado's yet, why not? If it is their physical appearance, please don't allow that to keep you from them. The sound they produce, from something relatively plain looking(well compared to the carbon fiber looking Qualia) really will WOW you. I know I may come across here sounding like some wacky Grado shill, but I assure you that I am not receiving one penny from my hysteria.
I plan to write a nice review comparing my recently departed RS-1 and my new PS-1 sometime in the next week or two, so keep an eye open for that. It will probably pale in comparison to the one Zanth has provided us with, but I will do my best.
Sorry for the novel of a post here. I hope everyone made it through it ok. Please let the discussion begin.
The reason I ask is because I am now enamored with their sound, yet I used to personally avoid them simply because of their physical appearance . Over the years I have tried many different manufacturers headphones. I started with Sennheiser back in the early 90's, can't recall which model number it was, and just loved what they had to offer. I used them for many years before I got the itch to try other options in order to see if I was missing anything. I sampled some Beyerdynamic's and Sony offerings, again I can't remember the models, and I liked them quite a bit. Each had their own unique presentation to the sound that I enjoyed, but nothing convinced me to stray from Sennheiser.
I remember seeing the Grado line while I was shopping and I refused to try them because I thought they looked cheap. I remember the merchant telling me their prices and just thinking "for that!" Looking at the Sennheisers and then at the Grados, I just ignored them. Well 1997 rolled around and things changed forever. A buddy of mine I used to play in a garage band with, I play piano and him guitar, knew I loved my headphones and he called me up insisting that I drop by sometime that week to check out his new RS-1. Of course I had read about them before and seen pictures, along with the HP-1000, but they were what I considered then in "crazy price" territory. I had a difficult time spending the $100-150 that I had dropped on the Sennheisers and couldn't fathom paying more than 3-4x that for a headphone. To make a long story short, that day was like an epiphany. I remember putting them on my head, clicking play on the cd player, and hearing Led Zepplin like I never had before. I think my mouth was hanging open for a good minute or two before I realized how dumbfounded I was. I simply couldn't believe the definition I was hearing from the guitars and the midrange was just unreal. It was a major wake up call for me and a true reminder to never judge a book by its cover.
It took me a few weeks but I eventually saved up enough money for a pair of my own. I bought them and never looked back. I found out about head-fi one night, a couple of months ago, because I was looking over ebay and saw a pair of GS-1000's listed. I hadn't heard about them before, just because I really wasn't keeping up with headphones that well and had gotten myself in to speakers, so I did a google search which quickly led me to a discussion thread here. After reading through that, I started searching for other Grado threads and soon found about the PS-1's as well. I read over all of Zanth's review threads and, upon completion(curse you Zanth!
So I sit here today, having recently sold off that beloved pair of RS-1's that I had for almost ten years, donning my newly acquired PS-1's, and I'm in love all over again. My wallet isn't sharing the same love, but luckily my income is a bit higher than it was in the late 90's. Now head-fi has me saving up for a variety of items. The GS's, a new amplifier, a new source, either the HD600 or 650, and maybe even one of these crazy looking K1000's. It also has me quite intrigued by these rare Sony R10's and Qualia, specifically the latter. After looking at the pictures of that cool headphone, reading about its amazing detail retrieval, and knowing I'm a sucker for detail, I've added that one to my list of must hears as well. This disease is fantastic.
Anyhow, all of this got me thinking and leads me to my question. If you haven't tried Grado's yet, why not? If it is their physical appearance, please don't allow that to keep you from them. The sound they produce, from something relatively plain looking(well compared to the carbon fiber looking Qualia) really will WOW you. I know I may come across here sounding like some wacky Grado shill, but I assure you that I am not receiving one penny from my hysteria.
Sorry for the novel of a post here. I hope everyone made it through it ok. Please let the discussion begin.
