[Aaron Friedman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by islewind /img/forum/go_quote.gif Part of what would be missed would be the true exploration of the hobby. I know that there are many devotees of high-end 'stats out there, but there are others who have a differing opinion and varied preferences. How else to discover your own point of view without some involvement? If the Omega 2's cost as much as the load of gear he's already purchased, (and that happens to total his entire budget at the present time) choosing them to start and finish with all at once with would be the classic rich-guy non-enthusiast move - "Just tell me what the very best is, get me that, and I'm done." Contrast that with the alternative - learning about various things, trying different possibilities, comparing things for yourself, and making equipment switches and upgrades based on those experiences. I don't think Bootleg is wasting time or money in his approach per se, perhaps the main difference is the speed with which he has gotten into things. That factor may cost him some money, considering that lessons learned in a more gradual approach might help focus purchases and not chase down needless alternatives. But he's in a relatively rare position, that of having a lump of cash to spend on this stuff in a short timespan. I know I'd love to be in that position, and I'm glad to be able to benefit in some way from it.

X2

 

[Aaron Friedman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm now using every spare minute to try and get comfortable with all of the gear that is here now, and a lot has yet to arrive! In heavy rotation now are: 1. AKG K 701's - These have been burning in nonstop for nearly three weeks now. They have suddenly come to life, but mostly due to the arrival of the DAC1 and the GCHA. While I am learning to appreciated the relaxed presentation that they give, they are clearly near the bottom of the pecking order. I do not find them to be comfortable or particularly interesting to listen to...maybe the Mapletree will breathe more vibrant life into them. 2. Grado RS1's - Wow! I've only listened to them for a few hours, but I would describe the sound as "Acoustic", "Analog", and "Unplugged". The wood chambers really seems to be doing something musical here. And, due mostly to their light weight, they are darn comfortable. The included 15 foot cable was a nice touch. Has anyone noticed that Grado cables appear to be very cheaply crimped at the "Y"? 3. Grado 325i's - Very solid, but less refined than the RS1's--more "new age" or "techno" sounding. I like them very much for their substantial feel (heavy aluminum cups), and for half the price of the RS1's, they offer nice value for the money. If I had done what I started out to do before joining Head Fi, I could have just got a pair of 325i's, been happy, and called it a day. All of these takes are based on a sum total of maybe 14 hours of listening. Things could change over the coming weeks but these are my initial thoughts.

Dude, I can modify the 325i to sound better than the RS1. They are actually more detailed. The reason is that their aluminum housing is more rigid and hence rejects vibration distortion back to the driver allowing the driver to do its work with less interference. The RS1 resonate nicely but pay attention as the sound seems like it has air holes. The problem with the 325i is it can be edgy because of its greater pinpoint detail. There is a simple solution to resolve that and away to maintain its detail at the same time.

 

[Bootleg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Friedman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dude, I can modify the 325i to sound better than the RS1. They are actually more detailed. The reason is that their aluminum housing is more rigid and hence rejects vibration distortion back to the driver allowing the driver to do its work with less interference. The RS1 resonate nicely but pay attention as the sound seems like it has air holes. The problem with the 325i is it can be edgy because of its greater pinpoint detail. There is a simple solution to resolve that and away to maintain its detail at the same time.

Dude!

I'd love to hear it!

 

[lerio]

If you bought then earlier you may gain lot of money

Is it the left cable of the "Y" who look Small ? it's the case for my sr60 and RS-1

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif 2. Grado RS1's - Wow! I've only listened to them for a few hours, but I would describe the sound as "Acoustic", "Analog", and "Unplugged". The wood chambers really seems to be doing something musical here. And, due mostly to their light weight, they are darn comfortable. The included 15 foot cable was a nice touch. Has anyone noticed that Grado cables appear to be very cheaply crimped at the "Y"?

 

[ichiboy]

holy crap man you got some money to burn, what exactly is your job? You're giving me some incentive to study harder in college

.

 

[adanac061]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Friedman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Dud you really should upgrade your phone while you are at it.

That was actually funny.

 

[silverrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichiboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif holy crap man you got some money to burn, what exactly is your job? You're giving me some incentive to study harder in college .

It's worth it -- trust me.

 

[islewind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif 3. Grado 325i's - Very solid, but less refined than the RS1's--more "new age" or "techno" sounding.

New Age Techno? Have you been listening to Yanni's latest album?

 

[Bootleg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Friedman /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Dud you really should upgrade your phone while you are at it.

Believe it or not, I have a small collection of old phones.

And this ought to make the tuberolling community get a woody: The phone in that pic is made by WESTERN ELECTRIC.

I'll roll out an older rotary one in the next set of pics.

 

[islewind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif The phone in that pic is made by WESTERN ELECTRIC.

I hear they are much better than the comparable Sovtek phones.

 

[balou]

Quote:

Grado RS1's - Wow! I've only listened to them for a few hours, but I would describe the sound as "Acoustic", "Analog", and "Unplugged". The wood chambers really seems to be doing something musical here

yeah, the wood housing really seems to make a difference. so much more detail, and you could almost see the acoustic guitar when someone plays it on the record - meaning that you can hear the strings twitching, the fingers tapping on the guitar, the wood resonating. I wish I could afford them (btw, I heard them on a dac1, too). the sr80 are great, but compared to the wooden grados, they just can't stand up to them.

 

[cps]

Bootleg,

Can you give us an idea of what you may be keeping headphone wise? I'm interested in your impressions from a budget point of view. What's provides the most bang for you buck Grado wise? Is the jump to the 325i's from the 80's well worth the $$$? How about to the RS1's? What would be acceptable to keep if your wife knew how much you were spending on this stuff (sound quality vs. wife harassment)? Where is the sweet spot. I want your opinion here please.

 

[BigStig]

Yeah, no kidding! I keep waiting for a glorious review of all of the headphone & amp combinations!!

I am especially curious to hear about the affects of different amps on the headphones, to see what kinds of differences Booleg is hearing between them.

Start typin', Bootleg!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by cps /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bootleg, Can you give us an idea of what you may be keeping headphone wise? I'm interested in your impressions from a budget point of view. What's provides the most bang for you buck Grado wise? Is the jump to the 325i's from the 80's well worth the $$$? How about to the RS1's? What would be acceptable to keep if your wife knew how much you were spending on this stuff (sound quality vs. wife harassment)? Where is the sweet spot. I want your opinion here please.

 

[Bootleg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cps /img/forum/go_quote.gif Bootleg, Can you give us an idea of what you may be keeping headphone wise? I'm interested in your impressions from a budget point of view. What's provides the most bang for you buck Grado wise? Is the jump to the 325i's from the 80's well worth the $$$? How about to the RS1's? What would be acceptable to keep if your wife knew how much you were spending on this stuff (sound quality vs. wife harassment)? Where is the sweet spot. I want your opinion here please.

I preface all of this with three things:

• As my rig(s) are all at home (except for the Audio Technica ANC7's which are outstanding, even powered by only an iPod shuffle), I get almost ZERO chance to listen Mon-Fri--so I haven't been able to spend quality time with "my precious(es)" yet.
• I am still waiting for the Mapletree Ear Purist HD2, an amp that is purported to be an improvement over what is possibly the most well respected RS1 amp on Head Fi (the standard Purist HD)
• I have yet to get 3 other major pieces (they are coming in July when islewind visits)...the X-can, HD650's, and DT880's

Given all of this...especially the part about having ZERO TUBE AMPS YET, here is my take.


The following two quotes are asking different questions:

Quote:

Can you give us an idea of what you may be keeping headphone wise?

In my situation, where the money is already sunk and the wife is none the wiser, I may keep all of it. If pushed, I'd say that I'd sell the 325i's at this point just because of the piece of mind allowed by the RS1's that "nothing has been left on the table". However, if I decide I like the Grado sound best, I might keep the RS1's at home for critical listening and showing off to houseguests and bring the 325i's to work.



Quote:

I'm interested in your impressions from a budget point of view. What's provides the most bang for you buck Grado wise? Is the jump to the 325i's from the 80's well worth the $$$? How about to the RS1's? What would be acceptable to keep if your wife knew how much you were spending on this stuff (sound quality vs. wife harassment)? Where is the sweet spot.

From a budget point of view--a true budget---there is no need to go beyond the SR80's. There are real improvements to be had by spending more money, but what is the true "bang-for-the buck"? Gotta be the SR80's. Now, if the question was: what is the Lexus/Cadillac Bang For the Buck (but not Rolls-Royce), i think the RS1's clearly fall into that category.

But this is all subjective, since just 6 months ago I thought the SR80's were extravagant but now I'm not bothered by the purchase of $600 cans and $1,000 amps.

Sorry if none of this sounds like a professional review, but I am not even close to being sufficiently familiar with this gear to make strong suggestions yet. Real hardcore reviews will happen, i promise, but it will be after several weeks of careful consideration.

Sorry for those of you who may be chomping at the bit. Send me an amazon.com gift certificate (pm for details) in the amount of $2.50 and I will do a custom and indepth a/b of any two of my components this weekend while the old lady is at work.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bootleg /img/forum/go_quote.gif I preface all of this with three things: As my rig(s) are all at home (except for the Audio Technica ANC7's which are outstanding, even powered by only an iPod shuffle), I get almost ZERO chance to listen Mon-Fri--so I haven't been able to spend quality time with "my precious(es)" yet. I am still waiting for the Mapletree Ear Purist HD2, an amp that is purported to be an improvement over what is possibly the most well respected RS1 amp on Head Fi (the standard Purist HD) I have yet to get 3 other major pieces (they are coming in July when islewind visits)...the X-can, HD650's, and DT880's Given all of this...especially the part about having ZERO TUBE AMPS YET, here is my take. The following two quotes are asking different questions: In my situation, where the money is already sunk and the wife is none the wiser, I may keep all of it. If pushed, I'd say that I'd sell the 325i's at this point just because of the piece of mind allowed by the RS1's that "nothing has been left on the table". However, if I decide I like the Grado sound best, I might keep the RS1's at home for critical listening and showing off to houseguests and bring the 325i's to work. From a budget point of view--a true budget---there is no need to go beyond the SR80's. There are real improvements to be had by spending more money, but what is the true "bang-for-the buck"? Gotta be the SR80's. Now, if the question was: what is the Lexus/Cadillac Bang For the Buck (but not Rolls-Royce), i think the RS1's clearly fall into that category. But this is all subjective, since just 6 months ago I thought the SR80's were extravagant but now I'm not bothered by the purchase of $600 cans and $1,000 amps. Sorry if none of this sounds like a professional review, but I am not even close to being sufficiently familiar with this gear to make strong suggestions yet. Real hardcore reviews will happen, i promise, but it will be after several weeks of careful consideration. Sorry for those of you who may be chomping at the bit. Send me an amazon.com gift certificate (pm for details) in the amount of $2.50 and I will do a custom and indepth a/b of any two of my components this weekend while the old lady is at work.

So now PPV comparisons/reviews on headfi? What will the undercard be like?