[indelibo]

The RS-1 is not supposed to sound bright. From my experience it sounded bright only during the initial burn in period. I have a feeling that the brightness some people are experiencing is due to poor cd mastering more than anything else. Also other gear used could be a factor.

 

[Usagi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indelibo /img/forum/go_quote.gif The RS-1 is not supposed to sound bright. From my experience it sounded bright only during the initial burn in period. I have a feeling that the brightness some people are experiencing is due to poor cd mastering more than anything else. Also other gear used could be a factor.

IMO, the RS-1 became brighter and clearer as they burned-in. A touch of the Todd Flats smoothed everything out for the most part. I had a lot of fun with this headphone.

 

[blinx]

Those dark woods look exactly like mine. So gorgeous! When i first opened the package i almost cried.

well... not really but whatever lol.

I'll post some pics later this week with the new k701's

The battle between vintage wood and ipod white simplicity

 

[lerio]

adanac061, you RS-1 is new or buy second hand ?

Colour look like old but not much light on you pics, i know how the wood colour can change depending on the light

 

[adanac061]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lerio /img/forum/go_quote.gif adanac061, you RS-1 is new or buy second hand ? Colour look like old but not much light on you pics, i know how the wood colour can change depending on the light

They are second hand unserialized ones. They are actually darker than they look in the pics.

 

[HiWire]

Congrats. They're really beautiful.

 

[adanac061]

Bowls win , and thats final.

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanac061 /img/forum/go_quote.gif All I've basically been doing for the past week since I got the rs-1's is swapping pads around!! Bowls. Flats or Reversed bowls...??? It's been driving me nuts. I can now make some conclusions. A) Bowls. With bowls The bass is neutral. The mids are slightly distant, thin and unnatural and the highs too strident on most recordings. Too much detail. Soundstage is the largest with bowls, but still nothing to write home about. B) Flats: With Flats the bass is funky and loud, but not neutral, good for hip-hop and strangely enough ABBA! The mids are too warm, vocals sound too close. Bass and mids are also blurred together. Good for non-reference purposes when you wanna have some fun, or for poor recordings. Soundstage is in the head like an IEM. !! C)Reversed bowls: Bass is neutral, same as bowls , mids are neutral. vocals sound natural and realistic. The highs are like the Bowls, except tamed . Whats left is just the right amount of detail without being harsh. This is the most balanced of the three and can be used for reference purposes. Soundstage is not in the head, but not to far away either.

Well, I haven't done any comparing as you have since ever I got my flats they haven't come off.

To my ears they just do a terrific job in resolving the upfront Grado sound. Meaning, nothing sounds distant and I hear terrific definition across the board. The biggest difference I heard when I reversed my bowls was the bass came more to the forefront and was controlled. Also, the lower mids were much fuller therefore vocals sounded richer. I have not compared reverse to flats so I can't remark on any differences there.

I also love the increased comfort with the flats. The bowls never really bothered me - even new - but the flats are certainly more comfortable with the pressure spread out over a larger area of my ears.

 

[adanac061]

Bowls win............extremly revealing of your gear.

 

[unclejr]

Quite the change of heart there! No harm in that, of course. I bit the $30 bullet on flats and couldn't be happier. In order to convince myself that it was worthwhile, I just pressed the cups closer to my ears with the bowls and liked what I heard.

 

[lerio]

That's Exactly what i thing

Quote:

Originally Posted by adanac061 /img/forum/go_quote.gif RS-1's without Flats, are not RS-1's at all. ([size=xx-small]yes, you can quote that[/size])

 

[amphead]

I appreciate the fact that I don't own them yet. The RS-1 sounds like listening nirvana to me!
I am not a K701 snob, just like them for clarity.

 

[snejk]

Quoting:
Quote:

Originally Posted by adanac061 /img/forum/go_quote.gif RS-1's without Flats, are not RS-1's at all. ([size=xx-small]yes, you can quote that[/size])

I feel I need to calm down all this Flats fanboyism.

I got the flats from Todd yesterday (EXCELLENT execution of my order btw, 8 days including overseas shipping). While the increased bass was obvious and enjoying at first I soon felt that it was almost overpowering and smearing the sound. The bass was somewhat muddy and some vocals felt fuzzy and not neutral/realistic.

When I listened yesterday evening and night after finding the pads in the mailbox I realized I wasnt enjoying the music at all, it almost felt fatiguing. I put it down to me having a real stressful day at work and thought I should listen more today. Today: the same feeling. The music wasn't as engaging as I'm now used to when listening to the RS1s. I then put the bowls back on and the magic was back! A bit more distant sounding but more engaging nevertheless.

As always, people hear differently. Maybe because of preferences or maybe because of different ears. But one thing is sure, the pad swapping alters the sound in a not so subtle way. I have a hard time thinking that anyone would have a problem hearing the difference between the two pads, you don't need to have trained ears for that.

 

[adanac061]

Quote:

Originally Posted by snejk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quoting: I feel I need to calm down all this Flats fanboyism. I got the flats from Todd yesterday (EXCELLENT execution of my order btw, 8 days including overseas shipping). While the increased bass was obvious and enjoying at first I soon felt that it was almost overpowering and smearing the sound. The bass was somewhat muddy and some vocals felt fuzzy and not neutral/realistic. When I listened yesterday evening and night after finding the pads in the mailbox I realized I wasnt enjoying the music at all, it almost felt fatiguing. I put it down to me having a real stressful day at work and thought I should listen more today. Today: the same feeling. The music wasn't as engaging as I'm now used to when listening to the RS1s. I then put the bowls back on and the magic was back! A bit more distant sounding but more engaging nevertheless. As always, people hear differently. Maybe because of preferences or maybe because of different ears. But one thing is sure, the pad swapping alters the sound in a not so subtle way. I have a hard time thinking that anyone would have a problem hearing the difference between the two pads, you don't need to have trained ears for that.

Actually your post is good timing,
I've been making some little changes to my rig this morning
(changed from optical to coax digital, and swapped my ic's)
And gave all the pads another try.
All I can say is it's a good job I didn't give away the bowls after last nights post, cause the harshness that was putting me off bowls has gone??
And all thats left is the amazing detail, slightly distance but realistic vocals and tight bass that actually has a lot of pressure behind it.

I can't believe I've turned into a bowls man.

 

[snejk]

And I was almost making the assumption that maybe older series RS1s were better suited to the Flats than the newer ones. Good that you have gotten back to the right side! (and maybe tomorrow I will think that the flats are the best - the beauty of pad swapping)