[MartinB]

Hello!

After seeing the new great price on SA5000 I'm thinking of buying them. Right now I use RS-1's with flats which I like but it would be fun with a new toy.

How do the SA5000 compare to Grados? Are they brighter? If that's the case I'm not that interested...

And one more...how do they compare to the Qualia 010? Are the Qualias really that much better?

Thanks!

 

[TonyTripleA]

I have both the MS-pros and Sony MDR SA5000 and am really enjoying the Sony's. Very clear and very detailed.

The MS-pros are definitely able to deliver more impact with rock. The Sony's are more suited to classical, folk, instumental, electronica, vocals. At least that's to my ears anyway.

Upper treble is very good with the Sony's. Bass is very good with MS-pros. Both have good detail but the Sony's extend that detail in the very upper registers better.

I have loved the grado sound for a long time but find the Sony's more an all round can. Don't think I could give up that grado slam though...

TonyAAA

 

[spike33]

does the sony's bass impact come close to grado's?

 

[TonyTripleA]

Sony's have good bass but not as much slam as the Grados. They don't have the bass hump of the grado signature either.

On ability to go down to deep bass the Sony's may be better. I'm trying to do a more accurate listen to determine this but listening to Amon Tobin "out from out where" the Sony's seem to me to go into a deep bass note. This needs verification to be confirmed as fact but let me say the Sony's are no bass slouch.

TonyAAA

 

[gsferrari]

The Grados sound like they have a bumped up midrange when compared to the Sony. I am not saying which is better/worse because I find both presentations perfectly acceptable. The difference is - Sony high end is clean and crystal clear - Grados sound a bit strained and unnatural. As far as the bass is concerned - Sony goes deeper, has tighter impact at lower levels. You will have to spend time with these cans to let your ears re-equalize - but you will be rewarded with some seriously stunning bass texture...even with the entry level SA1000 which I think is a gem!

 

[TonyTripleA]

Gsferrari: nice to see its not just my ears perceiving this bass going deeper with the SA5000.

Edit: I should have also said I percieve higher sound quality at low listening levels with the Sonys compared to the MS-pros.

TonyAAA

 

[MartinB]

Thanks for your impressions!

So do you think SA5000 has a more controlled treble than Grado? is it brighter or darker?

 

[Krishna]

How open are the Sony's? As open as the grados? (I'm talking about leakage of sound).

 

[digicom_t1]

I would say the SA5K has a more control, detail and extension over the RS1. Brighter? Not to my ears. The RS1, and I would not have said (admitted) this before acquiring the SA5K, now sounds slightly harsher, more brittle and limited in the treble range. I now find it slightly distracting. The SA5K does not do everything better than the RS1, but what it does accomplish is more balanced, detailed and controlled. This, to me, allows one to spend more time hearing the music instead of hearing what is missing. I've only had the SA5K's for a couple of weeks and they are still breaking in. With every change I'm becoming more impressed with them. They bridge an important gap, to me, between my Senn650 and RS1. Though I can not imagine doing with out either of these two phones, I predict I will be spending more time with the Sonys as time goes by.

Krishna, they are an open design. My wife says she can hear the music from the couch; no worse or better than the Grados. I will say this, the Sonys offer more balanced tone and detail than the Grados. Therefore I can listen at lower volumes and still find it enjoyable. My wife can enjoy watching CSI while I'm listening to music and I don't notice her reaching for the TV remote as often (-;

-------- Tom


Quote:

Originally Posted by MartinB Thanks for your impressions! So do you think SA5000 has a more controlled treble than Grado? is it brighter or darker?

 

[gsferrari]

Let me put it this way...

The Grado treble is like running and sweating in a cold room

The SA5000 treble is like running at room temperature and having a fan blow a gentle breeze at you...

Another way of describing it would be :


Grado Treble = Air force jet on afterburner and maximum speed
SA5K Treble = Air force jet at the same speed as above but with afterburner still on call...


Its airier, more spacious sounding and just sounds like "Freedom"


Wow

 

[morphie]

Which Grados are we comparing the Sony headphones to now? Because you all are saying many things but all these can be wrong depending on which Grados you base these opinions on...

 

[TonyTripleA]

MartinB: the treble is simply "better" for my taste from the Sony's as compared to my MS-pros. Why better, well it sounds right... it goes higher, and this makes me feel there is more apparent upper treble detail. It does render some sounds I cannot hear from the MS-pros in this upper treble range. The hitting of a brush against a cymball is simple there clear and natural with the Sony's.

Interestingly, I find the Sony's make me notice things in music I could hear with the MS-pros but which didn't really register in my brain. For example, Sinnead O'Connor "Vamire" - this song has her vocal recorded as separate tracks on left and right channels. I never really noticed that she sang the right track version a little higher than the left. With the MS-pros this is nice and didn't really attract my attention. With the Sony's I rang to my wife and said, "you gotta listen to this...". I call it the "wow" effect. The Sony's have it in spades.

Yes they are openish in terms of leaking sound but not more than the Grados. Possibly a fraction less, I never have complaints.

TonyAAA