[Royalorgans]

 I'm a choral conductor, pianist, organist and vocalist who mainly teach voice and occasionally listen to other genres of music besides classical (gospel, county, R&B, etc).  When choosing a headphone, I want to hear the nuances, details and technique of the singers while also having a rich musical experience. In recent reviews, I heard that the HD-800 can have a veil sound compared to the Grado PS-1000's. Is this true? Which headphones do you think I should get (Sennheiser HD-800, Grado -PS-1000, Audeze LCD-3 or Beyerdynamic T1's.

 

[StudioSound]

Personally, as someone who has owned SR80, SR225, HF2, RS2, and one of the early GS1000s (of which the HF2 was my favorite) I don't think anything from Grado is worth as much as they're asking for the PS1000.

Grado is worthwhile at the low end where they sell fun sounding headphones that fit a certain aesthetic, sound good with certain types of music, and are reasonable for their price, but I don't think it's worth stepping up much into the range at all.
I don't think they are capable of producing a premium product the way that companies like Sennheiser, Sony, Beyerdynamic etc. are.

 

[MacedonianHero]

   I'm a choral conductor, pianist, organist and vocalist who mainly teach voice and occasionally listen to other genres of music besides classical (gospel, county, R&B, etc).  When choosing a headphone, I want to hear the nuances, details and technique of the singers while also having a rich musical experience. In recent reviews, I heard that the HD-800 can have a veil sound compared to the Grado PS-1000's. Is this true? Which headphones do you think I should get (Sennheiser HD-800, Grado -PS-1000, Audeze LCD-3 or Beyerdynamic T1's.

Oh goodness no. That LAST thing anyone would call the HD800s is "veiled"....try crystal clear and ruthlessly revealing. Even next to the PS1000/PS1000e.

 

[Royalorgans]

Do you think the HD-800 can capture all the nuances of the PS-1000e's. How do the PS-1000e's sound in comparison to the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1'S. When listening, how would one compare the Beyerdynamic T90 to the Grado RS1e. Do you think these would give the microscopic sound. Also, Someone said the HD-800 would give great detail but from a further distance then the Grado RS1e. Is this true.?

 

[MacedonianHero]

  Do you think the HD-800 can capture all the nuances of the PS-1000e's. How do the PS-1000e's sound in comparison to the Beyerdynamic Tesla T1'S. When listening, how would one compare the Beyerdynamic T90 to the Grado RS1e. Do you think these would give the microscopic sound. Also, Someone said the HD-800 would give great detail but from a further distance then the Grado RS1e. Is this true.?

 
Technically the HD800s are the better headphone over the PS1000e. But you really need to work hard on your upstream rig for them to truly hit their stride. But I've been a Grado fan for a long time (the SR-60s were my gateway drug into this hobby) and the PS1000e are the best John Grado headphone I've heard to date.
 
The RS1s are fantastic for rock/metal and jazz. But their limited sound staging limits with with orchestral pieces.

 

[Royalorgans]

Is it true that the Grado RS-1e's have a in your face sound ( put you on the stage in front of the singer rather then in the audience). Would you hear more with the Grado RS-1's with a Chord Hugo than with a Sennheiser HD-800 with amp and Astell & Kern AK-240? How does the Beyerdynamic compare?

 

[stacker45]

I haven't heard the RS1e, but if what I've heard from the PS1000 apply to the RS1, then they must be even more up close and personnal than the RS1i, (wich I, have heard), so yes, one could say that the RS1 are in your face, especially when compared to the GS/PS1000.
 
In my opinion, this can be a good, or a, not so good thing, depending on the music you like and, of course, your personnal taste.
 
When I listen to small venue recordings, I usually use either my SR80, my Bushmills, or my HP1000. But with Concerts on DVD, or any big venue recordings, the GS, or PS1000 usually get the nod. 
 
Sometimes it can take me forever to decide wich heaphones, and wich amp, I'm going to use. I realise that this is a beautiful problem to have, so I try to never lose sight of how lucky I am...have to stay grounded.

 

[Royalorgans]

But what amp goes good with the Sennheiser HD-800 other than Sennheiser own amplfication system? If listening to a vocal recital, or vocal with orchestra. Which headphone do you think would give you the best results. I've heard that the Beyedynamic T1's give a great sound along with great sound stage and upfront presentation, however, Does the Beyerdynamic give you the same closeness ( the feeling of being in front of the performer on stage instead of being behind the performer in the front 4 rows).  Considering the Sennheiser Hd-800is superior in detail, sound stage and accuracy, Do you think you would get the same feeling.  Lastly, If buying a JH Audio Roxianne, Do you think the mid are as close as the RS-1i or RS1e's or do you think the JH-13 come closer.

 

[OrganMonster]

This is response to royalorgans,
 
I just attended the CanAm audio show in Denver yesterday and made a report on it in the below forum link.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/738111/quest-for-the-best-headphones-review-from-rmaf-canjam
 
I summarize it, I have a degree in composing music, conducting and pipe organ performance. My quest at the CanAm was to find the best headphones for my purposes. Below is the report I made yesterday. By teh way, the 800 is extremely revealing. Extremely. Read on.
 
A fresh new look from a non-audiophile. My quest at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014 was simple, find the best sounding headphones. I have a small amount of experience in the new audio equipment. What I bring to the table in this forum is my music experience. I compose symphonies, conduct orchestras and perform concerts. I know what the music should sound like and wanted to find a HP that matched my expectations.
 
I spent all day listening and re-listening to each top end HP. I sat at each station for at least 12 sittings to make sure my first impressions were incorrect. To give everyone here my reference point, I did not own nor have I ever listened to any of these HP’s in the past. I listened to the usual brands, Sennheiser, Fostex, Sony, Beyer Dynamic, AKG, Mr. Speaker, Stax, HiFiman, Grado, Audeze and many others.
 
I am not going to go into what I did not like but delve on what impressed me. That way I do not offend any audiophiles. As I made my way around all of the different headphones I kept on searching for the perfect sound as if I was conducting an orchestra and being up front and personal with each musician. My criteria was simple, find a great reproduction of sound, make sure it does not color the actual instruments, find the correct balance of sound staging and the most important feature which is comfort to actually listen for long periods of time.
 
All of the headphones were very good and had certain characteristics for a specific instruments. Some of the headphones that did not make my top 5 was due to comfort and the ability to listen for a long period of time even though they may have sounds wonderful. Some of the headphones in this list were from HiFiman and Grado. These just did not fit me well but did sound very nice.
 
I was most impressed with the very first time I put on the Sennheiser HD-650. I was not expecting much out of these headphones since they have been around for a decade or more and the technology was pretty old. They were fantastic and for the price point they were unbeatable.
 
The Sennheiser HD-700 made my top 3 headhphones for perfect clarity, staging, comfort and one of the best HP’s for the money they were asking.
 
The Sennheiser HD-800, I am sorry to say did not fit me very well. They moved around the head too much, they sounded great and was the most accurate in reproducing all instruments in the orchestra. The only complaint I had with these HP’s was that it may have been too accurate and shows the imperfections of the recording and well and the music.
 
The Grado’s are great but my ears are not made for this torture device since I own a few of these already.
 
My first impression of the Fostex TH-900 was not a good one. But as I moved around the different booths I found that this headphone particular on what amp was pushing them. These headphones turned out to be a close # 2 or 3 depending on what amp was being hooked up at the time.
 
The Stax headphones was possibly the most accurate for all types of sound of any type of instrument. I am also sorry to say that these did not make my top 5 list because every little sound from the outside interfered with the listening process. This is not good for me alone since I am not going to be listening in a soundproof room all the time.
The last set of listening’s I did was the Audeze. I was a little reluctant to try these at first since most of the other vendors were always making fun of the personnel always dressed up in lab coats inferring that they forgot there mink coats at home. There is a lot of hype about these HP’s including the price. I checked out the LCD-2, 3, X and the XC.  I tried to be as un-biased as possible but everyone kept seeing the smile on my face when listening to the LCD-XC. I have found what I was searching for.
 
There is no prefect headphone, only a headphone that covers some of the criteria that you are searching for. The Audeze LCD-XC meets my expectations for sound quality, sound staging, and comfort. It seems that these are not very particular on amps as well. I even pushed out good sound directly out of my iphone. There was not much to dislike about these phones. Except for one minor drawback, the horrible weight. If there was only one issue I had it was why could Audeze make these a little lighter.
 
To summarize what I have seen and heard, The Audeze LCD-XC was my top choice although the price was a little steep but worth the price. The Sennheiser HD-700 was my second solid choice. This particular headphone was the one I was always going back to get a good reference point once again. The HD-700 was the best of the crowd for the price and was a truly wonderful headphone. The Fostex was my second/third choice depending on the amp. But when it came down to what headphones I would be the most happiest with was the Audeze. The Audeze won out because the Fostex 900 was so close to the price of the Audeze and enough said.
 
One last comment was how amazed I was on hearing the Sennheiser HD-650. That little headhone was real nice although the HD-700 was just that much better.

 

[stacker45]

Many years ago, I remember reading an interview in wich, John Grado was explaining that the motivation behind the first gen GS1000, was that they were getting e-mails, and letters from people requesting, headphones with a bigger soundstage.
 
Grado answered with the GS1000, wich I think, have THE biggest soundstage of any Grados. Some people then complained that the midrange was now too recessed. To that, John Grado aswered that you can't have a big soundstage, AND, an intimate midrange. Personally, I think it makes perfect sence. However, Grado did dial it back a notch with the i, and from what I can understand, even more so, with the e serie. In my opinion, the i serie offers the best compromise, There is something to be said for having a sence of air, and space, with a natural decay.
 
The way I see it, if Grado keeps brigning the mids forward, they're going to come full circle, and then what's the point, they already have the RS1 to fill those shoes. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

  I haven't heard the RS1e, but if what I've heard from the PS1000 apply to the RS1, then they must be even more up close and personnal than the RS1i, (wich I, have heard), so yes, one could say that the RS1 are in your face, especially when compared to the GS/PS1000.
 
In my opinion, this can be a good, or a, not so good thing, depending on the music you like and, of course, your personnal taste.
 
When I listen to small venue recordings, I usually use either my SR80, my Bushmills, or my HP1000. But with Concerts on DVD, or any big venue recordings, the GS, or PS1000 usually get the nod. 
 
Sometimes it can take me forever to decide wich heaphones, and wich amp, I'm going to use. I realise that this is a beautiful problem to have, so I try to never lose sight of how lucky I am...have to stay grounded.

I'm going to have to chalk this up to upstream gear...on my BDA-2 / GS-X Mk2, the PS1000e was the slightly more expansive sounding headphone. 

 

[DBX1]

After listening to all three last night, I would put the PS1000 first, Sennheiser HD-800 2nd, and the Audeze LCD-3, well, I learned last night after hearing the first two, that my ears are not a fan of Audeze.  But that wont stop me from hearing others experience with  t hese headphones.