[a1rocketpilot]

What is the soundstage like on the Grado/Alessandro lineup? How good of a job do they do of placing sounds where they are supposed to be? I've heard things from a nonexistent soundstage to a very open feel, so naturally, I'm a bit confused. Any thoughts?

 

[Aman]

It's very open, but also very, VERY close to the instruments. I wouldn't say non-existent.. because if you look at it from the perspective that it's SUPPOSED to be front-row center, then the instrument placement is actually very good.

But don't expect "concert-hall" kind of staging.

 

[Kram Sacul]

The instruments and performers are where they're supposed to be when using headphones. Any other headphone places them farther away and/or forward to try to replicate listening to speakers.

Grados
<--(your head)-->

other
<--------------->
....(your head)

 

[jjcha]

Some thoughts on soundstage:

On one extreme, my custom IEM sound exactly like they look - like little wads of silicone plugged into my ears. The sound seems to eminate right at my ears or maybe an inch outside of that. Instrument placement is nice between those two points.

On the other extreme, my Qualia 010, especially when I've been listening for a while, try as I might, it just doesn't sound like the sound is coming from drivers an inch outside of my ears. It's like someone plugged in a neural jack and bypasses my ears and feeds audio sound directly into my brain. With that, the sound has a presence outside the physical limitations of normal headphones.

On a scale of 1 - 10, with the IEM at 1 and Qualia at 10, the Grado RS-1 are at a 2.5 for me. Narrow soundstage. Much nicer than the IEM, because it doesn't sound like the sound's wadded up in my ears. It's got a bit of air to them, but it's very clear the sound is coming from drivers resting gently on my head, and doesn't go beyond that. The soundstage sounds like I'm listening to regular headphones.

Sennheiser HD600/650 are maybe at a 7 to me. The sound sounds more like it's coming from the air around my head than the headphones, but the illusion is not nearly as complete as the Qualia. The soundstage stretches significantly beyond that of average headphones to me.

PS-1 is somewhere better than a RS-1 but not as good as a HD600/650. My understanding is that the PS-1 is the Grado with the best soundstage. It sounds like a normal headphone with very good soundstaging.

AKG K 1000 on the other hand - the soundstage is narrower than the Qualia, but it is incredibly coherent. The panorama goes clearly left to right, but doesn't reach all the way to the walls. The Qualia soundstage is clearly artificial - jacked straight into the brain. The AKG K 1000 reconnects with natural physical hearing, even if it's reach is more narrow.

Best regards,

-Jason

 

[S_Dedalus]

A lot of it depends on your source and amp. Even with flats on my woody 325's the soundstage was awesome through Ray Samuels' XR-10B. Through an NAD PP-2, its decent, but still very close, and with every cd player I've heard, all you really get is directional soundstaging, not really positional.

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by S_Dedalus A lot of it depends on your source and amp.

Source and amp definitely go a long way. Through my Denon home theater receiver, the HD600 sound as flat as a rock. Still can get loud and has the same sonic signature, but the soundstaging just collapses to near Grado-like levels.

Best,

-Jason

 

[Rhydon]

On the MSPRO's i find the soundstage has an unbelievable "depth" to it. You can almost taste the layers of sound. Since the elongated air chamber lengthens decay, im guessing this is what causes this effect. So, i guess you could say, soundstage is not wide, but more deep, spread out on the Z axis.