[subtle]

I don't care about the box personally, I'm just stating that if it didn't originally come in the box then it's not vintage IMO.

 

[Zanth]

Ah...okay, well mine are dark brown. Natural oil from the head darkens the leather. A quick glance could make one think they were using a light black pair. Not as noticeable with black leather but defintiely with the brown. If I were to peel away just a bit between the two pieces, you would notice that the leather is lighter in there. Yet it is nowhere near as "tan" as I've seen some of the later versions.

If the vintage really are different, as in definitely different drivers (Joe rolloevers or transition ones) then that is very interesting and I suppose for those that love the sound, they well may be worth the higher asking prices (likely since they are rarer than the HP-1000's as a whole but not as rare I would speculate as the PS-1's).

But at least if the members have an overall idea of what vintage is (brown with gold lettering) then we can dismiss the folks jacking the price of the later versions with buttons and black headbands. A little membership driven security and info for newbies and the uninformed.

 

[majkel]

I guess it's no accident that newer RS1's come with bowls instead of flats. Then, I prefer the new buttonless RS2's to the older ones with the black headband and buttons.

 

[bozebuttons]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif after reading that link you posted which mentions dark brown, now i am not so sure. i remember black but can't be positive. it was not tan. that is certain. the pair belonged to bozebuttons, so he could verify. vintage sounds better and i don't think it has anything to do with break in time. the older models just sound better and to me vintage means the older, older models and not just the last model that had buttons.

Mine have a dark brown headband I bought them used in 1995 from the origional owner.They where 6 months old at the time & really don't have a lot of hours on them,maybe between 100 -150 hours on them.

 

[krmathis]

To be a vintage RS-1 my rule are that they need the following:
1. Wooden box.
2. Dark wooden cups.
3. Brown leather headband.

"Vintage" in general mean that they have been out of production for quite a long time. At least 15-20 years or so...

Like these: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f10/fs...x-sold-335015/

 

[Voltron]

Zanth-
I don't think your problem with people calling recent buttoned models "vintage" is at all pedantic or semantic because it is simply not accurate. That said, I don't think that anything more than this thread is needed to educate people. I would not want a standard to be imposed as to what is "rare" or "vintage" or whatever. People who are shopping on the FS forums need to do their own due diligence and call BS as necessary by not buying.

My own pair of old school brown leather RS-1s in their beat up green-felt box sound fantastic and blow away recent vintage models. I agree with foo_me that the difference is easily discerned and my pair (when it was JP#s' pair) were the ones that convinced him to get his truly vintage pair. Here is a pic from the meet where that occured, although it is not too great for showcasing the distinct features of the brown leather model:

When subtle sold a pair of this same vintage, he took some great pics:

 

[Zanth]

Voltron, I think you are right, no need to go any further than this thread, but I definitely wanted to shed some light on the ads I've been seeing and the increased price of models that are only a couple of years old.

As for your shots, mine look exactly the same though my headband is a bit darker. What bozebuttons posted is very interesting... his only have 100-150 hours on them and they sound different. So perhaps that is the best answer we can hope for since he has every phone under the sun and has intimate knowledge of and experience with Grados from all vintages. Heck, I think he owns one of each at least!

 

[foo_me]

sigh, my pair doesn't seem complete without the box.
would be nice to find one.

they've been my favorite grado for a while now...wonder why they've ever changed the sound...

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by foo_me /img/forum/go_quote.gif When Joe Grado speaks at the head-fi meet next year, could someone ask him about the RS1s???

I've asked Joe maybe 2 times when we've talked about his thoughts on John's RS-1's. Both times, he has basically said "huh"? In his words, he has never listened to them, nor does he seem to know anything about them. Maybe he was playing "dumb" or ignorant, but when I spoke with him, he had no idea honestly what a "RS-1" was.

Voltron, that set you have that you got from JP# was my 1st vintage set, which I define as brown headband and slightly different sounding drivers. My current vintage RS-1's have the brown headband and gold lettering, however mine has a black wooden headphone box.

 

[foo_me]

I'd lean towards the playing "dumb" side...which in his case, would be the smart move. I imagine nothing really good could come out of answering those kinds of questions.

Perhaps at canjam, there'll be more than one vintage pair to see if there are any differences over the various versions...at least I intend to bring mine

 

[wolf18t]

If feasible, a full review with most known editions would be a welcome. Just to clear up the facts. And would maybe worth as a sticky post in this and/or FS forum as a "hard to miss" reference

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif after reading that link you posted which mentions dark brown, now i am not so sure. i remember black but can't be positive. it was not tan. that is certain. the pair belonged to bozebuttons, so he could verify.

the "unusually light brown" band RS-1 on the table is mine, bozebutton's has a darker brown band.

I have NO idea how they got the light brown band when all of the other brown-band RS-1 are a darker brown.
Quote:

vintage sounds better and i don't think it has anything to do with break in time. the older models just sound better and to me vintage means the older, older models and not just the last model that had buttons.

Im in the brown-headband camp. basically the older the better.
I have seen black-headband RS-1s in wood boxes. Dunno if they were transplants, but the brown headband is where its at.
Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf18t /img/forum/go_quote.gif If feasible, a full review with most known editions would be a welcome. Just to clear up the facts. And would maybe worth as a sticky post in this and/or FS forum as a "hard to miss" reference

ask and yeeeee shal recieve. probably not worth a sticky though. Its pretty tough to get a bunch of RS-1 together for a meet...
link
I am Ari, with the old RS-1
Dave has the second oldest pair of RS-1 at the meet, with very dark wood, dual cables (may have been ultrawide bandwidth joe-grado cable, mod was done by grado for headroom) and black-headband
And scott had the newest pair, although with buttons.

 

[rockbottom]

Question, what of the non-serialized RS-1s that came in a paper box (NOT the pizza-box) with green felt-lined foam?

Digging up an old thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/mr-...rsions-244402/

 

[Rob N]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockbottom /img/forum/go_quote.gif Question, what of the non-serialized RS-1s that came in a paper box (NOT the pizza-box) with green felt-lined foam? Digging up an old thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/mr-...rsions-244402/

From when the wooden box was dropped until 2001.I had a pair bought in 1999 or 2000 in the felt lined paperbox.After 9/11 I had a pair in large type pizza box which included a letter explaining the situation

 

[rockbottom]

yep, that's when. Do they qualify as vintage?