Coming up on two years or so and everytime I listen to my GS1000i's I love them. I also love the PS1000, as I've mentioned in other threads. I really don't see an issue with either, and I'm frankly very puzzled when I read posts about how one or the other spelled the demise of the once great Grado name. Yeah, they're expensive phones, though, as someone else mentioned, there are plenty of dealers out there who will knock the price by as much as 20 percent or more.
For what it's worth, I actually met John Grado recently and was very pleasantly surprised. Very nice fellow, and we talked about most everything BUT headphones. My impression is, hey, he's earned a good living from the family business, and it his personal choice to stick with what's worked for him so far so that his entire life isn't taken up with work. As far as I'm concerned, that's a darn healthy attitude. If he were to try to keep up with the big boys or the FOTM manufacturers, he'd be working 24 hours a day. Sounds like a smart man to me.
As for differences between "John's" cans and "Joe's," they were produced by different persons, and simply reflect different approaches. I can't say one is "better" or "worse" irrespective of whether the graphs or charts say one is more neutral than the other. To me, the balance on both the GS1000i and the PS1000 are perfectly okay, just as the balance on the HD800 and JH13 is too (other cans I own).
I'm no Grado fan boy, and I still wish their quality control, especially on their high end phones, were better, but in the end, buying them is your (or my) choice, and as far as I'm concerned, both are darn good products. Of course, you need to have the right synergy with your source(s), but that goes without saying when you buy expensive gear. With that said, I don't regret a single cent I've spent on my Grados, and believe me, I'm no rich kid.
If Grado can still be in business after all these years, they must be doing something right. The fact that John is a regular guy (even if he may be a NY Yankees fan) is icing on the cake.