[Cakensaur]

its true. all this FOTM madness is silly.
and don't worry
i made a point to buy a modi as my cheap DAC

 

[silversurfer616]

Agreed!From time to time I get fed up(brain adjustment,that is) with my LCD2 and get the urge to upgrade but instead of getting the HD800,I put on my HF2 for a while......after that the LCD2 sound sublime again and I saved a lot of money.
Doesn't mean that I will never get the HD800!!!!

 

[jaddie]

Whenever I try on a pair of Grados I seem to have a bit of an "Ahhhhh!" moment.

I just heard a pair of SR-80i driven by an iPhone (I ran into a guy in a camera store walking around with that set-up), I could easily hear why the owner likes them so much, he actually said he prefers them to ATH-M50s (he said the Grados sounded more fun).
BTW, I have never heard a pair of M50s.

Try the SR80i on an iDevice with Audyssey's amp app and their SR80i EQ. It's everything I love about the Grados without the stuff I don't. Scary good.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Most of the flagship phones that sound so nice have a Vulcan-mind-meld presentation where you are at one with the sound, a kind of super intimacy.
This seems pretty standard, and is mesmerizing, but after a session with one of these, when I get tired of listening,
somehow I find it very refreshing to put on my Grados (GS1000is are my favorites) for a breath of fresh air, an openness,
a little distance from the sound, the drivers, almost like switching to speakers.
 
Then, I can keep listening with a new sense of discovery, a new perspective, and more joy.
 
For this, I love my Grados, as they stand alone in this regard. Thanks to Joe and company for standing apart from the crowd.

 
I guess the only reason I'd want to keep a Grado as a second phone is to remind myself what the reference for a fifth-grade woodworking class is, and to have my eardrums occasionally sandpapered by the low water mark of high-end drivers...

 

[jaddie]

Quote:

 
I guess the only reason I'd want to keep a Grado as a second phone is to remind myself what the reference for a fifth-grade woodworking class is, and to have my eardrums occasionally sandpapered by the low water mark of high-end drivers...

Sounds like your Grados are busted.

 

[autoteleology]

Personally I am sick of the O2 and ODAC hype.

 
If you think the O2 / ODAC hype is bad, just wait a couple of months for the Magni and Modi to become more common.

That Schiit stack is going to put both Fiio AND JDSLabs out of business.

 

[silversurfer616]

Like Schiit for Hobbits!
 

 

[Achmedisdead]

Quote:

 
If you think the O2 / ODAC hype is bad, just wait a couple of months for the Magni and Modi to become more common.

That Schiit stack is going to put both Fiio AND JDSLabs out of business.

Nonsense.

 

[streetdragon]

i actually had a dream about owning a SR60i, but in fact i didn't like it in the dream cause it had 'harsh treble'. but ironically i grew intrest in it and after a few weeks i ended buying the MS1i because my budget allowed...

 

[charliex]

Love my stats and oft times turn to my planars when looking for a change, but in terms of dynamics one can't beat a pair of Joe Grado HP-1000 series such as the HP-1 or HP-2.

 

[n3rdling]

I like the HP1000.  Every other Grado I've heard has been pretty terrible, especially for the money.  They're also furthest away from "speaker-like" sound than any other HP brand I've heard...the soundstage is small and you can clearly hear the drivers right next to your ears, no driver transparency at all.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Sounds like your Grados are busted.

 
While it wouldn't surprise me given Grado QC that my entire run of Grados (and that's just in the double digits, including three flagships of the time) were busted in some way, I don't think so.
 
 
I think of them as the Beats of Head-Fi

 

[Currawong]

Shamless excuse to spew forth my Grado story this is...
 
A mate (Lobstersan, for those of you who have been around a while) bought a pair of HF1s and at one of our mini-meets (two people and craploads of gear) I tried them out of his DAC 1 (the original version with crappy HP amp) and really didn't like them. Thin and awful sounding, but then I had Markl D5000s at the time which were totally the opposite. Funny how things go though. At a subsequent meet at my house to play with R10s and HD800s (it was a tough time) I plugged them into my Phoenix, single-ended, but that's all they needed, and was very impressed. Exactly what I was after. 
 
I got the HF-2s, which were both a big deal and a huge drama and was somewhat disappointed. Too dark, too much bass. Rhydon came out with the Magnums. The V1s were like a better-resolving 325i and hit the spot for me in a huge way. This is what I'm talking about! They were rather like the AT AD2000s in that they bring everything up-front and make all other headphones sound asleep.  I rather regret upgrading them, as there was something special about the 325i's FR with acoustic music. Now an amount of patience that has come to a year or more of waiting for various upgrades. I'm very pleased with the V4s and VX/V5 Magnums. With a re-cable (yeah, yeah, I know, don't say it, but one particular one I chose did something unexpectedly great) I can use them with G-pads and, while the treble ends up rather too hot, with the gear I have, magic can be had, also with any type of pads. I still take them with me to meets to assess gear. 
 
And here I am writing this while listening out of speakers. 

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Personally I am sick of the O2 and ODAC hype.
I'm sure they are very good products, but I see too much of:
Q.  need to upgrade my amp, what to get?
A.  O2 is the answer!
Q.  need to spend a large pile of cash on a headphone 'cos that's how i roll, baby! What should I blow my money on?
A.   No!  buy the O2!  It is the Final Headphone Amp!
Q.   what is the world's greatest DAC, like, um, ever? Rilly!
A.  ODAC is the answer!
 
BTW, I'm also sick of Jennifer Lopez, can someone shoot her into outerspace, please?
Please?
PLEASE?
PLEASE?

 
That combo is probably one of the few things that do justify some hype here, as its one of the relatively few products (that qualify as high-end) out there to be developed without self-delusion as a large part of the design process. And it's not so much the product itself I'd like hyped, it's the philosophy behind the design. I think many of us are OK with paying a few hundred bucks or more for really nice enclosures and nice-to-have features which aren't a central part of the audio performance. But to sell crap in nice cases is all too common around here.

 

[Audio-Omega]

Is RS1i worth getting ?  Brand new ones are selling for less than $600.