These are high-quality audio accessories designed for audiophiles who demand exceptional sound quality. These headphones utilize a dynamic transducer type and an open acoustic principle, which allows for a more natural sound reproduction with a wider soundstage.

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These phones are fantastic - they've brought out sounds I've never heard before, even on my excellent home system.

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I own or have owned a number of good headphones (inter alia Sennhesier 6xx (HD650), AKG 702, Audio Technica M50x and MSR7, Beyerdynamic DT 770 pro and 990 pro and Sennheiser Momentum 2). And these Grado are the best sounding of them all. They offer extraordinary clarity, separation of the instruments and the voices and an impressive level of detail. The focus of these headphones is clearly in the mid range (where the voices and guitars are), that is why to me they are the best option for rock lovers. But it also has a good bass response, not punchy but satisfactory enough, and an impressive level of detail as well. The excellent blending of all music frequencies makes them extraordinary for any music style. Very lively headphones, you cannot get bored of them. If you cannot afford paying a lot of money for headphones of this price range, I advice to purchase the Grado SR-80e. For much less you get 90% of the Grado Sound as well.

The negative elements relate to the build and comfort. The cable is very thick and not detachable. This is a minor issue as it looks as very difficult to break, however it might not satisfy those used to removable cables. The earpads (L-cushions) are rough and sit on the ears, making the headphones not very comfortable for long listening sessions. I advice to replace them with either the S-cushions (soft foam) or the G-cushions (same quality as the L but do not sit on the ear but on the skull directly).

Soundwise, these headphoens have so many strengths, it would be silly to list them all. PARTICULAR strengths are bass and soundstage.

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Uncomfortable????? I myself have never suffered from this aggitation but to those who have may i suggest you invest in a pair of Grado G-cushion pads! These pads are made for the high end Grado professional series but fit perfectly well and whats more very easily onto the Rs2/Rs1 models! These pads are bigger than those supplied with your Rs2/Rs1 and therefore you have more room for your ears! I bought these myself not for the additional comfort ( i have read a comment that with these you can consider the phones as the most comfortable cans in existance btw!) but for the improved soundstage! Yes! Even better with the G-cushions!!!

The sound of these cans is absolutely SUPERB! I use them with a handbuilt NJC audio headphone amp, Chord interconnect and a Sony SACD player. I highly recommend buying a purpose built headphone amplifier to those who do not yet own one. The difference in sound quality i experiance when using this, rather than plugging into my normal amp or CD player socket is different class! I wouldn't swap my NJC or Rs2i'sfor the world! (well.....maybe i exaggerate a little there).

Hope this helps! Happy listening folks!

Soundwise, these headphoens have so many strengths, it would be silly to list them all. PARTICULAR strengths are bass and soundstage.

Comfort. I've said it above, but these just don't feel like headphones. It's as if Grado said, "Let's make the best possible sound for anything you can strap on your head, but worry about what happens once it gets on your head later."

Look, I know I'm stepping into the lion's mouth with this one, but these headphones just aren't comfortible enough to be considered spectacular. OBVIOUSLY the sound is great, but a feature that is almost important as sound, when it comes to headphones, is comfort. After all, music is meant to be listened to through speakers, so if you're willing to strap those speakers onto your head, you'd better be able to deal with them on your head for an extended period of time.

I can draw an interesting analogy to the Playstation 3 here. People have been saying, for example, that with the PS3, Sony has put technology first and gameplay second. Likewise, Grado has - beyond denial - put sound first and the actual "headphone-ness" of the headphones second. I normally wouldn't have a problem with that if the headphones weren't distractingly UNCOMFORTIBLE, but the RS-2s are. The speaker is rock hard, and is pushed right into your ear. Additionally, unless your ears are circular (which, last time I checked, not many people's are), the earcups simply are NOT MADE TO FIT YOUR EARS. They are made to ACCOMODATE THE SPEAKER IN THE HEADPHONE. Add to that the foam earpads, and I found myself rather disenchanted. Put shortly, RS-2 simply feels unnatural on your head.

There are a thousand articles testifying to Grado's sound, and I'm not going to disagree with them. But when you get headphones, let's be honest, you're looking for more than great sound. Polk's LSi9's (by way of example) have great sound, but I'm not considering strapping them to my head. Likewise, Grado's have great sound - the bass is smooth, the highs are great, and the soundstage is rather large. But they just don't feel like a real headphone to me, and with many other comfortible, slightly less expensive, and virtually identical sounding high-end models out there, I'd advise looking in another direction.

Similar Products Used:

AKG K701, Senn HD695, Senn HD595, Bose Quietcomfort2 (or as I like to call them, QuietDiscomfort2)

Your kidding right? THE FREAKIN SOUND!!!! Like beautiful music flowing into your ears.

uncomfortable for first 2 weeks If your gonna pass these babies up, just because of comfort YOU WILL BE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE. Trust me, after a week . Now its perfect. or two it'll be perfect.

Simply......Perfect What more can I say? The construction is superb. The entire Reference series are hand-made (unlike the prestige series). The sound is U.N.B.E.L.I.E.V.A.B.L.E. The instruments are crisp and clear, the midrange is flawless and the bass id so freakin defined (not exaggerated or boomy). This is not a headphone for teenagers. This is strictly an audiophile headphone. If you teens want crazy bass go to best buy and get some junky Bose or $30 Sony's. For those debating between the Sennheiser's and Grados read this: There are 2 kinds of music playback: The Grado style and the Senn style. Its really up to your ears to decide. AUDITION AUDITION AUDITION. The Grados are perfect for Classical, Rock, Jazz etc whereas the Senns are better to watch movies on and Rap music because of the punch its got and less detailed quality. Dont get me wrong, Grados are awesome too, but I would prefer the Senn's for movies. But then again, what audiophile listen's to Rap all the time or watching movies on their headphones? Also consider this: YOU THINK YOUR SAVING MONEY BUYING THE SENNHEISER'S??? The Grado RS-2 is 30 ohms while the Senn's are 300 ohms !!! Thats a lot of power so you'll definetly need an amplifier to power it. A simple receiver can easily power the Grado's. So breakdown..... Senns + amp-------$450-$600 Grado RS-2--------$-$450 My thoughts exactly.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD-497, Graso SR-60, Grado SR-80, Grado SR-125

great detail freqs blend well nice midrange

can be more comfortable, this can be fixed with compy pads and cuting out the center of the new pads

Grado RS-2 is a great sounding set of cans exhibiting very good detail and blending in well with all freq bands. The RS-2 throws a rich quality sound that sounds good on all types of music. Classic rock fans will like the RS-2s. Guitar has good bite and just the right amount of punch from percussions with good dynamics. I use the RS-2 with the Grado RA-1 amp running thru a Classé ssp-50 preamp with a Classé CDT-1 transport using the high quality dacs inside the ssp-50 (basicly a dac-1) into the Grado RA-1 amp. This combination throws a smooth lovely sound that is spooky good with well recorded music that can sound lush but with good dynamics and quick response. Crisp transient attacks hit quick and tight with proper strenght. Bass is good not exceptional with texture and blends well with the exceptional mids. All in all the RS-2 (RA-1) is without a doubt an audiophile product, you get what you pay for. If any interest i paid 675 incl ship for the Grado RS-2/RA-1 combo from Quest for Sound www.questforsound.com, questforsound@aol.com 215-637-3263 Stephen the owner is a great guy with great prices and service.

Superb detail, rich controlled bass,good soundstage,comfort. comfort.

Can be a bright in upper mids on some recordings, price.

As you can see from the above, I have owned a number of Grado's and the RS-2's are by far my favorite, even over the Sennheiser 580's. They have a clear, precise, and detailed sound quality which does improve a tad with break-in. They have a richness and natural quality to the upper bass and to string instruments which I'm sure comes from the use of mahogany for the driver chambers. This quality was pointed out in a Stereophile review also. They really excel with piano and string based recordings, and impart a nice feeling of space around the individual instruments.
The comfort is by far the best of the Grado's I have used, and is in no small part due to their light weight and slightly padded and wider headband. (Still not as good as the Sennheisers however). I am, for the record, using them with a Creek OBH-11 headphone amp. But they sound great stright out a portable cd player also.
They are a bit costly, and cd's which are bright to begin do not improve through these phones, but I don't regret the purchase one bit. All in all, a super sounding set of cans.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-80, SR-225, SR-325, Sennheiser 580, AKG K340-owned.

Transparent and rich sounding. My vote for the best overall sound from headphones.

None so far; may be too revealing for some systems; need to replace stock earpads with "comfy pads" for best comfort

Around 3 years ago I sold my Grado HP3's for comfort reasons(I just started wearing eyeglasses) and purchased Grado SR80's to hold me over until I found something else. I auditioned several different headphones during this time period and settled on the Grado RS2 as they beat out Sennheiser HD600 in a direct comparison.
While the Sennheisers and AKG's are more comfortable and the Sennheiser's with a tube headphone amp can sound better with orchestral classical music, I have not found anything better than the Grado's for overall musical enjoyment. While the Grado's cost more than the Sennheiser's, the cost of a tube headphone amp makes the Grado RS-2 a better value INMHO. The SR80's are no slouches themselves, but the RS-2's offer much more information and actually seem to present a more spacious and focussed sound like the Sennheiser HD600. The RS-2's are easier to drive than the Sennheiser's. While the RS-2's need a good source to sound their best they do not absolutely need a dedicated headphone amp. I have gotten decent results with a NAD receiver, but I am using a very good cd front end.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR 80, Grado HP3,Koss Pro4xtc, Koss Porta Pro