Warm, musical midrange and bass Clean, smooth high frequency response Light and comfortable

A tad muted in the extreme highs, deliberately tailored to showcase the midrange? Very expensive, and because of the cost, sound and extreme physical beauty they can be almost too 'formal' to have fun with! Kind of like owning a Ferrari and driving it at 30mph around the block to avoid wear and tear, instead of opening it up on the freeway!

I purchased these wonderful headphones from http://www.ozenterprises.net who accepted a trade-in to help lessen my cash outlay. The RS-1 lists for around $1200 in Canada. The signature Grado sound of the less expensive models is presented in a more refined manner. Tonal and timbral accuracy is a valuable asset of the RS-1. They are the most musical headphone I have used and sonically they compete with loudspeakers in the $5000-$10,000 price range. Only complaint is that they tend to sound a bit lifeless in the extreme top end, but the highs are very smooth and grain-free.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR80, Grado SR325, Sennheiser HD600

Nice smooth sound

Cost, lack of neutrality

Well, I thought I liked these until I heard the Sennheiser HD-600's! After comparing the two over a couple of months, I sold these and bought the Senn's. I thought the 600's bested the RS-1's in every category - detail, neutrality, tonal balance, etc. The Grado's tended to make everything sound good with some form of artifical sweetening while the Senn's tell it like it is, good or not. Although there is something to be said for making music sound euphonious, I prefer a neutral presentation as it makes the good sounding recordings sound all that much more real. I felt that the added warmth of the Grados was nice but the Sennheisers are just much more visceral in their presentation. The beautiful thing about it is that I was able to sell the Grados for more than the Senns cost new! As they say, your mileage may vary. You should try these if you're in the market for headphones but you should also try the Senns for (to my ears) a more realistic presentation.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD-600's - the finest dynamic headphone in the world!

See my review.

Good be more comfortable and for many on this planet the price..., but if you can afford it: "Go for them".

I read the review by John H., Glen Rock and I really can't understand his review. I sold my Sennheiser HD-600, because it lacked in every department (apart from the comfort one, the HD-600 excels there) compared to the Grado-RS1. The RS1's sound is so refined without any distortion and so open with so much detail well beyond my head. I can 'touch' the performers, I'm in the studio with them, these phones are absolutely fab.; 5 Big Stars. This is through my reference system: Yamaha DSP-A1 amp., Sony SCD-555ES player, Van Den Hul: The First Ultimate audio cables. When I replace the Sony with a Philips 723 CD-player, they still sound very good, but the sound stays on my head and not beyond and not so delicate. The same happens when I replace, in my reference set, The First Ultimate with Van Den Hul's Thunderline, there's also a decline. So good components are important, they always are, but the phones will always sound very good. I really wonder what they will sound like in a top reference set!

Similar Products Used:

Beyerdynamic DT990; Sony MDR-CD480 (because of their high sens., brill. for a Discman); Philips HP890 (a bit too laid back); Sennheiser HD-600 (The best dynamic headphones AFTER the Grado RS1).

-the sound. -the details.

-neglect towards my speakers. -anyone near you can hear the music... this includes your girlfriend tyring to sleep.

i have been using the sr60''s and decided to give the rs1''s a try. they are very nice. i run them through a creek obh11 connected to a cambridge d500se with kimber pbj. i let them play for a couple of days, and they really shine. the details are what really come out with these phones. it is a pleasure to listen to these phones at moderate volumes hearing every little detail that each instrument makes. very nice. they didnt fit my head to well at first, but after some bending i can listen for a couple hours no problem. i have used them with my portable md player which has no problem driving them to loud listening levels. i would recommend these phones to anyone who wants to hear the details.

Similar Products Used:

sr60

The termites sing to me (they love my michael jackson cd''s)

The mahogany earpieces sound great, but mine contain termites

Similar Products Used:

rs2 - very good also

Crisp and bright audio Deep bass sounds deep

Gets a bit uncomfortable after awhile

These headphones are awesome. Everything sounds so crisp and bright when compared to the Senn''s HD 530. Songs with bass sound really deep and the highs are sharp. I primarily use the RS-1''s with my iPod at work and noticed that very little power is required to drive them! I''d have to crank it all the way up when I was using the Senn''s. Cosmetically the RS-1 looks pretty cool with the wood trim. I have to admit though that after awhile the phones do hurt a little and you have to take a breather before putting them back on again. Other than that I''m pretty satisified with my investment.

Similar Products Used:

Senn HD 530

warmth, bass punch

comfort

related equipment:

Meridian 508.24 cd player
Melos SHA-1 headphone amp
Tara Labs RSC Master Gen II interconnect

Bought these almost 3 years ago. Due to downstairs neighbor
having "bat" ears, most of my listening is done via headphones. Sound is very smooth and liquid. I love the impact bass tom toms and drums have. I listen primarily to rock, jazz-fusion type music. No classical.

I accidently dropped these and developed a "tizzing" in the
right earpiece. Sent to Grado. They repaired for free and added the improved cushions which dramatically helped the comfort factor.

Highly recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR 125, various Sony

out of head feeling

faulty presentation

RS-1 has faulty presentation with lost of neutrality. Though the bass is full and warm, it is not as fast and controlled as 600, let along Stax. People may find the distorted presentation easier to listen but since I go to concert often, RS-1's intepretation is not acceptable for classic music. So audit it out before purchase to see whether it suits your taste.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser 600, Stax Signature

Mids and highs clear

no power handling spec- what's with this bass being 20Hz!?

No power handling spec was VERY annoying- I knew it needed more power than a reciever jack or discman. I got a headphone amp of something like 1wRMS. After hearing this headphone had the best bass I put on my BASS MECHANIC cd. This annihilated my sony V-600 and their voice coil fried. I think it's 4cm driver split into like ten burned up pieces- well so much for those 5HZ headphones blowing on a 35Hz test. I thought the Grado would pump a good 125+dbs (96db spl at 1mw-running 1000mw)My Crystal CMP 15" can do 140dbs on this CD and is heard about half a mile away. I put a 20Hz pink noise test on the RS-1 and I turned it up 1/5 of the way and I got a loud POP! The spl was under 105db when it happened. I looked inside and the driver was not the same looking as it was when I plugged it in. $600
for this? They could at least post HONEST specs- I expected more from an audiophile company. I plugged a sony 15w boom box speaker into the headphone amp to see how close I was to clipping when the RS-1 blew out. It went up to 4/5 before clipping and nearly blew out the crappy sony 10w with that same song! To think that was with a LOW 4ohm driver when the amp is rated for like 40 ohms.

Similar Products Used:

SR-325

Bass and Liquid Sound. Build Quality

unusual intepretion of music

I guess we have to disagree about the product. It is true Grado's intepretion of music is unusual or slightly faulty. But it is not necessary a bad thing as long as it sweetens the music.

I go to concerts frequently myself and know Grado losts neutrelity slightly. But, to fully appreciate large scale classical, you really should listen to speakers!

For other music formats, I prefer Grado over Sennheiser 600. The only time I use 600 is when I listen to solo classical performance.

I agree with Kaufmann that you need to audit it out to see whether it is for you. Most of time it is unless your genre is narrow solo classic.

Set up:
CEC 5100Z->JPS Superconductor->Melos SHA Gold Reference
->Grado RS1/Sennheiser 600