Incredible transparency, clarity and responsiveness throughout the entire freq. range, elegance (visual and sonic), construction.

Comfort (subjective), clicking noise orginating where cable connects to the diagphram during certain head movements, tendency for headphones to slide on head.

Long story, short... both the Sennheisers and the Grados are great acoustic accomplishments. If you like superior build quality and an elegant package and have the money, don't guilt yourself for passing over the 600's. The food may taste the same, but presentation certainly can't be factored out. Same here, the Senn's are great headphones, but the tactile (and as another review states, olfactory) pleasures are missing altogether. Comfortwise, the Grados aren't less, merely different. The Senns are very comfortable, well designed headphones, though in many people's opinions claustorphobic. The Grados do not sit as well intially, but are quick to adjust to and in the end both fade to the background in the light on the sonic renditions being delivered. Sonically, I think the reviews speak for themselves... though I might have a dissenting opinion as to the dark tonal character of the RS-1s, I find them erring more towards the neutral than the dark. Good luck in your decisions, either way you simply can't go wrong.

Similar Products Used:

Senn 600

supposedly incredible sound

thas a lot of cheeze cuz

Ok CrystalCMP15 i am very familiar wit ur breed. U are a car audio freak and more namely a bass head. I know this b/c I too am a car audio nut. You appparently have the means to acquire equipment that u neither deserve nor respect. Both Crystal's highly acclaimed CMP series of subs and Grado's RS-1 are products that should ONLY be in the hands of TRUE enthusiasts. Why the hell would u play a 5Hz tone through headphones?!?!?!? I have yet to come across any subs that can take that kind of abuse w/o the additional accompaniment of alinear motion especially when played at high levels!!!!! Bass Mechanik is great for screwin around testin ur 15's or 18's but not on audiophile grade headphones. One more thing, there is no way that u can get 125dB in ur ears besides if u could u wouldn;t b doing anymore serious listening after that. U need to study physics son.

$$$

I'm just posting to say Crystal-what's-his-face is retarded, or something. You can't measure accurate dB from a headphone unless you surgically put a microphone or pressure sensor in your ear canal, you idiot. You blew out a perfectly good pair of audiophile headphones. You do this to every pair of headphones you come across. Subwoofers and headphones have totally different performances. Get your lobotomized butt off Audio Review!

Similar Products Used:

Etymotic ER4S, Koss A200, Koss SportaPro, Koss ktx/4

These are incredible. Can't write much now but I have to post
this to offset the unfair 1 star rating by CrystalCMP15inch.
The RS-1 is a 32 ohm headphone. Obviously he/she does on understand power ratings of headphones. These are very sensitive cans. A discman will power them fine and a reciever
jack will bring them to earsplitting levels. Though in order to drive them properly and sound good you need a quality amp such as the Melos Maestro Reference or Headroom Max.

When you tested the V-600 did you not notice a PROBLEM when they almost blew up!!! Would anyone out there hook upt their lets say.. wilson watt puppies to an amp that just blew thier pioneer speakers? I doubt it.

Also, accusing Grado of being dishonest!! Completely unsubstantiated. Your test equipment was probably way inferior to the RS-1. (I am just assuming o.k.) BTW, what headphone amp were you using?

Why don't you try this w/ the AKG K-1000. Just for fun.
Then you might realize that the ohm rating is not the only determiner oh how a speaker accepts volume and power.

Have you ever heard of the british company NVA? Check out their ideals. They feel that sound quality matters most and the discerning and thrifty audiophile should be able to take care of thier equipment allowing for some comprimises in cost that benifit the music.

I am still having trouble figuring out if Crystal is real or just some kind of bored troll. Why would you subject something you paid $600 for to such a test? Who knows... Anyone else feel the same way as I do?

Oh, the RS-1 approaches the music in an unconventional way. Try it. You just might prefer the satisfying experience to that of a more "accurate" headphone. What is more important to you?

Similar Products Used:

HD-580, HD-600 and many others..

Great bass, very warm

Not as neutral as the Senn HD600's; uncomfortable

I've owned these for about 8 months. As I have two systems and already owned the Senn HD600, I wanted something different for the other system. These are excellent sounding headphones, although I don't hear the detail in them that I hear in the Senn's. Also, these seem to be warmer and more forgiving - not as neutral. But they are a very fine listen. I tested them with my upstairs system to see if the components were the difference but it became apparent that the Grado and Senn have very different presentations. I prefer the Grados to soften up overly bright recordings and the Senns sound better on better recordings.

Although I find the Sennheiser's superior on most audiophile counts, you can't go far wrong with the Grados. The presentation package is superb and the sound is very good.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD600 + 580, Grado Sr-325

Great sounding, detailed, warm and desirably tubelike, excellent build and craftsmanship (quality materials)
Sound very good without amp (unlike senn hd580/600)

Not the most comfortable headphones, kind of pricey,

Quite possibly the best and most beautiful headphones I have ever heard. In my opinion they beat the Senn HD-600's hands down. Much more engaging and real sounding. I got them as a
demo pair that had seen almost no use for $500. I was prepared to spend the full $695 for them though. They come in a nice wood box for storage. They have a thick cord that has NO problems whatsoever (sorry sennheiser, need not apply). They present a live and believable soundstage that sounds nothing like anyhead phone I have heard. A good headphone amp will only make these sound better though and
I would recommend investing the extra dough.
A must have!
Five Headphones!

Greg

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD-545, HD-580, HD-590, HD-600; MbQuartz, B&O form 1; Grado sr-80, 125, 325; Various Koss and Stax models as well as many sony products.

Well, they have a particular sound, and you might like that sound.

They are colored.

I reviewed these headphones fairly extensively for about 2 weeks. They are just not my cup of tea. I agree with the previous reveiw by Gary. I suppose some might like this sound - if you do, you'd probably describe it as warm, lush, and smooth. I'd describe it as tubby, woolly, woody, and lacking in detail. This might be OK for mellowing out some harsh recordings. However, the detail, accuracy, and frequency response of the Sennheiser HD600 just blew these away. And these are so expensive! I suppose if you like these headphones, you either happen to really like this particular coloration (and let's face it, virtually all components have *some* coloration), or you just read some glowing review and decided these are so expensive they must be good. In overall rating, they are better than a lot of headphones out there, so I will give it 4 stars only because I can't give it 3.5. In terms of value, they're poor. You can get similar quality for around $150. I would rather own the 125s, for example. These are $650!! (p.s. I don't know the model year of the ones I listened to.)

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR60, 80, 125, 325, Sennheiser HD600.

Everything is just PERFECT

wut weakness??

I am just a poor college student but man, never once have i regretted saving up for these cans.... i am just simply in LUV!!!! This baby is just perfect.....
As for CrystalCMP15inch...... dude... don't bother testin anything else.... head straight to the nearest hospital and get a MRI or somethin man... did all dat bass liquify your brain or somethin??? hookin these up like dat... at the beginnin i thought others were being over-critical but after reading your actual "review"... man.... wut can i say... hope u don't have any kids, else humanity is just DOOMED..... as for others who knows how to really appreciate a FINE product when they see one, GRADO ALL DA WAY!!!!!

Similar Products Used:

nothing can even come close to being SIMILAR

I own both senheiser 600's and grado rs1's. I find both are wonderful phones, the stuff I've dreamed of since I first laid on the floor and put speakers close to my ears 32 years ago. Having read many reviews and/or comments on both, and now comparing them myself, the only conclusion I can make is that it is a very personal thing, this choosing 1 outstanding phone over another. assuming your signal source is good, your power is clean and you have a great headphone amp I can't imagine being unhappy with either of these phones. my own subjective take is that the Grado's please me most, most of the time. I love the subwoofer-like bass and the "liquid" sound everyone refers to. Last week I attended a gig at the Bottom Line in NYC. Alejandro Escovedo and his band played 2 fine sets, mostly rock. The sound quality was quite good and I was in the best seat in the house for hearing it. I found myself thinking, "my grado rs1's sound so much like this it's amazing". guess I'm just another Grado fan cause I've never had that thought before, never found any other headphone to be that close to live amplified performance.

Excellent build quality, great bass, warm sounding

Lack of transparency, cost

These are a fine listen, no question. It is only when pitted against the Senn 600's that their colorations become apparent. They are a bit on the dark side of neutral and over-romanticize music whereas the Senn's are more neutral and give back what they are given.

Although I've not heard the RS-2's, these are the best sounding Grado phones in a lineup that has many great sounding phones. But I think they are priced out of contention with more transparent phones such as the Senns. At this price, I would want a more natural presentation. The price tag of these makes the HD600's sound like what they are - the bargain of the century at half the price! These begged for an audition because I'm a tube and vinyl lover and I assumed based on what I'd heard that they would lean in that direction. Too much of a good thing isn't a good thing! These would be GREAT phones at $250. At $695, they are just too colored to qualify as an audiophile product in my opinion.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD600's