Escorts you right into the heart of the music. Look/smell/feel - a work of art physically as well as sonically.

Long term comfort. Will sound like crap if your source isn't capable.

My vote for best dynamic headphone in the world goes to the Grado RS-1. To my ears Sennheiser's sound good but fail to grab my attention - presentation is overly smoothed with a bloated midbass and loose, recessed sound overall. Onto the RS-1. Unlike the lower end Grado's they're actually pretty comfortable, and treble smoothness is a full 360 from the spitty SR125 - while still retaining that sense of immediacy. Likewise the RS-1 adds a richer, more extended, weightier sound to the bass. Kickdrums are awesome. Midrange has a presence like no other - not sibilant or hard at all. Very warm. Strings sound amazing. Imaging and soundstage are first rate, but a bit behind Sennheiser's best. A very classy product. Slightly overpriced at $699.

Similar Products Used:

Grado RS-1, SR125, Sennheiser HD545, Sony MDR-V6, Koss TD80, others.

To all reviewers: What Grado pads are you using? There are 4 different types of pads Grado makes for their headphones, and each one changes the sound like night and day. I see a lot of comments about how the RS-1s sound dark, or how the Sennheiser HD-600s are brighter. I have a feeling that those reviewers are using the old flat donut pads that lie up flat against the drivers. With the current bowl pads that are included with all Grados except the SR-60s, Grados sound entirely different. Soundstage gets expanded by a LOT, the sound becomes very highly detailed, and the treble becomes BRIGHT. It is with these pads that there is no way the Sennheisers could possibly be brighter than Grados, and also no way anybody could call Grados dark sounding. Grados with the new bowl pads are by far the brightest sounding dynamic headphones on the market, and make the Sennheisers sound dark.

Future reviewers, please include what pads you are using, as the pads are a VERY important factor in the Grado sound.

Grado sound and quality overall.

Less neutral than other phones, including other Grados, which is only a weakness if you prefer colder sound.

I feel like adding to my review below an important point or two about my limited experience with the RS-1,due to the fact that it is so hard to define experience accurately. I feel that both the Senn. and the Grado offer astounding detail thanks mostly to lack of room-interference,etc.., (that speakers often soak in)but that the Grado and the Senn. each offer different kind of detail? Some find it harder to listen to detail if they are simultaneously sensing an accompanying sense of atmospheric-resonance,or "warmth",and feel that a greater sense of a coldness,or,neutrality,serves the cause of detail better.I think that the Senn.,since it gives a more panoramic view of the soundstage,is detailed in that it pinpoints images as if from a distant vantage-point very well,and in that sense Senn,displays "accuracy" of detail.Grado approaches detail a bit differently,to my ears,by sort of getting you real close to the source,so the detail is more precise in this manner,compared to others.I prefer the Grado approach to detail,personally,but just wanted to add to the healthy confusion among the interested...

Similar Products Used:

Grados,Senn.'s,others.

everything

none but they are not neutral. this may be a weakness but is entirely subjective.

i am surprised to hear anyone comment on a lack of detail from a pair of rs1's. it may have more to do with what you are driving them with or some other variable in your system then the phones themselves. i own sen 600's, etymotic er4p, ety er4s, and grado rs1's and the grados totally blow away the sens in every way including detail

Similar Products Used:

see summary

Sound that is deliberately made "muddy" in order to more closely approximate real-world sound.

If you are used to the artificial sense of heightened detail that is presented with most headphones,you may forget that almost any speaker setup is also more "muddy" than most any headphone...

I do not own these headphones - yet...I have tried and liked them,though,and am happy to agree with some of the last previous comments. But what is considered a negative there is partly due to getting used to an exaggerated sound (that is nevertheless addictive,like a drug),that you get treated to in the course of most headphone-listening. Many headphones pander to this type of illicit sense in some way(s)? The Grado SR-325 is a good example. Here is detail that you could only get by being onstage or two feet in front of the actual music. But,the feeling is still nice,especially after being used to all of what speaker-sound has failed to provide for so many years (for many of us non-millionaires,anyway). The RS-1,in my opinion,is somewhat more "colored"! But what Joe Grado has in mind is a little "de-sterilization" in the sense that too much of a good thing might reside in the Valley of Pure Prismatic Sensation! As "tubby","dark","warm","muddy", "colored","wooly",etc..,as the RS-1's may seem in comparison to more conventional phones,I'll bet that 99% of all speaker systems owned by mortals are far more so,overall.And,this is not all bad. So,Thanks for the Mud,Joe Grado - I feel like a human again,even though the occasional "drug" is quite,Um, invigorating(even uplifting),in worship...

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-60 owned.Senn.-600,RS-1,SR-325 auditioned.

The Grado RS-1s are exceptionally smooth. Have a tremendous dynamic range. These headphones are as good as they get. They should be used with the Grado Headphone Amp for best sound quality.

The only weaknesses is the need for a good headphone amp to properly realize there full potential.

I would give these headphones 5 stars. As stated above, these headphones have a smooth, clear, open sound that would be difficult to match. The sound quality is measureably improved with the Grado headphone amp.

Similar Products Used:

Grado 325, 225, 125, 80 and 60.

I recently did about a two-hour A/B test between the Grado RS-1's, the SR-325's, and the Sennheiser HD600's. Amplification was a Creek OBH-11 (I think that's the model number) from a CAL DX-2. I really wanted to like the Grado's, but I honestly thought they placed last in my comparison. For reference, I listen to acoustic, techno, rock and industrial. If I *only* listened to industrial, the pure slam and sort of liquidy, phasey lower mids of the RS-1's might have won me over (it's almost an effect...one listen and you'll know what I mean). However, the Sennheiser's killed them on anything less distorted and beat-driven (trance techno, re: Paul van Dyk, folk/pop: Indigo Girls, etc.). Needless to say, I ended up with the Sennheiser's. I also record/engineer audio, and perhaps that explains my bias against the RS-1's...although certainly "pleasing" to listen to, I'd hardly call them accurate. I know, they're amplitude response is as linear as any other headphone, give or take, but I would love to see what the phase is doing on these things.Final thoughts: Sennheiser HD600's for the anal-retentive, only wants what's on the record, purity or death among us, Grado's for the people who like their amplifiers "punchy" and need to feel bass, not just hear it.

These headphones sound like electrostatics with built in subwoofers! They have almost as much detail as the best electrostatic headphones costing well over $2000 (such as Stax), but with deep articulate bass and impact that only a dynamic design can deliver. These Grado cans are the most musical headphones on the market at any price! One would need to spend well over $5000 on a pair of speakers that can match this performance, assuming one had an acoustically "near-perfect" room.

Raises art of headphone reproduction. Extremely musical, transparent. Holographic "out of head" soundstage. Sounds better than the best speakers!

I'm stumped

I own two pairs of Grado RS-1s as well as two pairs of Sennheiser HD 600s. I have had the chance to compare them for several years now in my headphone setup, comprising Cary 300SEI headpone amplifier and Meridian 508.24 CDP. I know these two headphones very intimately.
The HD 600s sound very neutral, easy and very revealing. However, they are also discouragingly flimsy in construction and very plasticky. The famous complaint is that the connection to the leads becomes intermittent and this problem has not been fixed after many years. I replaced my first HD600 when the connection became intermittent after 8 months. 10 months after this, the second pair also manifested an intermittent contact. Many other users have also reported this.

Contrary to advertising, only a tiny part of the HD 600 is made of carbon fibre, and the general housing is still flimsy plastic, just like the HD 580. You clearly hear this cheap plasticky casing coloration in the sound when compared to the RS-1.

The Grado RS-1 is a much, much classier headphone, and a true audiophile component. The leads are soldered, not held in place by flimsy springs like in the HD 600. The RS-1 also has a much more rigid wood/metal hard resin construction. This makes a big difference in the sound, which is so much more transparent seductively musical, natural, without any earcup honk. The mahogony seems to "sing" naturally in sympathy WITH the music, especially stringed instruments. Strangely, the RS-1's cheaper brother, the aluminium SR 325 seems to portray trumpets & trombones & horns with more force due to its metal construction, and has a meatier punchier sound. In general, it sounds less transparent than the RS-1.

For monitoring, the HD600 might highlight treble micro detail more, so you can hear flaws in the recording. However, the RS-1 gives you more of the music in a lively, coherent, natural, living, breathing fashion. It gives a much more transparent and open soundstage where the HD600 sounds closed in, mechanical and with a honk from the plastic casing "ringing".

I actually bought a spare RS-1 recently as I like it so much. But the first set is so sturdily built that I have not had any problems after 4 years. Looks like I might never need the second pair.

I like the HD600s and they are really enjoyable headphones with a more easy, mid-bass-rich balance than the RS-1 However, the RS-1 is transcendant in conveying music in a natural, coherent and expressive way. Although the HD600's encompass your ears and feel more cuddly, the RS-1s feel cooler. They don't press down on your ears excessively if you adjust the headband properly for your head.

Also heard some expensive STAX electrostatics. They sounded very smooth and fast, but also very two dimensional and very flat dynamically. When going beyond moderate levels, these 'stats would clip or break up.

Similar Products Used:

Stax Tubed Electrostatics, Sennheiser HD600, AKG,

subwoofer bass, sweet mid, and free high

bit pricey

This the best dynamic headphone a/v on the market.

Incredible level of resolution which could be bad for some non-audiophile CDs to be played, e.g. Art Blakey's At the Cafe Bohemia sounds ok with Senn 600 but miserable with RS1 as the cans reveal all kinds of shortcomings of the CD. But if you pop in a CD like Stereophile's Rendenvouz, you are in music nirvana. Although Senn 600 is supposed to be better in classic listening, I find RS-1's high resolution more suitable for me since I usually sit very close to players in live performance.

Subwoofer like bass. Used to be a little murky but with new pads this problem corrected.

I have detailed discussion of the cans at headwize and eopinions' forums. Check them out.

Sweaaaaaaat mid and highs. Cymbals sound terrific.

Build quality is first rate. Only thing is that the wood chamber makes it uncomfortable to wear when you lie down.

Similar Products Used:

Senn 600, 580