Grado Owners & Discussion Thread

[Jensway]

I have Rs1i's, driven by a Graham Slee ultra linear amp

I am very happy with playing classic and acoustic tracks, as the detail is great, without being clinical.

I far prefer them to the Beyer dynamic dt250's I own, but it is not a fair comparison, both in terms of price and design( The BD being closed)

In terms of comfort, the pads can press on the outer edge of the ear, which has on occasion led me to investigate the larger G-cush pads as a replacement.

The general consensus on the Grado forums , is that this will alter the performance of the earphones, which are designed to sit at a certain distance from the ear canal.

So I have not taken the leap!

Any advice from those of you who have done this?

 

Just do it. It's worth it. It doesn't change the sound as much as people will tell you. 

 

I made the jump to G-cush and wouldn't personally use any other pad. 

 

Let your ears decide - your WHOLE ear!

Edited June 30, 2015 by White Lotus

[Equaliser]

If you have big ears you need jumbo bowl pads. 

 

[coppinger]

apart from the fear of changing the sound of my Grados, is the fact that I regularly fall asleep listening to my setup ( which happens to be next to my bed!).

More comfort could cut down my listening time.

Perhaps I need to listen to more rock!

[BATMAQN]

I have Rs1i's, driven by a Graham Slee ultra linear amp

I am very happy with playing classic and acoustic tracks, as the detail is great, without being clinical.

I far prefer them to the Beyer dynamic dt250's I own, but it is not a fair comparison, both in terms of price and design( The BD being closed)

In terms of comfort, the pads can press on the outer edge of the ear, which has on occasion led me to investigate the larger G-cush pads as a replacement.

The general consensus on the Grado forums , is that this will alter the performance of the earphones, which are designed to sit at a certain distance from the ear canal.

So I have not taken the leap!

Any advice from those of you who have done this?

Agreed I've put the G Cush pads on my 325s much more comfy you won't regret it however give your ears a chance to get used to the sound.

[Citroen]

I've tried the g Cush pads with the rs1i and they widen the sound stage but more importantly seem to increase the treble. Not recommended if you already find them on the bright side, but yes quite comfortable.

[coppinger]

this was the best I could do !

If you have big ears you need jumbo bowl pads. 

 

 

[Equaliser]

Lol

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[lo fi]

Grados got soul. 

[heman_]

I've never owned a pair of Grado's but I have always wanted to. A very likeable company and the retro/unchanged designs are really nice

[Guest Misterioso]

I did not like that I needed to adjust the length on my SR80 before every use. Wife is using them now. I don't use headphones anymore.

[Jensway]

Slapped a new leather headband on my Grados.. Really enjoying it. Much more comfortable than before. 

[Equaliser]

Who did the wooden cups for you?

[Citroen]

That wood looks so luscious and slim line compared to the standard -

[Jensway]

Who did the wooden cups for you?

 

A user on Head-fi - named 7Keys. He does great work.

 

 

That wood looks so luscious and slim line compared to the standard -

 

Wow, did that stand come with the headphones? They look great.. 

[Equaliser]

A man with 7 keys?

[Citroen]

Stand originally came from these guys

http://www.headphile.com/page18.html

[rx79ez08]

Interestingly, I found the new RS1e and PS1000e significantly downgrade to the old RS1i and PS1000.

 

The RS1e come across as quite muddy and slow, and the PS1000e is a bit too tempt, losing the fun the PS1000 has.

 

The GS1000e to me is the surprise out of the bunch, it is not as treble happy as the old GS1000i, making it much more enjoyable.

 

The limited GH1 is also very good, especially with the G-Cush good punchy bass, very fast and fun, well worth a listen if anyone have a chance.

[Bengineer]

Come out, come out.

 

Just bought a GH4 off @RePete and I'm actually really liking them.

 

So share with me what's up from here in the Grado line.

 

The GH4 have more bass than I was expecting, so thats good. But most importantly nothing sounds bad. All seems to sound enjoyable on them.

 

Apart from the abysmal build quality, I'm liking them. To the point I'm keen to here if there is a decent step up from here, or this is basically the pinnicale. Build quality is fixable. Everything is replaceable with aftermarket parts, which I'm fine doing.

 

@Mightygrey@petng

Edited December 26, 2020 by Bengineer

[cafe67]

I have a set of gh2 and before that I had 325i, but what do you find abysmal about the build quality ?

[RePete]

It’s the Christmas season so I could say they are the pinnacle to save you some upgraditis but I suspect that it’s a permanent condition anyway

 

Of the smaller range I think the GH4 could be close to the pick of the bunch but the larger housing models do seem to step it up.

 

The RS1 has a little more detail in the mids/treble but lacks the bottom end of the GH4. They can be tuned a little with pad swapping but the GH4 wins out in the bottom end 

 

The GS1000e has similar bass to the GH4 but is flatter with the mids not as forward as the GH4. At times this means they are not as exciting/toe tapping as the GH4 but do offer a relaxed listening experience without fatigue or harshness on those odd tracks that get the GH4 on edge.

 

My PS1000 are Grados with more of everything. More bass, more thickness in the lower mids,  more detail in the top end. 
With all this they are less forgiving on some tracks but most of the time they just offer more in the music but so they should at 3 x the price. If I hadn’t found them 2nd hand in the classifieds I wouldn’t own a pair. 
 

Many say the PS500e with G pads gets you 90% of the PS1000e for less than half the price. Having said that the 1000e does seem to roll off the bass earlier than the original 1000 so I might be lucky to have the old model.

 

 

 

[RePete]

5 hours ago, cafe67 said:

I have a set of gh2 and before that I had 325i, but what do you find abysmal about the build quality ?

I think abysmal is in comparison to some other high end phones like the Final audio and ZMF

 

on their own they are fine and work as intended but the plastic parts on a near 1k headphone does feel cheap. Lucky they sound great 

[Bengineer]

6 hours ago, cafe67 said:

I have a set of gh2 and before that I had 325i, but what do you find abysmal about the build quality ?

 

Really isn't much saving grace. Plastic cheap looking rod blocks. Cheap basic metal rods with dipped rubber top grommet thing. Plastic gimbals!?! Unpadded headband. Fixed, thick, basic cable. Pads from the 1980s.

 

The wooden cup is the only part that is on par for quality for the price. Everything else is stuck in the 1980s.

 

For $799, the GH4 is up against the likes of Beyer DT1990 and DCA Aeon (original). Both a lesson on actual quality of build. And the Grado retain a lot of these cheap parts moving up the line, where they start competing in price with Focal and ZMF.

 

Not trying to bag on them too much, I like the aesthetic and the sound. But they are taking the piss in today's market. For something not truly made from scratch in house by a monk, the price doesn't reflect the quality of materials used.

 

Edited December 26, 2020 by Bengineer

[Bengineer]

1 hour ago, RePete said:

It’s the Christmas season so I could say they are the pinnacle to save you some upgraditis but I suspect that it’s a permanent condition anyway

 

Of the smaller range I think the GH4 could be close to the pick of the bunch but the larger housing models do seem to step it up.

 

The RS1 has a little more detail in the mids/treble but lacks the bottom end of the GH4. They can be tuned a little with pad swapping but the GH4 wins out in the bottom end 

 

The GS1000e has similar bass to the GH4 but is flatter with the mids not as forward as the GH4. At times this means they are not as exciting/toe tapping as the GH4 but do offer a relaxed listening experience without fatigue or harshness on those odd tracks that get the GH4 on edge.

 

My PS1000 are Grados with more of everything. More bass, more thickness in the lower mids,  more detail in the top end. 
With all this they are less forgiving on some tracks but most of the time they just offer more in the music but so they should at 3 x the price. If I hadn’t found them 2nd hand in the classifieds I wouldn’t own a pair. 
 

Many say the PS500e with G pads gets you 90% of the PS1000e for less than half the price. Having said that the 1000e does seem to roll off the bass earlier than the original 1000 so I might be lucky to have the old model.

 

 

 

Which one do you reach for the most?

 

I like the look of the GS1000e the most. Feel like the metal wrap on the PS series loses the Grado charm.

Edited December 26, 2020 by Bengineer

[RePete]

1 hour ago, Bengineer said:

Which one do you reach for the most?

 

I like the look of the GS1000e the most. Feel like the metal wrap on the PS series loses the Grado charm.

The PS1000 get most of my head time but I haven't had the GS1000 long enough to make a firm decision.

 

With the family home for the holidays I've been listening to IEM's but they have gone to the shops so I'll give the GS1000's a run while the house is quite

 

 

[RePete]

So after another listen I was surprised to notice some details like shakers and bells were more obvious in the GS1k than the PS1k

 

turns out there is more energy in the 1.5k to 3k which can be fun as is makes instruments sparkle and stand out

 

Switching back to the PS1k there is definitely more weight in the bottom end and the mids are more forward and there is something extra in the lower registers of the voice.

 

easiest way to describe the difference would be to say the GS1k emphasises instrument details and the PS1k emphasis is on the vocal range

 

both can be nice but if I am forced to chose I pick the vocal emphasis of the PS1K and tolerate the occasional harsh edge in the mids over the interesting and polite GS1K