Grado - Official Thread

I have owned and tried a few pieces of Grado gear over the years. These have managed to remain so far:
image image
The SR 80 - bought them some 20+ years ago. I always liked how open and light they are, both in terms of how they wear and how they sound. I hardly ever listen to them though these days and rather keep them for nostalgia reasons, they are more entry level and have some limitations in accuracy and linearity.

The earpads after some years basically dissolved and crumbled into a nasty black powder everywhere - got them replaced by their local repair service. Prior to that they had already fixed an issue with the internal wiring for the left driver, which basically became loose without any intervention probably due to a production fault, but worked flawlessly ever since.

I recently tried some more of the Prestige series (the newer e models) and basically didn‘t like any, especially when compared to my SR80 which I always preferred - with one exception:
image
The SR325e - bought that roughly two years ago, and while I wasn‘t too impressed over various headphone amps in my big home rig, I‘m still superimpressed to this day every single time I use them straight out of my iPad Pro with Spotify, can‘t explain which strange and special kind of synergy is going on there, they play so transparent and detailed with a wide soundstage and a beautiful, pretty natural tonal balance across frequencies without too much colouring, just love them in this combo. Although the vintage look is really weird, when I wear them my wife keeps shooting me comments like „is the radio operating?“, „hey Mr. Operator!“, „are you in contact, will they get us out of here?“ and things like that :joy:

So I was pretty annoyed when I yesterday tried to adjust the fit, and the plastic bearing for the right cup broke just like that:


So in my opinion and from my limited experience, product and build quality is an issue.

I had tried the RS1, later the RS1e and the RS2e from the Reference Series, but never warmed to their sonic signature, and their on-ear fit. I had always wanted to spend some time with the PS200e though, the top dog of their Professional Series, but never came to it and realistically don‘t expect that to happen.

As mentioned above and also in the „Got Wood“ thread, Grado also has a renown phono line, of which I own two bits:


The Statement Sonata (the original from around 2009) - nice pickup with a beautiful warm, detailed and involving sound, but with a ridiculously low output of around 0.2mV (although Grado claim 0.5mV) so that even my ultraquiet Restek phono preamp with its maximum amplification of +66dB has a hard time getting to decent listening levels. The natural match was this:

The legendary Grado PH1 phono preamp, which runs on batteries - but while it manages to provide proper amplification, it is a bit noisy and adds some warm coloration which many find attractive. Yet it‘s sooo beautiful and sweet! :wink:

5 Likes

I very seriously considered a Grado cart with my VPI Prime Scout turntable. Blend Brooklyn with New Jersey, but finally decided on an Ortofon 2M Bronze.

1 Like

I have a weird relationship with Grado headphones - maybe they are not for me - I have owned the SR-80e, the 225e and the 325e and the cycle is the same - first I would start jonesing for Grados because of the positive comments, got them then would try with some chamber music and I will be bowled over. But as time goes by, I would be bothered by the treble and then feeling that need more oomph in the base. People would say they need break in but then more time would go by and my feelings would still be the same. Then I would sell. And then again, would again start reading about how wonderful Grados are, start jonesing, etc.

As you can see, would get slightly better ones each time. I am feeling the temptation again, so the next step would get me into the more expensive Grados, so the decision is not as trivial. Is there any chance the experience would be different with the next level? My instinct is to go with the ones above the 325, first ones in the next level, the RS2e, I believe. Is there any chance the experience would be different with those? Or maybe should I skip straight to others? which ones?

I do not think I am a basshead - the modest 3db bump in the upper low/mid bass of the AKG 7XX was enough to find AKG headphones that I liked. That is not too much - are there Grados that would do this?

Or maybe they are just not for me…

First post in the forum after lurking for a long time - thanks in advance

v

5 Likes

I used to own the Grado SR80e, but found them too bright and sold them. I went back to my Sennheiser HD-600s for general use. They have a neutral tone with less treble and more bass than Grado (but by no means excessive bass).

I’m guessing that Grado is not for you, as they are quite bright and not ideal for many people. Some regulars (i.e., @pennstac) do like them. He may have more to add.

Welcome.

3 Likes

Individuals on another forum I frequent suggest that the TTVJ Deluxe Flat pads help even out the tonal balance of the RS2e, measurements on a flat plate coupler with compensation to allow flat across = neutral here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/grado-love-or-the-rs2-ttvj-deluxe-pad-appreciation-thread.8952/page-4#post-290379

I had a vintage RS1 that I loved with squishy third party pads (never tried them with the stock bowls); they had good tone and an x-factor I couldn’t identify at the time but that I now suspect could be good microdynamics and a fun wood resonance that pizzazzed some music up (I just remembered, it’s the square-rod wood Grado I have in my banner photo on here LOL). What I didn’t care for and eventually led to my going back to the Beyerdynamic DT880 [250ohm, felt disc mod] was how there was literally no breathing room to the headstage, how everything was squished into my face and into my head— sucked butts for larger orchestral works and… most music outside of small chamber music, yeah.

I had an SR80i on loan around the same time and got to compare them back to back— the 80i was much more fatiguing and triggered tinnitus attacks regularly, so I hardly ever used them. Don’t think I often had trouble with the RS1s.

2 Likes

Thanks @generic, I’ll try to respond to @vmartell22.
It sounds stupid, but the plastic electrical tape earpad mod may fix the Grado sound issues, at least on the Prestige line. Just go around the outside of the L-Pad with plastic electrical tape. Voila! better bass, smoother treble.


It ain’t pretty, but I got it from Tyll’s Inner Fidelity site, and it works.

Even though this helps, I generally use my better RS1e Grados, which have decent bass and less emphasized highs than most of the rest of the Grado line. I got them used from @MCM, who can confirm this assessment, as can graphs and charts not shown here.

6 Likes

To expand a little bit - more than a few people seem to comment that the RS1e is one of the least Grado-like of the lineup. In fact, if you listen to Senn HD-600/650/6xx you will find some similarities, albeit with a Grado touch. Bass is solid on the RS1, partly due, I’m sure to it’s larger driver. The high end is not as harsh or sharp as other Grados. I have listened to some vintage TOTL Grados, but not long enough to know if they become fatiguing. The RS1e, for me at least, does not. It has better soundstage than the Senns.

You mention chamber music, and yes, that is great content for the Grados. The RS1e is no exception, but it also sounds good when I listen to Alpha Blondy, Santana - well a wide range of music. I have not heard the RS2e, but I think I would skip over that in favor of the larger driver of the RS1.

3 Likes

Thanks for the replies - well still not sure but it looks that IF I will try again it would be better to skip RS2e and go straight for the RS1e to increase the chances of success. Yet with the higher price, there is still some high level of risk. We’ll see - will try to put the money together for the RS1e - might end up getting something else - will update the thread when and if I do it.

v

consider used, if you can find it

1 Like

Anyone know where to get a detachable cable mod for rs1e done professionally?

No, but if you find a good source, let me know how it came out. Them is thick cables. One of the few things I dislike about the RS1e.

Whats the Grado sweet spot model? I know they have a few missed, especially in the higher end.

I hear different things from different people. In the Prestige series, many say the 225. I’ve heard only a few of the higher end ones so I have no information there. What does seem to be fairly universally said is that the RS-1e has less of the Grado house treble sound than others. I can attest that it has more bass - larger drivers - that lower-end models. I find it has superior soundstage, and it is not tiring, as my entry-level Grados can be due to their hot treble. (That was tamed by the tape mod to earpads).

I have 4 pairs of pretty good headphones - Senn HD-6xx, Hifiman HE-560, My old STAX SR-5n, and the Grado RS1e. Of these, I listen to the Grados most, and the STAX least. Which is unfair to the STAX because the amp is less mobile. The Senn’s just have a magic pairing with my Lyr3, and I’ll run any of them (except the Stax) on my iFi xDSD in a pinch for mobility. Or the DFC for more mobility.

2 Likes

I’m offended that you didn’t include your Porta Pros with Yaxi’s among your “pretty good headphones‘. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#YaxiGang

2 Likes

The RS models, but they’re too pricey for what they offer I feel. May do well to pick up an SR125 (lowest tier model that has a de-stressed driver which is anecdotally more refined than the more affordable ones) and mess around with cups/cables/pads to tweak sound, not necessarily in that order. Someone on an unpopular forum recommends TTVJ flats, which I’ve been wanting to try but are way too expensive for what they are.

I still occasionally miss the RS1 I had. Currently considering picking a Grado up for nostalgia’s sake once funds permit even though I find they only really do well for select few recordings.

Not sure if this person still does it.
http://www.headphile.com/page5.html

I was looking on the Grado site for something else, but they have a new limited edition, with a pretty funny write up. And they claim it’s the best sounding limited they’ve made. It’s gorgeous.

4 Likes

I saw these as well. They look interesting. :deciduous_tree:

1 Like

Did you see the cost? $420.

1 Like

Yeah, silly stoners…

1 Like