I am extremely happy that Amazon.com started stocking Grado products.
To audiophiles, Grado is a very big name. Grado makes some of the world's best consumer turntable catridges, and makes some of the most notoriously fun, musical headphones out there.
The Grado RS-1 headphones are the second-most expensive Grado headphones on the market now. The PS-1 is a limited-edition headphone that is very seldom-made (but it is in production currently) that contains some of the best detail, fluidity, warmth, and excitement than any other headphone. However, the RS-1s are very close to the specifications of this headphone.
The Grado Reference Series 1 is, in my opinion, the true audiophile way to ENJOY your music. Others may say that they do not like the musicality, because it has a very colored sound. Audiophiles normally know that this is not good because it doesn't "faithfully" reproduce the information on your record/CD properly. However, I don't always want to sit there and listen to the minor details of my music. Sometimes I just want to rock out and enjoy myself as much as possible, which is where the Grado RS1 headphones take the responsibility of fulfilling this for me.
The RS1 headphones at first are going to look very cheap to those who are not familiar with them. The headband is leather, but it is thin. The earcups do not surround the ear at all, they just touch them. This is a very open headphone, so outside noise will come in, and your sound will leak.
But these are all very obvious and welcome shortcomings. This leads to a very good performing headphone. While they may not be as comfortable as the Senns, they are definitely faster, more enjoyable, and contain a much more fluid sound than the Sennheiser HD650s. If you want to listen to Rock on these headphones, particularly bands from the seventies and eighties, these are the best option you will have.
Another great thing about the headphones is that they are really easy to drive without the presence of a headphone amplifier. I have experienced, however, that with my Perreaux SXH-1 amp, it really improves the sound quality. Things that the Grado sound lacks are dynamic range and midrange neutrality, but the amp was able to tone down the midrange and bass was much more dynamic than before.
If you wanna have some of the best sound quality on the planet from a name you can trust, then you will want to go with a Grado headphone. Everything from Classical to Metal sounds amazing on these headphones. They are extremely versatile, are durable even though they look like they were from WW2, and, best of all, they are some of the best sounding headophones you can buy. Male vocals, drums, wailing guitars, you name it - Grado will reproduce it faithfully.
Some albums I recommend on the Grado RS1:
Pink Floyd - The Wall
The Doors - Morison Hotel
Todd Rundgren - Something Anything
Neil Young - After the Goldrush
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
Happy listening!
