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RS1e, short review

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stefanm View Drop Down
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    Posted: 16 Jan 2018 at 11:40am
Hi all,

I was lucky and found someone who wanted to part from his Grados RS1e for a reasonable price and I wanted to share my impressions. First time headphone "review" ever. Realized it is difficult to find the proper wording.


For two weeks now I listen to the Grado and I like it a lot.

Main system being 16/44.1 -> Majestic DAC -> Solo ULDE
and sometimes it's 16/44.1 -> DragonFly Red


It resolves an impressive amount of details and presents them very lively.
A very engaging and direct listening experience. Very close to the music, like a shortcut into your ears. Very upfront. I think this is too much if you enjoy listening to great symphonic works. Chamber music and small ensembles are fine. Personally I prefer music that was recorded close to the musicians.

The bass is really nice. Just a tad less controlled then other open backs. I think that's due to the on-ear design but I am not bothered at all. I don't listen to bass heavy music anyway.

I read the treble can by annoying sometimes. Not the case for me. I think it is nicely done and adds a little sparkle to my music. Rather a kind of gentle suggestion to listen to the details.

Voices in general are rendered very nicely. Guitars are excellent.

I found the RS1e is very sensitive to amping. I don't mean power hungry or difficult. Every headphone jack in the world will have enough power.
I take great care to find the correct sound level. Easy thing to do on the Solo.
Needs enough power to enjoy the dynamics of the music but if the RS1e is driven slightly to loud it will be pushy and unpleasant, even grainy. Very narrow band and the min and max settings are dangerously close. Setting the sound level carefully is an absolute must. If you are willing to do so these are excellent headphones. Maybe that's one of the reasons why they are either loved or hated.   

My listening comprised a lot of stuff. Some examples:

Albert King & Stevie Ray Vaughan "In Session"
"Schmelzer Violin Sonatas" performed by Hélène Schmitt
Buena Vista Social Club
Miles Davis Mono Recordings
Clapton Unplugged
Idil Biret and her Liszt recordings
Johnny Cash, American Recordings
Some Rock
Some Rap
Bob Dylan
Ron Carter & Jim Hall


Only real drawback for me is the comfort. Luckily enough it sometime works out though. Otherwise I would forget wearing headphones. The music is just there.

No other headphone has seen that much use from me ever. And I am picky listener. Willing to discard bad sounding equipment or recordings.

It pairs very, very well with Graham's equipment. I'm sure I'll enjoy this setup for years to come.


Cheers
Stefan


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote morris_minor Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jan 2018 at 4:40pm
Great review Stefan. The Solo ULDE lets headphones show what they are capable of! 
Bob

Majestic DAC/pre-amp
Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V
Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50
2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 18 Jan 2018 at 8:55pm
I liked the RS1e but it could get hard sounding. I have a similar pair of Grados and found the larger PS-1000 ear cups were more comfortable and sounded better, if you wanted to try that at some stage.
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stefanm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2018 at 5:41pm
Yes, they can be grating. Very source dependent. Good quality recordings and lower listening volumes will do the trick... mostly.

Listended to "A-ha MTV unplugged" just yesterday.
Awesome delivery through the Grados.

Did you use the over ear pads with the RS1?
Comfortwise I would be tempted.

Cheers Stefan
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2018 at 7:16pm
Originally posted by Fatmangolf Fatmangolf wrote:

I liked the RS1e but it could get hard sounding. I have a similar pair of Grados and found the larger PS-1000 ear cups were more comfortable and sounded better, if you wanted to try that at some stage.


Was it the ULDE at the time?

I found they sounded crackly like old telephone earpieces (with vinyl as source), so I did quite a lot to temper that in the development of the ULDE.
That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote stefanm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2018 at 8:21pm
Everything's fine. Nothing reminds me of old telephone earpieces.

These cans literally dissect the recording and deliver it straight forward and unrelentlessly. All the time. I can understand this can get too much occasionally.

I like this. Lots of details. And very engaging and involving.

Anyway, choosing headphones will always be a very personal decision.


Edited by stefanm - 19 Jan 2018 at 8:31pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2018 at 11:23pm
Originally posted by Graham Slee Graham Slee wrote:

Originally posted by Fatmangolf Fatmangolf wrote:

I liked the RS1e but it could get hard sounding. I have a similar pair of Grados and found the larger PS-1000 ear cups were more comfortable and sounded better, if you wanted to try that at some stage.


Was it the ULDE at the time?

I found they sounded crackly like old telephone earpieces (with vinyl as source), so I did quite a lot to temper that in the development of the ULDE.


Edit: I had just got the Solo Ultralinear and still had the DAK (kit) Novo at that time. I was using a pair of Grado 325i's as my main headphones with a pair od Jecklin Float II's and Sennheiser HD280's.

I passed on the RS1 and RS2 (both revealing but bright even hard on some compressed tracks and very rich/warm to me on older recordings, 'crackly like old telephone earpieces' to you) with the Solo UL I had at the time. I bought a pair of LCD2's which had the depth/body of big speakers and a very clear neutral midrange. Heavy for exended wear but great sound and they look good to me, and are still in my collection.

I do like the styling of the Grado headphones but they do have a distinct sound/character, except the PS1000's I heard at Phil's which were pretty neutral. I have acquired more pairs of headphones since then including some Sennheisers as you know. I use the closed back HD250/II's a lot with my PC and think of them as monitors with good isolation from outside sound.

When the GH1's came up secondhand I liked them and added them to my collection. I had the Solo ULDE by then which works well with them although I added the option of a switchable low pass filter to cut the presence on brighter recordings.

The GH1's are not crackly like old telephone earpieces IMO but I have the Solo ULDE, which works well with them and my other headphones thank you Graham!

My apologies for hijacking the thread which was a good short review. How are your RS1e's doing?



Edited by Fatmangolf - 20 Jan 2018 at 9:59pm
Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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