So i bought a Grado GS1000

[granodemostasa]

Hello

It's a very interesting headphone, to say the least. Now, i never thought i would actually do it, but it was tempting. any idea what i could expect form this headphone?

[tkam]

Pretty good amount of bass and bright as hell

[saint.panda]

Heard it last week from a Ear HP4 and dcs P8i. Might impressive soundstage for a Grado and quite comfortable. Rather bright.

[aerius]

I didn't really like it, to me it was like Grado made a hi-fi non-Grado-like Grado. It's wood and it looks like a Grado, but it doesn't have the Grado soul & magic.

[909]

When I first heard the GS-1000s at the HE Show in LA on Tyll's HeadRoom amps, particularly the Max, I liked it. It was extremely comfortable, had a huge soundstage, and pretty balanced presentation. So I bought them. Yet in my system under quieter listening conditions the bass was overpowering and at times bloated, the mids were recessed, and the low level details weren't present. It had a much brighter and harsher upper frequency then I remembered. I would get listening fatigue within about half an hour or so. After about two months of pumping music through them 24 hours a day, I sold them because I didn't really like them. In my system the RS-1s sound better and I prefer them over the GS-1000s.

[deepak]

Hope your Zana can tame them

[909]

Can't wait to hear what you think about the GS-1000s with the ZD. I should also mention I prefer the HD650s over both in my rig.

[granodemostasa]

I tried it out on the ZD before, when i was using the modded zhaolu as my dac. now i have a rather mid-range centric dac, so i'll see how it turns out. the first time it gave me a headache

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

A grado without the famous grado mids. Way too bright with donuts and and way too much bass with bowls. Sound stage is also overrated. I'll stick with ps-1's more pin-point imaging.

Biggie.

[granodemostasa]

Wot! i got them. but i'm waiting for the dac so right now i'm just listening with my ipod.. and nice sound. right now i like them better than anything else i've heard the ipod with. the bass might be a little over doing it but but it sure doesn't bother me right now.

[postjack]

So, did they not work out for you?

re: your IC on HF

[909]

So, did they not work out for you?

re: your IC on HF

well....

don't leave us hanging

[KenW]

Impressive cans on first listen, but after a while, they really began to fatigue me. Not real wild about the mids on those either. I preferred the PS-1's by far and honestly would prefer the RS-1 to the GS1K, too. JMO and your experience may vary.

[909]

Ken, I concur.

[Salt Peanuts]

I think you guys saved me some money. Thanks.

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I found them fatiguing a couple minutes into listening to them. Switched to regular bowl pads for the rest of my time with them. I owned pair #4. They had too much bass with bowl pads. Soundwize my PS-1's killed them in every way. And their soundstage with the giant bowls is way overrated, all the pads do is make the sound more distant and funk up the highs.

Biggie.

[thrice]

regretting that purchase yet granodemostasa....yesh, no love here....course I don't like them either for a lot of the same reasons.

[humanflyz]

He sold them already

[postjack]

He sold them already

Well sure, but I'd like to hear what he didn't like about them.

he owes me that much damn it. i told him happy birthday.

[Patu]

I don't like them at all. Sibilant highs, recessed mids and bloated bass. There's pretty much nothing good in GS1000's sound. Their sound is mid-fi at the best.

[granodemostasa]

Well sure, but I'd like to hear what he didn't like about them.

he owes me that much damn it. i told him happy birthday.

If I had heard the Qualia before the GS1000 my conclusions would have been very different

quoted from the GS1000 appreciation thread:

Amplifier: Zana Deux

Sources: CI Audio VDA-2/VAC-1

Interconnects: UR8

Other Headphones: Sennheiser HD650, AKG 701, Grado 325i, Grado RS1, AKG K1000

Music: Paco De Lucia "Siroco", Vienna Teng "Dreaming Through the noise," Miles Davis "Miles Davis in Person," "Ella and Louis" by Louis Armstrong, Norah Jones "Come Away with me," Decemberist "Crane Wife," Chihiro Onitsuka "Insomnia," Ray Charles "Ray!" and classical (too much to list).

? Why am I writing this

○ I originally didn't care to write about the GS1000. But now that it is gone (I couldn't afford to keep it), I feel that I can sing it's praises without looking self-serving.

○ And this headphone needs it, the bad press about this headphone is saddening to all of us who know how good it actually is. Seriously, don't match this with some pathetic hornet or little mapletree, they don?t have the power and control that the GS1000 demands.

○ Was my system appropriate? In fact, it wasn't. While I do believe my amp (The zana Deux) was up to par, the source I was using doesn't have the type of mid range that the GS1000 can bring out (if given a chance). For a while I thought the midrange on the GS1000 was hopeless, and started using EQ (see the EQ thread) until two things happened. I listened to Filbert's CDP and the Stello DP200? both of these sources had the type of midrange that would work perfectly with the GS1000.

? Looks and Feel

○ I wouldn't normally talk about this, in fact I consider myself a Sound quality-first kind of person. If it doesn't fit something is bothering me there are plenty of ways to fix it. So why would I converse about such a useless topic? Because the GS1000 actually excels in these categories.

○ Two reviews I've read so far talk about the fit and comfort as an issue, and when I first heard them they were an issue. These things made my head hurt, like physically hurt! Annoyed, I took them back to their owner (yellafella321). Several months later mine arrived. After lending it to Humanflyz for a week I got it back and hated it, I seriously did. Why? Well, all of the pressure was forced on one spot on the head, and I had to continually adjust the pads just to keep them on. Things then changed.

○ I had Dada come over and take pictures of my set up with them, and afterwards he took them home for a week. During that time someone on the forum noted how stretched out the head-bad looked, and when I got it back it was fixed (thanks Dada!). Suddenly the pressure was gone, the fit was comfortable and it wouldn't come off my head. In fact, I actually wore it for 6 hours straight on Friday and didn't feel a thing afterwards or during the session, which is more than what I can say about the HD650.

○ The feel of it isn't awe inspiring. In fact, it fits on my head better than it fits in my hands. While the HD650 inspires confidence, the GS1000 is a little goofy looking. However, I've come to believe it's a good thing. Simply put, the headphones relative lightness is wonderful for listening to long concerts and forgetting the headphone's presence on my head, it really is. I tried the 325i at Kitaoji's place, and it felt far heavier and more imposing on my head than the GS1000.

? How does it sound?

○ It has a sound of it's own. I've heard some magazine people describe it as the most neutral and revealing musical experience they have ever heard, and I don't doubt that claim. However, just because something is hyper revealing doesn't mean that it is inherently neutral or that it is the epitome of all that is musical. Musicality and detail are two different things, so are neutrality and detail.

○ My biggest problem with the GS1000 is that it is not euphonic or musical. Now that may come as a surprise to many people, and I'll tell you what I mean by this statement.

? The GS1000 delivers music in a matter-of-fact manner. There is nothing warm, romantic, or beautiful about it's presentation. Someone previously told me that the GS1000 sounds like the human ear made it while the HD650 sounds like a computer had made it. Honestly, for me it sounds the other way around. Take Dvorak's Cello Concerto for example, with the first sweep of the strings I feel in love with the beautiful music that I was hearing from the HD650, while with the GS1000 I heard every instrument and understood where they were coming from, but didn't feel the same type of beauty that was there with the Sennheiser.

? Voices are just not as enticing with the GS1000. I admit, to having a strong disposition towards warm voices. In fact, the reason why I first rejected the RS-1 was because Ray Charles's voice sounded so lifeless on them. Well, while there is nothing wrong with the, the GS1000 just doesn't sound as real as the HD650 with human voices. (Armstrong/Fitzgerald, Vienna Teng, Jewel, Norah Jones and such).

○ My second complaint about the GS1000 is the strength of the center voice. While Filbert's source really did help this problem quite a bit, it didn't fix it entirely. RS1 owners point to this as the reason why they don?t' like it. And, to a certain extent I agree with them. There is no "live" or upfront possible with the GS1000, everything is a bit further away. The authority that speaks through the guitars and singers just doesn't have the same impact and intimacy that it does on the RS-1 or the GS650.

○ RS1 with Flat-pads v. GS1000 beagle pads

? I really tried to give this a good listen. Then I came to a conclusion: the GS1000 is about as much a Grado as it is an un-grado A week ago, when I tried it next to the 325i, I immediately came to the conclusion that the GS1000 shared the same sound sig as the 325i, the same bass, the same neutrality. Yet, when I heard the RS-1 I learned why so many love it and so many hate it.

? The RS-1 is sweat, warm, midrange centric, and not at all a "neutral" character. The RS-1 is a clear example of harmoic distortion in order to make something sound better than it actually is. While I admit to loving tube amps, I'm not an MPX lover, and the RS-1 was a little too much for me. the HD650 is also a bit too much, but tolerable. The other thing I want to say about the RS-1 is that the argument that it sounds like being in the first row is bull, the RS-1 sounds exactly like what it is, two transducers 1/4 inch away from the skull.

? Overall, I clearly like the GS1000 better. The actual bass extension and treble extension is far better on the GS1000 than on the RS-1, in fact the RS-1 sounded somewhat limited to me. Secondly, the GS1000 sounds better with the guitar than the RS-1? simply put, real guitars don't have the type of heft and treble that the RS-1 portrays. The GS1000 displays the strength, delicacy and tone of guitars far better than the RS-1, simple as that. (I used Paco De Lucia's Siroco CD for this, I heard his last concert live 1 month ago).

○ I Clearly love the detail and resolution of the GS1000

? Only Two other headphones have given me the same type of clarity and veil-less experience, they are the Sennheiser HE90 and the AKG K1000. that's some good company to keep. I simply didn't realize how veiled and distorted the HD650 is until I heard the GS1000, it really does sound "neutral" to me. I tried the comparison on a CD of the Cal Marching Band. The GS1000 actually sounded like the band I hear at every football game; I could tell where and how far away every section was, I could hear the micro details and know the size of the stage. On the HD650, it was simply a large mess.

? The richness of classical CDs was simply unknown to me before the GS1000, there are so many things that the HD650 hides. Take for example Dvorak's 9th symphony, with the GS1000 the air within the orchestra and the intent of what they are doing is clearly visible.

○ The GS1000's soundstage is unmatched by anything I have heard so far from normal Dynamic headphones. It's large, wide, layered, airy, and extremely precise. So far, only Electrostatic and the K1000 have impressed me with better soundstages, again, it's good company to keep.

○ The overall neutrality of the GS1000 is it's best attribute. While I do not claim that the GS1000 is entirely neutral, I do think that it gets closer than any other dynamic headphone I have ever heard. In fact, I would almost call it a dynamic can with electrostatic features and a big bass. Honestly, this is what allows the GS1000 to sound so good in so many different Genre's. From Mahler to the Beatles, I simply have never heard a headphone that sounded so precise and "correct" with so many pieces of music.

○ The GS1000's bass is a wonder of nature. No, it really is. Let met get this straight, it has an enormous bass, and I mean enormous! The boominess and volume are sometimes overbearing when it is there. But that's the key, "when it is there." unlike the HD650 or other cans, the GS1000's bass doesn't disturb the lower midrange, midrange or treble. It doesn't cover or reverberate to veil anything, it is there when it is needed and otherwise gets out of the way of the music, thus preserving the purity of the experience. beyond it's isolated nature, it is a deep, defined and power portrayal of bass, and something I have never experienced before from headphones.

? Conclusion

○ The GS1000 is probably the only Grado that sounds better with classical than with pop or rock music. But this statement should not make you think that the GS1000 can't do rock, it can, but not as well as it can do large orchestral works. The GS1000's ability to take music apart to its various components, reveal the micro details in recordings, and overall balance make it best for music that can be appreciated from far away, thus it is inappropriate for a small rock-band sound, although it is spectacular with Jazz.

○ Humanflyz once mentioned an Esoteric dac that is so detailed and analytical that it sucks the life out of the music. While I won't go that far, I will say that the GS1000 is clearly on the analytical and detailed side of the musical coin? so if you are someone who enjoys the musical distortion of the ATH/RS-1 products, I can understand why so many would hate the GS1000. On the other hand, as a fan of AKG and Sennheiser, I can't but be impressed by the GS1000's remarkable abilities. When it first came out Jude said that he expected it to be the new reference for the Grado crowd, but was surprised that it became his personal reference despite his love for the HD600. That's how I fell about the GS1000, as an HD650 lover, I never expected it to work out the way it has.

○ I asked Dada to hear it, and after about 45 seconds he said "I've concluded that these suck." I loaned it to him, and he came back with the same conclusion a week later. And that's exactly what my first reaction was. When Yellafella loaned it to me 6 months ago I concluded in about 4 hours that it was a piece of junk, but left open the possibility in case I ever get an equalizer. I admit, that this time I did use equalizer during most of the GS1000's tenure in my system, and I don't regret it. While purist may scoff at my practice, I think I chose a good time to use equalizer for the first time? I brought the mid-range up and it changed the can entirely. I could imagine that with a source like Filbert's DIY dac or the Stello it wouldn't have been necessary (and it wasn't) but for my rig it was. If I could give Mr. Grado a message, it would be to bring out the mids.

[deepak]

If I had heard the Qualia before the GS1000 my conclusions would have been very different

quoted from the GS1000 appreciation thread:

I was impressed by the Qualia's on a technical level but it had some midrange thinness that made it a bit strange to listen to.

[granodemostasa]

I was impressed by the Qualia's on a technical level but it had some midrange thinness that made it a bit strange to listen to.

I"ll agree with that. I'd never own a qualia without balancing it out with an HD650.

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Wow I didn't find the gs1000 even close to neutral. And compared to my ps-1's, details were more obscured/veiled. I also don't find the gs1000 to share any traits with the electrostats I have heard.

Biggie.

[humanflyz]

Yup, did not find the GS1000 to be neutral: to me the highs and lows are emphasized more than the midrange. Given that a perfectly neutral transducer is nearly impossible to come by, I'd rather choose a boosted midrange (a la RS-1) than boosted treble/bass.