Impressions: RS-1 & K340

[aerius]

I've had a couple weeks or so to get used to my RS-1, so far I'm really happy with it and it has for the most part replaced my heavily modified K340 as my main headphone. I guess I'll give a summary of the larger differences for now and then go on to cover other things.

• Headroom: The RS-1 can play a hell of a lot louder without sounding strained. If I push my K340 it'll start sounding a little plasticky and echoey, and if I want to play Slayer at earbleed volumes it goes to crap. The colourations get really bad, the soundstage mushes into a shitty blob, and it sounds very compressed and strained. The RS-1 just keeps getting louder until my ears hurt. The treble gets a bit out of hand and there's a hint of congestion in the midrange, but that's about it.
  
• Speed: The RS-1 is faster, no question about it, especially in the bass to lower midrange. I find it especially noticeable with drums, the K340 tends to round them off a bit and blur them together, this is most apparent when playing metal or hard rock.
  
• Soundstage: yeah it's smaller, but not by as much as I thought it would be. Going from my K340 to my SR225 is a huge change, it's like big to where the fuck did it go? K340 to RS-1 is more like big to it's not so bad. Imaging is definitely more precise with the RS-1 though, it sounds denser and more real.
  
• Tone: both headphones emphasize the midrange and are known for good mids. The RS-1 however, just gets the tone right in a scary good way. All guitars, string instruments, brass, woodwinds, and female vocals are just a big jump up with the RS-1. Male vocals vary a bit, some are a bit better, others are lots better.
  
• Treble: My K340 has a weak treble, cymbals are definitely soft, brass doesn't sound quite right, but it doesn't matter too much to me. The RS-1 is a little sharp with 6BL7 tubes in my amp, but everything was fine once I dropped the grey glass RCA's in there. No contest, RS-1 takes it.
  
• Resolution: RS-1's better, no question. On "Cynthia" by Blue Rodeo, the background vocal sounds enough like Sarah McLachlan that I can't be sure if it is her with the K340. With the RS-1, I can tell that it clearly ain't Sarah.
  
• Looks: Chicks dig the RS-1 for some reason. I've had several women tell me that it looks sweet.
  

For reference, I'm using squished down bowl pads, and the same amps, cables, and CD player.

[Salt Peanuts]

• Looks: Chicks dig the RS-1 for some reason. I've had several women tell me that it looks sweet.
  

Same here.

Damn, I wish I had never sold my old pair.

[mjg]

Chicks dig the RS-1 for some reason. I've had several women tell me that it looks sweet.

How is the rent in imagination land? I'm going to be looking for a place soon, it sounds nice.

[kamal007]

get some fucking flats.

i never liked flats on any grados i used (SR60, SR225, SR125, RS2)

but some prefer do prefer them so its just the matter of your cup of tea

[nickknutson]

I'm not a huge fan of flats because of the fit...they're ear-crushers.

[postjack]

flats flats flats flats flats

[Jon L]

Yeah, I too preferred my RS1 over K340, but they're both gone. RS1 with a good tube amp is special, but not quite $695 special IMO.

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Aerius your findings aren't surprising.^^

My rs-1's came with original flats, but yeah, I'm rockin squished bowls ftw.

Biggie.

[jp11801]

RS1s balanced are really sweet take everything you like and add a star then expand the soundstage. Pretty amazed by the decay, air, detail, tonally rich and deep bass at the same time.

RS1s are headphones that are vastly underrated because no one thinks to run them balanced, get a great amp with them or recable them because they sound good as is. The upside on RS1s from amps, balanced and recable is bigger than 650s or 701s

[postjack]

RS1s balanced are really sweet take everything you like and add a star then expand the soundstage. Pretty amazed by the decay, air, detail, tonally rich and deep bass at the same time.

RS1s are headphones that are vastly underrated because no one thinks to run them balanced, get a great amp with them or recable them because they sound good as is. The upside on RS1s from amps, balanced and recable is bigger than 650s or 701s

i can't wait to hear them balanced out of the beta deuce deuce. i'm sure i will shit.

[mjg]

gotta do the flats with rs1's. Recabled and out of the extreme they seem to have a decent sound stage. I like them a lot.

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

well, squished bowls makes a lot of sense on the PS-1s. but the RS-1s need the flats to tame that horrid boosted, screechy. if you want air, get different headphones, don't mutilate the things good qualities (the midrange and midbass).

I dunno if its the recableing or just the nature of my rs-1's, but my ps-1's with bowls sound brighter in the highs then my rs-1's with squished bowls. My gf also found this to be true. Nothing boosted or screechy going on. And the midbass becomes too much in my system with the flats.

And if I wanted air in my headphones, I would own stax.

Biggie.

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

maybe your pair is just broken. even the "vintage" RS-1s i spent significant time with were still painfully bright with bowls.

Hench the reason for squishing the bowls.

Biggie.

[fierce_freak]

I go with bowls, and I don't find them bright, really. Things get muddled with the flats. During the mini-meet at my place last month, we tried both the MS-Pro and RS-1 out of Jay's amp with the flats on some Massive Attack track, and the bass was insane.

[MaloS]

Interesting how you say that k340 loses its soundstage at high volumes. That only happens with mine when using a weak amplifier - on the other hand with my speaker amp the soundstage only improves with higher volumes, and everything gets better (treble/mids)...but then my version lacks on bass strength.

[Fitz]

I've played the K340 at around 100dB without it sounding strained or any more coloured than it normally sounds anyways. It does have some weird colourations and soundstage issues inherent to the design of the headphones, but if anything they normally seem more noticeable at lower volumes to me.

[aerius]

get some fucking flats.

I'm thinking about it. Sorta. The treble's nicely tamed with the right tubes and doesn't bug me so I'm not in any real hurry to get flats, but it's something I'll likely do eventually. Which translates to "sometime in the next couple years. Maybe".

Interesting how you say that k340 loses its soundstage at high volumes. That only happens with mine when using a weak amplifier - on the other hand with my speaker amp the soundstage only improves with higher volumes, and everything gets better (treble/mids)...but then my version lacks on bass strength.

Mine's the one with lots of bass. I've tweaked it a lot to even out the midrange and get more treble so a lot of that extra bass is gone, but it's still more bassy than my Senn 580. I know it's not my amp since my amp will cleanly drive K1000's to deafening volumes, and it has enough power to run speakers. My pair of K340's just doesn't like playing loud for whatever reason.

[MaloS]

You got the bass-heavy k340...those suck. ^.^ If RS-1 rolls your bot thought, cudos to you xD

[aerius]

You got the bass-heavy k340...those suck.

Compared to the "good version", my K340 has the following shortfalls

• more midrange colouration
  
• less treble
  
• can't play as loud
  
• slightly less speed & resolution
  

In any case, even with a fully "healthy" K340 the points noted in the opening post remain true. The margins won't be as big, but that's about it. Or to put it another way, it would be like comparing an Alessandro MS-1 and a Grado 225 to an RS-1, with my K340 being the MS-1 and a good K340 being the 225. It closes the gap a bit but it ain't gonna turn the tables around.

[MaloS]

Iono about that man, iono... The differences I heard were between inspiring and depressing...

I guess you also have to account for the fact that I cannot stand a Grado in any shape or form.

[Nanoha]

Iono about that man, iono... The differences I heard were between inspiring and depressing...

I guess you also have to account for the fact that I cannot stand a Grado in any shape or form.

By the way, MaloS, have you heard the HP or PS?

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

I go with bowls, and I don't find them bright, really. Things get muddled with the flats. During the mini-meet at my place last month, we tried both the MS-Pro and RS-1 out of Jay's amp with the flats on some Massive Attack track, and the bass was insane.

Its not just the pads, but the whole upstream of equipment that account for the amount of bass coming out of them grados. Oh and you can't forget the recording.

Biggie.

[Dusty Chalk]

How is the rent in imagination land? I'm going to be looking for a place soon, it sounds nice.

[MaloS]

By the way, MaloS, have you heard the HP or PS?

Yes.

[Nanoha]

And you couldn't stand them either?