GRADO HEADPHONES: TOP-OF-THE-RANGE STATEMENT (GS3000x) AND REFERENCE (RS1x) MODELS REVIEWED! 

Good point, of course. Although these have been thoroughly run in and actually much reviewed by others even before I grabbed them. Hence, that initial sound pre-run-in personality you mentioned 'out of the box' is much reduced now but in that reduced state, I could still I pick it up. That's something I had to talk about, considering the price tag. That is the scale of the issue I have at least, is much reduced. Everyone's ears are different, however, so Grado fans either don't pick that subtlety up or it just doesn't matter to them.

😂 so true. I have the 80's and 325's and really love them, but had to mod them with detachable cables and different pads. But oh boy do I love them.

I'm afraid not but I'll certainly keep my eyes open for a pair.

@@TheAudiophileMan Thanks for the reply. Hope you get to!

Grado GH2s leaves a really deep impression on Grado users as it has a really weird sound signature that doesn't sound anything like a traditional Grado. It still loses to the RS-1e in overall performance as the driver size is 44mm compared to the 50mm drivers the RS-1e uses, so the details are not as good as the RS-1e. But the unique sound signature makes up for the driver size. The spaciness and echoing effect was a lot more prominent on the GH2s and plucking sounds and woodwind instruments are mesmerizing. Also just like the GS-3000x, the sound itself on the GH2 have a weight in them and sounds heavier compared with the RS-1e. I felt like the different wood used for the housing have different sound signatures to them. For example, RS-1e is pure mahogany so the sound is a lot more bouncier. This was also the sound signature that came out from my GS-2000e, with a mix of maple and mahogany, that headphone was another one with a bouncier and crisp touch. But the GH2 with it's cocobolo housing, there is this significant weight and strength to the sound that might surprise a lot of long time Grado users when first hearing it. Especially the bass, it's like a earthquake suddenly dropped in and aftershocks can be felt a moment afterwards. The GH2 is an wierd set of cans with sound signatures that can only be described as interesting and addictive and is something worthy to collect.

@@mahoslashI just received my GH2 today ironically and reading this can agree, I have a lot of Grados including the GS3000x but this one is different, it really works well for hip-hop and rap genres which Grado struggles with, nice deep sub bass and slam.

Glad you liked the video, Steve. Thanks. These reviews were 'out of the box', changing the pads would have really constituted a mod and another kind of video. That said, interested to hear that your upgrade helped the comfort levels, so thanks for that. Interesting stuff.

@@TheAudiophileMan Thank you for the reply. You're absolutely right, of course. It's great - for me - that they can be changed in this way, but they do effectively become a product quite different from - as you say - that which came out of the box. I'm glad I found what works for me before I returned them, even though my Sundaras have been virtually unused since. Looking forward to watching more of your videos.

@@stevefromlondon4949 same story here, my Rs1e are unusable with stock pads, ears hurt very bad (G cush was a big upgrade, even sound suits me better)

I gave Grado a telephone call because of comfort issues. What you want to do is glaze the outside of the pads where they touch your ears with dish soap. Joy, Dawn etc. and they it sit on the headphones for a few minutes, then fully rinse the pads with water. Let them air dry. Now I can wear them all day long with rarely any discomfort. Good luck.

Yes, take your point on the bass. Actually, I didn't go into too much detail, I said "solid rolling action that set a firm foundation for the song as a whole" which I still believe. I wasn't bowled over by the bass in terms of tone realism, naturalistic, etc but I think it did a job...foundation, etc.

@@TheAudiophileMan Gotcha - look forward to hear GX3000x at some point - thx!

Impressively irrelevant to the topic of this video. No one cares

How would you describe the SQ differences between the RS1e and GS200e? Also, if you haven't already tried, can you put the G cups from the GS2000e on the RS1e and compare, thank you.

@@alexvlach4897 RS-1e: A lot more aggressive on the overall sound signature. Vocals are a lot more in your face with great separation on the treble and highs giving it good detail. The bass is tight like jabbing punches and gives a clean sound. Mids are great just like you would expect from a normal pair of Grados. GS-2000e: First impression was not strong, it gives an airy feel and a lot more laid back compared to the RS-1e due to the spaciness. But the more you hear, the more impressive it is. Separation and details are a cut above the RS-1e with more space and better soundstage, vocals are a bit away from your ears but tends to have a slightly sweet tone to female singers and a strong kick with male singers. Mids, treble and highs are airy but detailed, unlike the aggressive signature the RS-1e tends to have. Not to say it's weaker than the RS-1e, overall it's stronger, but the tuning was a lot more refined. The bass is a bit interesting, it is like a water droplet drops into a pond and it ripples into the background. The most interesting part might be when it comes to metal percussion instruments. That tingling sound is extremely prominant on the GS-2000e and it is almost a unique profile on this headphone. Overall it's more tiresome when listening to the RS-1e and the GS-2000e will give you a more relaxed feeling. I can't say which is better, as the RS-1e and GS-2000e have two different characteristics which gives different impressions when listening to music. Personally I prefer the GS-2000e, as it doesn't sound impressive for the first 5 minutes, but the longer you hear it, the more you realize you're staring into the abyss with a monster staring you back. I never had the situation where a headphone made me shivered a bit while halfway down the album. The RS-1e is aggressive and a joyride while the GS-2000e was sophisticated and a beast of it's own.

@@mahoslash thanks for your detailed impressions. Can you put the G-cups from the GS2000e on the RS1e and compare? I would expect the sound signatures to be a lot closer.

@@alexvlach4897 Not exactly, the RS-1e only went a wee less aggressive and only a bit spacy compared with the GS-2000e when on the G cups but both headphones are completely different from each other when it comes to sound signatures. The RS-1e still sounds as RS-1e as it is and is still quite different from the GS-2000e. All models of RS and GS series have significant different tunings to them that just a simple pad swap can't really change it into something similar to one another.

Thanks again for confirming this@@mahoslash . The reason i asked is because i believe both headphones use the same driver, hence i thought using the same pads would yield similar sound. For example, i have the RS2e and SR80x, both using G-cups and they sound identical. Which i knew that before buying the RS2e...

that would change the sound too much, for worse

@@soulfulfoolI’ve tried numerous pad options, ZMF, Dekoni beyer pads, Chinese pads, leather, velour, even beautiful audio, and everytime I come back to the stock pads. The rest just don’t sound right. Do they suck comfort wise, yes, but you just gotta toughen up and deal with it lol

Hehe