Bilavideo
Caution: Incomplete trades.
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2008
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DAY 1
I just got these eight hours ago. They've had maybe three hours of burn-in so far. At this point, they're a little sibilant off an unamped iPod, enough for me to switch the EQ to Bass Boost. Off my M^3 with STEPS, they sound fine, with loads of bass. Compared to my HD800, they're very mid-present, much more than I'd expected. They have a bass hump reminiscent of the GS1000 but less pronounced while the recessed mids of the GS1000 have been brought closer to the RS1.
When I A/B'd them with my HD800, what first struck me was how much louder they were. The PS1000s have that familiar 32-ohm impedence compared to the HD800's 300. Neither phone gives its all off an unamped iPod but the Grados drive better. On the other hand, the mids came off as much more in-your-face, much more aggressive than the HD800, which seemed to provide a lot more space.
As I continued listening with them, I realized that part of my initial reaction had to do with a disconnect between my expectations and what these cans now seem designed to accomplish. The prominent mids took me by surprise. After using the GS1000s, and concluding that the mids in those cans were too recessed for my blood (I used to remove the jumbo/salad-bowl pads and wear them with bowls), I was surprised to find so much of the midrange blaring at me. It was as if I'd gone to the trouble of buying a metal GS1000 only to end up with the sound of SR-325i.
I switched out the pads for bowls and then flats, to see what difference they would make, particularly for running them off an unamped iPod. I got thumpier bass but then missed the highs that come from the HF extension of the salad bowls.
Coming back to them, I realized - in my heart - what I'd heard others speak of in other threads: Grado isn't going backward, to the bowls and flats of yesteryear. Having found improvements in comfort and soundstage with the salad bowls, Grado has retweaked the drivers to play better in such an environment.
This headphone's mission is to give you the same "Grado house sound" of the flats and bowls, but with more soundstage. Where the GS1000 pushed for "thump and space," the PS1000 reaches for "balance." The thump is there, just not as prominently as with the GS1000. The recessed mids have been re-tweaked.
For those who preferred the laid-back sound of the GS1000, this is a step back in "refinement." But for those who thought the GS1000 was less refined (because it buried the high-mids), this is a chance to bring a more classic Grado sound to the larger soundstage of the G-Cush pads.
After associating the big pads with a more laid-back presentation, it took me some time to appreciate the attempt here to re-calibrate the balance between bass, mids and treble.
Dropping down to bowls, then flats, I captured more bass but missed the HF, a fact that became even clearer when I returned to the jumbo/salad bowls and rediscovered the airiness they provide. What proved gratifying was the realization that I wasn't giving up mids to get that air. To my surprise, I started hearing details buried in the bowls and flats. Had I not heard even more new details from my amped HD800, there'd be no living with me.
With a decent amp, there's no beating the HD800 for what it does, but when I finally got used to what these PS1000s are doing, I re-experienced the familiar sound of vinyl and loudspeakers. If you stop and think about it, you'll know you're listening through headphones. The illusion is not strong enough to fend off a direct attack. But if you let go of yourself, a weird thing happens - at least it did with me.
Going back to some old ELO II - specifically From the Sun to the World off of ELO II - I'd wanted to see if the violin parts, buried by the bass thump of the GS1000s and HF2s, would be more prominent on these cans than on those. To my thinking, the loss of such details was one of the tradeoffs I'd discovered (and regretted) in those cans, compared to the RS1.
Not only were these details restored (to my delight) but, because of the greater HF dispersion of the jumbo pads, I was now hearing the kinds of details my HD800s routinely pick up. I'm not suggesting that the PS1000s are as detailed as the HD800s but they're certainly more detailed than any of the in-production Grados I've ever heard.
I've read posts where reviewers spoke of hearing bows pulled across strings and thought, "Well, duh. Who doesn't?" For the first time - at least on a Grado - I think I know what they've been raving about. They're not talking about bowing. They're talking about feeling the barely audible scrunch of a well-resined bow as it "bites" the string at the snap of a change in direction. Headphones often capture the resonance but not the bite. There's something scrumptious about that bite.
There came a point during my listening sessions when I couldn't help but remember my switch from cassette to vinyl. Cassette tapes were more convenient but vinyl just had so much more detail - and even on an old tube-powered console stereo, the details and warmth made for some tasty listening sessions. This is what I'm referring to when I bring up speakers.
I'm not saying these PS1000s sound like the very best loudspeakers but there's something in the airiness of the jumbo pads, and the corrected tonal balance, that puts me back in that room, listening to vinyl on that old tube console. If I think about it, I know I'm listening to headphones but if I let my mind drift, I have moments when I'm back there again.
The HD800 is the first headphone I've owned to capture the wondrous details of vinyl. It has better lower-bass extension and an amazingly rapid sound decay, revealing the silence between the notes - as well as the parallaxes between things that otherwise get meshed together. The PS1000 is not the HD800. For one thing, it feels much more in-your-face. The soundstage is much more intimate, like that of an RS-1. But there are also details in the HF, caught by the jumbo pads, that strike me as a step forward in providing a more revealing presentation. I hear all kinds of recording, instrumental and vocal artifacts that simply wouldn't be there on the other in-production Grados.
On U2's Stranger in a Strange Land, those metronomic clicks have a percussive pop at the point of impact. On the Rolling Stones' Miss You, Keith Richards' guitar has these periodic "whup" yelps between rhythm chords I never seemed to notice before. On Fleetwood Mac's Landslide from Live in Boston, it's more noticeable when the picking hits a dead spot rather than a true ring (because of incomplete left-hand finger-placement near the frets).
On James Brown's I Feel Good, you can hear the slight parallax in starts and stops in what might otherwise seem like a seamless brass section. On The Clash's London Calling, I was surprised to hear - for the first time - that airy echo in counterpoint to the blat-blat-blat of choppy bar chords in the intro.
Something happens, seven seconds into Elvis's Surrender, that sounds like a piece of paper sliding across a floor (It's probably not that, but it sounds like that). On ELO's Boy Blue, there are previously-imperceptible hight-hat taps during the orchestral opening.
On the Bee Gee's How Deep Is Your Love, there's a weird, almost-subliminal, synthesizer effect at the end of the phrasing, during the first verse, leading up to the chorus. I didn't know it was there. Then I had to go back over it a couple of times to realize it was a synthetic brass effect letting out a "wah" to produce, "And you come to [wah] me, on a summer [wah] breeze . . . . "
Not that things are as good as they get. With only a few hours of burn-in complete, the sound is still a tad sibilant and the upper mids are still a bit strident. To reach its full potential, the presentation will have to settle down and mellow out. As I've heard audible improvements in all my Grados over time, I trust that the PS1000 will have more to offer as it settles in. Time will tell.
I just got these eight hours ago. They've had maybe three hours of burn-in so far. At this point, they're a little sibilant off an unamped iPod, enough for me to switch the EQ to Bass Boost. Off my M^3 with STEPS, they sound fine, with loads of bass. Compared to my HD800, they're very mid-present, much more than I'd expected. They have a bass hump reminiscent of the GS1000 but less pronounced while the recessed mids of the GS1000 have been brought closer to the RS1.
When I A/B'd them with my HD800, what first struck me was how much louder they were. The PS1000s have that familiar 32-ohm impedence compared to the HD800's 300. Neither phone gives its all off an unamped iPod but the Grados drive better. On the other hand, the mids came off as much more in-your-face, much more aggressive than the HD800, which seemed to provide a lot more space.
As I continued listening with them, I realized that part of my initial reaction had to do with a disconnect between my expectations and what these cans now seem designed to accomplish. The prominent mids took me by surprise. After using the GS1000s, and concluding that the mids in those cans were too recessed for my blood (I used to remove the jumbo/salad-bowl pads and wear them with bowls), I was surprised to find so much of the midrange blaring at me. It was as if I'd gone to the trouble of buying a metal GS1000 only to end up with the sound of SR-325i.
I switched out the pads for bowls and then flats, to see what difference they would make, particularly for running them off an unamped iPod. I got thumpier bass but then missed the highs that come from the HF extension of the salad bowls.
Coming back to them, I realized - in my heart - what I'd heard others speak of in other threads: Grado isn't going backward, to the bowls and flats of yesteryear. Having found improvements in comfort and soundstage with the salad bowls, Grado has retweaked the drivers to play better in such an environment.
This headphone's mission is to give you the same "Grado house sound" of the flats and bowls, but with more soundstage. Where the GS1000 pushed for "thump and space," the PS1000 reaches for "balance." The thump is there, just not as prominently as with the GS1000. The recessed mids have been re-tweaked.
For those who preferred the laid-back sound of the GS1000, this is a step back in "refinement." But for those who thought the GS1000 was less refined (because it buried the high-mids), this is a chance to bring a more classic Grado sound to the larger soundstage of the G-Cush pads.
After associating the big pads with a more laid-back presentation, it took me some time to appreciate the attempt here to re-calibrate the balance between bass, mids and treble.
Dropping down to bowls, then flats, I captured more bass but missed the HF, a fact that became even clearer when I returned to the jumbo/salad bowls and rediscovered the airiness they provide. What proved gratifying was the realization that I wasn't giving up mids to get that air. To my surprise, I started hearing details buried in the bowls and flats. Had I not heard even more new details from my amped HD800, there'd be no living with me.
With a decent amp, there's no beating the HD800 for what it does, but when I finally got used to what these PS1000s are doing, I re-experienced the familiar sound of vinyl and loudspeakers. If you stop and think about it, you'll know you're listening through headphones. The illusion is not strong enough to fend off a direct attack. But if you let go of yourself, a weird thing happens - at least it did with me.
Going back to some old ELO II - specifically From the Sun to the World off of ELO II - I'd wanted to see if the violin parts, buried by the bass thump of the GS1000s and HF2s, would be more prominent on these cans than on those. To my thinking, the loss of such details was one of the tradeoffs I'd discovered (and regretted) in those cans, compared to the RS1.
Not only were these details restored (to my delight) but, because of the greater HF dispersion of the jumbo pads, I was now hearing the kinds of details my HD800s routinely pick up. I'm not suggesting that the PS1000s are as detailed as the HD800s but they're certainly more detailed than any of the in-production Grados I've ever heard.
I've read posts where reviewers spoke of hearing bows pulled across strings and thought, "Well, duh. Who doesn't?" For the first time - at least on a Grado - I think I know what they've been raving about. They're not talking about bowing. They're talking about feeling the barely audible scrunch of a well-resined bow as it "bites" the string at the snap of a change in direction. Headphones often capture the resonance but not the bite. There's something scrumptious about that bite.
There came a point during my listening sessions when I couldn't help but remember my switch from cassette to vinyl. Cassette tapes were more convenient but vinyl just had so much more detail - and even on an old tube-powered console stereo, the details and warmth made for some tasty listening sessions. This is what I'm referring to when I bring up speakers.
I'm not saying these PS1000s sound like the very best loudspeakers but there's something in the airiness of the jumbo pads, and the corrected tonal balance, that puts me back in that room, listening to vinyl on that old tube console. If I think about it, I know I'm listening to headphones but if I let my mind drift, I have moments when I'm back there again.
The HD800 is the first headphone I've owned to capture the wondrous details of vinyl. It has better lower-bass extension and an amazingly rapid sound decay, revealing the silence between the notes - as well as the parallaxes between things that otherwise get meshed together. The PS1000 is not the HD800. For one thing, it feels much more in-your-face. The soundstage is much more intimate, like that of an RS-1. But there are also details in the HF, caught by the jumbo pads, that strike me as a step forward in providing a more revealing presentation. I hear all kinds of recording, instrumental and vocal artifacts that simply wouldn't be there on the other in-production Grados.
On U2's Stranger in a Strange Land, those metronomic clicks have a percussive pop at the point of impact. On the Rolling Stones' Miss You, Keith Richards' guitar has these periodic "whup" yelps between rhythm chords I never seemed to notice before. On Fleetwood Mac's Landslide from Live in Boston, it's more noticeable when the picking hits a dead spot rather than a true ring (because of incomplete left-hand finger-placement near the frets).
On James Brown's I Feel Good, you can hear the slight parallax in starts and stops in what might otherwise seem like a seamless brass section. On The Clash's London Calling, I was surprised to hear - for the first time - that airy echo in counterpoint to the blat-blat-blat of choppy bar chords in the intro.
Something happens, seven seconds into Elvis's Surrender, that sounds like a piece of paper sliding across a floor (It's probably not that, but it sounds like that). On ELO's Boy Blue, there are previously-imperceptible hight-hat taps during the orchestral opening.
On the Bee Gee's How Deep Is Your Love, there's a weird, almost-subliminal, synthesizer effect at the end of the phrasing, during the first verse, leading up to the chorus. I didn't know it was there. Then I had to go back over it a couple of times to realize it was a synthetic brass effect letting out a "wah" to produce, "And you come to [wah] me, on a summer [wah] breeze . . . . "
Not that things are as good as they get. With only a few hours of burn-in complete, the sound is still a tad sibilant and the upper mids are still a bit strident. To reach its full potential, the presentation will have to settle down and mellow out. As I've heard audible improvements in all my Grados over time, I trust that the PS1000 will have more to offer as it settles in. Time will tell.
