[idletime1213]

I've always seen the W5000 for around $600-$700 anyway, so I don't think you'll be losing much.

 

[Gwarmi]

Quote:

The woman with whom I am about to do this trade is a member of Head-Fi with positive feedback from the community. She owns a pair of Grado RS-1i headphones and I proposed that we do a trade for my Audio Technica ATH-W5000 "Raffinato" headphones. She asked that I send my headphones to her first and then she will send my headphones to me after she receives delivery of mine. I know that this is a risk, but I am willing to take this risk because she has positive feedback in this community and she has been a member for quite some time. I really do want the Grado RS-1i headphones quite badly and I am willing to take this big risk. Hopefully, she will agree to my latest proposal and she will do her part to close this trade successfully. I realize that I am going to lose about $500.00 USD by doing this trade, but I just don't want to go through the process of selling my headphones to the community unless this deal goes south. I think that the Grado RS-1i headphones are closer to what I really want instead of the Sennheiser HD-650 with the Moon Audio Blue Dragon headphone replacement cable. I owned a pair of the original Grado RS-1 headphones years ago and I fell in love with their unique Grado house sound. I should have never sold them to another Head-Fi member years ago.
 
Opinions?

 Sounds like you're really unsure about whether to opt for the HD650 with cable or Grado RS1i

 
 They were once kings of the dynamic headphone world - ahh the 90's - how I miss thee.

 

[PhoebeFairchild]

nevermind

 

[PhoebeFairchild]

I find that I am listening to rock and pop more often than classical and opera music. My Audio Technica ATH-W5000 "Raffinato" headphones excel with classical, jazz, and opera music, but they leave me wanting for a bass heavier pair of headphones when I listen to rock and pop music.
 
I can not afford the current generation of the top of the line headphones so I have to settle for the former top of the range selections.
 
I was thinking about getting myself the Monster Beats Audio Pro headphones, but that is a very distant consideration at the moment.
 
The Sennheiser HD-650 with the Moon Audio Blue Dragon cable will sound near perfect. They are well balanced with pitch accurate tonality. The improved bass response of the HD-650s give it a deeper, punchier, and tighter bass without any distortion. The mid range is highly accurate and natural sounding with smooth transients and they do not produce listener fatigue. The treble extends up to airy and silky smooth top octaves. The sound stage is quite deep and wide with precise imaging and finely textured layers of resolution. All in all, these are almost technically perfect sounding headphones.
 
The downside is that they are a bit boring and they sound a bit slow especially with rock and pop music or dance music.
 
The Grado RS-1i headphones are very colored cans. They have deep, tight, punchy bass with plenty of slam without losing pitch or texture. The golden honey mid range is so intimate, warm, full-bodied and rich with oodles of layers of textures and resolution and detail. The treble is a bit shrill with peaky highs and it can sound quite fatiguing especially for opera music. These cans are extremely nimble and fast with the ability to sort through complex layers of music and turning on a dime in terms of transient speed and dynamics.
 
The problems also include a smaller but more focused sound stage and the shrill treble region with certain types of music. They are also quite fragile as they are made of Mahogany wood so delicate care must be paid when handling them. My old pair of Grado RS-1 headphones developed a crack in the right ear cup because I was not careful and it is expensive to send it back to Grado Labs for repairs which take quite a bit of time for turnaround.
 
I am itching for a different sound, but which to choose?
 
Technically, the Sennheiser HD-650 headphones are more accurate and they are more tonally balanced which should provide for longer hours of listening enjoyment especially with a good quality aftermarket headphone replacement cable like the Moon Audio Blue Dragon. Yet, music is about conveying the passion of the music to the listener and the Grado RS-1i win in this critically important area because they express the soul of the music quite passionately.
 
The Audio Technica ATH-W5000 "Raffinato" headphones are a unique pair of cans. They are hyper detailed and they possess unbelievable resolution. They are also wicked fast with super speed transients and they have an ability to turn the corner on a dime. They also have a wide sound stage for a closed pair of headphones. Female vocals sound a bit distorted as if they are more intimate and focused than male vocals. This gives them a unique presentation especially for female opera music and female singers. The problems are quite important too. They are made of a rare type of wood which makes handling them quite the challenge because they are so light and delicate. I do not have any problems with the fit of the headphones on my head, but it takes a while to get the right seal after adjusting the headband and ear cups. They are fussy headphones. I find it more difficult to listen to music for a longer period of time with the Raffinatos because they have such a unique and idiosyncratic way of presenting the music that can turn off a lot of listeners. They also produce a fair amount of echo and reverberations that makes the music sound like it is bouncing off the walls inside an echo chamber especially with choral, gospel, and hall music. The bass is quite detailed and textured, but it lacks any authoritative punch or impact. It feels like these headphones lack a solid foundation especially with pop and rock music. These are probably the most colored and unique sounding headphones that I have ever listened to for a long period of time. At first, it is quite bemusing, but it gets to be irritating after years of ownership because I have listened to live concerts or the same recorded music on different headphones and the presentation and tonality are completely different.
 
There is no such thing as the perfect headphone for all genres of music.
 
This is why so many Head-Fi members and audiophiles collect different headphones for different types of music.
 
I think that I convinced myself to make a decision: Sennheiser HD-650 with the Moon Audio Blue Dragon cable. I would rather have a near technically perfect pair of headphones that sound boring than another pair of colored headphones.

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

 
 
The W5000 would be a fair trade somewhat for a Grado GS1000i but not a pair of RS1i's - it's a
$1200 headphone up against a $695 headphone. Why just drop $500 out the window?

Uahhhhh...well now I cant confirm this but 32ohm audio was selling the W5000 for around $650 due tot he fact that...well they didn't sell any, ever, these were a contender for when I was in the market to break my $300 mark heh.; keep in mind they sold $1300 headphones thet were really 700+cable and people bought them.

 

[PhoebeFairchild]

I owned the Grado RS-1. I owned the Sennheiser HD-600. I have auditioned the Sennheiser HD-650 with the Cardas Headphone Replacement cable for one week. I currently own the Audio Technica ATH-W5000 "Raffinato" headphones. All of them have gone through my high end audio system at home with music that I am very familiar with. So, yeah, I know what I am to expect if this trade deal is successful.

 

[Gwarmi]

 
 
 The W5000 is a slow seller - there's a few sources down here in Australia happy to see them off for $999AUD - brand new.
 
 Nobody calls.

 

[PhoebeFairchild]

The trade deal has begun. I will ship my headphones to her first and then wait for her to ship my headphones and cables to me later this week. I decided to go for the Sennheiser HD-650 with the stock cable and the Moon Audio Blue Dragon cable. I think that I made the right choice. I hope that this trade deal will be successful by the end of this week.

 

[Amarphael]

What's your setup currently? I think the W5000 and HD650 are excellent contrast to each other in sound signature and worthy of keeping both if you're seriuosly into headphones.

 

[PhoebeFairchild]

Well, that's no longer an option anymore. I shipped the Audio Technica ATH-W5000 "Raffinato" headphones to the Head-Fi member with whom I have agreed to do my trade deal. Now, I have no headphones to listen to music. I expect to receive delivery of my Sennheiser HD-650 headphones and the stock cable along with the Moon Audio Blue Dragon cable by next Wednesday.

 

[PhoebeFairchild]

I just updated my Head-Fi profile so you can check it out for yourself.

 

[Sil3nce]

Best wishes, just be satisfied with what you want, and don't take anything less !
I'm glad you're following and rediscovering the rs-1s, truly a great pair of cans, with diifferent variants.