Grado RS1e Reference Series Open Backed Headphones

Product Information

These headphones get tone right, and do so with remarkable consistency. Whether you happen to favor Mark Knopfler over Eric Clapton, or Wes Montgomery over Grant Green, the Grados put sufficient distance between the artists and make each of them stand out. So, now it's time for a headphone I've been wanted to hear ever since I started reading Head-Fi. The RS1. Everybody know them. Many own them. Many love them. And the RS1 is probably the reason why I decided to sit down and share my experience with head-fi.

Just one more thing, I'm your prototypical glasses-wearing geek, and I found the spring-steel headband intensely uncomfortable if I wore the headphones for any length of time. The band pressed the earpieces against my ears, where they dug into my glasses frames, which in turn clamped the nose-pads on my spectacles firmly into my nose. If you can follow that logic, you will understand me when I say that wearing the RS1s for prolonged periods made my ears and nose hurt.There are no buts, or ifs or maybes. The RS-1s are true reference stuff. The only other headphones that I have heard that offer this kind of performance cost several thousand dollars and are electrostatic in design. So why was everything so great that day? After all, I listen to my portable CD players (I have four) an average of three hours per day. The answer is that I was listening to the Grado Reference One headphones for the first time. And so it was with much else in terms of basic balance: these are not bass heavy ‘phones – as Beats infamously are for example.They were far away from my Oppo PM I magnetic planar magnetics that have big-bodied bass and warmth. We listen to a wide range of music during our time with these Grados and they always please, if fed with a good enough signal. Regardless of whether it's the soul of Gladys Knight, the hard-edged tunes of Nirvana or the hip-hop of Eminem, these headphones sound right at home. Verdict

It all started when I needed a "reference headphones". So I thought, OK these "reference series" headphones should do the job. And it sure did the job. Are they accurate? A bird sounded like a bird, a girl screaming sounded like a girl screaming, guitar sounded like guitar, and bass sounded like someone shot an air cannon into my ears... Accurate enough for me. Faithful to the Grado sound, treble is fully present and is well balanced with the midrange. There is no obvious trouble between these areas of the frequency response, and so the midrange just seems to continue on up into the treble naturally. It makes for an airy and intricate sound, with plenty of fine details. I will get the the sound in a bit. Yes, the sound is a bit different from the RS2e, SR225e, etc. Still, people who hate Grados should feel completely free to crap all over them. This isn't for them. I actually love them though.

Introduction - What Is the Grado RS1x?

Instrumental or vocal, electric or acoustic, is very satisfying through the Grados. The image is stable and well located, giving a convincing image size. Haydn's quartets emerge particularly well on these 'phones, perhaps because the mahogany frames preserve the rich sound of the wooden instruments. When the cello grunts you feel it, and when the violin soars, rich harmonics abound. When it comes to the vocals, there's meat on the bones, while the AKG K1000 can sometimes sound quite lean and miss the artist's passion. Of course, you have to provide the Grados with a quality signal. If that 3.5mm connection tempts you into thinking that a phone, laptop or budget music player are going to be ideal partners, you’d be wrong. These headphones will still sound acceptable with such sources, but we’d be looking at an outboard DAC of the quality of Chord’s Mojo for the laptop and phone, and at least Astell & Kern’s A&norma SR25 music player, if we want to hear the scale of the SR325x’s talents. Sub-bass is there but fairly muted; it’s there if we look for it, but it may easily be missed in unfamiliar pieces. Low/Mid bass is more prominent with a nice width; it’s well controlled too and gives an impression of effortlessness, like it’s just pouring into the ears. The Grado RS1 phone is light, comfy, and a joy to hear. Even you-know-who's electrostatic headphone didn't seem as natural to me any of the times I've heard it. I wish it didn't cost so much, but frankly, that's about the end of my wish list.