Grado RS-1 / HF-1

where's TooNice, i always see him mentioning his HF-1's

give me the downlowlowdown, how good are they compared to rs-1, and how did you manage to get yours, and what price?
 
did people rate them above the RS-1 just because of some placebo of a reason, because they had this exclusive grado headphone they convinced themselves it was superior? Seems weird that they would be better than the rs-1 if they are so much cheaper than them
 
yeah, i know about the pricing value in the UK, i own a pair of SR60's for use on my mcody mp3 player, and a pair of SR125's for music listening on my PC. I use a pair of sennheiser HD600's for gaming and movie watching, so i am fully aware i prefer the grado sound for music.

I am going to be buying a very nice hi-fi setup within the next month.

Naim cd5i cd player
Naim 5i amp
Rega r5 floorstanders

so i will be buying a headphone amp as well , which i am thinking about going for a Graham Slee solo on.

So when i have all that, i want a top notch pair of headphones from grado to fully utilise and enjoy it all when on headphones. So just trying to work out if i should try and get my hands on a pair of HF-1's or just get the RS-1's
 
what do you find to be the general benefit of tube amps for the grados. If you have the time, give a general overview of the different types of headphone amps, and their pros and conns relative to oneanother
 
thanks for the reply.

I have done about seven or eight auditions in the last three weeks of the rega and naim equipment. I keep stepping up a notch each time it seems.

I found today when i was demoing the naim cd5i cd player against the rega apollo cd player, the brighter and livelier of the two was the apollo, surprisingly enough. The guy who worked there explained that this is unusual for most cd players against a naim, but nevertheless is the case with the apollo. The naim cd5i was much more full bodied though, and the instruments just had more meat, and the whole thing felt more cohesive. The detail from both cd players was on par, which is very detailed, the apollo seemed to provide more kick in the base. Overall i preferred the naim though.

As far as the speakers go. I have pretty extensively demoed the rega r3's and r5's. They are both remarkably detailed, which i would say was the most characteristic thing about them. When i was pairing them in the shop with the rega brio, then the rega mira amps, the sound was still ultra detaield, but a little thin overall. That's what made me try out the nait 5i amp, and this coupled much better overall, and made the experience much more pleasurable.

Are you recommending the naim headline amp simply because you think it will work well with my other naim stuff, or because it is regarded as a really good amp to your knowledge?
 
what speaker/amp systems are you interested in trying out?

I think i would probably get rs-1's off ebay. I will get them brand new when i have enough money for them. I don't like the idea of getting things second hand to be honest, as a personal choice.

Thought the hi-fi set up i will be buying from the shop will cost me about £2300ish, i know there will be those on this forum who think it is silly not to get higher end things second hand for the same money. I like knowing that my stuff hasn't had a previous owner and hasn't been tampered with for my own piece of mind.

I am surprised nobody really talks about rega speakers on here, when people are asking for recommendations for new speakers. They are utterly excellent. I think b&w are really boring speakers, but the 600, 601, 602 always seem to be one of the top recommendations of people here. If you want a really good b&w speaker for under £1000, the cm1 is really good, it's a standmount/bookshelf speaker. Doesn't remind me of the series, and for those who want a LOT of bass at that price level, it really has it, and it's nice and detailed too. I just prefer the rega speakers, as they are more detailed the bass seems tighter and clearer.
 
what has made you go through this massive headphone 'journey' ? and what makes you want to end it...just happy with the ones you have now? You started when you were 12, how long ago was that
 
if you look on the bay, and search grado, if you look at the bottom, in the shops section of the result. There is a seller called audio affair, who is selling lots of grado stuff cheap (similar to what i expect the US price to be), and is selling the rs-1 at £495, and has good feedback rating. What do you think about that? is that a good price for them, how does it compare to the actual USA retail price?

When you talk about the midrange being sweeter on the rs-1, and drier on the ms-pro, could you go into more depth explaining what you mean. I know what i like when i hear it, but in terms of the terminology used to describe the differences, i am pretty new to this. I like a lot of detail, yet i also really like a full bodied sound. What would you recommend for me?

Any thoughts on the naim headline amp, from your experience?
 
Last edited:
i live in brighton at the moment.

I currently use grado sr-125's for music listening, and really like the kind of sond they have. I love the detail they provide and i enjoy the impetus of it. I expect that i would get this to a higher level, with increased and tighter bass with the higher end models like the rs-1 / ms-pro.

My sennheiser HD600's i do find to be the opposite kind of headphone to the grados. to be honest i don't think i have ever experienced them the way they should be, as i have never had a headphone amp to drive them properly. I have always used my headphones through my PC (i have an x-fi fatal1ty soundcard as i game seriously at quake4....or did before it died, we were the best q4ctf team in europe hah!) I use my HD600s for gaming and movies on my pc, because of the larger soundstage and comfort, which is definitely more suitable for positioning in FPS games.

Obviously, my purchasing of headphones is purely based around music though, as i love my music.

When i demoed the sr125's at the shop before i bought them, i thought they were excellent immediately, i got so much enjoyment hearing the way they were with detail in general, and especially on guitars on prog rock tracks, and funk tracks. That was listening just plugged into an actual linn cd player, which had a headphone out on the player, not even via a headphone amp. My pc soundcard has never done my headphones justice, as i could tell they didn't as good on my pc as when in the shop, so i know i am missing out. So when i finally get a headphone amp, and the hi fi set up i will be buying, i know i am in for a treat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom