Grado Fan Club!
May 24, 2024 at 8:37 PM Post #65,806 of 65,818
Yeah, I am listening on a very neutral solid state amp, I am sure a tube or tube hybrid would help beef up the sound a bit, which i think is the RS1X's biggest weakness. Some music sounds a bit thin on it, so its not going to work for everything.

The hemp was beefy, but at way too much expense of clarity.

This is the standout track so far for me on the RS-1x. You'd think it would be classic rock or something, but surprisingly not, I liked the presentation on this better than on my much bassier H95:.

If not already mentioned many people found the RS1x to need a lot of break in/playing time to hit their stride
(300 hrs) I found the bass became more detailed and impact improved. Mids and highs sound more refined and natural. Right now I have been giving my GS3000x more playtime, I am expecting a bit more change.

In some cases other models are usually fine within 100 hours or so.

Here’s some pennies to go along with my thoughts, nothing more than that.
 
May 24, 2024 at 8:46 PM Post #65,807 of 65,818
If not already mentioned many people found the RS1x to need a lot of break in/playing time to hit their stride
(300 hrs) I found the bass became more detailed and impact improved. Mids and highs sound more refined and natural. Right now I have been giving my GS3000x more playtime, I am expecting a bit more change.

In some cases other models are usually fine within 100 hours or so.

Here’s some pennies to go along with my thoughts, nothing more than that.
I'm always debating if the headphone actually breaks in or your brain. e.g. you get used to it. B/c I am not sure what would physically change in there
 
May 24, 2024 at 8:51 PM Post #65,808 of 65,818
If not already mentioned many people found the RS1x to need a lot of break in/playing time to hit their stride
(300 hrs) I found the bass became more detailed and impact improved. Mids and highs sound more refined and natural. Right now I have been giving my GS3000x more playtime, I am expecting a bit more change.

In some cases other models are usually fine within 100 hours or so.

Here’s some pennies to go along with my thoughts, nothing more than that.
Your thoughts are worth far more than pennies, and therefore why give away money on top of it. I'm still wrestling with the world of my GS3000x. It might go into the category of the pre-still-life paintings of Cezanne for me, I fully understand why they are exquisite but I really don't like them.
 
May 24, 2024 at 8:54 PM Post #65,810 of 65,818
Yeah, I am listening on a very neutral solid state amp, I am sure a tube or tube hybrid would help beef up the sound a bit, which i think is the RS1X's biggest weakness. Some music sounds a bit thin on it, so its not going to work for everything.

The hemp was beefy, but at way too much expense of clarity.

This is the standout track so far for me on the RS-1x. You'd think it would be classic rock or something, but surprisingly not, I liked the presentation on this better than on my much bassier H95:.

Most owners of the RS1x on this thread agree it may take 100-150 hours of use before the headphone sounds their best. (Notice I didn't say burn-in)
 
May 24, 2024 at 9:29 PM Post #65,811 of 65,818
After all this chat about the RS1x, I put my 3000x back on the rack and plugged my balanced RS1s unit into my V222. I have been using the L pads for a while now as I like them more than the Flats or G pads. That is, until tonight. Sometimes your brain is different than before. What was great last night is meh today. Put the G pads on and I'm once again in sonic bliss.

It's great to have options!
 
May 25, 2024 at 12:45 AM Post #65,813 of 65,818
An insanely good combination -- Grado GS3000x / Schiit Vali 3 / Telefunken 'medical grade, red tip' 12AU7 via adapter:
IMG_8127.jpeg
IMG_8131.jpeg
"It's alive!"
 
May 25, 2024 at 1:47 AM Post #65,815 of 65,818
An insanely good combination -- Grado GS3000x / Schiit Vali 3 / Telefunken 'medical grade, red tip' 12AU7 via adapter:IMG_8127.jpegIMG_8131.jpeg "It's alive!"
I've just done a crazy search for that tube with no success whatsoever, even in the few deep dark alleyways of the interwebs I know about, I can't find it anywhere, I know there are a lot of counterfeits. The au6 red tip medical grade is around but that's it. Thoughts, source, like that?
 
May 25, 2024 at 3:02 AM Post #65,816 of 65,818
I'm always debating if the headphone actually breaks in or your brain. e.g. you get used to it. B/c I am not sure what would physically change in there
I do think getting more acclimated to any new component is always a part of it. I base my thoughts on my experiences in years in retail audio. Speakers that were on display and had plenty of playtime would sound better than new ones out of the box. Manufacturers started to recommend break in times which were individual to the specific models.

I know for me most of my headphones were pretty good out of the box new but most often did improve as they got in more and more playtime.
 
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May 25, 2024 at 4:35 AM Post #65,817 of 65,818
If not already mentioned many people found the RS1x to need a lot of break in/playing time to hit their stride
(300 hrs) I found the bass became more detailed and impact improved. Mids and highs sound more refined and natural. Right now I have been giving my GS3000x more playtime, I am expecting a bit more change.

In some cases other models are usually fine within 100 hours or so.

Here’s some pennies to go along with my thoughts, nothing more than that.
I agree. My RS1X needed a long time before it really "opened up". I remember in my case at least 10-12 months. I am not listening that loud, perhaps that's the reason.
 
May 25, 2024 at 9:51 AM Post #65,818 of 65,818
Hey ya’ll, long time Grado lover here. I still miss the RS2’s I had back in 2014.

Anyway I just bought the Grado Whites that were for sale here and I’m psyched to get back into the higher end Grado sound. Years back now, I bought some GS1000x’s but the gimbals kept falling apart so I was able to return them to Grado directly and I wound up buying some Audeze LCD X. I’ve missed the G cup Grado’s every day since! The Audeze are just so boring by comparison.

TLDR; I’ll be having a pair of the White Grados in for comparison to 225 and 1000, both X series.
 

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