- Tranducer type: dynamic
- Operating principle: open air
- Frequency response: N/A
- SPL (1mV): N/A
- Normal impedance: N/A
- Driver matched: N/A
- Vented diaphragm
- Aluminum air chamber
- UHPLC copper voice coil wire
- UHPLC copper connecting cord
|
By someone who has listened and knows Grado headphones.
Jason Morin aka "Zanth" on head-fi.org:
Never one to stop innovating, Grado has set out to create a new flagship and it
is these new headphones, the PS1000's, as I hear it, are the very best headphone
Grado Labs has ever produced. What would so excite me as to claim such a thing?
How about a hybrid metal/wooden headphone that incorporates the tone and timbre
of the RS1's, maintaining the superior Grado mid-range, the hallmark of their
sound and a resonance reduced decay which brings the sound closer to that of the
PS1's and HP-1000's? How about all of that, dear listeners? Well here it is, the
evolution of the metal series and the wooden series, the PS1000 is the answer to
all those who have for years hoped for a broad release of the PS1's or for those
who wanted something even better than the GS1000's. The PS1000's are the very
best Grado headphone ever made.
Sticking with the new developments of the GS1000, the PS1000 uses the same large
cushions providing a very comfortable fit on the head, excellent for very long
listening sessions. These cushions also push the driver further from the ear
providing a large sound and headstage. The same shaped enclosure as that of the
GS1000's is used but instead of the wooden outer housing, the housing is a metal
alloy like that of the PS1's headphones. What makes this particularly
interesting however is the inner housing, which is made of the same wood used in
the RS series and for the GS1000. The driver has been changed, has been
improved, refining the sound even more than previous generation of headphones.
The cable has also been changed and seems to be quite a bit thicker than the
previous versions. All these changes and improvements make for a listening
experience like none that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing.
Besides their appearance, which is that of a metal GS1000, one might well first
recognize the weight of these headphones. Those who are familiar with my systems
know that I own the PS1's and have owned over the years about a dozen HP-1000
series, the older Joseph Grado studio monitor headphones. These models are quite
heavy, with the PS1's being heavier than the HP-1000's but the overall
experience of that weight seemed to be reduced because of the thicker headband
the PS1's used over the HP-1000's. Still, using the flat pads or the larger bowl
pads, the headphones sat firmly on the head and were very noticeable. I don't
know many that forgot they were wearing them, this as opposed to wearing the
RS1's or even better, the GS1000's, which are so very light in comparison. The
GS1000's in particular are such a pleasure to wear for long periods of time
because they are made from a light wood and the large pads are at once
comfortable on the ear (now being circumaural headphones as opposed to the
supra-aural fit of the older pads) and also divert the downward force of the
headphones outward reducing the apparent weight at the top of the head. Since
the PS1000's are made to the same dimensions as the GS1000's, with their larger
housings, would one expect them to feel even heavier than the PS1's or
HP-1000's? While in the hand, yes. While on the head? A surprising no! I equate
this phenomenon to the large pads used which again, divert the downward force
perpendicularly outward, so that the overall experience is more pleasing than
the older metal headphone models. No doubt they are much heavier than the
GS1000's, but they are not unpleasant to use and I found myself listening for 8
hours straight with no complaints at all. I rather much liked the weight because
although I was aware of their presence, it was a positive awareness, where I
wouldn't be inclined to just swing my head aggressively and perhaps launch the
headphones into orbit. Hey, when headphones sound this good, some head-banging
is to be expected!
As with any transducer it is the sound that matters and as I've already stated,
to my ears, these are not just the best Grado ever made, they are the best
headphones I've ever heard.
On first listening one will probably note two things sonically: an incredibly
dynamic sound and a very smooth sound. The sound seems to literally jump off the
drivers with an astounding attack without overemphasizing or exaggerating any
part of the spectrum as if the headphones are somehow working hard to reproduce
this type of sound (or working harder than another set of headphones on the same
system). There is no denying that the sound is more alive than anything I've
ever listened to and yet the headphones are merely providing what is on the
recording. A good analogy would be going from listening to the SR60's to the
RS1's but think better, more dynamic and pure.
The attack is solid and fast and the transients are nimble with the transition
to the decay sounding dead on, never lagging and the decay, oh that wonderful
decay, notes trailing off into a black background, never sounding slow but never
sounding overly quick either. The key I believe is in combining the wood and the
metal. The wood provides a fine immediate resonance, getting a nice tone and
timbre but as the sound leaves the inner chamber, the metal's rigidity forces
the waves to stay tight, reducing reverberation and permitting a very accurate
decay and highly coherent sound throughout the note. I suppose the really clever
trait here is that despite a seductive velvety smooth sound, one isn't missing
out on any details. Not at all. This is how the PS1's are consistently reviewed
and here too we find the same thing. We get the glorious subtleties of the
sound, all the inner nuances, micro and macro details while enjoying a smooth
sound that is closest to a live open aired event. For those who have lusted for
the liquid sound of the PS1's but want the better tone and timbre of the wooden
Grados, the PS1000's deliver.
One other immediately noticeable aspect that I note in comparison to the
GS1000's is that the mids sound more forward. If people felt that the mids were
too far back in comparison with the RS1's or PS1's, then these headphones will
fall closer in line with that sound vs. the GS1000's. There doesn't seem to be
any disparity in any of the spectrums and this is not amp dependent, which I
know first hand, many will praise.
The highs are never strident but smooth and extended, with wonderful sparkle and
air. They are articulate without over emphasis. The bass is solid, palpable and
authoritative without being overblown. The notes are deep and audible and work
perfectly to provide the well-known Grado dynamics and that ever-elusive PRaT
that Grados are naturally gifted at reproducing. I have always enjoyed the
wonderful deep resonating bass of the PS1's but sometimes missed the extremely
hard-hitting nature of the bass notes from the HP-1000's. No more! These phones
do both better than their older siblings. I have never heard better bass than
when listening to Grados. Yet, I've always had to choose aspects of the bottom
end and then equate the best with this model or that model. Now I can just go
for one phone and one phone only and maintain a perma-smile as I listen to some
drum n' bass.
Over the years, I've bought and sold a number of headphones, not just Grados.
The three headphones I have chosen to keep on hand have been the Grado GS1000's,
PS1's and RS1's. As sad as I have been in letting the HP-1000's go time and time
again, there has always been something about the above models that kept me
listening more often for longer periods of time. Yet, if one were to ask me,
Jason, which headphone would you keep if you could only have one? I could never
answer perfectly. I enjoyed each model for specific reasons, feeling that each
model had the edge in some dimension over the others. My default answer then
would be: "I'd choose the RS1's because my wife bought them for me as a gift
during our first year of marriage." Only sentimentality pushed one model over
another. The PS1000's are the first set of headphones that I've heard that would
actually have me choose a "best" headphone among the headphones I have on hand
and have ever heard.
The PS1000's are finally, (and for those that upgrade often or think the grass
is always greener, they know what I mean by finally), finally, the first set of
headphones that would motivate me to sell all the rest, because these PS1000s do
it all and do it as flawlessly as I've yet experienced. They give me everything
that I've been searching for in headphones and do it in such a way that I can
honestly say I'm not hoping for anything more. If more can ever be given, GREAT!
But I've stopped looking. I've stopped thinking that a single phone can't do it
all. Hyperbole be damned, this phone had me at hello. |
