razer

I also cannot view some of them. The later ones. The bagel pads look huge! I tot you going to recable them? Any plans? Edit: Forgot to congrats you for the long awaited GS1K. Looks very good in the pics. So the soundstage is? Killer Grado? Does the wider soundstage dun make it sound like a Grado? The upfront presentation? Dunno about the recabling part yet...Haha. Yeah, the bowl pads are huge, larger than what i expected. I wouldn't say that its a killer grado mainly because I've not tried the RS-1's before....But I just took it out and my itunes randomed to this Jazz piece by 鈴木重子 called I will call you and man, do the vocals and everything sound good!

Btw, seems that everytime i come back to this thread, some photos cannot be viewed....

I do have the 30 days money back guarantee. The problem is I don't and have no plans of returning them because so far, my listening experiences with this pair of cans has been positive and I'am just burning them in without listen to them much. I don't really believe in burning in and am alwasy skeptical about it but I still do it... Just like people who knows smoking is bad for thier health but still does it...Anyway, back to your question, I will do a quick review on it soon. And that is when they reach thier 100hour mark. Sound stage is so far moderately large, at least larger than the HD650. Bass has great impact and body but doesn't go as deep as that on the L3000. Highs aren't sibilent and mids are smooth although a little laid back for a Grado...

Btw, sorry for the poor quality images. Had to resize and compress them alot because the higher quality pictures that I posted earlier on couldn't be viewed or linked properly...

The drivers: Side view:

The grains on the wooden cup: The metal slider rod is a square tube instead of a round one:

Comparison between the GS-1000 and the HD650: Metal grill:

The bowl pads: The leather headband:

My Grado GS-1000's arrived yesterday and I collected them early in the morning at the immigrations and customs office over at the main branch of Singapore Post. Tax was a hefty $80..... After collecting them, the first thing I did was to rush home and try them on. Right out of the box, the headphones sounded impressive. Maybe it was also because of my anticipation and eagerness to listen to them that made them sound better....you know...placebo and stuff like that....I decided that this wasn't fair so I decided to stuff them into the dry box (set at 50%) and played them till i reach the 100 hour mark. However, as I've promised you guys for the pictures, I took them out just now and snapped a few photographs before stuffing them back into the dry box for the insanely gruesome burn in period. Here are some of the pics: Plan view: Metal earcup holders:

Woohoo, other than the stupid $80 tax problem, I'am currently enjoying the headphones now...Will post pictures of it if you guys wanna see more of it later on. Meanwhile, sound is great with lovely soundstage and great impact. Built is pretty good and sturdy too!

Yeah....I paid tax for my SA5000 when it came. It was something like $16.... This item plus shipping is around $1050 USD so tax is gonna be high....

Hmmmz, I told todd about it. Its pretty strange. Do you think they would open up the package? This is getting me very very frustrated....

NOOO!!!!!!! This is what we call: So near yet so far....

Seriously, if you need to do a blind test to justify your buy, especially a portable amp, then it might not be worth while; at least for the case of people who are constantly on the go. The hustle and bustle city life here and getting the IEMs in and out of your ear constantly would not offer one any chance to listen critically. At least, that's my case. Thus, I've decided to stop at the PA2V2 for portable amps. I've tried the SR71 versus the PA2V2, both from a pocketdock and then to the iPod and honestly speaking, it took me quite a while to notice the slightly more refined sound the SR71's giving me. Maybe its becuase I've got lead ears but that's my case. So imagine sitting or walking around town listening to music. I guess that 5 times more you pay for would not be worth it anymore. As for normal sized headphones however, I find that benefits from amping them really does show, especially for the HD650's and the K701's. Also, i feel that many people are stressing the point on whether the difference can be heard...I personally think that hearing a marked improvement in sound quality is definitly more important than hearing a difference. Afterall, I don't want to pay so much to hear differences, I want marked improvements instead. Thus, it explains why I've taken the route of going all out on headphones first, then source and finally amp. After all, like what others have said, garbage in, garbage out, but with a decent enough source, I would say headphones make the most differences. And yes, I guess I do have lead ears...

I've tried it countless times and felt that its actually pretty redundant to use an amp with the E5C. Firstly, I'am doing an A to B comparison to sound out of the MP3 player directly (all songs ripped at 320 AAC) and I've got to take around half a 2~3 minutes song to tell the difference. So at the end of the day, I find it not worth to pay $50 usd for an amp that makes portability a hassle and do such little improvement to the sound. Moreover, when I'am on the go, I can't even be bothered to listen critically...So at the end of the day, I use my Shures directly out of my iPod. And btw, for me, I felt that the players themselves can make a much bigger difference. For example my iPod photo. The first time i got them, I felt that SQ wise, it wasn't very good thus I bought the new iPod video when it came out and I felt that the difference between the iPod video and the iPod photo is bigger than using the shures with the PA2V2. Well, I wouldn't dismiss placebo effects as well but that's what i felt in blind tests that i carried out.

Most probably around the same price as the GS-1000's since they're so rare. What's more is that I'll feel more comfortable in paying 1.7k for something that's made out of metal and has adjustable and lockable mechanisms at the cup swivel area than wood... But AFAIK, the GS1000 has its earcup holders made out of metal and not plastic...(that's what I heard someone say...)

I would love to have them and would get them without hesitation but the probem is that you don't see many people/no one selling them even on the FS forums over at headfi/audigon...even if i do, they'll be snapped up in a jiffy...

LOL......Oh, the FM radio thingy is a great idea! did not think of that...

Yeah.....Usually, I'll be listening them, then leaving them there, coming back again to listen to them.....And somehow, someone in the house see's the player being turned on for a whole night and tends to turn it off.... I've been trying to explain what BURN IN is for but somehow, they think that BURN IN = DEREASING THE PLAYER'S LIFE SPAN + WASTING ELECTRICITY.......

I hate burning in....Somehow, 100 hours seems like a year or two.... Can't wait... I guess I'll just pop them on and have a go when they arrive.

I'am fine since its the school holidays as well. They'll be shipping from the States over to SG by express mail today.

Sadly, I don't own the RS-1's....

No problem! Will share my impressions once i get them!

But of course, I'am sort of like ready for any chances that they might not be the sound I'am looking for. For example the HF-1. Its a great sounding can with the involment and lovely impact but it doesn't sound refined. As in its nice here and there but far from being perfect....That is of course in terms of SQ and Built...

Guys, he doesn't ship to any Singapore or worldwide address. Thats it. I guess VPost will work since its an American address.