Tubed Headamp for Grado RS-2 ?

I have the Grado RS-1/RA-1 combo and it is near perfect; improing on my older Stax by quite a bit (to be fair the Stax were over 15 years old).

I found that pluging RA-1 directly into the source (in my case, a Sony SCD-1) greatly improves te sound. This contradicts others who have suggested that a good tube preamp (Audio Research, Joule, BAT, etc.) helps the sound over direct out. I will be reviewing the RA-1 with three preamps later this month (a Classe 60, a Placette and my current First Sound Refernce passive) and I will post the results here. I will also be testing the Grado's arch rival, the Sen 600's. The earcan audiophile crowd seems somewhat divided as to which is better the Grado RS-1 or the Sen 600 -- but the general thought is that they both sound very good -- just different.

As, for tube headphone amps, Headroom sells the Wheatfield H2, an amp that is very favourably reviewed. Go to headwise.com and headroom.com and read the reviews.

Mikec ....I haven't heard the RS-2s, but the genreal consensus on the headroom.com discussion forms is that RS-1s(which I have and love) are much better. You may also like the Sen 600's too.

I agree, out of the box, the Grados are VERY UNcomfortable, (itchy as hell): Grado defends the material as sonically superior, but I think they ned to listen to their customers instead of just their headphones!

I found that my RS-1s were almost unbearable until I took the leather earpad covers off a pair a pair of 20 year old Stax electrostatics and fitted them onto the Grados -- the covers fit perfectly and the Grados now easily pass the comfort test -- I forget they are on at times. If you try a simalar tweak, make sure the inner portion of the earcup is not covered -- just the part that touches your ear, otherwise you may muffle/interfere with the sound. Also, search headroom.com as I think their are few threads on improving the comfort of the Grados.

I suspect some of your problem may be you Classe SS 50 -- a home theatre processor that may be a touch too forward for truly revealing headphones. I'm not knocking the Classe -- even my First Sound Refernce sounds bad with the RA-1 as most preamps, even those of reference quailty, are not designed with headphones in mind. (Sonic Frontiers and Melos being the exception, as SF licenses the headroom stuff and Melos has a well reviewed headphone jack).

To give you a very close analysis/comparison soon, I have have a Classe 60 Preamp and I will be testing the RA-1 through the Classe in a couple of weeks when I do the "head to head" (no pun intended) between the Sens 600 and the RS-1.

If the Classe is not to blame, then it's probably your source or source material.

A good test for the RA-1 would be to couple it to a decent analogue setup, failing that, a GOOD CD or CD/DAC. (I use a Sony SCD-1.) I would suggest you take your little RA-1 into a dealer with a EMC-1 CD player, Meridain 508.24 or other well reviewed player, or top notch DAC such as the Elgar/Purcell, Levinson 360s, etc.

What's more, my RA-1 sounds bad with poorly recorded stuff (that's the problem with reference quality gear -- it brings out the good AND the bad) For example, even on SACD setting, the Sony SACD remaster of "Boston" still sounds far inferior to the old $6 vinyl that I used to listen to for hours on end 20 years ago.

In sum, I think your RA-1 is NOT the weak link you think it is, since mine sounds so very good when hooked directly to a Class A reference source (SCD-1) playing a well recorded SACD.

So, my advise is to cart your ear can setup into a dealer with a SCD-1 or Marantz SACD player and plug it directly into the SACD player's output. If you still don't like the sound (and you will) then, and only then, start looking for another headphone amp. But be prepared to spend over $800 to beat the sound of the RA-1, as you'll need to look at the top of the line Headroom amps (Headroom Max) or the Wheatfield tube.

Hopefully, I'll have the Sen 600's here in the next two weeks and thus I will be able to start my review that may answer many of your questions. In the mean time, get yourself a copy of the latest Sterophile, where they review a $6K Stax earcan setup with both SS and tube headphone amp. When I read between the lines of this review (which I find is essential for anything Sterophile writes), I noticed that the reviewer still thought his Sen 600's were close, and he was not completely sold on the Stax sound -- especailly not at $6K. --Lorne

.... ahh you didn't mention that the Grados weren't run in yet! Of course, that's why they sounded harsh -- especially with yet to be broken in silver cables. Give that cable a hundred hours (at least) to smooth out and I'm sure you'll like them even more. My Sony SCD-1 sounded like a $200 CD player until after about 300 hours (well, actually it wasn't that bad.)

Anyway, since I posted, my Placette line stage preamp arrived and now I'm anxious to A/B it against both the Classe and my First Sound Passive Pre - the lsoer going to the dogs at eBay. The maker of the Placette thinks his class A headphone amp with the Vishay resistors is the best (this is one of the few preamps with a headphone jack). We shall see, as I think it's up against some tough company in the RA-1 direct out from the SCD-1.

Your praise of the Classe 50 processor is encouraging for me, as I'm trying to build a better HT system around some good solid state stuff. As I have the Classe 301 (2 channel) being delivered next week and am currently bidding on a REL Stadium II -- I'm curious to know the rest of your HT setup -- i.e. which Classe amps? I presume all the speakers are Ariels? (I'm jealous already). Did you also look at the Classe 75 processor? Please share with us your experince in this regard. Thanks, Lorne