Still upset I missed out on those $205 RS-1's.

It happened long ago. The RS-1 used to be routinely found used for under $400 (over the years I bought four at that pricing, some for friends). Try finding that deal now.

Yeah I know I should have bought one at $400 when I joined Headfi. SR-60 to RS-1 and I probably would have never come back.

On the "other" HP forum, some dude just received a redesigned RS-1 that looks alot better than the shitty "Crado" RS-2 and RS-1 shown before...

Click on pic to make it bigger...

IMO, the finish and woodworking looks about as good as I've seen for a woody Grado. The lacquering looks nice and shiny and I don't even see any splintered wood edges. However, it will be interesting to see if this nice unit is the norm or the exception. It's still inexcusable that Grado even released the two poorly made units shown before.

The button-less look is not all that bad, although I still prefer older version's buttons, darker finish, as well as the older "Garamond" lettering font.

No Button > Button

New Font < Old Font

The quality issue remains up in the air, so far your chances of getting a good looking example are 50/50 but clearly we need a larger sample size.

I just can't figure out how they don't get enough lacqer on there to fill in all the end grain that shows up as pitting on the face. It takes an extra step of sanding and re-applying clear and it's gone, and the cups look much better for it. :shrug:

That said, the font doesn't bother me, and I too prefer the buttonless look.

I just can't figure out how they don't get enough lacqer on there to fill in all the end grain that shows up as pitting on the face. It takes an extra step of sanding and re-applying clear and it's gone, and the cups look much better for it. :shrug:

Actually, all it took on my 325s was multiple thin coats to give a nice, smooth, uniform finish. I'm with Reks, it's purely a function of lazy that they turn out like they do. Idiots keep buying them so who can blame Grado for maintaining the same crappy standard?

It happened long ago. The RS-1 used to be routinely found used for under $400 (over the years I bought four at that pricing, some for friends). Try finding that deal now.

IIRC, my last pair was bought at $400, and I think I sold them at that price, too. Argh.

IIRC, my last pair was bought at $400, and I think I sold them at that price, too. Argh.

I paid $445 for my pair, and I just bought them this past spring. But a couple months after the purchase the left driver blew, so I had to pay $100 to have that replaced. So effectively I paid $545.