I have a pair of wooden MS1's which I find incredible for listening to electric guitar rock. I tried a pair of RS2is but they didn't accurately portray the tone of the guitar (IMO.)

So what would be next to try as an upgrade: HF2's, RS1's, or MS-pros ?

The HF2's. I have the RS1's and tried the other two multiple times. The HF2 just portrays electric guitars with more crunch and liquidity that the other two don't quite reach.

Thankyou.

Recieved the HF-2's and you were right, perfect for guitar rock. Anyone else preferring these to the RS series?

I would believe a great deal of people do. The sound is well worth the asking price IMO. I found them to be more forward (if not slightly more diffuse in the midrange) than my RS1, so they really are great for guitar rock whilst I prefer the RS1 for smooth jazz and female vocals.

I wish I didn't have to cancel my hf2 order, I've heard so many good things about these headphones.

They do come up for sale once in awhile..

yeah, they do, but not for my budget. I'm still a little light in the wallet after my bike accident.

Might as well go Stax, SR-001 Mk2 may suit your needs unless you're not a fan of sticking things in your ears. From all accounts it's the opposite of thin sounding, which I don't know if you'd like.

Sorry, but every time I think of Grado headphones I just shake my head.

Why?

The cheap construction of the headphones, prices, QC, the ridiculous frequency response graphs of the GS1000 and PS1000, the fact that most of them use the same drivers but "tweaked", some of the people that own them, the whole vintage sounds better than new which makes the market prices crazy, people taking advantage of the HF1 and HF2, to list some of them.

Recieved the HF-2's and you were right, perfect for guitar rock. Anyone else preferring these to the RS series?

I don't. The RS-1 still has more resolution and a better soundstage. The HF-2 is more neutral, but if I wanted neutral I'd just get an HP-2 which is even more dead neutral with better resolution and a far better soundstage. Don't get me wrong, the HF-2 is good, but it just doesn't meet my needs.

The cheap construction of the headphones, prices, QC, the ridiculous frequency response graphs of the GS1000 and PS1000, the fact that most of them use the same drivers but "tweaked", some of the people that own them, the whole vintage sounds better than new which makes the market prices crazy, people taking advantage of the HF1 and HF2, to list some of them.

freq response of grados change depending on how you put them on your head. If you follow the Meier Audio method, the grado highs are almost complete gone, leaving you with a more neutral sound.

freq response of grados change depending on how you put them on your head. If you follow the Meier Audio method, the grado highs are almost complete gone, leaving you with a more neutral sound.

I LOL'd

re: Grado differences

I just listened to "The Best of the Corrs" last night on my home system, which I had listened to twice in a row on my portable CD player. It was just for fun, because I wasn't expecting much difference on a pop recording. Big mistake.

The difference in the amount of detail and richness on the HP-2s was huge... instrument separation, soundstage, and timing were all improved. Unfortunately... the first tracks on the collection were pronounced in their "plasticky" sound - all the voices and instruments sound very compressed and sterile in the studio recordings, and it is particularly obvious in the synthesized instruments. There is a complete lack of ambiance and acoustics, which emphasizes the pop radio intention of the tracks.

By the middle of the CD, reality starts to creep in. I don't know if they switched producers, equipment or engineers, but there is a much more live sound in their subsequent recordings. The conclusion to this experiment: the high end Grados can certainly get you farther, but you need a good recording to enjoy the music. My home system ruthlessly revealed the problems with the disc, where I had never noticed any before... to the point of making the music hard to enjoy. The portable system is much more forgiving (or fuzzimifying) with bad recordings.

I can tell you that, IMO, the GS1000s thoroughly suck for electric guitar.

I found the RS-1s and the HF-2s to be very similar. I listened to both of them out of a MAD amp; but the HF-2s are more forward sounding, with better bass, and smoother highs. I love mine

The GS1000s thoroughly suck for electric guitarverything.

Fixed.

PS1>>Vintage RS1>>HP2>>>>>>>>>>>>>>RS1>>HF2>>HF1

That's my take on things from the ones that I've owned.

I got a deal on a pair of MS-Pros that I couldn't pass up and I think I like them better than the HF2, probably because they do well with flats and the HF2s don't.