Grado RS-2 Professional Headphones

Let me start by saying that I have owned 3 other pairs of Grado headphones, the SR325, SR225, and the SR80. The RS-2's are the best of the Grado's I've owned. The mahogany driver housings add a touch of warmth to the bass and mids over the aluminum housings found on the SR-325's, which I found too bright on most CD's. The RS-2's add a wonderful quality to the reproduction of string instruments, and our killer sounding on Jazz recordings with string bass. The detail's these cans can bring out of recordings is addicting! I also own a pair of Sennheiser HD-580's, and though they have deeper bass , a better soundstage, and a fuller overall presentation than the Grado's, I still prefer to do the bulk of my listening through the RS-2's. It's their clear and musical presentation which fully envelopes you. They also excel in the area of dynamics, offering a nice punchy bass and great impact to percusive sounds. They can be a bit forword in the upper-mids on some recordings, most noticeable on rock and electronic music. But that is also part of the reason they excel in reproducing such excellent detail from any time of music. Their comfort level is better than the other Grado's, which can become painful on your ears after as little as 30 minutes or so. The extreme light weight of the mahogany housings helps avoid the well known Grado discomfort caused by strong headband pressure, little to no padding on the headband, and somewhat rough feeling earpads. I can wear them for 1 to 2 hours without wanting to tear them from my noggin, unlike the other Grado's I've used.
Last but not least, the price is a bit steep at $499. I got mine for $445, bit I feel that they should be about a $100 less than they retail for. However, I don't regret the purchase at all. These are wonderful sounding headphones and if your lucky enough to have a dealer nearby that has a pair to listen to, give them a whirl. Highly recommended!!!