Grado - RS2i - Reference Series Headphones (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

I have been enjoying these cans for a few weeks now and these are superb. The sound quality and sound stage is pretty impressive. These sound awesome on AK120 players, even Ipod and Samsung 4S. I even prefer these to the Sennheiser HD700's because the grado's sound output is a bit beefier-especially for Rock genre. No disrespect to the HD700's as these are also fine headphones-more clarity.Most of my music files are at high bitrate and some in hi resolution FLAC/AIFF. These headphones produce pretty nice bass that you can acutally feel thumping, nice highs and mid's...but overall the sound stage is pretty centered and not too much stereo separation. Pretty complete for me. These sit well between my ears and are pretty lightweight. Foam pads are nice. The cables are pretty thick and plug pretty sturdy (you will need an adapter for an ipod or 3.5 mm connection-no big deal).Aesthetically these are pretty cool!Those were the pro's and the only con's I can write about are the build quality. For $500 headphones, these feel a bit flimsy and with loose parts, though they do have a nice leather headband. I must confess that after a few hours of listening the headband feels a little tight and must relieve my eyes from the pressure-not a biggie.The 325i's actually feel more expensive and weigh more that the RS2i's. The Grado packaging is no frills and that's no issue.Overall I love these headphones, and planning on many years of enjoyment. Hope this helps anyone considering to purchase!

The best headphone I ever use!!! Especially good to listen female voice and guitars, is very well balanced in all the ranges.I use it with fiio amp and they sound amazing, more bass and sound stage.The only downside is the foam, is very hard and hurt the hears, however the sound is so great that it does not matter.

As with all the Grado Cans I have purchased I'm very pleased. The sound is plush, but very precise. I have a pair of 325i and enjoy its crisp sounds but the RS2i is worth every penny. They will handle just about anything you spin. Live concert music is astounding with the RS2s. They put you right on stage and don't fatigue a bit.

TL;DR - These are the best value in trying to see if you want the even more expensive high-end headphones. Try the SR325i's if you want a slightly less expensive foray into higher-end Grado sound. Ear cups are a little awkward but decent, headband has little cushioning.Wow. I have a pair of SR125i's, and the RS2i's sounded better out of the box than the SR125i does having put it through 80+ hours of music! One thing I have seen many audiophile sites purport is that Grado headphones with wood tend to sound the best of the lineup, and I have to say it's true! Now, these are the least expensive of the Grado line that has wood, but if you want a taste of what the high end of headphones could be, give these a try (or their bigger brother, the RS1i) and see what you think. The wood housing provides a more tactile feeling and sound than most of the cheaper Grado lineup (SR325i's an exception, having aluminum housing) and being mahogany, that becomes part of the large price differential.Sound: 5/5Like I said, before pumping hours of music through them, they sounded better than my SR125i's after 80+ hours of use (break-in/burn-in, arguable, but certain graphs showing frequency response show improvements to certain frequencies after an increasing amount of use [typically getting closer to an even level so you dont need to turn up the sound to hear the bass and sacrifice your ears to the treble] and while i didn't test this myself [no sound studio for professional test settings] it seems to hold in my listening). Now, while there is wood to enforce more tactile sound and perhaps more bass than the plastic housing of the cheaper models, there is noticeably less bass than other frequencies, but most of the headphones I have that are open tend to lack bass more than this set. And, since this is an open pair of headphones, you will hear background noise, so try to get to a silent/quiet environment before passing judgement on these. Others will hear your music/movie/game as well, so if you like to blare music or watch movies next to a sleeping loved one, these aren't for those situations.Comfort: 4.5/5People have found Grado headphones to be some of the least comfortable headphones in the market. Personally, my SR125i's are my most comfortable pair I own (Audio Technica M50S and ATH-700, Sennheiser HD 448, Grado SR125i and RS2i) with the 448 in second, and the M50S and RS2i in third. The 448 tends to get a little warm but is my favorite closed headphone to wear in terms of comfort. The M50S get even warmer, giving them third overall with the RS2i. The RS2i has interesting cups, and it is touted as the little brother to the RS1i, making it fit a bit awkwardly on my ears with stock cups (all my headphones are stock, no mods). However, I find this only minor, and usually I can find a comfortable position for them with a little trial and error. The headband isn't cushioned much, but I don't mind the minimal padding myself. If you have thinner hair or are more sensitive to headphone bands, this might detract from your comfort more than it does for me. If you want to modify your headphones in the name of comfort, then disregard my comfort aside from the headband if you don't add padding to it.Value: 4.75/5Now, at $500 these are expensive, but compared to the highest end headphones, these are relatively affordable (you could buy 3 of these plus one-day shipping for the top of the line Sennheiser or Grado) headphones that give you a taste of what you could find at the higher end. So yes, these are a great value. Perhaps I will indulge myself in the highest Grado and Sennheiser headphones after I get a decent newish car (which I hope is either before I end up married or after marrying a rich woman) and compare those against this, but if you really want to hear the Grado sound, give these a try.

We recently got a Modus F01 digital piano and wanted to have a set of headphones so one person could practice (scales or whatever) without driving everyone else nuts. The headphones sound better than the piano's speakers. And those are some damn fine speakers.I plugged them into my HTR system and played through a couple of songs. Base felt a bit muted in general but this did not detract from the sound, Confusion (The Pump Panel) sounded great. Voices in Coldplay came across nicely but it was Gigantic (The Pixies) that amazed me. Details I'd never heard before popped out of these headphones. It felt like I was live in the studio.So are these worth the price? I think only time will tell but the sound quality is amazing.

These headphones offer incredible detail and clarity. Not only that, they are very comfortable, lightweight, and look great! The build quality is very good as well. I use them on a daily basis for music production. They work great with Focusrite's VRM technology.

chose these headphone because i have used Grado phones exclusively for years. They have set the standard in the audiofile world

Absolutely fabulous open-back headphones. Excellent reproduction of sounds across the whole frequency range when driven by a competent amp.A good step up from the SR80 I used previously.

If you still listen to music with the headphone, but not in all those super noisy environments like planes, then this is the top headphone you don't want to miss. It is definitively worth the money (if you can afford it)Enjoy the world of musicS

These headphones are generally regarded as the best-in-price point. Don't believe a word of it!They are over priced with poor build quality, mediocre sound quality and they are so uncomfortable they are like having your ears sandblasted.I think because they are made by Grado everyone thinks they can't say anything bad about them. Well here goes:They are impractical! You really need a pre-amp to drive these, you can't just connect them to your ipod. Because of the open design there is A. very little bass response and B. everyone around you can hear what you are listening to and you can hear them through your music.I bought these to use in my office (I got the Little Dot MK III amp to drive them and it is amazing, buy one!) and used them once for about 20 minutes before I was asked to turn them off.After a few days of careful listening at home (in an empty room by myself where I might as well have just used my loudspeakers) I decided that they sound OK, but nothing like as good as everyone seems to be saying.If you want to use these in a quiet room to get the best out of them, you might as well spend your £600 on a pair of KEF speakers and a Cambridge audio amplifier. You will get much much better sound for your money and your ears wont feel like someone has been rubbing them with sand paper.If you want good sound on the move or in a crowded office, buy a pair of Beyerdynamic t70p headphones. These are the ones I replaced the Grado RS2i with. They are £200 cheaper and 100 times better!

Mein Gott...habe ich mich auf diesen Kopfhörer gefreut und dann...eine echte Enttäuschung: Der GRADO Reference RS 2i High End Kopfhörer konnte mich leider nicht überzeugen. Erstens: die lieblose Verpackung - selbst ein Pizzakarton hat mehr Stil. Zweitens: die Retro-Optik ist schön auf den ersten Blick, doch bei genauerer Betrachtung fallen einem der Schaumgummi (Ohrenpolster), die Plastikteile und das Plastikkabel bei einem Kopfhörer der 500 Euro kostet schon recht negativ auf. Drittens: der Klang: hier kann der GRADO Reference RS 2i High End Kopfhörer durchaus mit einem transparenten Klangbild punkten und auch die Bässe stimmen. Doch bei hohen Tonlagen (Streicher, Stimme, E-Gitarre, etc.) verzerrt der Grado erheblich. Ich habe über einen Hi-End-CD-Player von Pro-Ject in Verbindung mit der Head-Box S USB von Pro-Ject gehört und war sehr enttäuscht über den Gesamteindruck. Am Computer MAC MINI war es nicht viel besser.Fazit: Es gibt Produkte, denen noch der Ruhm von Gestern anhaftet, die sich aber selbst überlebt haben und deren Preis/Leistungsverhältnis nicht mehr gerechtfertigt ist...bei Autos würde ich den MORGAN nennen, bei Hi-End wäre es wohl MACINTOSH und bei Kopfhörern ist es eben GRADO. Selbst mein kleiner Pro-Ject-Kopfhörer Hear-It-Two hat sich bei Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique besser geschlagen, obwohl er zehn mal so günstig ist!Goodbye, GRADO Reference RS 2i High End Kopfhörer. Du wirst zurückgeschickt.