Grado PS500 Professional Series On-ear Headphone

Grado PS500 Professional Series On-ear Headphone

• Vented diaphragm
• Hybrid air chamber
• UHPLC copper voice coil wire
• UHPLC copper connecting cord

Description

Grado releases the little brother of their state-of-the-art PS 1000 Headphones, using trickle-down technology to cut the price by two-thirds, while retaining much of the performance! Also made in America, the new PS 500s are Grado`s second offering in their Professional Series line, designed both for the audiophile and recording engineer who value neutrality and high definition over all other design goals. They are an open air design, as are all high end Grado`s, and are very light and comfortable. At an MSRP of $595, they are an extraordinary value, and fully appropriate for both reference and critical listening. In the category of musical neutrality for the picky audiophile and the demanding recording engineer, the PS 500s are unsurpassed at this price point.

Grado achieved this minor miracle by applying the lessons learned in constructing the wondrous PS 1000s. While still using mahogany to cover the motors, they added aluminum shells to double dampen the housing and kill vibrations. This sandwich design creates the most neutral performance under $600. The large diaphragms contain rare earth metals, including gold wire for maximum definition. The connecting cable is Grado`s newest formula, with some fifteen wires enclosed in a proprietary shell. By being American made, they save big bucks from having to import phones from China and can, instead, bulk up on the technology. The PS 500s are available now as you read this review.

Compared to the Grado PS 1000
For one-third the price you will get two-thirds of the performance. This is my kind of math! Sure, the PS 1000s are the most detailed cans I know of, and are every bit as nuanced as the Stax Omega Electrostats. Plugged into my E.A.R. HP4 Tube Headphone Amplifier, the 1000s are all about detail, nuance, air, and realism to the max. Replace them with the PS 500s, and you hear a majority of all the goodness of the 1000s, without added spurious coloration or noise typical of other designs that are compromised to a price point.

Listening to Dialoghi (a new pressing from Germany) from Yarlung Records of Los Angeles, CD 78876, you will detect nary a lump or bump in the frequency fabric with the 500s, while the textures of the Steinway and cello ring most true. This CD is so good and the 500s so neutral that you will think you are hearing a master tape of the actual performance. Yes, you will hear the artists breathing and humming, the floor creaking, and the box of the cello vibrating all in concert with the music. I love the pop and jump of their big dynamic range. It`s all there. You won`t know there`s better unless you have a pair of 1000s handy for a quick comparison.

The sense of neutrality and lack of any unnecessary coloration or artificial warmth with the 500s is every bit as convincing as the 1000s. You will not be disappointed when monitoring that you are missing something acoustic that may hurt the final production of the master. Audiophiles will love the truthfulness and tunefulness of these cans and feel, finally, that they have a truly 21st Century design that communicates the real thing, similar to current audiophile loudspeakers in the over $20,000 price range.