dogears wrote:kenckn wrote:Racio wrote:(BTW, I'm getting my AT's this coming Tues from BlueTin.com. Now, if I could only find a reputable online purveyor for those gorgeous Alessandros… hmmmm)
Sir Racio, u mean u did order ATh-W5K?
Sir Ken, I think it's the EW59? The wooden portables(?).
Yep, I'm getting the ESW9 as my 2ndary cans. I can't seem to shake off my thoughts on AT's signature creamy highs and liquid smooth mids (not to mention that the ESW9 is the least dorky looking cans around. hehe). When I got me feet dipped into head-fi a few years back, I simply fell in love with their house sound, their sonic signature is very Sonus-like if you will. And with the dismal local (non)availability of those beauties, I didn't think I'll be able see a Raffinato in person, much less audition one.
Then of course thru the kind graces of Ken, when I did get to listen to them, aside from their gorgeous build quality, the 1st thing that got my jaw drop (literally!) was its soundstage, I haven't heard anything like it from any cans I've heard so far, it was deep!
It was so deep that while listening to John Legend's live version of "Ordinary People", I felt I was amongst the applauding crowd, and John was about singing his heart out a couple of meters in front of from me. It was surreal I tell yah! I think I spent a good 30mins or so just being mesmerized by this psycho-aural effect. I then switch to the W1000 and A950LTD to check if I could get the same sensation, but to my dismay, nada, not even close to sounding like it, it was if I was sitting right behind the piano beside Mr. Legend.
Well, the Raffinatos were almost the perfect cans for me, yes got that right... "almost", coz as soon as listened to Sade's "Love Is Stronger Than Pride" bass heavy passages my heart sunk. It seems that he Raffinatos doesn't only share the wood grain looks of my SF Guarneris, they share the same bass repro shortcomings. If only I could also squeeze in an SF Gravis inside the Raffinatos, I'd be such a happy camper indeed. hehe.
Moving on to Grado's RS1, I was rather enamored by its retro looks (putting them on, for a brief moment I felt like a U-boat radio man. hehe). And contrary to what has been said of those Grado wooden chambers, they don’t look like door knobs to me, I luv 'em! But man, those cans are quite aggressive. Fleshed out tones, visceral mid bass, and an extremely forward upper mids. Swapping to its twin brother, the Alessandro MSPros, though sharing the same sonic characteristics of the RS1, seemed tamer and better poised. Imaging and soundstage are better as well, not as compressed and a hint of outward distance.
But when Moises substituted the stock bowl pads on the RS1 with Senn's 414 pads, ahhhh... everything simply snugged back to its rightful place. More balanced and controlled highs, and the bass... oh the bass is even more vicious. The mids are luscious and extremely intimate, detail galore. If the Raffinatos got my jaw drooping, the Senn padded RS1 kept me grinning from ear to ear. Although not the last word on linearity, those cans are an absolute fun to listen to; dynamic, zesty and quite involving. If the AT's are akin to a scrumptuously sweet Swiss warm coco, Grados are steaming hot full robusta Arabica doppio (double-shot espressos).
The best bang for the buck award of the night definitely goes down to the Philips SHP895 with full flying colors. At only a little over Php3k, you can't get a more premium hifi performance from such an able can. Excellent built with a detachable cable socket to boot, cable rolling is a cinch, not to mention the free HP stand that comes with it, sulit!
My only regret in that whole head-fi experience is that we weren’t able to try the Senn pads on the Alessandro MSPro, but I'd bet my stars and garters they'd topple the RS1 in every respect. When Moises handed me those Stax, I was so gob-smacked how huge and vast they sounded, I forgot I was there to just focus my thoughts on the ATs and Grados. hehe. (reminder to self: pangit yung Stax, they look like my wife's hair curlers which are ugly fugly, basta pangit. repeat 3 times daily.
hahaha)
Thanks again Ken, cheers!
-Racio