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We live in an apartment, and we have very low water pressure.
One of the shower heads I was looking at was the Speakman S-2252-E2 shower head, but I just noticed that it's available in 1.75 GPM, 2.0 GPM, 2.5 GPM.
In terms of the water pressure, Is there a benefit in buying one over the other? Or better yet, is it possible that (after removing the flow restrictor) one shower head had better pressure than the others?
The 2.5GM shower head will provide you with better flow (but will cost more in water and water heating) - and could also cause lower pressure elsewhere while the shower is running.
Removing flow restrictors will likewise increase the flow of water and feel more powerful.
It is possible for lower flow heads to perform better then might be expected due to the venturi effect and mixing air with the water, but I expect that if you have low pressure this will not help you.
If you are purchasing a new head in a bid to fix your low pressure issue, might I suggest removing the flow restrictor first - if that fixes your problems, go with a lower GPM head to save water (because the pressure will be there), otherwise get a booster pump.
It depends on your plumbing, if you have thin pipes but decent 'static' pressure (> 3 bar) a flow restrictor is wahat you need, because you don't want to exceed the maximum amount of water thin pipes can carry.
If you have big pipes but low pressure you have to remove flow restrictors to allow more water to come.
If you have an 'open vent' system (big-pipes low pressure) you may want to get a so called power-shower: a little pump that increase pressure when showering.
