Congratulations. Welcome back Ryan.
Now if you REALLY want to bring them to beyond HP-1000 spec, ask Joe Grado to burn them in and tailor them to his own personal set.
I havnt really gone in-depth about my pair of Hp-2's, this thread seems like an appropriate place. Because Joseph couldn't complete my repair in the time promised (actually taking 5x the maximum discussed time), he said that with my new drivers, he would be tailoring my pair to his own personal set(s), enhancing the sound to his spec. Explaining the process he
said he would use his equipment to de-stress certain areas of the diaphragm, reducing its resistance in certain frequency ranges. A fancy word for professional burn-in? Yes most likely. I was skeptical about this process so Joseph and I went into deep conversation regarding its completion. He said that for his own pair(s) of HP-1000's, he found that using specific audio instruments (he has a lot of them), he could monitor the action and motion of the diaphragm in response to certain points of the spectrum. Some being more evident then others, he would de-stress that specific area of the diaphragm until the sound improved to his spec. A long and detailed process, but the outcome is easily notable when compared to a non-tailored/activated pair of HP-1000's. Joseph said that he can easily tell the difference between an off-the-shelf pair of HP-1000's and a pair having his special de-stressing process, things to note were deeper/wider sound-stage, pinpoint imaging, more control bass, less mid-bass glare- overall an improvement to the entire sound that is the HP-1000.
I was most pleased with Joseph going out of his way, and honoring the customer relationship. Tho, at that time i was still awaiting the pair, this special process took some time to complete on top of the lengthy original repair estimate.
When the HP-2's arrived, i plugged them into my SLAM, had my other pair of HP-2's standing by, and had a listen. My god he was right. All the qualities he had described were correct. Compared to my other pair of HP-2's, the newer HP-2i's (hehe) had a sound-stage that was so accurate, so detailed, i could clearly pick out the placement of any instrument much easier then my existing HP-2's. Imaging was mouthwatering! So precise, so detailed. There was also much less of a midrange issue, the spectrum seemed to be even more linear then the other pair (its hard to imagine an hp2 thats more linear then what they are now, but try to picture it). On the whole, everything seemed to be more refined, more precise, more perfect.
In the end, i have to give it to Joe. He took his time, yes, but my god it was worth it. Im not sure if anyone else can get this process done, or how much it will cost, or even if Joe will do it to anyone else's headphones. But it gives credit to such an audio master that Joseph Grado is, and his ability to succeed in everything he lays his hands on.
The HP-1000's will always be among the most unique headphones in existance, i doubt anything will ever come close to their signature. Ryan, im glad you've seen the light. You were goin with your RS-1's for a while and to be honest i was worried. Im selling my current RS-1's to fund a cable replacement for the HP-2i's. This pair will be with me for a while.
A proud member of team "HP-1000 forever"-
Rhydon
