I guess I'm confused about the "shaved 325i" hypothesis, not because I don't believe that it's a possible explanation...but just because I don't get why it matters. So John took a bunch of 325is housings, chucked them up on the lathe, turned down the outer surface, put a relief for the mahogany inner housings, glued the two together, put who knows what driver in there, etched a new model on the exterior, and put the new cable in there...so? That sounds like a new headphone to me. Or, I should say, as new as any other Grado headphone. As an owner of GS1000i's, 325is', SR80i's, and a twelve-year-old pair of SR60's, I've never felt that Grado represented "state-of-the-art" design or construction, but I've felt like the sound is state-of-the-art.
I'll bet the HF-2's sound great and I'll bet I keep my 325is' because my hypothesis is that they will have different strengths and weaknesses.
Maybe I just got soured by the endless prattle in the ALO Amphora review thread. And yes, I still like walnut
