I have always wanted to eventually pick up a pair of Joe Grado HP1000s. However lately I have seen a surprisingly high number for sale lately in almost perfect condition. In the past three months I have seen about eight to ten sets for sale on ebay (always a little suspicious of stuff on here), at least five sets on audiogon, and two sets on here. I am not really concerned about the sets thrown up on head-fi but the fifteen sets on the other sites with no signs of wear is somewhat concerning especially when dealing with a rare high priced set of headphones like these. Usually I would see a set on one sight every month or two in varying condition and definite signs of wear. Has anyone come across a fake set of HP-1000s before and is it even realistic to counterfeit these. They do look labor intensive to fake and even 15 sets doesn't seem worth it.
I have always wanted to eventually pick up a pair of Joe Grado HP1000s. However lately I have seen a surprisingly high number for sale lately in almost perfect condition. In the past three months I have seen about eight to ten sets for sale on ebay (always a little suspicious of stuff on here), at least five sets on audiogon, and two sets on here. I am not really concerned about the sets thrown up on head-fi but the fifteen sets on the other sites with no signs of wear is somewhat concerning especially when dealing with a rare high priced set of headphones like these. Usually I would see a set on one sight every month or two in varying condition and definite signs of wear. Has anyone come across a fake set of HP-1000s before and is it even realistic to counterfeit these. They do look labor intensive to fake and even 15 sets doesn't seem worth it.
Where did you see these HP1000s? I didn't notice that many pairs for sale in either Audiogon or Ebay in the last few months- although I visit those two sites everyday.
well, i just purchased a pair of hp-2s off of audiogon, but before doing so, spoke at length, and more than once, with the seller, who told me he was the original owner. i believe him, and, based on our long series of chats, he does sound like an avid hobbyist. we must have talked at least an hour, and more than once. the seller seems like a very nice sincere guy. he told me that he purchased the cans new from a dealer in l.a., back in 1994 when he was still an undergraduate in college, fresh in the us from asia, and used them for about 20 hours max - bought the 325s at the same time. he told me that he frankly was afraid to use them much, as they're very expensive, and also, that he is more into classical music and that they weren't really his cup of tea. hence, the cans sat around for the last 17 years or so, protected from dust, etc., in his drawer. this makes sense to me (unfortunately some of my cans are doing the exact same thing now )
anyway, the seller told me the original pads disintegrated, and that he replaced them. (i ordered a couple of flats from ttvj today) - based on the above, i find it hard to believe, after such a lengthy and very nice series of chats, talking about our gear, etc., at length (he was also very solicitous about packing them and getting me the ups tracking number, etc.) that he is anything but honest. i will be receiving them monday or tuesday next week, but per the seller, they are so unused and new in shape that they are probably not even broken in yet. (he even tried them out for me when i asked him to do so today, just to be sure they're working okay, as the last time he tried them was about two years ago, and he did not pressure me to purchase the cans, and even suggested they may not be for me if i'm mainly into classical music.)
in short, i feel pretty confident this is the real mccoy (unfortunately, he doesn't have the original cardboard box, which is stored at his ex-wife's house down the road from him, which understandably he has no desire to go over there and find). he also, by the way, told me about his current business (the business's name is listed on his emails too). in any case, i paid via paypal (he's even paying the paypal charge) and i paid via my visa card, so i should be protected in the (i believe) very unlikely event something goes wrong. so, assuming the item is as pictured/photographed on audiogon, i would say that this is one offer that is fully legit.
for what it's worth, it does seem like it would be a real pain, as others have noted, to do a fake joe grado hp-1000. our hobby and the potential market for these kinds of cans is simply too limited/obscure - so i think - to make it worthwhile to go through the trouble of doing so (or removing the original drivers and sticking in lesser ones)....
Sorry I disappeared from my own thread. I was without internet for a couple days and disappeared from the world.
Well I checked ebay and audiogon and all the auctions were either over or gone. I think I'm gonna go with y'all on this one and say it was a fluke for this many to pop up in the past few months and it does seem like a lot of work to fake these headphones. There are a lot of other and easier ways to scam people. Thanks for the input and congrats 563 on an awesome set of cans.
Congrats 563! The seller of those are in my area. They definitely look like the real deal and the condition is perfect. Please update us when they come in.
Good choice and congrats on getting a stellar pair. The HP1000 are my favorite Grados. If you do not like the HPs with flats or bowl, make sure to try the modded bowl version by pushing the inner circular foam back behind the edge of the metal cover of the driver so that thee opening becomes larger. It'll open up the soundstage a bit and the bass becomes less bloated. IMO, a more balance sounding HP1000 than if used with flats.
Those pair on Audiogon looked really sweet, it is very tough to find a set in such nice condition with all the lettering intact.
Just a quick note, the lettering is easily wiped off, sets like this with it 100% are indeed rare.
I'm sure that you will greatly enjoy them, they are very special phones.
P.S It is actually a very good thing that they were not stored in their original box all these years as the intenal blue foam would have disintegrated long ago and that would have had quite a negative affect on the drivers.
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