[vinekly]

Here’s a fantastic review of the HP-1 written at the time of its release 5/1/91, I believe). These headphones remain amongst the best imo but reading the article, it’s striking how far the headphone industry has come since this was written.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/grado-hp-1-headphones-page-3

Some excerpts:

Joe Grado's goal was to build a portable amplifier for the field recording engineer, and using a battery supply kept the size and cost within reason. His amplifier performs far better than I would ever expect, and easily outperforms any headphone jack I've encountered on tape recorders, CD players, and preamps. But I'd like to see someone manufacture a no-holds-barred, AC-powered headphone amp, which I believe is necessary if the full potential of high-performances headset such as the HP 1s is to be realized.

The Stax Lambda Pros are excellent headphones, but I believe that their performance is compromised by the dated Stax electronics. Although the Lambda Pros certainly deserve a Class A rating as headphones, the associated solid-state electronics fall far below that point. [The Stax Lambda Pro tube amplifier should be regarded as mandatory to drive these headphones.—Ed.] In fact, I wouldn't rate the ED-1 equalizer or the SRM-1 Mk.II amplifier higher than Class C, with the amplifier toward the high end of that category, since I believe it fares a bit better than the equalizer. Given a choice between the Stax Lambda Pro/SRM-1 Mk.II/ED-1 as a headphone system, and the Grado HP 1 with a high-performance amplifier, I would have to opt for the Grados primarily because of their lower sonic coloration, slightly more extended bass, more spacious sound, and superior dynamics. The virtues of the Grado system, for me, outweigh the slight improvement in detail and high-frequency extension offered by the Lambda Pros. In fact, the superb detail and extended highs of the Stax headphones only magnify the deficiencies in the electronics. If the Stax were powered by electronics worthy of a Class A rating, it might be a different matter.
Read more at https://www.stereophile.com/content/grado-hp-1-headphones-page-3#8ZwKE8FtyhqY4GOy.99

 

[vinekly]

Just got a pair tonight. So happyThey are dead neutral, extremely transparent, tight, and shockingly euphonious. They were tough to find...

 

[vinekly]

Joe Grado seemed to really want to push the boundaries and innovate whereas Now the company stresses heritage and wood. I’d Love to see some Joe Grado heritage releases (e.g. reproductions, as opposed to the GH1). Love those headphones though

 

[cathee]

Just to hop on the bandwagon...

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

Here are 2 RS2e... 2014 was just 4 years ago and Grado has already moved on to a new packaging. I still wish they had kept the pizza box. It was truly special to me.

(The one on the right belongs to my friend and has the dreaded Grattle problems. I’m going to take it to the US and send it to Grado for driver replacement. But I already felt in love with it and bought the one on the left for myself)

 

[clundbe]

Hi. What kind of pads would be best for Hp1000? Are the ttvj flat pads simular to the original once?

 

[jaywillin]

Here are 2 RS2e... 2014 was just 4 years ago and Grado has already moved on to a new packaging. I still wish they had kept the pizza box. It was truly special to me.

(The one on the right belongs to my friend and has the dreaded Grattle problems. I’m going to take it to the US and send it to Grado for driver replacement. But I already felt in love with it and bought the one on the left for myself)

I liked the pizza box too, I think it added to the unique image

 

[dwinnert]

I liked the pizza box too, I think it added to the unique image

What does the pizza box look like? I get broken and random images when I do a search.

 

[jaywillin]

 

[dwinnert]

Thanks! I still have mine for my SR80i's......was not sure.

 

[cathee]

Hi. What kind of pads would be best for Hp1000? Are the ttvj flat pads simular to the original once?

The TTVJ flats are definitely the closest to the originals, though there are minor differences in shape, sound-wise I don't think my ears can tell the difference.

 

[wormsdriver]

Here are 2 RS2e... 2014 was just 4 years ago and Grado has already moved on to a new packaging. I still wish they had kept the pizza box. It was truly special to me.

(The one on the right belongs to my friend and has the dreaded Grattle problems. I’m going to take it to the US and send it to Grado for driver replacement. But I already felt in love with it and bought the one on the left for myself)

@WilliamLeonhart have you or your friend tried to fix the grattle? My classic Rs1 had the Grattle on one side and I was able to get rid of it. I had tried other things but what finally worked for me was grabbing the cup with the faulty driver and firmly whacking it once on the palm of my other hand and whatever had been lodged in there for a few months became dislodged and the grattle went away.

 

[WilliamLeonhart]

This box was used for lower-priced models. The one for RS and PS models looked a bit more sturdy, though still leagues behind more "professional" packaging from Sennheiser or Audio Technica.
Still, what an era it was.

@WilliamLeonhart have you or your friend tried to fix the grattle? My classic Rs1 had the Grattle on one side and I was able to get rid of it. I had tried other things but what finally worked for me was grabbing the cup with the faulty driver and firmly whacking it once on the palm of my other hand and whatever had been lodged in there for a few months became dislodged and the grattle went away.

I did. I also tried the famed "Blow the Driver" method (not Brazzer™) but it was no use. Years ago my 325is also suffered from the same thing, no thing to do except for sending it to Grado for driver replacement.

 

[wormsdriver]

This box was used for lower-priced models. The one for RS and PS models looked a bit more sturdy, though still leagues behind more "professional" packaging from Sennheiser or Audio Technica.
Still, what an era it was.

I did. I also tried the famed "Blow the Driver" method (not Brazzer™) but it was no use. Years ago my 325is also suffered from the same thing, no thing to do except for sending it to Grado for driver replacement.

It really is it a great thing Grado services their headphones no matter how old they are or how messed up some of them make their way back to Brooklyn.
BTW, I like your new avatar!

 

[DavidA]

It really is it a great thing Grado services their headphones no matter how old they are or how messed up some of them make their way back to Brooklyn.
BTW, I like your new avatar!

The only issue is they have to be sent from somewhere in the US while those outside of the US are usually dealing with authorized dealers which some have found to be quite bad.