[Shane D]

Red Oak

I can see it as white oak, but I never would have thought red oak.

Shane D

 

[DavidA]

Does Grado have a way of ungluing the drivers? I’m curious about how they repair their wooden headphones.

There are a few ways to take out a driver from wood cups, I've used vinegar and thin craft knife blade, takes a bit of time but minimal damage to cups or drivers.
Here are my RS2e drivers removed:

I also refinished the cups since they were a bit dried out as you can see in the second image with shows the refinished and before refinishing.

 

[elira]

There are a few ways to take out a driver from wood cups, I've used vinegar and thin craft knife blade, takes a bit of time but minimal damage to cups or drivers.
Here are my RS2e drivers removed:

I also refinished the cups since they were a bit dried out as you can see in the second image with shows the refinished and before refinishing.

Nice work! Thanks for the info.

 

[DavidA]

Nice work! Thanks for the info.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that all my Grado/clones have SMC jacks so the cables are removeable and easily changed and dynamat has been added in the cups and on the back of drivers. Also, as much as I like my RS2e it get little use these days since I've found I prefer the Nhoord Red V2 + ansagna wood cup (slightly better bass and imaging/soundstage and not quite as bright as RS2e) and Ypsilon R1 (better bass, treble, imaging and soundstage than RS2e, PS500, PS5000e, RS2e, RS1e, GS1000e, PS1000 and GS2000e). Please take that these are my preferences and that of a few other friends who own the other Grados that were compared only.

 

[XLR8]

So much wood on display today.

 

[marca56]

These are my new custom Grado-like headphones. They use all the Shipibo Audio mods and Turbulent drivers. I requested a single sided removable 3.5mm female connector so I could easily replace the cable or add something like a V-Moda boom mic. I used EarZonk L-Pads. They sound awesome and feel great.

 

[Amish]

I can see it as white oak, but I never would have thought red oak.

Shane D

Yeah...red oak doesn't actually look red. Maybe a hint in the grain but very light. I'm glad they used a hard wood this time. I think it was a great choice instead of pine.

 

[AudioDwebe]

Mine arrived a day early. Saw this tiny Fedex package at my door. By the size of the box, I was wondering what I'd ordered.

Looked to make sure it was addressed to me (it was) and looked to see where it came from. Was surprised "Grado" was listed as the sender. No double-box for these, I guess, which surprised me a bit. I'm certain had I sent a pair of used cans to anyone on these forums in this manner I'd get negative feedback.

The cans arrived unblemished.

The cable has a nice, sturdy feel and is terminated in a 1/8" plug. Grado provides a snap in 1/8" to 1/4" adapter. I would have preferred the screw-in type.

I was listening to the RS1i through a Cambridge Audio 840c CDP connected to a RSA Apache before swapping to the HF3's. The HF3's are easier to drive and the volume had to be turned down a bit to match the RS1i's. Maybe these are geared toward (trans)portable use?

The HF3's appear to have a larger headstage and I'm sure with proper burn-in they'll mellow out nicely. They seem a bit "shouty" and I get a sense of the cans being a bit"in your face" straight out the box. The RS1i's sounded relaxed and rich after a short time with the new cans.

Oh, and you can smell the wood varnish smell from the cups. I'm sure that'll disappear in a day or two.

They look great and sound pretty good. I suspect they'll level out at a sound quality between the RS1's and the PS1000's, which would be a great accomplishment at their price point.

 

[wormsdriver]

Does Grado have a way of ungluing the drivers? I’m curious about how they repair their wooden headphones.

yes

 

[fleasbaby]

Very neutral colour. What kind of wood?

Shane D

With school starting up this week, I won't be able to give a proper impression until Saturday, but I will try to post some first impressions tonight.



No idea haha. I wish I knew.



Would you like white fabric pointing up or down?(I.E should the wood cups be facing up or facing down)

Red Oak

Rich Grado informed me today (after I pestered him) that mine should ship by end of week. Can't wait!

Yeah, was going to say Red Oak. Its interesting they went with that. I have a bunch in my workshop. Its great stuff, but I've never seen it used in cups.

 

[Amish]

My HF3 shipped today. Will have it on Thursday if all goes well.

 

[tlainhart]

Ok so Grado are only charging these huge shipping fee's for the HF3. any other headphone I put in the cart offers normal shipping fees that I would expect. So yeah...go figure.

I would suspect a bug on the web page first.

 

[ProzacMessiah]

AudioDwebe, those are obvious fakes. The correct spelling is Head-F1.

 

[Amish]

I would suspect a bug on the web page first.

Well if it is a bug it's been that way since the HF3 went up for sale. I sent an email to Grado for their response. I'll see what they say.

/edit Rich Grado responded to me. Still not 100% sure why the shipping charges are so high but I feel good about getting my headphones in two days so I won't think on it further.

 

[Audio Addict]

I also received a shipping notice today. I didn't ask for any express shipping so we will see how long FEDEX ground takes.

Their new packages still do not look very good compared to other manufacturers.

I will add this to my collection as I have the other 2.