[semicoln]

Hello all,

I'm a n00b with a pair of Porta Pros and Sennheiser PX 100-IIs but I've been intrigued reading about Grado. I started looking at the SR60i but read that the SR80i has deeper bass. Since the music I listen to consists of a lot of electronic and some hip hop (also rock, especially live rock), the improved bass sounds like a reason to pick the SR-80i. I'm also thinking of switching to bowl pads right up front. I'd like to stay below $150. Should I be looking elsewhere or are the Grados worth a shot for my intended use?

 

[Focker]

Quote:

Hello all,
I'm a n00b with a pair of Porta Pros and Sennheiser PX 100-IIs but I've been intrigued reading about Grado. I started looking at the SR60i but read that the SR80i has deeper bass. Since the music I listen to consists of a lot of electronic and some hip hop (also rock, especially live rock), the improved bass sounds like a reason to pick the SR-80i. I'm also thinking of switching to bowl pads right up front. I'd like to stay below $150. Should I be looking elsewhere or are the Grados worth a shot for my intended use?

 
I'll recommend Grados to anyone I can, but if your focus is mostly electronica and hip-hop, I don't think they'll quite do it for you. Grado bass is very clean, but not much sub-bass and you won't really get a lot of "thump" with them. For live rock they would be perfect...I've re-discovered several of my live albums because the Grados just bring them to life. But I'd probably be doing you a disservice by recommending them for the type of music you prefer most. 

 

[obobskivich]

Not to be contrary, but I really enjoyed my SR-225, and regularly enjoy my RS-1, with electronica and techno, as well as the bits of hip-hop/rap that I listen to. I think that the "bassy headphone for bassy music" notion is an equation for a headache. :basshead:

That said, if you like a lot of down-low thunder, I think Grado may not be the place to look - see Gwarmi's comments about the RS-1 and PS-500 to get a deeper idea of what you're getting into.

 

[Chris_Himself]

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I suppose I should post here, owning and loving the GS1000i and I'm still contemplating getting an RS1i to get that more typical Grado sound (I listen to a lot of rock/metal, which I certainly enjoy with the GS1000i, but for those genres I find it hard to go past the classic Grado sound).
 
As it happens I do have a chance to get some brand new, still warrantied, RS2is. Do you think that would be worthwhile, going down to a cheaper set of 'classic' Grados given my use-case for them is somewhat more limited and considering I already have some other excellent headphones? Money is no issue at all, just whether the value proposition is so out of whack as to make it a better idea to get the RS2i (for reference I have the GS1000i, LCD-2, T5p, and AKG Q701 otherwise). Might be relevant to point out that I really liked the 325is on a brief audition, I know many struggle with their brightness, but a bit of brightness tends to suit me since I miss out a little in the highs (some high frequency hearing loss thanks to guitar and concerts). Didn't listen long enough to see whether the brightness would be fatiguing.

 
GS1k are the basshead RS-1's with soundstage and increased comfort.

The RS-1 is the purest Grado sound IMO because it's sound presence is still light and airy but the tone is warm and inviting with nice treble fuzz.. even at that level it's still there. It's not distortion, but it sounds like my other headphones with a nice tube amp just plugged into whatever.

The GS-1k has the same tone, but the sound delivery is dramatically different due to the large sound chamber that exists both from the headphone pads and the physical cups themselves.

 

[socks2sound]

I've got a quick question. 

So I've finally encountered the "rattle" on my grado SR60's, and low and behold, yes there was hair in the drivers. After painstakingly removing the hairs however, I've noticed this with certain songs in the bass to mid frequencies that the "rattle" persists and even makes the music from the driver go in and out. By the way, this problem only occurs with the left channel. 

I've been thinking that maybe it's a cable problem since there is a break in the cable that exposes the wires, but now I'm not too sure. Is there anything I can do to alleviate this problem or would I have to send it in to Grado to fix?

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Those are some very nice HP-1000i

 
They're NOS HP2s, but not the upgraded "i" version (no Joe Grado mods yet). I'm thinking about sending them in for the upgrades tho.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

I've got a quick question. 

So I've finally encountered the "rattle" on my grado SR60's, and low and behold, yes there was hair in the drivers. After painstakingly removing the hairs however, I've noticed this with certain songs in the bass to mid frequencies that the "rattle" persists and even makes the music from the driver go in and out. By the way, this problem only occurs with the left channel. 

I've been thinking that maybe it's a cable problem since there is a break in the cable that exposes the wires, but now I'm not too sure. Is there anything I can do to alleviate this problem or would I have to send it in to Grado to fix?

 
You probably still have hairs or a crease in the plastic film over the drivers. If it's driving you nuts, just do what I did and rip off the cloth. If anything that thing keeps the hair from coming out, not going in. With a small set of tweezers and blowing in there after the cloth is gone you can get rid of the most stubborn of hairs.
 
..I'm now realizing this sounds like a hair trimmer ad.
 
You can send it in and I don't think they really charge you anything for it. It's what happens when the drivers are that close to the head.
 
 

 
They're NOS HP2s, but not the upgraded "i" version (no Joe Grado mods yet). I'm thinking about sending them in for the upgrades tho.

 
If you're sending them in for tuning, definitely pick up a cable for them from your favorite cable guy. 
 
They do the labor in-house and stand behind their work which is really nice. I got my RS-2's recabled that way by them and the service was excellent.

 

[socks2sound]

Quote:

 
You probably still have hairs or a crease in the plastic film over the drivers. If it's driving you nuts, just do what I did and rip off the cloth. If anything that thing keeps the hair from coming out, not going in. With a small set of tweezers and blowing in there after the cloth is gone you can get rid of the most stubborn of hairs.
 
..I'm now realizing this sounds like a hair trimmer ad.
 
You can send it in and I don't think they really charge you anything for it. It's what happens when the drivers are that close to the head.
 
 
 
If you're sending them in for tuning, definitely pick up a cable for them from your favorite cable guy. 
 
They do the labor in-house and stand behind their work which is really nice. I got my RS-2's recabled that way by them and the service was excellent.

Yeah...then I'll probably have to send it in. I've already torn off the cloth over both drivers when I got them and the noise only comes from the left. I probably hit the diaphragm by accident when I took out that hair and didn't notice. :/

Does Grado fix up modded cans anyways? That rattle just bugs the hell out of me. 

List of mods:
>All holes vented
>Chambers damped with felt
>magnet damped with felt button
>cloth removed
>Rolled up socks as pads
>Manta Headband
 

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

Yeah...then I'll probably have to send it in. I've already torn off the cloth over both drivers when I got them and the noise only comes from the left. I probably hit the diaphragm by accident when I took out that hair and didn't notice. :/

Does Grado fix up modded cans anyways? That rattle just bugs the hell out of me. 

List of mods:
>All holes vented
>Chambers damped with felt
>magnet damped with felt button
>cloth removed
>Rolled up socks as pads
>Manta Headband
 

 
If it's outside of warranty they still fix anything actually.
 
Every time somebody says diaphragm I can't help thinking about the contraceptive LOL

 

[socks2sound]

Quote:

 
If it's outside of warranty they still fix anything actually.
 
Every time somebody says diaphragm I can't help thinking about the contraceptive LOL

Strangely enough, so do I. That, and Duodenum or maybe I've read way too many Deadpool comics. 

Anyways, thank you all so much for the info, I'll send it in to Grado tomorrow then. 

 

[Posam]

Quote:

Yeah...then I'll probably have to send it in. I've already torn off the cloth over both drivers when I got them and the noise only comes from the left. I probably hit the diaphragm by accident when I took out that hair and didn't notice. :/

Does Grado fix up modded cans anyways? That rattle just bugs the hell out of me. 

List of mods:
>All holes vented
>Chambers damped with felt
>magnet damped with felt button
>cloth removed
>Rolled up socks as pads
>Manta Headband
 

If you do send them in take some of the mods off if you feel like it lol.
There may have been an old tip once of blowing out the driver from the grill side but idk if that will work (or if it's bad for it).

 

[obobskivich]

If you do send them in take some of the mods off if you feel like it lol.
There may have been an old tip once of blowing out the driver from the grill side but idk if that will work (or if it's bad for it).

You can damage the diaphragm/cone/etc if you put too much pressure against it, but blowing it out may work in this scenario.

 

[Posam]

Quote:

You can damage the diaphragm/cone/etc if you put too much pressure against it, but blowing it out may work in this scenario.

Worth a try if you are gonna replace it otherwise I would imagine. 

 

[obobskivich]

Worth a try if you are gonna replace it otherwise I would imagine. 

Yeah. Just don't get too aggressive with the air pressure (e.g. don't use your shop-vac for this one).

 

[KneelJung]

NT