[ParaLoganGrado]

Nice thought; here is the Link

I'm not looking for a divorce just yet...

 

[kvtaco17]

Just an FYI to you fine folks here, I listed my GS1000 and rs1e for sale on here... They are early versions and need a new home.

 

[tlainhart]

Where did everyone go??

Reading this review?

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/grado-gs3000e

 

[ParaLoganGrado]

Reading this review?

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/grado-gs3000e

What the hell -- the reviewer complained that an open back headphone leaks sound. That's like someone reviewing "cars" and complains that the truck they're reviewing is too high off the ground.

 

[zazex]

What the hell -- the reviewer complained that an open back headphone leaks sound. That's like someone reviewing "cars" and complains that the truck they're reviewing is too high off the ground.

I see that in almost every review I read of open headphones -

Also, though, there are still plenty of headphone "rookies"
who don't know anything about open headphones, since
closed ruled the roost for so many years

and so perhaps the mass market reviewers and others want to
sort of "warn" them about this when/if they buy a set
of open headphones, regardless of the brand

 

[Gippy]

Replaced my iFi Micro iDSD Black Label ($600) with a Topping D90 DAC ($700) and an iFi Pro iCAN ($1800), which will be my endgame rig. The GS3000e had some hiss at a moderately loud volume with the iDSD BL. With the Pro iCAN, it's silent unless I turn it up to dangerous levels. Still, I wonder if the remaining hiss could be removed by converting my GS3000e cable from 1/4" to 4-pin XLR. Perhaps it's worth a shot...

 

[joeq70]

Grado GH2 with "sunflower" pads are mids monsters...simply glorious.

 

[ParaLoganGrado]

Replaced my iFi Micro iDSD Black Label ($600) with a Topping D90 DAC ($700) and an iFi Pro iCAN ($1800), which will be my endgame rig. The GS3000e had some hiss at a moderately loud volume with the iDSD BL. With the Pro iCAN, it's silent unless I turn it up to dangerous levels. Still, I wonder if the remaining hiss could be removed by converting my GS3000e cable from 1/4" to 4-pin XLR. Perhaps it's worth a shot...

Congrats on the gear upgrade, the iCAN looks like a hell of an amp! Relatively new to headphone gear myself, but experienced with electronics and hifi gear. Balanced outputs on a short (~10ft or less?) cable to headphones / speakers won't improve the noise to you headphones themselves at any perceptible levels (of course you do get more voltage / power to them, though). The only way it would make a difference in the hissing / background noise would be if the output circuitry in the amplifier is actually quieter running balanced vs SE. Balanced makes a difference in line level signals because they're low voltage / higher impedance and then get amplified, which in turn amplifies any noise picked up by the cable. But since the output from the amp is much higher voltage than any induced noise (EMF or RFI) it shouldn't be audible.

A couple things to try would be to adjust the gain switch on the amp to the lowest setting (I think the product page said it has 3 settings?) and see how that sounds, going up incrimentally until you hear the noise. Another thing to try is to check your interconnects between the DAC and Amp. If it's a longer cable than it needs to be, is running near a noisy switching power supply or even modem/router, or is poorly shielded you might be getting noise there.

Hope you get it all cleared up! All that gear is beautiful and I hope to hear the GS3K someday. Gonna have to wait a while till the kids grow up haha. Maybe by then I'll have a dedicated listening room for my stereo system, too!

 

[Gippy]

Balanced outputs on a short (~10ft or less?) cable to headphones / speakers won't improve the noise to you headphones themselves at any perceptible levels (of course you do get more voltage / power to them, though). The only way it would make a difference in the hissing / background noise would be if the output circuitry in the amplifier is actually quieter running balanced vs SE. Balanced makes a difference in line level signals because they're low voltage / higher impedance and then get amplified, which in turn amplifies any noise picked up by the cable. But since the output from the amp is much higher voltage than any induced noise (EMF or RFI) it shouldn't be audible.

The D90 DAC is dead silent, as I don't hear any hiss when I plug it into the Micro iDSD BL in battery mode. (If the Micro iDSD BL is in USB mode, there's a significant amount of USB power noise.) So I ruled that out. The XLR interconnects are only 1.5 ft; the D90 and Pro iCAN are side by side. The Pro iCAN is already at 0dB gain, but I just want to be able to turn the volume dial all the way without hearing any sort of noise whatsoever. So I'm thinking that the SE implementation of the Pro iCAN isn't the best, and that it's better off to just use the balanced headphone out.

The low impedance and lower sensitivity of Grados compared to IEMs makes them a little tricky to amp properly.

Hope you get it all cleared up! All that gear is beautiful and I hope to hear the GS3K someday. Gonna have to wait a while till the kids grow up haha. Maybe by then I'll have a dedicated listening room for my stereo system, too!

The total cost of my rig (GS3000e+D90+Pro iCAN, $1800+700+1800=$4300 USD) is still less than the MSRP of the Abyss AB1266 or Stax SR009S or Sonorous X. I think I struck a fair balance between budget and sheer insanity, especially by going with the D90 over the Pro iDSD.

 

[paulybatz]

Whoa!!

Wild
Setup

Pics?

The D90 DAC is dead silent, as I don't hear any hiss when I plug it into the Micro iDSD BL in battery mode. (If the Micro iDSD BL is in USB mode, there's a significant amount of USB power noise.) So I ruled that out. The XLR interconnects are only 1.5 ft; the D90 and Pro iCAN are side by side. The Pro iCAN is already at 0dB gain, but I just want to be able to turn the volume dial all the way without hearing any sort of noise whatsoever. So I'm thinking that the SE implementation of the Pro iCAN isn't the best, and that it's better off to just use the balanced headphone out.

The low impedance and lower sensitivity of Grados compared to IEMs makes them a little tricky to amp properly.



The total cost of my rig (GS3000e+D90+Pro iCAN, $1800+700+1800=$4300 USD) is still less than the MSRP of the Abyss AB1266 or Stax SR009S or Sonorous X. I think I struck a fair balance between budget and sheer insanity, especially by going with the D90 over the Pro iDSD.

 

[Gippy]

Wanted to hold off on the pic until today, because today I got my GS3000e balanced! (Cups are the same color, the lighting just makes it look different)

EDIT: Impressions after a few days -- When I first got the Topping D90 DAC and iFi Pro iCAN amp, I heard a faint hissing when the volume was past the halfway point. So I did two things:

• Changed input from USB to optical. The USB input has issues.
• Re-terminated my GS3000e from 1/4" to XLR4 using Neutrik NC4MXX-B and NC4FXX-B connectors. No heatshrink needed, as the flagship 12-conductor cable is fat enough to support the connectors by itself. As a bonus, 1 foot of cable was chopped off to create an XLR4 to 1/4" adapter in case I ever need to plug this into another single-ended amp.

Now there's no hissing even when I turn the volume knob all the way to the end! Balancing headphones absolutely makes a difference. The 3D 90/60+ mode on the Pro iCAN seems a bit wider when balanced, too! It's a nice improvement over my old iFi Micro iDSD Black Label, which didn't have enough power to drive the GS3000e to its full potential. (Using higher gain settings resulted in hissing and a bit of a drop in clarity. But the Pro iCAN is powerful enough to drive the GS3000e with its gain setting at 0.)

 

[blackgreen15]

So this year has been pretty good for me professionally, and I ended up getting some ps2000e's that I have wanted since I heard my first Grado's about 5 years ago. They were honestly everything I could have hoped for, and more. I had started off my quest into good sound with some Beyer T1's, then got some Fostex TH900Mk2's that I really liked. Then got some LCD i4's which were so awesome I sold the Fostex because they were gathering dust. The ps2000e's are like 10x better. That's my extremely subjective opinion after having everything completely broken in and listening A-B for a while. So much more that I like about the Grado's, they just kill it.

Then I had to have these, mainly because of some reviews I read that just sounded so interesting. I figured they would be kind of niche. And as stock, they really were. Really amazing for something like Aldous Harding or Neil Young. A bit lacking in anything that was more bass-centric and/or heavy. Then I got these Beautiful Audio G cushions. Bam. They are neck-in-neck with the 2000e's now. The new pads seemed to add bass and smoothness without taking away any of the outrageous top end. They are just so good, plus super light and comfortable. Just a little bit ago, I thought I would pull out the i4's. That lasted about 3 songs.

 

[zazex]

I think you're the first person to say the 325's have muddy highs lol. I always thought the 325s were the harshest in the treble region!

@ParaLoganGrado -

I think that @AndyBurns was referring to the highs in the RS1e rather than the SR325.
Says that he upgraded from the 325 to the RS1e, was disappointed in the sound
(muddy highs, etc.) so returned them for the RS2e which he says he likes more
(than the 1e).

[If I've got this wrong, pls let me know - but this is the way it seems to read.
and, with that, it seems again that the 1e still has the same perceived issues
with the highs that it had since its introduction a few years back.]

 

[Shane D]

I am back in my Grado GH2's after a long break (I just spent 21 straight days listening to my new Focal Elex's with all my amps).

I have been curious for a long time about tube amps. Since most of my headphones are of the very efficient variety, I decided hybrid tube amps were the way for me to go. That path did not end well.

I did lots of research on low impedance tube amps. I actually narrowed it down to:
1) Mapletree Audio Design and their Ear+ HDII
And
2) Hagerman Audio with the Tuba.

I ended up choosing the Ear+ for two reasons: I really like the idea of buying Canadian and it was $200.00 cheaper.

I have pics and brief impressions on that thread as I just started using it today.

For the weekend I will only be using the Grado's. The vocals are Amazing and the guitars, horns, etc. all sound great and separate.

This amp is not thick and bassy. It is clear and clean and I now understand the description "airy".

I am very curious to try my other 'phones, but this combo is Really working me. My biggest fear with this large (for me) purchase was that it would sound like all my other amps. It definitely does NOT!

Shane D

 

[TooFrank]

I am back in my Grado GH2's after a long break (I just spent 21 straight days listening to my new Focal Elex's with all my amps).

I have been curious for a long time about tube amps. Since most of my headphones are of the very efficient variety, I decided hybrid tube amps were the way for me to go. That path did not end well.

I did lots of research on low impedance tube amps. I actually narrowed it down to:
1) Mapletree Audio Design and their Ear+ HDII
And
2) Hagerman Audio with the Tuba.

I ended up choosing the Ear+ for two reasons: I really like the idea of buying Canadian and it was $200.00 cheaper.

I have pics and brief impressions on that thread as I just started using it today.

For the weekend I will only be using the Grado's. The vocals are Amazing and the guitars, horns, etc. all sound great and separate.

This amp is not thick and bassy. It is clear and clean and I now understand the description "airy".

I am very curious to try my other 'phones, but this combo is Really working me. My biggest fear with this large (for me) purchase was that it would sound like all my other amps. It definitely does NOT!

Shane D

I hope you will have a wonderful weekend You are always on the search of something better sounding. I am somewhat slower, and you are my reference for comparisons with for example GH2s....