[Philimon]

Oh yeah...forgot about that. You are right. The plastic gimbals to cover the full circumstance from RS1 or 2 up. but you would think there would be more.
Anyways, I don't have any gripe against Grado. . Just what I tend to hear and observe from others.

Back to the Hemp. I find the balance between bass and treble ratio a little troubling. I find the bass a little too much. Makes the sound slightly too warm and slow for me. It lacks the fast snappy, punchy midbass of older grados. Also because the bass ratio is higher to the treble ratio, it lacks the treble air. There isn't that treble airiness to surround the mids that breathes air and space in the music and sound. It sounds congested, slow and heavy and not open and airy. Hmm....

Try some alternate pads.:

Or it could be the Hemp is just not as snappy or resolving as some other Grados.

edit: I have my own Hemp and minidspEARS incoming so will be able to provide some more data with alternate pads. I think the Geekria “flat-hole” looks good. Im going to try some Senn HD414 and Geekra L-pads as well.

 

[emorrison33]

I received my GT-220's yesterday. Very nice! I have the Sennheiser TW earbuds, and up until now they were my favorite earbud. My other buds and IEM's are all asian stuff. So the Grado buds....definitely bass heavy, more so than usual with Grado. But the bass is clear, not muddied, and definitive. Mids are exceptional. Guitars and vocals are great. Treble is good and doesn't have that tinny sound like alot of IEM's and earbuds. I have to "look for" the cymbals/hi-hat alot though. Depth and width are good as well, but I think the Sennheiser is a little better. When there is alot going on in the music, they struggle a little bit, but I don't own a pair of buds/IEM's that don't. The Grado buds handle it without getting muddy....just a little dirty/confused I would say. I had an issue with the left earbud. At first I had no sound out of it (wasn't paring with the other bud). Then it started working after I put it back in the case and removed several times. But then it cut off after 10 or 15 seconds. I think it just wasn't charged, even though I fully charged the case with the buds in them before I played with them. It's fine now, after leaving it in the case for an hour and making sure to push down on it a little while in the case, but I hope it's not an ongoing issue. The buds don't fit in the case very well...they are a little loose inside of it. If you move the case you can hear/feel the buds moving around. I can't attest to the playing/charging time yet, but I think Grado says 6 hours on thier website. But despite the cons, these are a nice pair of earbuds, and I'm sure I will enjoy them immensely when I need to go portable. I think the pricing is right compared to other offerings out there.

Still having an issue with the left earbud. It's not charging. I contacted Grado, so I'll see what happens.

 

[bpcans]

Okay Head-Fi Grado headphone lovers. Here are my first impressions of my new GS3000e cans and how I’ve got them connected after 30+ hours of listening time. The sound is absolutely gorgeous and totally enthralling. They have a super tight and respectful bass, with an engaging midrange, and a clear and pristine treble that makes you want to hear the high notes. Fun to listen to.

 

[THGM]

Great setup you have there! No wonder you find the sound gorgeous and totally enthralling...

 

[elvergun]

Okay Head-Fi Grado headphone lovers. Here are my first impressions of my new GS3000e cans and how I’ve got them connected after 30+ hours of listening time. The sound is absolutely gorgeous and totally enthralling. They have a super tight and respectful bass, with an engaging midrange, and a clear and not too screechy treble. Fun to listen to.

So are you trying to tell us that one of the top models in the Grado lineup actually sounds great? You actually want us to believe that?

 

[bpcans]

So are you trying to tell us that one of the top models in the Grado lineup actually sounds great? You actually want us to believe that?

Oh no elvergun. Never! Lol. I’ve had the privilege of being able to listen to pretty much all of the top tier headphones out right now, both closed and opened backed, and I can tell you that these cans are really good to my ears.

 

[bpcans]

Great setup you have there! No wonder you find the sound gorgeous and totally enthralling...
[/QUOTE]

Great setup you have there! No wonder you find the sound gorgeous and totally enthralling...

I'm listening to Curtis Mayfield's original soundtrack from the movie 'SuperFly'. Man it was the 70's. Curtis wrote it, played it, orchestrated it, recorded it, and mixed it. The soundstage and instrument separation is incredible listening to it with these cans. You must understand that these recordings were meant to be heard from a 33 1/3 RPM long play record, with the sound coming out of two stereo speakers. Completely different mixing format than we have today. Every track was a piece of the whole album.

 

[40760]

After using the Yaxi S Cushions for a full day, I can safely say it is costly but worthy of an upgrade. The fine density of these foams make them quite a bit more comfortable to wear over longer periods and sound wise, definitely "cleaner" than the stock pads. I feel these should come default with any Grado that uses the S Cushions.

 

[sling5s]

The Perfect Grado

I think sometimes it's unfair of me to judge every Grado headphone that I purchase or try (like the Hemp) with the standards of all my various Grado headphone experiences.
In this way, I'm looking for and wanting the perfect Grado headphone: a Grado headphone that checks the marks of all the best characteristics and qualities of the Grado headphones. What do I mean?

For example, I like the RS2e mids. I like the bass somewhat too. But it lacks in the upper treble extension of the RS1i.
It lack of upper treble extension (and cup size which limits soundstage) makes the bass and mids sound dense without the treble to breathe air and space into the tone of the music.
So while it's unfair, I want the treble extension of the RS1i that creates space and depth and airiness where you feel like the music just extends into space with a nice shimmer.
Which is funny because when I had the RS1i, I loved the treble extension and airiness and how that made the vocals airy, bass snappy, fast, and how the soundstage sounded holographic. But I didn't like the mids. They were thin and shrilly sometimes.

I also think the reason I give so much value and weight to the vintage Grado was that 1. it had a good balance of bass, mids and treble. 2. I had no other Grado to compare to.
My only other comparison was the HD580 at that time.

On a side note, when I think about the balance or the quantities of bass, mids and treble, I kind of appreciate the sr80e. It's sounds right to my ears. But of course, it lacks the refinements of the higher end Grados.

So really I'm never going to be fully or completely satisfied with any Grado headphone. I'm always going to compare. I could always hope in the next "x" series they will make or maybe even the limited edition series. The GH1 did come close but was too polite for my taste. But then again, even with Grados the trend seems to be "more bass".

I know Grado has custom made headphones for John Mayor, Ariana Grande and James Taylor. Not sure they custom tailored the sound but they did so to the design a little.
So if Grado could custom make my headphone, my "Perfect Grado" headphone would be the bass and mids of an RS2e and the upper treble (and wood cup size) of the RS1i.

What is your perfect Grado?

 

[emorrison33]

Still having an issue with the left earbud. It's not charging. I contacted Grado, so I'll see what happens.

Factory reset fixed the issue. Excellent buds. I'm really enjoying them. Highly recommend, I'd your looking for earbuds.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

What is your perfect Grado?

PS2000e sound in GS1000e housing.

 

[THGM]

Deleted

 

[bpcans]

The Perfect Grado

What is your perfect Grado?

I love my RS1i’s because they’re comfortable to wear for long periods of time and they sound fantastic. That being said, the perfect Grado headphones in my opinion, and I know I’m going to sound like a broken record here, are the GS3000e’s. They just do everything!

 

[Shane D]

The Perfect Grado

I think sometimes it's unfair of me to judge every Grado headphone that I purchase or try (like the Hemp) with the standards of all my various Grado headphone experiences.
In this way, I'm looking for and wanting the perfect Grado headphone: a Grado headphone that checks the marks of all the best characteristics and qualities of the Grado headphones. What do I mean?

For example, I like the RS2e mids. I like the bass somewhat too. But it lacks in the upper treble extension of the RS1i.
It lack of upper treble extension (and cup size which limits soundstage) makes the bass and mids sound dense without the treble to breathe air and space into the tone of the music.
So while it's unfair, I want the treble extension of the RS1i that creates space and depth and airiness where you feel like the music just extends into space with a nice shimmer.
Which is funny because when I had the RS1i, I loved the treble extension and airiness and how that made the vocals airy, bass snappy, fast, and how the soundstage sounded holographic. But I didn't like the mids. They were thin and shrilly sometimes.

I also think the reason I give so much value and weight to the vintage Grado was that 1. it had a good balance of bass, mids and treble. 2. I had no other Grado to compare to.
My only other comparison was the HD580 at that time.

On a side note, when I think about the balance or the quantities of bass, mids and treble, I kind of appreciate the sr80e. It's sounds right to my ears. But of course, it lacks the refinements of the higher end Grados.

So really I'm never going to be fully or completely satisfied with any Grado headphone. I'm always going to compare. I could always hope in the next "x" series they will make or maybe even the limited edition series. The GH1 did come close but was too polite for my taste. But then again, even with Grados the trend seems to be "more bass".

I know Grado has custom made headphones for John Mayor, Ariana Grande and James Taylor. Not sure they custom tailored the sound but they did so to the design a little.
So if Grado could custom make my headphone, my "Perfect Grado" headphone would be the bass and mids of an RS2e and the upper treble (and wood cup size) of the RS1i.

What is your perfect Grado?

GH2's...so far.

 

[Beagle]

Back to the Hemp. I find the balance between bass and treble ratio a little troubling. I find the bass a little too much. Makes the sound slightly too warm and slow for me. It lacks the fast snappy, punchy midbass of older grados. Also because the bass ratio is higher to the treble ratio, it lacks the treble air. There isn't that treble airiness to surround the mids that breathes air and space in the music and sound. It sounds congested, slow and heavy and not open and airy. Hmm....

I could not disagree more.