[kmhaynes]

Man am I glad that I hopped on the GH2 train. I bought the GW100s back in April last year and was seeking more of that open, light weight sound. I read a few hundred pages of this thread and had settled between RS2e and GH2. Seems that the GH2 is the best in the price class and I can't disagree on that at all. Simply amazing all arounder, especially with the used price I got!

Right there with you on the RS2e vs GH2. Almost bought a used RS2e twice, but hesitated, and then found a nearly new GH2 for great price, and snatched it up! Lately, I've been using it exclusively with the Liquid Spark amp at home, which was only a hundred bucks. The amp is definitely louder, and cleans up the sound compared to my phone, but my phone has a great DAC (LG V35+), so the difference isn't that noticeable with the GH2 out of my phone.

 

[Rebel Chris]

Was there discounts on Grado headphones?

Can't find this email anymore (promised myself not to buy another Grado this year) and cant remember. One thing I do know: discount on their headphones. On their website some headphones have a small timer. We have to wait.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Was looking at an rs2e in the classifieds recently but thought the price to international shipping cost ratio was not too favourable..

Also, was going back and forth trying to decide between the ps2000e and gs3000e...

Ended up ordering a GS3000e from Moon Audio with black dragon re-cable + 4pin xlr. Hoping to get it in a month or so! Very excited and a bit worried at the same time as it is a blind purchase and have never listened to the GS3k before, and hope it will be a nice improvement over my alessandro ms2e.

Hi Roasty, The GS3000e is an amazing headphone. I am using it direct from my DAVE and it does sound fantastic. Hope you are enjoying your other new gear you purchased recently in particular your WA33. Would love to know how the GS3000e's will sound and scale with your WA33 and how they will compare to your 1266's TC's and Susvara's !

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

End game for me. Smiling from can to can

Great to know yet another happy GS3000e owner !
p.s. the wood on your GS3000e's looks a bit dry. Maybe need to rub some oil into them

 

[jshaevitz]

Great to know yet another happy GS3000e owner !
p.s. the wood on your GS3000e's looks a bit dry. Maybe need to rub some oil into them

Thanks! This picture is more representative of the color and texture (cell phones suck at pictures!) I fiddled with the color etc to make it match the actual cans.

 

[Roasty]

Hi Roasty, The GS3000e is an amazing headphone. I am using it direct from my DAVE and it does sound fantastic. Hope you are enjoying your other new gear you purchased recently in particular your WA33. Would love to know how the GS3000e's will sound and scale with your WA33 and how they will compare to your 1266's TC's and Susvara's !

Will update on the sound once I get them! Hope they're a good match with the wa33. Unfortunately I no longer have my gsx mini, wa22 or hpa4 so can only pair with a single amp.

 

[Wid]

I’m looking at a used set of RS1e and was talking to a friend and he advised me to post a question. It’s about the driver position on the headphones. Said make sure the model had flush mounted drivers. Does this look to be the correct position for the driver? Said something about earlier e series the drivers were mounted different and the sound quality wasn’t the same.

 

[carboncopy]

I asked Grado, if europian orders are also OK in the official store.
- I got super fast response, very nice!
- sadly shipping address must be within the US

So no black friday for me.

(So...if somebody want to sell a PS2000e in Europe please let me know.

 

[joseph69]

Hope they're a good match with the wa33.

Grado's sound fantastic with the WA33.

 

[zazex]

Nice! It could be your camera or phone, but that's a lighter shade of cocobolo than normally seen with the GH2 and GS3K, which is not un-typical with cocobolo.

Just out of curiosity, what other phones do you have to compare it with? (not that you need to have any others!)

Perhaps I can add some useful info about cocobolo here, having
worked with it for 20 years or so. Woodworking, woodturning,
belt sanding, hand sanding, filing, lathing, gluing...typically smaller pieces such
as handles, bowls, dishes (rather than entire floors, for instance)

Although I've worked with many other exotic hardwoods (as they're generally called),
my favorite is cocobolo. It is a true rosewood (dalbergia) - very hard, strong, and oily
which only adds to its great durability.


Quoting briefly from The Wood Database,
a free and terrific site used by those the world over seeking accurate into on wood(s),
says in relevant part -

Color/Appearance: Cocobolo can be seen in a kaleidoscope of different colors, ranging from yellow, orange, red, and shades of brown with streaks of black or purple. Sapwood is typically a very pale yellow. Colors are lighter when freshly sanded/cut, and darken with age; for more information, see the article on preventing color changes in exotic woods.

Grain/Texture: Grain is straight to interlocked, with a fine even texture. Good natural luster.

https://www.wood-database.com/cocobolo/

The chief concern, or issue with cocobolo is that its spectacular natural beauty fades with time,
and the color turns to a medium/dark brown throughout. This natural effect can be managed
to an extent with skill, knowledge, and the use of appropriate sealers, varnishes,
sanding techniques and related efforts.

In 20 or so years, I've never seen two pieces of cocobolo exhibiting the same color(s),
texture and the like. (Not referring here to "bookmarked" pre-cut pieces, which are
purposely designed to be alike.)


,


































> Hardwoods > Fabaceae > Dalbergia > retusa










Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa)




Common Name(s): Cocobolo, Cocobola, Cocabola
Scientific Name: Dalbergia retusa
Distribution: Central America
Tree Size: 45-60 ft (14-18 m) tall,
1.5-2 ft (50-60 cm) trunk diameter
Average Dried Weight: 69 lbs/ft3 (1,095 kg/m3)
Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC): .89, 1.10
Janka Hardness: 2,960 lbf (14,140 N)
Modulus of Rupture: 22,910 lbf/in2 (158.0 MPa)*
Elastic Modulus: 2,712,000 lbf/in2 (18.70 GPa)*
Crushing Strength: 11,790 lbf/in2 (81.3 MPa)*
*values from tentative strength group assessment per South American Timbers
Shrinkage: Radial: 2.7%, Tangential: 4.3%,
Volumetric: 7.0%, T/R Ratio: 1.6





More images | Identification

Color/Appearance: Cocobolo can be seen in a kaleidoscope of different colors, ranging from yellow, orange, red, and shades of brown with streaks of black or purple. Sapwood is typically a very pale yellow. Colors are lighter when freshly sanded/cut, and darken with age; for more information, see the article on preventing color changes in exotic woods.

Grain/Texture: Grain is straight to interlocked, with a fine even texture. Good natural luster.

Rot Resistance: Rated as very durable, and also resistant to insect attack. Its natural oils are reported to give it good resistance to degrade from wet/dry cycles.

Workability: Due to the high oil content found in this wood, it can occasionally cause problems with gluing. Also, the wood’s color can bleed into surrounding wood when applying a finish, so care must be taken on the initial seal coats not to smear the wood’s color/oils into surrounding areas. Tearout can occur during planing if interlocked grain is present; the wood also has a moderate blunting effect on cutting edges/tools due to its high density. Cocobolo has excellent turning properties.

Odor: Cocobolo has a distinct spice-like scent when being worked, which some find unpleasant: though it has been used in at least one women’s perfume.

Allergies/Toxicity: Notoriously allergenic. Reported as a sensitizer; can cause skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, as well as nausea, pink-eye, and asthma-like symptoms. See the articles Wood Allergies and Toxicity and Wood Dust Safety for more information.

(and continues at url indicated above

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Thanks! This picture is more representative of the color and texture (cell phones suck at pictures!) I fiddled with the color etc to make it match the actual cans.

Aah thats better.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I asked Grado, if europian orders are also OK in the official store.
- I got super fast response, very nice!
- sadly shipping address must be within the US

So no black friday for me.

(So...if somebody want to sell a PS2000e in Europe please let me know.

There is a guy in the UK that has been trying to sell his PS2000e's for some months now in the For Sale Headphones forum.

 

[carboncopy]

DAC shoot-out at the weekend. Aqua LasScala (current) vs Chord DAVE vs Aries Cerat Heléne. Amp is the Pathos. Both the HEMP and the RS2e tracks wonderfully the differences between them. While Grado can sound good with a phone too it does not mean they are not transparent enough to play with serious electronics!

End of the story is after living one week together with these that I will most probably order a Heléne for me. It is actually almost sealed.

With a bit more detail: the Aqua and the Cerat has many things in common both being R2R DAC. They have a more meaty sound.

Actually the DAVE in itself was a let down for me. Lot's of detail but somehow no weight. It was much-much better as a DAC both with TMP Ant and with the Pathos. Actually it was to my suprise somehow better with the single ended TMP. That combo I liked.

The Aqua had in contrast not only more of that weight, it had almost the same level of resolution plus a smoothness that the Chord did not had. The Aqua was better with the Pathos using balanced connection. A marvelous sound, but has a small noise with Grado. It also has the ablity to let the listener concetrate to something else (reading, etc...), than back to the music. Everything is there but it does not pushes it. I can hear it for hours.

The Cerat also worked best with the Pathos using balanced cable. It did had the same meaty sound with even more detail and space in sound as the chord/Aqua. Stand out point is the bass, which has so much color/detail...never heard from digital something like this. Actually the sound was coherent and everything was superb, but the bass was shockingly different. It is also very much a "live" sound. Like Grado or horn speakers. It has drive, rythm and opennes without end. It has a bit of tuning possibility by setting the bias. Factory setting is 2.3V I found my ideal setting with the Pathos/Grado with 2V.

It is very impractical, heavy and pricey.

But really good.

 

[THGM]

End of the story is after living one week together with these that I will most probably order a Heléne for me. It is actually almost sealed.

With a bit more detail: the Aqua and the Cerat has many things in common both being R2R DAC. They have a more meaty sound.

Actually the DAVE in itself was a let down for me. Lot's of detail but somehow no weight. It was much-much better as a DAC both with TMP Ant and with the Pathos. Actually it was to my suprise somehow better with the single ended TMP. That combo I liked.

The Aqua had in contrast not only more of that weight, it had almost the same level of resolution plus a smoothness that the Chord did not had. The Aqua was better with the Pathos using balanced connection. A marvelous sound, but has a small noise with Grado. It also has the ablity to let the listener concetrate to semthing else (reading, etc...), than back to the music. Everything is there but it does not pushes it. I can hear it for hours.

The Cerat also worked best with the Pathos using balanced cable. It did had the same meaty sound with even more detail and space in sound as the chord/Aqua. Stand out point is the bass, which has so much color/detail...never heard from digital something like this. Actually the sound was coherent and everything was superb, but the bass was shockingly different. It is also very much a "live" sound. Like Grado or horn speakers. It has drive, rythm and opennes without end. It has a bit of tuning possibility by setting the bias. Factory setting is 2.3V I found my ideal setting with the Pathos/Grado with 2V.

It is very impractical, heavy and pricey.

But really good.

Thank you for posting your impressions, pleased you had the opportunity to compare these high end DACs at home. The Cerat seems to compliment your Grados and looks to be a stunning piece of kit.

 

[beez]

as per request... my NOS HP1000 grado treasures. pics of my personal headphones and amp ill add soon.

i may be the only person in the world with these?