What would say an RS1E or RS2E would offer me that's different to my GH2's? I very much like my GH2's but I've heard it said they don't have the typical Grado sound....Years ago I owned a set of SR60's as my first real Hifi headphones...but it's so long ago now...I can't recall how they sounded specifically. I just remember that I enjoyed them immensely.
Digital setup - FLAC, Tidal Hifi or Master => Topping E30 => JDS Labs Atom
Digital has improved alot in the last 10 years. The performance for the E30 & Atom are pretty impressive considering the price. I was experimenting with a tube buffer in the chain before the Atom, but with the RS2e the sound is pretty full and I think I prefer now with just SS. I know some people say Grado needs tubes, but you sacrifice a bit of clarity & slam - its all personal preference. RS2e is so smooth it doesn't need tubes to round out the edges.
I am curious how the Grados would sound out of the RA-1?. This amp was criticized heavily for using very cheap components and a simple design.
Digital setup - FLAC, Tidal Hifi or Master => Topping E30 => JDS Labs Atom
Digital has improved alot in the last 10 years. The performance for the E30 & Atom are pretty impressive considering the price. I was experimenting with a tube buffer in the chain before the Atom, but with the RS2e the sound is pretty full and I think I prefer now with just SS. I know some people say Grado needs tubes, but you sacrifice a bit of clarity & slam - its all personal preference. RS2e is so smooth it doesn't need tubes to round out the edges.
I am curious how the Grados would sound out of the RA-1?. This amp was criticized heavily for using very cheap components and a simple design.
Most if not all amps are designed, with various tradeoffs, to solve problems Grados don't have.
Mine are all trivially easy to drive, so unless your source is wildly inadequate, you're likely fine without an amp at all.
That said, less is usually more and can pay dividends in clarity and other desirable qualities, so a simple, battery fed, op amp may be the very best a Grado could ask for.
Sheer speculation on my part, but not without basis.
The "LL" pads are these. They don't have an official equivalent.
Bernard23's opinions of the LL pad closely mirror those to mine in my Hemp review, and I chose them as my favorite non-L style pad that I tested. They're probably a great fit on the SR325e because they have more treble to begin with.
You can see that they are completely flat on both sides. One side has a smaller diameter opening. If you flip them and have the larger diameter opening facing your ear, they're practically the same as the Hemp stock flats.
Most if not all amps are designed, with various tradeoffs, to solve problems Grados don't have.
Mine are all trivially easy to drive, so unless your source is wildly inadequate, you're likely fine without an amp at all.
That said, less is usually more and can pay dividends in clarity and other desirable qualities, so a simple, battery fed, op amp may be the very best a Grado could ask for.
Sheer speculation on my part, but not without basis.
Electronics in general do make distorsions/anomalities which are...how to say...unnatural. The whole concept of negative feedback is a problem (in time domain), there is no intermodulation related distorsion in our newtonian world. The thermal lag of an input capacitor of a transistor is a nightmare and I haven’t even started in the f@cekry digital conversion to a signal does. All of them are non-existent in a non-crossover design like a headphone. (Yes, inclusice noise).
So in my world one has to have the absolute best electronics to get rid of these things. To have a natural sound without these artifacts.
On the other hand Grado’s are real pure. They have minimal absortion materials...almost just a driver. So they do show what is connected before them.
I think Grado’s also deserve and reward the best possible electronics. This shouldn’t be mixed up with the fact that they are easy to drive and sound decens even on a phone.
You can see that they are completely flat on both sides. One side has a smaller diameter opening. If you flip them and have the larger diameter opening facing your ear, they're practically the same as the Hemp stock flats.
Nice you have found yet another geekira pad for grado. Mine are the LL ( has I call them ) I havevtgem for my Sr 60 and sr225. I like them. Might get the ones you have found . Like you say very simaler. Assume they would still fit all grado phones. Does the Hemp have a larger cup ?
Electronics in general do make distorsions/anomalities which are...how to say...unnatural. The whole concept of negative feedback is a problem (in time domain), there is no intermodulation related distorsion in our newtonian world. The thermal lag of an input capacitor of a transistor is a nightmare and I haven’t even started in the f@cekry digital conversion to a signal does. All of them are non-existent in a non-crossover design like a headphone. (Yes, inclusice noise).
So in my world one has to have the absolute best electronics to get rid of these things. To have a natural sound without these artifacts.
On the other hand Grado’s are real pure. They have minimal absortion materials...almost just a driver. So they do show what is connected before them.
I think Grado’s also deserve and reward the best possible electronics. This shouldn’t be mixed up with the fact that they are easy to drive and sound decens even on a phone.
I doubt we disagree all that much, noting aside that this morning I'm driving mine with something over $2k in gear.
But a modern op amp is a marvel of linearity all by itself, and if you don't need much power, and don't want much coloration, may just be the sort of audio Occam's Razor a Grado could love.
I no longer have any of my old chip based amps, or I'd be curious to see if such would be better than good enough.
Has anyone sent their Grados back to Grado Labs for repair? I sent my PS500E to them this week because the cable ends became unglued from the back of the driver and the upper cable has become stiff. they havent told me anything yet about if my pair is still under warranty. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this lack of communication and customer service from Grado.
Good luck with that. That was my plan...and I ended up keeping both.
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Same here...and now I own 5 Grados.
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I hope you are a stronger man than I am.
I got an old used Dragonfly for my gf and it sounds surprisingly good with the RS2e. The sound is maybe a little less detailed than with the Oppo HA-2 but it's FUN. It's really fun to listen with it. The Chord Mojo is still way better but if anyone wants a cheap solution then the Dragonfly is a steal.
Actually, those are the copy of the original SR60/80/125 flat pad that has been "Quarter modded" -- using a US quarter to cut out a hole in the center of the pad to expose more of the driver.
You can see that they are completely flat on both sides. One side has a smaller diameter opening. If you flip them and have the larger diameter opening facing your ear, they're practically the same as the Hemp stock flats.
If you load up both links side by side on the side on image and flick between them, you can see the "LL" ones are thicker. They place the driver further away from my ears than F. I'm not sure about L pads, but I'm confident they sound different. Either way, they are staying on both pairs for the next couple of weeks.
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No worries for me -- my wife has a sneaky way of finding out how much I'm spending on headphones!
