[Damien Grief]

Has anyone here tried the shipibo.audio pads on any of their Grados? Curious how they sound and if they're worth the $60+shipping. Was considering grabbing a pair and trying them on both my PS500e and Hemps.

 

[544322]

Has anyone here tried the shipibo.audio pads on any of their Grados? Curious how they sound and if they're worth the $60+shipping. Was considering grabbing a pair and trying them on both my PS500e and Hemps.

I have them and tried them on the RS2e, PS500e and SR325e.

They eat a lot of treble so imho they are not great for the PS. They are ok on the other two but in the end they add too much veil to the sound for my liking.

 

[Damien Grief]

I have them and tried them on the RS2e, PS500e and SR325e.

They eat a lot of treble so imho they are not great for the PS. They are ok on the other two but in the end they add too much veil to the sound for my liking.

Ah that's a shame. Was hoping to find a nice premium pad that works well with at least the Hemp. I love the sound of the flats it comes with, though.

 

[YtseJamer]

Agreed. I won't stir the pot anymore on cables/pads/whatever. The point of this thread is to gush about the headphones, not pick fights. That's on me, and apologies to all. Honestly.

SO ANYWAY, here's what happened when I tried the Hemp, sr225e, and sr80 with the F-Cush, L-Cush, and Geekria "comfort" pads. I didn't use the s-cush because ew no.

Geekria w/ Hemp: Softened, less immediate. More comfortable for sure, but the bass went up in a sort of "poofy" way (if you'll forgive the technical term). The overall sound is relaxed but less engaging. I think the occlusion of the speaker due to the opening being a smaller diameter it funnels the bass more, causing that bloomy effect.

Geekria w/ SR80: Oh baby. Opening the middle up brought them some extra energy compared to the all-over pad and I am a big fan this time. For under $100 this is absolutely stellar. I cannot find any faults in these at this price point. Honestly this just makes me want to get louder and louer and louder.

Geekria w/ SR225e: And here we see the opposite effect! Going with the flats here brought some extra bass out and tamed the treble energy. Similar effect to what happened on the Hemp. I think if you're someone who listens to music at a high volume or has a fondness for anything with digital production, this is a winning combo.

F-Cush w/ SR80: Once again, the added treble energy helps out, but the low end is still pretty damn good. If I had to recommend the SR80, though, I'd say to stick with the Geekria. There's a loss of fullness and (to my ears) the SR80 doesn't have the raw finesse so it isn't quite as fun.

F-Cush w/ SR225e: This is VERY intriguing. The sr225e has a bit of a "delicate" sound by default and that is ALL gone here. This combo is in your face, damn near aggressive about it (and I mean that in a good way). The bass is more potent, mids feel more alive. This would be my preferred pad on these just going off of the sound. This does come at the expense of the airspace effect, but that's just for personal preferences.

L-Cush w/ Hemp: No thank you. Far too polite. Bass is pulled back, the "oomph" is gone. That's all I got to say.

L-Cush w/ sr80: Everything feels so distant. There's a ton of space, but it really does sound like I'm listening to the sr80 "at a distance." I think for people who aren't a big fan of bass but want a cost effective "Grado sound," this would be the one to do. The issue here is that the sr80 isn't nearly as smooth across the spectrum so having all the extra mid/treble energy makes the music harder to listen to. For me.

I was worried I just didn't like the 225 pads, but I put them back on the 225e and I think they work on that model. The 225e is a more refined headphone than the 80 so it benefits from pulling back and letting the higher frequencies breathe.

For overall ranking, taking everything into account like price and the general character of the headphone, and just my PERSONAL feelings:

Hemp w/ F (by far)
sr80 w/ Geekria (budget king)
sr225e w/ F
sr225e w/ L
Hemp w/ Geekria (to sacrifice some sound for comfort)
sr80 w/ F
sr225e w/ Geekria
sr80 w/ L
Hemp w/ L (it doesn't "sound worst" but you lose what makes the Hemp what it is)

Songs used:
Chevelle - Piistol Star
RATM - Bulls on Parade
Queens of the Stone Age - No One Knows
Nirvana - Lake of Fire
Deftones - Digital Bath

It's funny that the Hemp is both the winner, the dead center, AND the loser, but I think that's because the Hemp with stock is just so ridiculously good that spoiling its sound hurts my soul a little bit. I would wager for a lot of people the Hemp w/ Geekria might be their number one. It's definitely mega comfy and pretty damn excellent, it just doesn't have that "punch in the face" quality that makes the Hemp so damn good, to me. Meanwhile the sr225E seemed to do all right with everything, depending on what you want, and the sr80 is just a total "yes get these and get them for everyone you know" with the Geekria pads.

Wow, thanks for your feedback

 

[CJG888]

I can back this up! I switched from a cheap plastic Toslink cable to a Lifatec glass cable (xDuoo X10T-ii to Chord Mojo). The difference was very obvious.

 

[544322]

Has anyone here tried the shipibo.audio pads on any of their Grados? Curious how they sound and if they're worth the $60+shipping. Was considering grabbing a pair and trying them on both my PS500e and Hemps.

BTW i just did a quick test of the Shipibo pads and F pads on my Grados. Their effect is very similar. They add a certain kind of veil and add some mids and bass. Quite calm and interesting on the RS2e but really not that great for the PS500e.

 

[Damien Grief]

BTW i just did a quick test of the Shipibo pads and F pads on my Grados. Their effect is very similar. They add a certain kind of veil and add some mids and bass. Quite calm and interesting on the RS2e but really not that great for the PS500e.

Interesting. Part of why I like the Hemps so much though is they're more detailed than the PS500e and SR line. Would hate to lose that with a pad change.

 

[elira]

Interesting. Part of why I like the Hemps so much though is they're more detailed than the PS500e and SR line. Would hate to lose that with a pad change.

Pad changes are 100% reversible.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Interesting. Part of why I like the Hemps so much though is they're more detailed than the PS500e and SR line. Would hate to lose that with a pad change.

Like the other poster said, if you're not too upset by the cost of them, pad swapping is the most hassle-free way to play with the sound.

 

[Damien Grief]

Pad changes are 100% reversible.

Sure. Just don't want to spend $60+ without hearing others impressions of them first if possible.

Like the other poster said, if you're not too upset by the cost of them, pad swapping is the most hassle-free way to play with the sound.

True. We'll see. Now that I've gotten used to the Hemp's sound, I might try pad swapping with the other existing pads I have again.

 

[BobG55]

Reacquired two Grado headphones which I never should have sold in the first place. The first one is the magnificient sounding GS1000i, IMHO & for my personal taste, one of the best headphone ever assembled by Grado. The other is the GS3000e. At the time I decided to sell the latter, I was obsessed with the idea of owning the PS2000e. In order to get the PS2000e I had to sacrifice the headphone in my collection that would bring me the most money in return. The other problem was, due to my obsession, I wanted the PS2000e “yesterday” as the expression goes. After being somewhat disappointed by the sound signature of Grado’s flagship headphone, I began yearning for my GS3000e back. But this time I waited patiently until I could afford a used pair which were delivered to my door today. I’m presently enjoying them as I write these lines. I spent the past several days with the GS1000i reveling in their sound excellence also. If anyone reading this would like me to compare the two, the only thing that comes to mind is the following : GS1000i is more analytical and the GS3000e as a “fuller” sound for lack of a better term. Both have good instrument separation. The GS1000i is slightly more “approximate”, the GS3000e, slightly less with a bit more depth. But they are both equally excellent in my book. I hope to never again let my obsessiveness lure me into thinking there’s something better because unless I can afford an Abyss Phi, I won’t find much better than these. I’ve owned the Utopia in the past and prefer these two Grado models. At my age I’m also finding it harder to climb out of the rabbit hole.

 

[Pirastro]

listening to Ryan Adams' Heartbreaker (streaming qobuz) right now on Hemps and just have to say how much it just sounds like I'm right there in the studio. Voice is perfectly center and vibrantly present with guitar with such a tactile articulation. Drums have an impact that is so real but not fatiguing in any way. I have to say that these are the most un hi-fi sounding headphones - just totally organic. A/B'd vs my former fav Beyer t1 and in many ways the t1's are technically superior (just more resolution, detail, transparency), but just less enjoyable. Hemps the best 420 I've spent. Cheers.

 

[joseph69]

Reacquired two Grado headphones which I never should have sold in the first place. The first one is the magnificient sounding GS1000i, IMHO & for my personal taste, one of the best headphone ever assembled by Grado. The other is the GS3000e. At the time I decided to sell the latter, I was obsessed with the idea of owning the PS2000e. In order to get the PS2000e I had to sacrifice the headphone in my collection that would bring me the most money in return. The other problem was, due to my obsession, I wanted the PS2000e “yesterday” as the expression goes. After being somewhat disappointed by the sound signature of Grado’s flagship headphone, I began yearning for my GS3000e back. But this time I waited patiently until I could afford a used pair which were delivered to my door today. I’m presently enjoying them as I write these lines. I spent the past several days with the GS1000i reveling in their sound excellence also. If anyone reading this would like me to compare the two, the only thing that comes to mind is the following : GS1000i is more analytical and the GS3000e as a “fuller” sound for lack of a better term. Both have good instrument separation. The GS1000i is slightly more “approximate”, the GS3000e, slightly less with a bit more depth. But they are both equally excellent in my book. I hope to never again let my obsessiveness lure me into thinking there’s something better because unless I can afford an Abyss Phi, I won’t find much better than these. I’ve owned the Utopia in the past and prefer these two Grado models. At my age I’m also finding it harder to climb out of the rabbit hole.

Glad to hear you now once again have what is best for you. Enjoy!

 

[BobG55]

Glad to hear you now once again have what is best for you. Enjoy!

Thank you Joseph. I know that it appears to be your philosophy also.

 

[joseph69]

That's just not true. Different cables can (and often do) sound different. If you don't want to "believe" in that then fine. Maybe you are blessed enough to no hear those differences. It's probably a reason to be happy, saves you a lot of time and money

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