[tombrisbane]

Updated family photo

SR325 | SR325x | Hemp | GW100 v2
RS2e | GH2 | RS-2X
GS3000e | GS3000X | RS-1X

 

[Luckyleo]

Grados, like any other high-end headphone, DO benefit a lot from an amp. They sound good out of an iPhone but sound great out of a dedicated amp.

Without doubt!

Leo

 

[Snake0IL415]

ZMF pads?

which ZMF pad are people liking on Grado 325is?

Yup. I totally dig em. I have a ton of ZMF pads as I own 3 ZMFs. I have a few of the large and small adapters. For the SR325… I’ve been digging the small adapter + the ZMF Beyerdynamic Lamb Perf pad.

https://shop.zmfheadphones.com/products/grado-earpad-adapter

 

[Snake0IL415]

The sadder part is people peddling BS because they don't understand the mechanics of a piece of hardware. Impedance is resistance, meaning it takes more power from the source to get the driver to move. That's why you're not running a 600ohm headphone off of an iPod. The sensitivity isn't a terribly useful measurement because of fluctuations in how it's gauged and even then Grados are marked around 100dB which is bang-on standard for even consumer headphones.

The fact that you listed "power delivery" separate from DAC and amp means you're either throwing around buzzwords haphazardly with no idea what they mean or you're actually suggesting that the literal electrical power source can somehow affect the sound which means you've gone so far down the snake oil rabbit hole there's no saving you.

Believe what you want, but don't make other people waste THEIR money on gear they literally will see no benefit from just because YOU love the placebo effect.

Who’s “making” someone waste their money…. ?

———
Random person #1: “why did you spend all that money on that DCS Lina stack for your Grado SR80?”
Random person #2: “I read someone’s opinion on Head-Fi so I had to do it.”

^this never happens^
———

We’re not all experts here on Head-fi. Most of us are here to help, learn, share our experience, but above all - have fun.

You seem like you know a lot and that’s great, but maybe instead of gaslighting folks - you could recognize that there’s an opportunity to share your knowledge kindly.

 

[Luckyleo]

He did share kindly and nicely before being called out. His response after being called out seemed reasonable given the situation....

Leo

 

[Snake0IL415]

He did share kindly and nicely before being called out. His response after being called out seemed reasonable given the situation....

Leo

You’re right @Luckyleo

my bad and I was out of pocket @SomeGuyDude — misread the previous post and read yours in isolation.

I’ll stay out of this

 

[SleepyRhythms]

Grados freaking rock!!! I love the hemp design and a few of my buddies really dig them with different pads. What are you all running them off of? I have a feeling they’d be awesome on class A/B amps or even tubes.

 

[jonathan c]

I absolutely love my 225x they have about 100 hours on them and I could not be happier. I'm so happy I think I need another pair of Grados. What is the next logical upgrade from the 225x? I would like to go as high as I can in the line without needing to add an DAP or amp. I primarily listen to Thrll Kill Kult and Pink Floyd from an Android tablet.

Why not try your 225x with a dedicated DAP? You might be even happier before your next Grado adventure purchase!

 

[SleepyRhythms]

Amps and dacs can bring a completely transformative experience to music. If you’re happy with your headphones just focus on the setup. For starters I’m a huge fan of weighty, warm sources like the Asgard 3. With a built in dac card it’s quite a steal, and good enough to make even the Bifrost 2 shine. But shop around for what suits your preferences!

I absolutely love my 225x they have about 100 hours on them and I could not be happier. I'm so happy I think I need another pair of Grados. What is the next logical upgrade from the 225x? I would like to go as high as I can in the line without needing to add an DAP or amp. I primarily listen to Thrll Kill Kult and Pink Floyd from an Android tablet.

 

[jonathan c]

Grados freaking rock!!! I love the hemp design and a few of my buddies really dig them with different pads. What are you all running them off of? I have a feeling they’d be awesome on class A/B amps or even tubes.

I use the F-pads for Hemp. The h/p/a that I use with Hemp run the gamut from the Vioelectric HPA V200 (solid-state) to Icon Audio HP8 MK-II (tube). .

 

[carboncopy]

The sadder part is people peddling BS because they don't understand the mechanics of a piece of hardware. Impedance is resistance, meaning it takes more power from the source to get the driver to move. That's why you're not running a 600ohm headphone off of an iPod. The sensitivity isn't a terribly useful measurement because of fluctuations in how it's gauged and even then Grados are marked around 100dB which is bang-on standard for even consumer headphones.

The fact that you listed "power delivery" separate from DAC and amp means you're either throwing around buzzwords haphazardly with no idea what they mean or you're actually suggesting that the literal electrical power source can somehow affect the sound which means you've gone so far down the snake oil rabbit hole there's no saving you.

Believe what you want, but don't make other people waste THEIR money on gear they literally will see no benefit from just because YOU love the placebo effect.

:I

You had two statements: Grado do not need amp because they are 32 ohms (unless you need coloration)

1) 32 Ohm is the impedance of the headphone. Voice coil construction, membran stiffness, membran material, dampings...even the cup...they all factor in the sensitivity for an electroacoustical transducer (it is not a resistance to simply use Ohm's law to calculate).

2) Amp as a "coloration". Which means - again - oversimplify things. Has enough power, then OK. That's about the 70-80's when the transistors came and suddenly we had the perfect amplifiers because they had power and help trendemous negative feedback they THD measuerement was super with a stable sine wave. Actually engieneers know much-much more about the topic...started with transient intermodulation distorsion from Otala (which is very basic knowledge nowadays but was esoteric back then), then correct use of feedback (role of the number of nested amplification stages), thermal instabilities in semiconductor circiuts (modulation of the signal through the warming up-cooling of the input capacitance of transistor/FET). I don't know...if you are interested start with some Nelson Pass white papers. If you wan't to go more deeper then maybe the distorsion management white papers from Audiopax (lot of math though). Actually cheap amplifiers distort the signal as much as a sloppy old tube amp, we just happen to measure a specific set of parameters and on those set of parameters they are probably better. In others much worst.

Bonus: every amplifier works in a way, that it modulates the power with signal, that's the output. To suggest that the quality of the power delivery has nothing to do with the percieved sound is...intresteing. Maybe no PSU then in amplifiers? Or PSU yes, but not that complex? How complex?

I am by trade an ee, I wrote my diplome on audio amplifier design. I have no business interest here and I do not make anyobody buy anything.

 

[carboncopy]

He did share kindly and nicely before being called out. His response after being called out seemed reasonable given the situation....

Leo

Excpet what he wrote is not correct and I pointed this out. Without calling the person anything, or judging her/him. Which then he does. Oh well...

 

[Roasty]

Just pulled the trigger on a GS3000X. i really hope it is good. Have owned several Grados over the years but have sold each one.. am hoping the 3kX is a keeper!

 

[ESL-1]

Just pulled the trigger on a GS3000X. i really hope it is good. Have owned several Grados over the years but have sold each one.. am hoping the 3kX is a keeper!

Excellent choice that I am sure you will not regret. I had the opportunity to have a pair on loan for a few days and they really did impress. For me it is only a matter of time before I get my own.

Have a ball and remember that these like most phones will evolve as you accumulate play time. After many years in retail audio I am a firm believer in break in.

Keep us posted.

 

[Luckyleo]

Just pulled the trigger on a GS3000X. i really hope it is good. Have owned several Grados over the years but have sold each one.. am hoping the 3kX is a keeper!

Congratulations! I bought mine on intro day. Serial # 008. I have zero regrets. Best headphone I own... Let us know your impressions!

Leo