[psy472]

True and most of the time these cold and sterile amps are the ones that are built to measure good, so naturally that's what the ASR people flock to. It's really no wonder that they hate it. My grados do not sound good on my atom stack at all. But they sound great with my magni+ and my ibasso p5 falcon.

I totally agree with the amp situation for Grado. Magni Unity sounds great but the Jot 2 made my Grado too flat. I had to tune the Jot 2 using my Lokius to get back the Grado sound. My Apple dongle amp did better than the Jot 2 strangely enough.

Update: my Grado Hemp arrived and OMG…the bass and soundstage is smooth and amazing on the Magni at mid gain. No EQ needed. Again the Jot 2 had more clarity but a more technical feel than the Magni Unity.

 

[Guts390]

I totally agree with the amp situation for Grado. Magni Unity sounds great but the Jot 2 made my Grado too flat. I had to tune the Jot 2 using my Lokius to get back the Grado sound. My Apple dongle amp did better than the Jot 2 strangely enough.

That's very interesting. From what I've been told, the jotunheim shines with balanced output and isn't the best for single ended tho. A lot of people opt for the asgard instead for SE. Or I guess now, the pietus as well. Still kinda surprises me. The magni really seems to be the killer amp for the price. I love this thing.

 

[HWB3]

I have three amps that I use with my RS2x"s and my Magni 3+ seems to be the favorite so far. Still about a week in to using them.

 

[Luckyleo]

I agree - I don’t have a positive experience communicating with Grado USA. My first correspondence with them was very early in my headphone journey in 2015 or so and I remember being shocked at the lack of professionalism in their emails.

Well, their email responses are not always warm and fuzzy, but they usually are timely and to the point. Last year I had sent in my RS1x to be looked at (turns out everything was fine, and no work was required). I was dealing with their warranty guy. Then one morning I get a phone call from a Brooklyn area code. Picked-up, and a fellow introduced himself to me as "Hi Leo, this is John Grado, I have your headphone in my hands. Do you have a minute to chat?"

Another time, in 2016 or so, I needed to get more of those little black things that go on top of the headphone posts. Called Grado, and John Grado picked up the phone, heard my request, and sent me several at no charge. They've never disappointed me. Others may have different experiences than myself, but I'm a Grado fan for life!

Leo

 

[trellus]

Well, their email responses are not always warm and fuzzy, but they usually are timely and to the point. Last year I had sent in my RS1x to be looked at (turns out everything was fine, and no work was required). I was dealing with their warranty guy. Then one morning I get a phone call from a Brooklyn area code. Picked-up, and a fellow introduced himself to me as "Hi Leo, this is John Grado, I have your headphone in my hands. Do you have a minute to chat?"

Another time, in 2016 or so, I needed to get more of those little black things that go on top of the headphone posts. Called Grado, and John Grado picked up the phone, heard my request, and sent me several at no charge. They've never disappointed me. Others may have different experiences than myself, but I'm a Grado fan for life!

Leo

How cool is that to talk to John Grado himself?

Also, I went back just now and reviewed the old emails which as it turns out were in early 2016, and while the responses were brief, I don’t see the “unprofessionalism” I previously claimed, so I must have been remembering the experience through the filter of my unhappiness at the time, which would certainly bias me.

 

[plakat]

Well, their email responses are not always warm and fuzzy, but they usually are timely and to the point. Last year I had sent in my RS1x to be looked at (turns out everything was fine, and no work was required). I was dealing with their warranty guy. Then one morning I get a phone call from a Brooklyn area code. Picked-up, and a fellow introduced himself to me as "Hi Leo, this is John Grado, I have your headphone in my hands. Do you have a minute to chat?"

Another time, in 2016 or so, I needed to get more of those little black things that go on top of the headphone posts. Called Grado, and John Grado picked up the phone, heard my request, and sent me several at no charge. They've never disappointed me. Others may have different experiences than myself, but I'm a Grado fan for life!

Leo

Now that’s a nice and personal story. Not every communication has to go by the big business standard lines…

 

[Philimon]

I totally agree with the amp situation for Grado. Magni Unity sounds great but the Jot 2 made my Grado too flat. I had to tune the Jot 2 using my Lokius to get back the Grado sound. My Apple dongle amp did better than the Jot 2 strangely enough.

I can attest to that. Jot2 SE out made Grado RS2x sound more neutral.
edit: state which model, synergy is dependent of course like extra warm amp might not go well with PS500e while RS2x approves.
edit2: most Grado are awful with stock pads, no amp will fix

 

[Philimon]

@Resolve I've always had a lot of respect for you specifically (I've been a subscriber since before you had any affiliation with Headphones.com), and still LOVE the Headphones.com content as whole because it is informative, fun, and I have never felt you were "shills" for or against any headphones, and certainly, never, ever felt that any views expressed on the channel were in the least compromised by what was sold or not sold on Headphones.com.

In fact, I bought my Heddphone, Focal Clear and Radiance headphones all on Headphones.com and think Headphones.com is one of the best vendors whom I highly recommend.

That being said, the Headphones.com reviewer record on Grado headphones has always struck me as predicable and indicative of representing only one slice of the community.


That is clearly implied and even sometimes almost overtly expressed in multiple videos I've watched from Headphones.com channel on YouTube, though, when it comes to opinions about Grado's. The tone is even condescending at times, and it's across multiple reviewers, not just one. DMS may be the only one that I can recall ever having enough positive to say about any Grado to recommend one, among your group, in fact, and that's been mostly since the Hemp and the X-series.


Not difficult to imagine, or even necessary to imagine at all, since it's rather explicitly and regularly stated as such rather consistently. Honestly, it feels almost quite the opposite, that none of you can imagine that the thing that is so objectionable to you collectively can be loved by many others, and again, it's usually implied strongly that something is wrong with our ears.

I think the truth is that some of us just have a wider range of listening preferences. That I like my Grado SR-325i 50th anniversary edition which has an absurd bass rolloff and a very unique voicing doesn't mean that I don't appreciate for very very different reasons the more Harmanesque tuning of my Drop Aeon Closed X.


Honestly, not a lot, though, and almost not at all on Grado's -- you are all part of the roughly the same slice of headphone audiophilia which coalesces around basically the same set of headphones, and there's not a lot of real diversity, frankly, in your group. Steve Guttenberg, the "Audiophiliac", for example, loves Grado's, and is well respected at least by some in the community, but there aren't any types like him in your clan.

Again, though, I'm not questioning the integrity of any of you, quite to the contrary, I positively affirm it, as though I disagree with the general "groupthink" on Grado's among your reviewers, I am 100% convinced those are your genuine opinions, and they are pretty consistent, too.

Your SR325i description sounds like my SR325is though they shouldnt be the same since mine has red magnet driver but who knows with Grado…. Aside from the bass roll off it has the best tonal balance of all Grado Ive tried (with F-pads). Its a keeper.

Ive only watched a couple Resolve (Headphones.com) reviews but enjoyed them both. One was his HE6se vs OG HE6 review and he much preferred the old Hifimans which is anti-shill. I found I agreed with a lot of his assessments on sound. Still I generally dont watch youtube reviews so dont follow. Also dont like headphones.com forum design, maybe its just a mobile version issue.

 

[funkymartyn]

well all this talk about repairs isn't to good, it's not great for people who don't live near these usa repair centres. And in the UK we just have to try to plod on and fix ourselves or live with it.
But if anyone from Grado can at least have a word on this forum to reassure us all , that they are concerned and we have some back up.
after all with over 4000 posts , which I'm sure helps the Grado brand & sales.

 

[drc73rp]

I bought a new set of Grado RS2x from Grado Canada and found that there are gaps between the wood shell and the plastic driver casing. Is this normal or poor quality workmanship? Should I return it?

 

[Philimon]

I bought a new set of Grado RS2x from Grado Canada and found that there are gaps between the wood shell and the plastic driver casing. Is this normal or poor quality workmanship? Should I return it?

I just forwarded your question to Grado support, hopefully they will chime in.

My RS2x and a friend’s RS2x both have gaps between driver and cups and we assumed it was normal. When inspecting closer under flashlight I could see that the gap was air tight due to the wood glue in between, but still disappointing levels of craftmanship. Id guess the extra clearance is simply as insurance in case they shrink too much and prevent driver install, or maybe the hemp wood is too prone to cracking so its built with looser tolerances…. ??

 

[psy472]

I suspect wood constructs would to shrink over time as the wood dries out. It could be months or years, but they do shrink a couple millimeters and will crack if they aren’t allow to shrink naturally. At the same time, the grado headphones will have a different tone because the wood dampening will change with its density being higher. You could say it’s like aged wine. If you are unlucky it gets sour or in my case it became even more fragrant.

I just got a new Grado Hemp and the sounds are great and bright. My RS2e was like that when I got it 4 years ago albeit milder bass. But after 4 years the bass on my RS2e became more pronounced and the mid sound much smoother. I can literally sleep while listening to it, which I can’t do with any of the other headphones.

 

[drummerman1]

If it sounds great ... why worry? The headphone won't fall apart and I would assume they've learned a thing (or two) over the decades of making cans.

 

[TooFrank]

Well, their email responses are not always warm and fuzzy, but they usually are timely and to the point. Last year I had sent in my RS1x to be looked at (turns out everything was fine, and no work was required). I was dealing with their warranty guy. Then one morning I get a phone call from a Brooklyn area code. Picked-up, and a fellow introduced himself to me as "Hi Leo, this is John Grado, I have your headphone in my hands. Do you have a minute to chat?"

Another time, in 2016 or so, I needed to get more of those little black things that go on top of the headphone posts. Called Grado, and John Grado picked up the phone, heard my request, and sent me several at no charge. They've never disappointed me. Others may have different experiences than myself, but I'm a Grado fan for life!

Leo

Maybe you are just Lucky Leo

 

[jonathan c]

• Grado has always been responsive with me, too. I had to replace a gimbal screw for PS2000e (then discontinued), John Grado responded personally over the 'phone and sent me a set!
• Another time, I sent in Hemp for crack/split repair: again, the direct personal response and a new Hemp sent within 10 days. I still feel that this was an outstanding example of customer care - irrespective of size of business!