Grado Fan Club!
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jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
However, thanks to the help of a great Head-Fi friend, another Limited Edition joins the collection !!
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
. L-pads are 'stock' 
]
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
. L-pads are 'stock' ]
Davidzak64
Headphoneus Supremus
Are they similar to the RS-1?However, thanks to the help of a great Head-Fi friend, another Limited Edition joins the collection !!
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
• I am letting them break in (withAre they similar to the RS-1?
, not Captain & Tennille 
). The driver housings are oak; so I expect HF3 to sound akin to 1888 Double Barrel Reserva - also oak. RS-1 'button' is mahogany. I may be surprised by HF3.• Anyway, I will install Nyczaj Audio gimbal / rod assemblies & a Turbulent Labs headband on HF3. These have always produced noticeable sonic improvements in Grados.
• Also, the comparison with RS-1 'button', which has these upgrades, will be more 'valid'.
I like the wood on them. Start the process. CongratulationsHowever, thanks to the help of a great Head-Fi friend, another Limited Edition joins the collection !!
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
, looks like an excellent addition. They look 
like they were made to fit in with all the other members of your collection. Enjoy.
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jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
• The question that all 'Grado Fan Club!' members have been dying to have answered [Yeah, right ... 
]: Why the Nyczaj Audio gimbal / rod / block assemblies?
• Sound quality, appearance, build quality.
• The top photo is HF3 with stock Grado assembly; the bottom photo is RS-1x with Nyczaj Audio assembly.
• Grado gimbal, block, & rod tip are plastic while Nyczal gimbal, block, & rod tip are aluminium - more mass, less resonance.
• Also, note the relation between the rod & gimbal. Grado connection is straight in, Nyczaj connection is at an angle. The Nyczaj angle provides greater structural rigidity, better earcup placement & stability, 'breaks up' any possible transmission of vibration from headband to earcup. Result: sound with greater clarity, more focus, more impact.
•
]: Why the Nyczaj Audio gimbal / rod / block assemblies?• Sound quality, appearance, build quality.
• The top photo is HF3 with stock Grado assembly; the bottom photo is RS-1x with Nyczaj Audio assembly.
• Grado gimbal, block, & rod tip are plastic while Nyczal gimbal, block, & rod tip are aluminium - more mass, less resonance.
• Also, note the relation between the rod & gimbal. Grado connection is straight in, Nyczaj connection is at an angle. The Nyczaj angle provides greater structural rigidity, better earcup placement & stability, 'breaks up' any possible transmission of vibration from headband to earcup. Result: sound with greater clarity, more focus, more impact.
•
Gradostax fan
Head-Fier
Ebay has a ms pro on sale. Worth trying?
jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
Looks nice, very similar to GH1
jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
While HF3 is breaking in through CD replay (separate cheapo unit), still 'rocking' PS500e [L-pads] via a favourite 'Grado' h/p/a ....
Plautus001
Headphoneus Supremus
Nice... I remember wanting those a couple years ago... But I'm happy with my RS2x... EnjoyHowever, thanks to the help of a great Head-Fi friend, another Limited Edition joins the collection !!
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
TooFrank
1000+ Head-Fier
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Welcome to the club - I really enjoy my HF3. Very light and very listenable. For those I've mostly used the Dekoni L pads - they tend to be soft from the start. Looking forward to hearing your evaluationHowever, thanks to the help of a great Head-Fi friend, another Limited Edition joins the collection !!
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
Dr. Cube
100+ Head-Fier
I got a pair of GW100Xs recently to use around the house while I do chores and so on, and I'm pretty impressed. The only other Grados I can really compare them to are my SR325Xs, and I suppose to a pair of SR60s I heard briefly pretty long ago, when those were still a current model. Compared to those two, the GW100X is noticeably less Gradoish, but the Gradoishness is still there. I remember the old SR60s as definitely sounding lean, but I would not say that about either the SR325X or the GW100X. I do hear a noticeable dip in the upper mids with the GW100X, where the SR325X does a lot better, and I think the GW100X earpads are also more comfortable than the F pads on the SR325X. I really can wear these for hours, even with glasses on. It's really hard for me to say anything meaningful about the transient response or the upper treble because I've used the GW100Xs mostly with lossy source material, where the transients are blunted by the source encoding format, and the treble is distorted by the limitations of the Aptx codec family regardless. That's just what you get with Bluetooth.
Compared to the BTR5 receiver I used before, mostly with various flat-head earbuds, the GW100X battery seems bottomless, lasting for days of listening for several hours without recharging. Reception range is about the same as I had with the BTR5. I use a BTA30 Bluetooth transmitter (the older model, transmitting with Aptx-HD) set up on the top floor of the house, and with the GW100X I can still receive without dropouts in every corner of the main floor, and also in a lot of the basement and a few parts of the porch outside. Interestingly—with the BTA30 at least—the GW100X prioritizes Aptx-LL over Aptx-HD, so if your transmitter device supports both, then you'll probably have to configure it for only Aptx-HD if you prefer it. I haven't tried yet with a device that uses Aptx Adaptive so I can't say what happens in that scenario.
I also tried the GW100X with my Sound Burger (AT-SB727). The reception range was also quite good. Importantly, the GW100X electronics offer enough gain to make up for the low output level from the Sound Burger's phono stage. This is a big problem with a lot of size-constrained Bluetooth devices like cheaper TWS sets. I suspect the high-sensitivity Grado drivers are a big advantage in this use case. With the vinyl source, it becomes clear that the Bluetooth chipset has (as is typical for Bluetooth receiver systems) a noise gate to mute the output when the signal falls below a certain level. I've always found this feature annoying with any Bluetooth receiver, because it always seems to flicker on and off in the noise between tracks with analog sources. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather just have a steady noise floor than hear the noise gate flickering on and off. You can hear this noise gate behavior for yourself if you want, by generating some pink noise on a PC and playing it back on a device that allows very small volume steps.
With the GW100X connected to a headphone amp using the wired mode, it does sound to me like there's a difference in frequency response and I think the tone is better overall running with Bluetooth. It's difficult to switch back and forth quickly, though, and I didn't spend long trying to compare them, so I can't really say for sure. I think others have suggested that there's probably some equalization in use with the wireless mode. I really only expect to use them as wireless headphones, but it is nice that there's an input to use them like normal headphones.
Compared to the BTR5 receiver I used before, mostly with various flat-head earbuds, the GW100X battery seems bottomless, lasting for days of listening for several hours without recharging. Reception range is about the same as I had with the BTR5. I use a BTA30 Bluetooth transmitter (the older model, transmitting with Aptx-HD) set up on the top floor of the house, and with the GW100X I can still receive without dropouts in every corner of the main floor, and also in a lot of the basement and a few parts of the porch outside. Interestingly—with the BTA30 at least—the GW100X prioritizes Aptx-LL over Aptx-HD, so if your transmitter device supports both, then you'll probably have to configure it for only Aptx-HD if you prefer it. I haven't tried yet with a device that uses Aptx Adaptive so I can't say what happens in that scenario.
I also tried the GW100X with my Sound Burger (AT-SB727). The reception range was also quite good. Importantly, the GW100X electronics offer enough gain to make up for the low output level from the Sound Burger's phono stage. This is a big problem with a lot of size-constrained Bluetooth devices like cheaper TWS sets. I suspect the high-sensitivity Grado drivers are a big advantage in this use case. With the vinyl source, it becomes clear that the Bluetooth chipset has (as is typical for Bluetooth receiver systems) a noise gate to mute the output when the signal falls below a certain level. I've always found this feature annoying with any Bluetooth receiver, because it always seems to flicker on and off in the noise between tracks with analog sources. Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather just have a steady noise floor than hear the noise gate flickering on and off. You can hear this noise gate behavior for yourself if you want, by generating some pink noise on a PC and playing it back on a device that allows very small volume steps.
With the GW100X connected to a headphone amp using the wired mode, it does sound to me like there's a difference in frequency response and I think the tone is better overall running with Bluetooth. It's difficult to switch back and forth quickly, though, and I didn't spend long trying to compare them, so I can't really say for sure. I think others have suggested that there's probably some equalization in use with the wireless mode. I really only expect to use them as wireless headphones, but it is nice that there's an input to use them like normal headphones.
jase2k
Head-Fier
Man how do you afford all these goodies?!However, thanks to the help of a great Head-Fi friend, another Limited Edition joins the collection !!
[While part of a collection, it will be used and not just admired
My bank account would be hurting… maybe once I retire I can indulge on such purchases. One can imagine!
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