Hello Gradophiles! First post on this board, so be easy on me. Just wanted to share some ramblings about my budding appreciation for these cans.
Some of my brief notes and impressions of the GW100:
- GW100 was my first Grado and first open-back design. I see it’s not as highly regarded as traditional Grados but it’s signature has imprinted onto me for the better.
- The first thing I noticed with it (used ~85% wired in home office, ~15% wireless): SO much more mid & upper bass than my Sennheiser HD-280 Pro. It also sounds faster and deeper, but I initially scooped out 2-3dB of the 250~500Hz range.
- After a while, (probably “brain burn-in” & some driver burn in) I grew to love the closeness and immediacy – haven’t listened to the HD-280Pros for music in months!
- The sound is INCREDIBLY addictive. Even before I read the “Grado Fan Club” thread, the Grado warmth & presence hooked me!
Comparison vs. Grado GW100
1. Semi-technical observations:
- Bass is not as prominent as GW100, but noticeably goes about ½ octave deeper and doesn’t have the same “bloom”
- I like to listen loudly and in some songs, the bass is so realistic that I notice phantom physical vibrations in my chair and on my feet when sitting during strong transients. I often work from home and today I got up twice to make sure no one broke in at 2:00pm
- Almost same mid-bass warmth as the GW100, but less prominent and quicker around the 250Hz EQ band.
- Low mids seem a bit scooped compared to GW100 – using VLC media player and listening to Edie Brickell’s “Stwisted”, a 0.8dB boost at 600Hz and 0.6dB boost at 1Khz seems to emulate the up-close-and-personal feeling the GW100s excel at so well.
- Much greater upper treble – gradual increase starting at 8k, peaking around 10-12k, slow plateau to around 16k+ (the lack of “sparkle” is my main gripe with the sound of the GW100).
2. Subjective “sound” characteristic comparisons:
- These arrived today from an eBay seller who claimed < 20 hours on them. First thing I notice is that the treble has such a crisp, effortless presentation that instrument separation is a piece of cake compared to the muffled tone of the GW100. I also immediately noticed higher frequency details that I have to go hunting for in my other cans. Ex:
- Rhythmic squeak in possibly bass drum kick pedal or high-hats opening/closing in “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder.
- Some odd light metallic contact or clanging sound during “Good Love Had To Die” by Grainne Duffy (good example at seconds 52-54). I’m guessing it’s those sizzler bead chains people but on ride cymbals that look just like ceiling fan pull chains, or could be her wearing a couple bracelets clanging against each other. The first time I noticed it was on my GW100s, but it was softer and not as convincing, thinking it was my dog’s tag brushing against her collar. With the GH2s, it gives me a tingling on my spine at the base of my skull, and is kind of enjoyable (in an eerie way)!
- The (slightly exaggerated) upper bass / low mid presence from the GW100 is not there. After reading >300 pages of the “Grado Fan Club” thread, I see that this headphone departs from the typical Grado “house sound”, but still belongs in the neighborhood haha. To me, it feels like I’m in a private recording session in a well dampened, large studio. The down-side is that some guitar distortion (lower notes) isn’t as engaging and “crunchy”, but the upside is (male) vocals sound like they’re coming almost directly from the mixing board with a less forced sound. Female vocals like Dianna Krall actually depend on how deeps she goes – sometimes this works, sometimes when she hits the lower registers it doesn’t feel as lifelike.
- The bass is actually weaker (quantity) in the <60Hz range compared to the GW100 (which REALLY surprised me, considering every says this is the bassiest Grado). However, it seems more linear (flatter frequency response) and does extend further. I still don’t notice much sub-bass (even my floor standers with only dual 6.5” woofers seem to make more audible bass below 40Hz). I tried swapping the “comfies” from my GW100s on, but the diameter of the cans on them are a good chunk wider than the GH2 and they didn’t stay on by themselves. This did improve the 50-70Hz bass, but it also re-created the mid-bass bloom of the GW100, decreased the treble extension and killed the sound-stage! I have to say, I am pretty disappointed about this aspect of the GH2s considering how much praise their bass gets! I’ve put about 4-5 hours on them so far, so according to the seller’s estimate they probably have 25 hours of “burn in”. I am hoping to continue listening to them at least 3 hours a day and maybe this will “loosen up” the drivers. A note on this – I am playing directly from mostly laptops and computers (Lenovo Thinkpad T440 with Intel 8 Series HD Integrated, Sager laptop with VIA HD ‘Vinyl’? sound-card, and Lenovo ThinkCentre M800 with Realtek HD). I tried my Parasound Classic 2100 stereo preamp’s headphone out, but it was too weak. I can’t find my 1/8th to 1/4” adapter to try my Onkyo receiver’s out and I’m guessing it will be no better. After I recover from buying the GH2s, I wouldn’t mind getting a good DAP or desktop DAC/Amp combo since I do ~90% of my listening at home.
3. Miscellaneous notes:
- I must have a smallish head, because I don’t find the clamping force strong at all – I actually am carefully trying to bend the headband into a slightly tighter “U” shape for a bit better fit!
- This is the first time I’ve used a ‘phone with the L-cushion and it’s not as comfortable as normal circumaural sets, or even the S-pad (which is only bad when certain parts of the driver grill are on the wrong spot of your ear), but they don’t offend me like some of you say. After one two-hour listening session, they just felt a bit “scratchy” on my upper hears. I also wear glasses all day and this wasn’t a problem for me.
- Again on the pads – I see what you guys say about how drastically they affect the sound! I reversed them and it just killed the imaging and separation. The bass got sloppy and the highs were mushed together. The loose fitting S-pad (GW100) also made the bass very flubby, even worse than they sound on the GW100! I might try getting some Earzonks or other generics because I can hear noticeable changes in sound just from pushing the phones in VERY slightly, or adjusting how tight they fit! It’s also crazy how sensitive they are to putting your fingers even half an inch close to the backs of the cans. I can’t believe how much the sound signature changes.
- The cord that comes with them can also be dual purpose as a stethoscope and for jump-starting a two-stroke Detroit Diesel during an Alaskan winter. I suppose it is good if I want to ever convert to balanced.
- I can’t put them down. There is something magnetic about them, even with the weaker than expected bass. Perhaps with more burn-in (cranial and physical) they’ll loosen up and I’ll get that sound I’ve been craving the past few weeks. I will say that going back to the GW100s after these is a shock. It sound like listening to these cans with a cotton swab in between your ears.
- I went downstairs and played some of the same “reference” tracks of mine on my modest stereo (Parasound Classic 2100 Pre, Parasound NewClassic 2125v2 amp, MartinLogan Motion 12 speakers). I dunno if buying a good headphone amp can ever emulate the sound and feeling of a full range stereo setup. You can feel the bass in the ground, the mids throw a scary realistic sound-stage (semi-dipole open back mid driver), and the treble (thanks to the folded motion tweeter) throw audience claps and fret noise over a vast 3D area, especially on “Framptop Comes Alive!” Yeah, the intimacy from headphones isn’t quite there, but DAMN if I don’t like how deep and wide it plays! I guess that’s kind of related to my prior opinion of headphones as being a good compromise.
Albums Sampled (FLAC or Spotify Premium Ultra Quality)
- Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians – “Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars”
- Grainne Duffy – “Out of the Dark” (thanks to the Head-Fi member who posted one of her songs from this album 3-400 pages back!)
- Terry Reid – “Seed of Memory”
- Hiromi’s Trio Project – “Move”
- GoGo Penguin – “A Humdrum Star”
- Owane – “Whatever” and “Dunno”
- Celia Pavey – “This is Music”
- Crosby Stills Nash & Young – “Deja Vu”
- Dianna Krall – “The Girl in the Other Room”
- Imogen Heap – “Speak for Yourself”
- Intervals – “The Way Forward”
- Stone Temple Pilots – “Purple”
- Rodrigo y Gabriela – “Rodrigo y Gabriela”
- Skooma – “Skooma” (small Stoner/Prog rock/metal from Binghampton NY – awesome)
- Animals as Leaders – “Animals as Leaders”
Some background for those with more patience for my rambling
I haven’t been in the headphone game very long, just used to see them as a compromise tool for on the go listening. But I’ve always been somewhat of a sensible “audiophile” in the sense of a huge appreciation for music and faithful reproduction – NOT in the sense of spending hundreds of $$ on a 6ft run of speaker cable. I took piano lessons and played for over 8 years as a kid (now regret quitting), attempted the guitar for a couple years, and finally settled on drums which is the one instrument that “clicked” with me and never gets dull. So I like to humbly think I have a good musical grasp of melody, rhythm, good ear for details, and other subjective aspects that make me really appreciate it.
When the family is out of the house for a while, my favorite thing to do is pour a glass of bourbon and play music as loud as I can without fearing the neighbors will call the cops on me. I love feeling the heart rate increase and goosebumps in anticipation of a great guitar solo or belting vocal passage. Of double bass pounding that can be felt in your chest and sofa, of piano pedals being pressed and released and panning right to left of the low to high keys. It’s pretty incredible how “high” music can get you without drugs: it even makes getting up 25 times to get just the right speaker placement, toe-in, and seating position worth it. I’m hoping to catch that feeling with these cans and maybe you can help!
