[Icehawk]

It's too soon to give them a fair review, suffice it to say coming from my primary source... they don't sound as good to me as my 325i. That doesn't surprise me much, I've had the 325i for 14 years so their sound is my baseline for comparison and I think on initial listen most cans are going to sound worse (yay bias!).

Hard to describe but I'd say there is more bass but it is a bit loose, the mids are recessed, and the highs don't sparkle but are fatiguing. Bear in mind I pulled the stock pads off immediately and use the same ones as on my 325i, I think it helped a tiny bit with bass and certainly is more comfortable to my ears. I've had a mild migraine all day so that isn't helping either! With some more hours on the drivers and listening... we'll see.

I do think it might benefit from different amplification, I don't love the way my HK AVR sounds with headphones in general. I'll pop it on my Yamaha AVR later as well as from an iPhone 8+. I am considering Schiit's Magni 3+/Modi combo or something similar as these headphones will be used 99% of the time playing compressed music from a PC and might benefit from some uplift.

I did notice the Hemps need a little more power to drive, I think it was 6-8 clicks on the volume wheel of the AVR.

 

[elira]

Bear in mind I pulled the stock pads off immediately and use the same ones as on my 325i, I think it helped a tiny bit with bass and certainly is more comfortable to my ears.

I tried replacing the pads and the sound got worse, the best sound I could get was with the flat pads.

 

[donlin]

I tried replacing the pads and the sound got worse, the best sound I could get was with the flat pads.

Of course replacing the stock, flat pads will destroy the magic.
Driven by my PrimaLuna Evo 100, the Hemp has deep, tight and impactful bass, solid, upfront mids. The treble has just enough energy without ever being overly bright or fatiguing. Best of all is that the overall tone and timbre have a very natural warmth and balance throughout the frequency range. These things are involving but with no pain or fatigue. I honestly can’t think of anything to criticize at this point.

 

[kmhaynes]

but can these white stickers glued on the drivers be cleaned or replaced?

The thin white mesh is keeping hair from interacting with the driver, messing it up -- I saw a graph somewhere that the mesh almost literally zero effect on the sound. You want it there.

 

[Icehawk]

I tried replacing the pads and the sound got worse, the best sound I could get was with the flat pads.

I haven't tried bowls yet

I'm going to give the flats another go with de-cheese gratering applied and see how they feel & sound.

 

[BobG55]

Nobody does guitars like Grado.

After reading your quote above, I decided to listen to a few albums w/ my GS3Ke & concentrate on the guitars both acoustic & electric. After an afternoon listening session, I have to say I agree w/ you.

 

[joseph69]

I sent my Hemp Grados to moon audio for them to replace the plug with a 4.4mm one. I could have easily replaced the plug myself with a 4 pin XLR but I wanted to keep them somewhat portable. I hope it turns out great.

Why didn't you just replace it yourself with the TRRRS connector instead of sending them to Moon?

 

[elira]

Why didn't you just replace it yourself with the TRRRS connector instead of sending them to Moon?

The 8 conductor cable is too thick, soldering it properly would have taken me a lot of time, and I’m not sure I could do it properly, main issue is that there’s too much conductor and the solder points are very small, plus the insulation on the conductors melts very easily. I could do it with a 4 conductor cable, but the 8 conductor gets too complicated. I’m assuming moon audio has better craftsmanship than me.

 

[joseph69]

The 8 conductor cable is too thick, soldering it properly would have taken me a lot of time, and I’m not sure I could do it properly, main issue is that there’s too much conductor and the solder points are very small, plus the insulation on the conductors melts very easily. I could do it with a 4 conductor cable, but the 8 conductor gets too complicated. I’m assuming moon audio has better craftsmanship than me.

Totally understandable.

 

[buffalobill]

Do they change cable on wooden Grado's?

 

[elira]

Do they change cable on wooden Grado's?

Moon Audio? Yes, they offer that service.

Supposedly they have a way of removing the glue, but I don’t know how they do it. I personally like the cable that Grado uses, it’s very nice.

 

[ruhenheiM]

Do they change cable on wooden Grado's?

one of the best work in my opinion

 

[ruhenheiM]

After reading your quote above, I decided to listen to a few albums w/ my GS3Ke & concentrate on the guitars both acoustic & electric. After an afternoon listening session, I have to say I agree w/ you.

you! slick move sir, sold gs1000i and then silently enjoying gs3000e
how is it? upgrade or sidestep from gs1000i?

 

[BubbaJay]

The more I listen to my 325e the more I'm falling in love with how they sound. Even with some of my electronic music they sound great, just as long as I boost the bass a few dB. Now I really want to try some of their higher-end headphones like the RS1 or GS1000 but I think if I do get one it will be the Hemp edition. I just don't know if that will be a big enough jump compared to the 325e but the way people describe them I think I'd really enjoy how they sound and at the end of the day that's what really matters.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Anyone else notice that their Grado's sound stage opening up the longer you burn it in? I'm reaching a point where I like listening to the Hemp Grado over my Focal Elegia if the environment allows it (When it's quiet and no one else is in the room).

what do you like more from hemp? (compare to elegia)