[elvergun]

It's the good life, I tell ya'.

I previously owned one of the last pair of HP2i, Joe Grado-era HP2 headphones that were further upgraded by a 90+-year-old-Joe. The process of getting them upgraded was harrowing, but he replaced the cables to dual-entry JGSUWBR, replaced the pads with what I believe are very similar to the upgraded pads Todd sells, and further doped the driver and the housing. They sounded absolutely spectacular.

The prototype RS1 above are still in my posession, and are very cool. They use the "pink" driver of early SR100, but predate the actual production run of the RS1. There are a few photos of the stylized button being used on later RS1 pairs, but this was before they even developed the gimbals or the wood boxes for the original RS1, so they come with an HP1000-era gimbal, headband, and box. I've looked for years and I've not found any evidence of an earlier wood headphone from Grado.

They obviously sound stupendous.

They should release a limited edition version of that model (with removable cables, of course).

 

[buffalobill]

@carboncopy Are the 225 warmer sounding than other Grado´s?

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Gone and bought an ex-demo Dave and M Scaler from a UK HiFi Dealer this evening

Will be interesting how my GS3000e's are going to sound now !

And will be interesting to see how the Dave compares alone and with M Scaler with the Hugo2 connected to the M Scaler with my GS3000e's ! .

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Gone and bought an ex-demo Dave and M Scaler from a UK HiFi Dealer this evening

Will be interesting how my GS3000e's are going to sound now !

And will be interesting to see how the Dave compares alone and with M Scaler with the Hugo2 connected to the M Scaler with my GS3000e's ! .

I wont be eating bread and jam the next 6 months it will be bread and water !....still you only live once !

 

[Gippy]

Gone and bought an ex-demo Dave and M Scaler from a UK HiFi Dealer this evening

If I was going to spend nearly $20k MSRP on a source I'd go for an MSB DAC. Chord aesthetics aren't for me. I couldn't imagine spending 10x the price on the source over the headphones, myself. Congrats if you got a deal on them.

 

[MildBobbySauce]

Ask @Reima about recabling your Hemps.

Thanks for the advice. I'll ask him.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

If I was going to spend nearly $20k MSRP on a source I'd go for an MSB DAC. Chord aesthetics aren't for me. I couldn't imagine spending 10x the price on the source over the headphones, myself. Congrats if you got a deal on them.

Yes the price was excellent with the age of the Dave and M Scaler and remaining Chord warranty. I have two full blown Chord Choral Speaker Systems (smaller version in UK and the larger version in Spain). So the Dave and M Scaler are not just for headphones. If I come a cross a Blu Mk2 ex-demo I will swap this too for my Chord Blu MK1 and sell the M Scaler.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Yes the price was excellent with the age of the Dave and M Scaler and remaining Chord warranty. I have two full blown Chord Choral Speaker Systems (smaller version in UK and the larger version in Spain). So the Dave and M Scaler are not just for headphones. If I come a cross a Blu Mk2 ex-demo I will swap this too for my Chord Blu MK1 and sell the M Scaler.

I also love the Chord Electronics house sound. I have had my big Chord Choral speaker system in Spain with the QBD76 DAC since 2012. Love it. So I decided to build up a smaller speaker system version in the UK. I love the sound of the Hugo 2 with my GS3000e's. So will be interesting what the Dave and M Scaler bring to the mix both for my speaker systems and my GS3000e's.

 

[carboncopy]

@carboncopy Are the 225 warmer sounding than other Grado´s?

That, I can not answer. The only other Grado I have is the Hemp (RS2e is on its way). The Hemp is definitely warmer.

 

[Walace]

Hello ! I ordered the Hemp after reading this thread, I am now a new Grado happy owner, and wanted to thank you !

I really enjoy the sound with iPhone 11 / Vox player and Chord Mojo:
- clear highs, rich medium, and fast basses (I don't feel it is lacking basses as sometime seen),
- very involving and a great PRAT,
- no the most spacial sound, but not bad neither,
- and everything seems to be improving after already 25h of use !
- it is very light and conformtable, I can spend hours listening music without any problem (no hurt, no warm...)
- it's really nice with the wooden cups, even with some plastic pieces and a wire that looks like a hose, but that's not really an issue.
definitely a great headphone that doesn't stand comparison with my Porta pro or Sony WH1000m3, and very different from my Stax L300...

I am already wondering what could be the step up...

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

Hello ! I ordered the Hemp after reading this thread, I am now a new Grado happy owner, and wanted to thank you !

I really enjoy the sound with iPhone 11 / Vox player and Chord Mojo:
- clear highs, rich medium, and fast basses (I don't feel it is lacking basses as sometime seen),
- very involving and a great PRAT,
- no the most spacial sound, but not bad neither,
- and everything seems to be improving after already 25h of use !
- it is very light and conformtable, I can spend hours listening music without any problem (no hurt, no warm...)
- it's really nice with the wooden cups, even with some plastic pieces and a wire that looks like a hose, but that's not really an issue.
definitely a great headphone that doesn't stand comparison with my Porta pro or Sony WH1000m3, and very different from my Stax L300...

I am already wondering what could be the step up...

Give them at least 50 to 100 hours burn in, maybe up to 150 hours (like I experienced with the GS3000e's) to reach their full character.

 

[G0rt]

Is it normal to be unimpressed with other headphones after hearing Grados?

 

[TheMiddleSky]

@carboncopy Are the 225 warmer sounding than other Grado´s?

Definitely not, even 325e would be produce thicker lower mid to bass notes.

Title for "warmer than the rest of Grado" would be for RS1e, and PS500e too I think.

I never tested hemp though.

 

[carboncopy]

Is it normal to be unimpressed with other headphones after hearing Grados?

Yes.

 

[BobG55]

Is it normal to be unimpressed with other headphones after hearing Grados?