[Fvizeu]

R.I.P. Alexi Laiho. One of the best shredders ever. Child of Bodom was the first band that got me into melodic metal and heavier stuff in general. He was only 18 when they released their first album in 97, only 20 in this album. Started playing the violin before his teens and switched to guitar just a few years later -- can't deny the many classically inspired riffs! He's been rated one of the best metal guitarists and front men for the past 2 decades across many publications. I know metal isn't the most popular genre on this forum where a lot of us appreciate SQ and production quality, etc. But I can't deny this guys talent:

Major major influence in my teen years. I can't even count how many time I've listened to their Tokyo Warhearts album. I don't really like the vocals anymore, but he was really gifted as a guitarist and great composer. I wish he had released a guitar solo album

 

[ParaLoganGrado]

Major major influence in my teen years. I can't even count how many time I've listened to their Tokyo Warhearts album. I don't really like the vocals anymore, but he was really gifted as a guitarist and great composer. I wish he had released a guitar solo album

To be honest, I've never liked that style of screaming / growling vocals. But I've gotten to the point where I am able to tune them out kind of because I appreciate the melody and music so much. In Flames is another band like that where the lead singer's voice is grating and squeaky in a way, but "The Jester Race", "Colony" and a couple other of their first few albums are pretty much THE SOUND I think of when I think of melodeth. Lots of galloping rhythms, 3-4 guitar harmonies in every 2 minute solo, lots of baroque inspired melodies and such. Another example of amazing music but VERY harsh lyrics is the band Kalmah. I apologize in advance for the harsh vocals, but this solo at 2:43 sounds like it could have been a classical piece transcribed for distorted guitars haha. Starting around 2:58 is the best part, then again at 3:12. Notice how there are key changes and different movements? I always appreciated how much work goes into the melodies and I bet if they were transcribed for an orchestra or classical nylon guitar it might be easier to digest haha. I added the time stamp but that doesn't seem to work usually in embeds:

 

[Philimon]

Do you guys know if there are any differences on RS2e with pink and black drivers?

I just checked an ad here on Headfi for an RS2e and they have the pink ones



These are older than mine (they come on the blue pizza box, mine came on the new white one). My drivers are black (or grey-ish):



Does that mean anything regarding sound?

I have an old SR225 with pink drivers and I read somewhere that they are the same as the SR225e's.

Thanks!

Hi ..just checked . My Sr225 are red drivers . And my new Rs2e in new white box look like a light purple ( not red ) . But on a certain light look more black ? Hard to tell.....lol

I thought only reference series and up got the red goop marked drivers. Prestige and cheaper limited series (hemp and hf3) are plain (black). The red goop mark identified you had a higher tier driver and also theorized that it could be mass damping for extra classy refined tuning.

 

[Damien Grief]

R.I.P. Alexi Laiho. One of the best shredders ever. Child of Bodom was the first band that got me into melodic metal and heavier stuff in general. He was only 18 when they released their first album in 97, only 20 in this album. Started playing the violin before his teens and switched to guitar just a few years later -- can't deny the many classically inspired riffs! He's been rated one of the best metal guitarists and front men for the past 2 decades across many publications. I know metal isn't the most popular genre on this forum where a lot of us appreciate SQ and production quality, etc. But I can't deny this guys talent:

As a huge metal fan, this was such awful news to wake up to yesterday. Been playing CoB for most of the day today.

 

[ParaLoganGrado]

As a huge metal fan, this was such awful news to wake up to yesterday. Been playing CoB for most of the day today.

Same here. Honestly, I am pretty disconnected from celebrities and musicians etcetera. But CoB was a huge catalyst in the shift of my musical tastes. I haven't listened to them much at all the past 5 or so years, but I did go on a huge Sinergy kick a couple years back (Alexi was the lead guitarist and a big part of the compositions) because I could get a taste of his musical style with new material! The lead singer, Kimmy is a power metal vocalist almost who sounds like a mix of Hart and Dragonforce! But yeah, this one got to me a lot more than I expected

 

[audiobomber]

Maybe take the shredder discussion to another thread?

 

[El Sordo]

How would you compare the MS2i and the Hemp? Just curious here as a MS2i owner myself.

A much better headphone. I've yet to hear the RS2e but I think the Hemp is more in the RS2's class. It's a darker headphone for a Grado but still has super punchy mids and sparkly highs. Difference is the lows hit hard now and it really fills out the sound. I was a bit blown away when I first listened to them. Whenever I listen to the MS2i's after listening to these, they sound pretty thin in comparison. I do think the L Pads work better for things like classical music so maybe I'll just keep the MS2i's with L pads on laying around for when I'm listening to things that have less bass.

 

[Drokk]

Hey! Circling back after having my Hemps for a couple weeks and putting in some serious listening. Now that I've escaped family after being hunkered down out there for a few months due to covid concerns I'm back with my setup!

Wow are these handsome headphones. They're a great addition to my collection, and the final bit of flavor I needed to round it all out. These are my third headphone; Clears for serious sit down listening, K712s for PC gaming, and now these for a fun, flavored and laid back listen. I can wear these while I work / read and not get too distracted, and similar to the k712s they're more rugged than my grey clears so I need to baby them a lot less. Due to the low impedance, they're also surprisingly good plugged in to a playstation controller, so my girlfriend has been borrowing them a lot as she works her way through the last of us 2.

Fun! Warm! Electric guitars really pop. On ear is a great contrast to my other over-ear headphones, and I enjoy it more than I expected to. My only complaint is the coarse pads can hurt my ears after a little bit, but there are tons of options to replace them. Anyone have a recommendation? Slightly overwhelmed by the number available.

Wish I was courageous enough to mod these to have detachable wires

 

[frozenOx]

Hey! Circling back after having my Hemps for a couple weeks and putting in some serious listening. Now that I've escaped family after being hunkered down out there for a few months due to covid concerns I'm back with my setup!

Wow are these handsome headphones. They're a great addition to my collection, and the final bit of flavor I needed to round it all out. These are my third headphone; Clears for serious sit down listening, K712s for PC gaming, and now these for a fun, flavored and laid back listen. I can wear these while I work / read and not get too distracted, and similar to the k712s they're more rugged than my grey clears so I need to baby them a lot less. Due to the low impedance, they're also surprisingly good plugged in to a playstation controller, so my girlfriend has been borrowing them a lot as she works her way through the last of us 2.

Fun! Warm! Electric guitars really pop. On ear is a great contrast to my other over-ear headphones, and I enjoy it more than I expected to. My only complaint is the coarse pads can hurt my ears after a little bit, but there are tons of options to replace them. Anyone have a recommendation? Slightly overwhelmed by the number available.

Wish I was courageous enough to mod these to have detachable wires

Before swapping pads, flatten the headband almost all the way out, then shape it back to how you like it. They don't need a seal or much clamp at all. I had the same issue with them pinching/irritating my ears and now that's basically completely gone. If that doesn't help, I thought the Geekria flat pads (with the hole in the middle exposing the driver, but not the bowl shaped ones) were similar enough. But stock still sounded a bit better.

 

[El Sordo]

Hey! Circling back after having my Hemps for a couple weeks and putting in some serious listening. Now that I've escaped family after being hunkered down out there for a few months due to covid concerns I'm back with my setup!

Wow are these handsome headphones. They're a great addition to my collection, and the final bit of flavor I needed to round it all out. These are my third headphone; Clears for serious sit down listening, K712s for PC gaming, and now these for a fun, flavored and laid back listen. I can wear these while I work / read and not get too distracted, and similar to the k712s they're more rugged than my grey clears so I need to baby them a lot less. Due to the low impedance, they're also surprisingly good plugged in to a playstation controller, so my girlfriend has been borrowing them a lot as she works her way through the last of us 2.

Fun! Warm! Electric guitars really pop. On ear is a great contrast to my other over-ear headphones, and I enjoy it more than I expected to. My only complaint is the coarse pads can hurt my ears after a little bit, but there are tons of options to replace them. Anyone have a recommendation? Slightly overwhelmed by the number available.

Wish I was courageous enough to mod these to have detachable wires

I think stock pads sound best. I'm waiting on the Geekria flat pads but I cut a hole out on Grado flat pads and reversed them, which is similar to the Geekria, and I think stock sounds better, so I expect the Geekria's won't be much different. I do like the flat pads with a cutout more than without though, so I'll probably use them with the MS2i's.

 

[Drokk]

Before swapping pads, flatten the headband almost all the way out, then shape it back to how you like it. They don't need a seal or much clamp at all. I had the same issue with them pinching/irritating my ears and now that's basically completely gone. If that doesn't help, I thought the Geekria flat pads (with the hole in the middle exposing the driver, but not the bowl shaped ones) were similar enough. But stock still sounded a bit better.

I think stock pads sound best. I'm waiting on the Geekria flat pads but I cut a hole out on Grado flat pads and reversed them, which is similar to the Geekria, and I think stock sounds better, so I expect the Geekria's won't be much different. I do like the flat pads with a cutout more than without though, so I'll probably use them with the MS2i's.

Thanks both of you. Followed Ox's advice and flattened them out and with reduced clamp force they're MUCH comfier. Glad I can keep these with stock.

 

[Joaquin Dinero]

Fun! Warm! Electric guitars really pop. On ear is a great contrast to my other over-ear headphones, and I enjoy it more than I expected to. My only complaint is the coarse pads can hurt my ears after a little bit, but there are tons of options to replace them. Anyone have a recommendation? Slightly overwhelmed by the number available.

I like the Geekria "super L" pads for the mid sized Grados. They're like the Grado L pads but a little bigger, and an order of magnitude more comfortable. Some will say they change the sound too much, but for $20 or so they are worth trying out IMHO.

 

[eeagle]

They sound great with each amp I’ve tried (tube and SS). Currently getting best results with Benchmark HPA4. They definitely scale with better gear.

Totally agree, I run my Hemps on a Grace Design M9xx (Drop version) most of the time; I hate letting tubes warm up.

Stick with the F pads; I learned long ago that the pads are a huge part of any HP design, and in the case of the Hemp their amazing sound signature.

 

[El Sordo]

I've been A/Bing them with my MS2i's and while listening to The Weeknd's Acquainted it's pretty obvious how much tighter and more detailed the lows are on the Hemps. With the flat cutouts the MS2i's have a little more oomph in the lows than I was expecting, since I've been using them with L pads almost exclusively for about 2 years, but the lows are pretty loose and flabby and not detailed. They have presence but that's about it. With the Hemps I was hearing some reverb in the lows that I wasn't hearing with the MS2's. I'm not sure if the Vali 2 is adding some of that in or if it's mixed into the song like that but it's still a distortion I can hear with the Hemps and not the MS2's. And their impact was significantly greater. Just a lot more grunt in the lows and without so much floppiness.

 

[johanchandy]

All this praise for the hemp makes my heart warm. Just wished more people from the public gave it a chance, it could be their gateway into the house of Grado