[Damien Grief]

Y’all, I just wanted you to know that I bought a pair of Hemps and created an account after reading the last few dozen pages of this thread.

Thanks so much for insight, they show up tomorrow.

Enjoy! Let us know how you like them after they arrive.

 

[534743]

Does someone have experiences with how the Hemp compares to the PS500e? From what i read they seem to be very similar.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

^They don’t sound alike at all. The Hemp sounds fairly close to the classic Grado sound whereas the PS500e is far warmer, especially in the top end.

 

[534743]

^They don’t sound alike at all. The Hemp sounds fairly close to the classic Grado sound whereas the PS500e is far warmer, especially in the top end.

So the Hemp is closer to the RS2e?

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Yes. I was actually about to say that it sounds very close to the RS2e
If you already own the latter, I’d recommend you look elsewhere for a new headphone...unless you really really dig the look of the Hemp.
I was never that fond of Grados but my friend recently bought a Hemp on the basis of it being this new Grado that didn’t sound like a Grado ie it was warm with great bass extension. He and I both had a long listening session with the Hemp and it was a big let-down. His daily driver is the HD600 - a can that isn’t exactly known for it’s bass abilities, yet it had noticeably better extension than the Hemp.

 

[SoundGuru]

Yes. I was actually about to say that it sounds very close to the RS2e
If you already own the latter, I’d recommend you look elsewhere for a new headphone...unless you really really dig the look of the Hemp.
I was never that fond of Grados but my friend recently bought a Hemp on the basis of it being this new Grado that didn’t sound like a Grado ie it was warm with great bass extension. He and I both had a long listening session with the Hemp and it was a big let-down. His daily driver is the HD600 - a can that isn’t exactly known for it’s bass abilities, yet it had noticeably better extension than the Hemp.

Were you comparing the RS2e with stock bowls or flat pads? The pads make a big difference on the sound and have advantages and disadvantages.

 

[carboncopy]

I do have the RS2e and the HEMP and for me they are different enough to keep both. The RS2e has a more vivid, open high range, the HEMP has a bit more sub-bass. And the RS2e is less congested. HEMP on the other hand is somehow has a bigger soul.

 

[knopi]

I bet the sales are a tiny fraction of the SR60/80e. These are available in most HiFi shops in the UK at least and of course, judging by the number of (positive), reviews, sold in pretty large numbers on Amazon etc. These are a lot of buyers idea of 'high end' headphones and rightly so. £80-£100 is a lot to spend on non Bluetooth headphones for most normal people, Beats excepted

The hemp is a niche product. The lower SR series is Grado's bread and butter; don't confuse this site with the rest of the Big wide world

You misunderstood what I wrote, I did not talk about selling but about sound it seems Grado fans like Hemp sound in general. Of course SR60/80 have great price performance maybe the best from all overhead headphone = easy buy. Anyway nothing important.

 

[Bernard23]

Yes. I was actually about to say that it sounds very close to the RS2e
If you already own the latter, I’d recommend you look elsewhere for a new headphone...unless you really really dig the look of the Hemp.
I was never that fond of Grados but my friend recently bought a Hemp on the basis of it being this new Grado that didn’t sound like a Grado ie it was warm with great bass extension. He and I both had a long listening session with the Hemp and it was a big let-down. His daily driver is the HD600 - a can that isn’t exactly known for it’s bass abilities, yet it had noticeably better extension than the Hemp.

Grado phones don't provide the big bass, that's not their forte. If you look at the range of tonality across the Grado ranges, it's still small solar system compared to the universe of all phones. It's fair to say though that the Grado universe is fairly remote, and sits beyond most others in its unique love it or hate it style; the context of this thread is to magnify the different planets in the Gradoverse.
I've owned Beyers and Sennheiser phones, all very competent, but none as exciting. I'd rather that quality than say sheer bass extension or tonal accuracy, but as in everything subjective, we all have different tastes!

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

Were you comparing the RS2e with stock bowls or flat pads? The pads make a big difference on the sound and have advantages and disadvantages.

The comparison was between the HD600 and the Hemp
I have listened to the RS2e on 3 different occasions. The Hemp twice and I think they sound very much alike. Both cans were fitted with stock pads btw.

Edith.

 

[534743]

The comparison was between the HD600 and the Hemp
I have listened to the RS2e on 3 different occasions. The Hemp twice and I think they sound very much alike. Both cans were fitted with stock pads btw.

Edith.

No disrespect to your findings but if the Hemp sounds like the RS2e then why is everyone raving about it so much when it more or less already existed before?

Anyone can shed light on where the Hemp fits in? I have been reading here for months now and i am still not really sure where it stands.

So could some of you compare the RS2e and PS500e (which i both own) to the Hemp and also the GH2 and SR325e?

Thanks!

 

[YtseJamer]

No disrespect to your findings but if the Hemp sounds like the RS2e then why is everyone raving about it so much when it more or less already existed before?

Anyone can shed light on where the Hemp fits in? I have been reading here for months now and i am still not really sure where it stands.

So could some of you compare the RS2e and PS500e (which i both own) to the Hemp and also the GH2 and SR325e?

Thanks!

To my ears, the Hemp don't sound like the RS2e at all. They sound like a blend of the old RS-1 with the HD600 (well driven). Or a faster version version of the HD600 with much better bass, and without the harsh upper mids of the HD600.

 

[frozenOx]

The HD600 does not have better bass extension than the Hemps. I can't take that seriously at all lol. HD600 drop off considerably after 100Hz, the Hemps more around 70 and not as dramatically. I can hear, and feel sub-bass on the Hemps down to about 35Hz. The HD600 is much more midbass focused, so that is likely what they were hearing, just more quantity of midbass. Which IMO, sucks. The only comparison between the two is the flatness of the mids until about 2K. Hemps have better bass, upper mids, treble, soundstage, and imaging than 6-series to me. I'd say the 1K region is a tie.

 

[YtseJamer]

The HD600 does not have better bass extension than the Hemps. I can't take that seriously at all lol. HD600 drop off considerably after 100Hz.

I said HD600 with much better bass. They remind of the old RS-1 (not the RS-1i) mixed with the HD600 (well driven), but with a better bass and more speed.

 

[Bernard23]

To my ears, hemp and 325e are very different sounding Grado phones. Hemp is a smoother, less bright, punchier bass and more detailed. Latter is not down to the pads, it's inherent.