Grado Fan Club!
May 30, 2021 at 8:11 AM Post #47,626 of 65,063
Maybe i should try sigva or ollo instead?
You just spent your last six posts or so dunking on Grado because Amazon sent you a lemon. We get it, bad stuff happens. You could've sucked it up and waited an excruciating (sarcasm) 2 weeks for an exchange replacement using a free return shipping exchange label, because that's one of the advantages of buying from Amazon. But no, you're done with Grado. Fine. Move on, because nobody in a Grado Fan Club thread really wants to hear constant complaining from someone who doesn't care about the brand anymore.
 
May 30, 2021 at 8:11 AM Post #47,627 of 65,063
Aaand…one more review where the stock pads are thrown away at the start. I really-really don’t get it.



As a side note. I bought these exact Geekria pads, they arrived last week. Nice packaging and eveything and I used them about 5 Minutes before putting them away. Then For curiosity I let my wife try them (she really loves the Hemp). Same. She is no audiofil but after 1 minute she commented, the the “energy” is missing.
 
May 30, 2021 at 8:19 AM Post #47,628 of 65,063
I see the appeal in trying different pads, but what separates grado from other brands to me is that their headphones have more of that top end excitement while still retaining an accurate and stunning mid range. If you take away the “excitement” it loses a big part of Grados identity IMO
 
May 30, 2021 at 8:50 AM Post #47,629 of 65,063
Unfortunately not really a Hemp review since the whole thing is based on the large pads. Those big pads transform the sound into something else, definitely not for the better in my opinion.
I also agree. The thought of going back to the original flats was the result of some testing comparing the different pads as the x series was being developed. It was far from a random decision and the Hemp was the first model to apply these results.

Certainly it is perfectly fine to do one’s own experimenting with different pads to decide what you find most to your preference. There is already a small cottage industry revolving around different after market parts that are aimed at owners of Grados. It really is a great boon to Grado owners who want to personalize the sound and look of their phones.

As to the question of comfort, that is also a very personal decision. The thought I want to point out is that unless you have taken the time to properly adjust the fit you will most likely be shortchanging the possible results. Of course this important for any headphones but it seems be even more critical with the Grado models. Adjust the head band to get the best combination for both performance and comfort, a little bit sometimes does the trick.

I have a wide assortment of different headphones and a number of the Grados are in my opinion among the most comfortable for Me. I can listen to these for long periods of time without any issues. Many times it can just be a slight lessening of the clamping pressure to tune it in. I am sure many enthusiasts already do this. If not then give it a shot, a little time spent on this could change both the sonic and comfort factor for you.

Enjoy the journey…..
 

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May 30, 2021 at 10:10 AM Post #47,630 of 65,063
Earlier in the week I posted about how I felt Grado was very particular about the wording on their website. You’ll even notice the wireless headphone doesn’t say a darn thing about the sound on the website, just that it uses a grado driver. They know it’s not a good headphone too! But they use the words “warm harmonic sounds“ and “pure Grado” on a few pages. RS2e being one of them. As well as the 125x and 225x. So i had spit balled the idea that those headphones were more in line with classic grado. I bought the 80x and I really enjoy it, but it’s not what i would consider the “pure Grado” house sound. So I purchased the 225x to see for myself.

For those worried that the classic grado sound was gone with the x-series fear not. I just got the SR225x and Grados house sound is fully intact. I’m getting that same “airiness” that i got from the RS2e and GH3. I got less of that with the 80x, and the Hemp I don’t get much of that same sound either. I love the Hemp, it’s an amazing headphone, but it’s not Grados house sound (For better or worse depending who you ask.)

I need more than the 30 minutes i have had with the SR225x to give it better impressions, but i first wanted to see if it passed the “Pure Grado” house sound test. and In my limited grado experience- it does

*edit* so it seems that the 60x is the gateway into Grado. And you have two paths to take

1. The more balanced/neutral path which is SR80x, SR325x, Hemp…

2. Classic Grado path which is sr125x, SR225x, rs2e…
The more balanced/neutral path which is SR80x, SR325x, Hemp
I never thought I'd see the day where the 325 is categorized under " Neutral "
 
May 30, 2021 at 10:16 AM Post #47,631 of 65,063
I can’t be sure what the source of my issue is. It could be something getting in through the large holes on the backside’s grill. Hair or some dust. Couldn’t be something to do with quality control in that case.

Hopefully it is something so minor and they can fix it. But we’ll see. I do hope the resonance I hear isn’t a failed quality control check though during manufacture. It doesn’t seem to be a common issue, so I’m only guessing they left production in fine quality.

I still don’t love, of course, that my newly purchased headphones even picked up such an issue from just sitting in my apartment for a day or two exposed in the air.

I’ll check back in as I find out more, if they tell me what happens when the receive it. I shipped my Hemp back a couple hours ago.
I shipped my Hemp back a couple hours ago
I sent my RS2e of to Grado UK for a service due to a similar issue , grattle in the left cup on certain low frequencies , when I blew in the cup I could hear something similar to blowing on a piece of paper at close distance , like a shaking / rattling sound I guess , I knew something had ripped / torn ?? .
It took about a month for them to return home but dang my RS2e sound wonderful again. I'm assuming they replaced both drivers because there was fresh glue in the cups holding both drivers in place.
Cost me £150 (Standard RS2e repair charge) . Well worth it though :)
 
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May 30, 2021 at 12:15 PM Post #47,634 of 65,063
This is what I mentioned a few posts back , Hemps are categorized as Reference Series on Grado Uk , they are on the same page as RS1e & RS2e .
Not really surprising since the Hemp has generated more buzz and rave reviews than anything they’ve put out in a long time. Not to mention many people consider it to be the best sounding headphone they currently make.
 
May 30, 2021 at 12:58 PM Post #47,635 of 65,063
Not really surprising since the Hemp has generated more buzz and rave reviews than anything they’ve put out in a long time. Not to mention many people consider it to be the best sounding headphone they currently make.
Yet I have absolutely no desire to purchase one , I maybe alone here but I think they are quite ugly & I don't like the button on the grills.
I'm sure I'll run across a cheap one on eBay one day .
 
May 30, 2021 at 1:23 PM Post #47,636 of 65,063
You just spent your last six posts or so dunking on Grado because Amazon sent you a lemon. We get it, bad stuff happens. You could've sucked it up and waited an excruciating (sarcasm) 2 weeks for an exchange replacement using a free return shipping exchange label, because that's one of the advantages of buying from Amazon. But no, you're done with Grado. Fine. Move on, because nobody in a Grado Fan Club thread really wants to hear constant complaining from someone who doesn't care about the brand anymore.
You’r right:wink:
The lemon is eaten and digested.
Considering the hemp from a local dealer instead
 
May 30, 2021 at 1:59 PM Post #47,639 of 65,063
A guy are selling a grado-ra1 for about 300 USD.
Is it worth it?
 
May 30, 2021 at 2:03 PM Post #47,640 of 65,063
Always nice to buy from a local dealer whenever possible.
X series are not for sale locally yet.so I bought from amazon…..
But hemp is available local.
 
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