[ESL-1]

Enjoy them. If you will ever directly wire to the source you can easily find upgrade cables that will further improve the wired sound starting from below $50.
Below I am posting again with the Audio Ninja cable I got for my GW100v2 which now is doing even better since I upgraded to the GW100x series.

Have fun.

 

[frozenOx]

Purchased the 325X as recommended. Very balanced sound. I vividly remember the Hemp. the Hemps had a rather weird lower treble, high mid range messiness on some songs. Especially with high gain guitars. Sometimes it sounded magnificent, sometimes awful.

the 325x does not have that issue as bad. i can hear how that is tamed on the same troublesome albums. the FR is very balanced. the subbass may be better too. these rumble down to the 40Hz region and drop out around 32Hz. very good performance for a dynamic in this price range.

however, the detail is not as good as the Hemp from what I remember. these are the same driver? I think it's likely just the treble tuning if that's the case. I'll take a better tuning over some minor loss in micro detail. Hemp live acoustic recordings it could sound like you were in the room..325X are very close but don't really get that same feeling, at least not to the same degree.

comfort is just OK since the pads are new. i flattened the band straight then shaped back into a U shape to rest gently on my ears.

Geekria G bowls ... i have no idea why anyone says these are good on the 325x. the mids are gone. the bass does not seem much louder. i increased the clamp to try and get a better seal but still did not sound even remotely better than the flats.

compared to the old R70X? a sidegrade. 325x can still be shouty or downright bad with the wrong guitar recording. R70x literally never sound off. 325x a slightly better center stereo image. bass is more harmonically rich on the 325x

my conclusion: 325x are not the typical overly shouty Grado tuning, but have deep rich bass and get close to the famously neutral 6xx series and R70x neutrality. the upper mid spikes can still conflict with some recordings but it's very subtle now. the treble is well tamed. maybe almost too tamed. but at this price you're not going to get absolute perfection, just well thought out compromises

 

[David222]

Beautiful headband / cup match. Nicely done!!

 

[544322]

Leftovers from my pimpage. If anyone wants, message me. I don't want much for it.

 

[Dragonmilenario]

My father-in-law has a pair of Grado SR60i headphones that I gave him a few years ago. Since we’re visiting his house now, I tried them again and was really surprised by how good they sound for the price. They have a very impactful and intimate sound. Anyway, the original pads have worn out and he needs a replacement. I’ve seen that there’s a version with a hole in the driver… Is it a good option for the Grado SR60i?

 

[clundbe1]

My father-in-law has a pair of Grado SR60i headphones that I gave him a few years ago. Since we’re visiting his house now, I tried them again and was really surprised by how good they sound for the price. They have a very impactful and intimate sound. Anyway, the original pads have worn out and he needs a replacement. I’ve seen that there’s a version with a hole in the driver… Is it a good option for the Grado SR60i?

Maybe the sound can be a little bit harch with open pads on those phones. But again, what do I know? Never owned the 60's

 

[544322]

My father-in-law has a pair of Grado SR60i headphones that I gave him a few years ago. Since we’re visiting his house now, I tried them again and was really surprised by how good they sound for the price. They have a very impactful and intimate sound. Anyway, the original pads have worn out and he needs a replacement. I’ve seen that there’s a version with a hole in the driver… Is it a good option for the Grado SR60i?

 

[David222]

The RS1 vintage (button wood) continue to amaze ... equally impressive, the Vali2++ delivers some of the best synergy I've yet to discover in amp pairings with any Grado.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I'd been listening to my LCD-2's pretty much exclusively for the last few months and threw on the Hemps because I haven't in a while and had a moment of "Ahhhhhh that's right..."

I swear Grado just has a magic to them. The tuning is made for ears, not measurement devices.

 

[544322]

The RS1 vintage (button wood) continue to amaze ... equally impressive, the Vali2++ delivers some of the best synergy I've yet to discover in amp pairings with any Grado.

All the RS1 needs is an amp or eq that brightens the treble just a little bit and then it sounds perfect.

 

[mab1376]

The RS1 vintage (button wood) continue to amaze ... equally impressive, the Vali2++ delivers some of the best synergy I've yet to discover in amp pairings with any Grado.

Is there a guide on replacing the headband? Is any glue required?

 

[David222]

Is there a guide on replacing the headband? Is any glue required?

It was pretty easy / no glue. The black plastic "tips" uncrew / pull off with some force (carefully) applied so not to break anything

Then the rods will slide down and off from the headband. Then you will pull the headband out of the "left" and "right" plastic (left behind). Slide the old headband off and the new headband on.

The new headband took me a few minutes to "work" all the way on correct, but no glue or cutting was required. Just some patience.

 

[emorrison33]

The RS1 vintage (button wood) continue to amaze ... equally impressive, the Vali2++ delivers some of the best synergy I've yet to discover in amp pairings with any Grado.

My Grado's sound good with the Vali 2 as well. My favorite amp to use with them.

 

[David222]

My Grado's sound good with the Vali 2 as well. My favorite amp to use with them.

Indeed!

I should probably note that I'm lucky to be using some great tubes (not stock). The tubes I roll are a bit more than the cost of the AMP itself. I only mention this so not to set the wrong expectation - as I have not actually used the Vali with the stock tube.

 

[mab1376]

It was pretty easy / no glue. The black plastic "tips" uncrew / pull off with some force (carefully) applied so not to break anything

Then the rods will slide down and off from the headband. Then you will pull the headband out of the "left" and "right" plastic (left behind). Slide the old headband off and the new headband on.

The new headband took me a few minutes to "work" all the way on correct, but no glue or cutting was required. Just some patience.

Oh, ok, so you had the headband pre-installed with the rodblocks?

The headband i have is just the headband.