[Guts390]

How can an amp possibly have any kind of soundstage? That isn't what they do. All they do is increase power.

Amps do a lot more than just increase power. Every amp I own sounds different than one another.

 

[joseph69]

How can an amp possibly have any kind of soundstage? That isn't what they do. All they do is increase power.

 

[ESL-1]

Ideally that’s what they do, but realistically there is a flavor added to them by their makers much like a passive EQ. Just like how water should just quench thirst but you got different flavors just by slightly changing their mineral contents and where you get the water from.

Which is why I used to have so many different headphone amps in my collection. I was very familiar with their sound and used that to optimize the matching with my different phones.

 

[joseph69]

Which is why I used to have so many different headphone amps in my collection. I was very familiar with their sound and used that to optimize the matching with my different phones.

Joe--you wasted all that money on different amps when ally needed was 1

 

[Guts390]

Joe--you wasted all that money on different amps when ally needed was 1

Yeah man. All amps sound the same. Reddit said so.

 

[joseph69]

@Tom White
No way to start off the New Year--just having a little innocent fun.

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Bits is bits and amps is amps
They all sound just the same.
But each hertz has its special sound,
So frequency graphs claim!

 

[ESL-1]

Yeah man. All amps sound the same. Reddit said so.

Oh gosh gee, I’ll have to change everything I learned in audio. Thanks for pointing out the error of my ways.

 

[plakat]

How can an amp possibly have any kind of soundstage? That isn't what they do. All they do is increase power.

Ideally that would be the case. In reality though many factors distract from that ideal, different amp circuit variants have different electrical properties that interact with the electric and dynamic properties of the drivers, making things quite complex.

There are amps that show less such interaction than others, getting nearer to the ideal „wire with gain“, and others that show strong character — often on purpose, appealing to a specific preference. Prime example might be tube amps, where most variants color sound with harmonics, which give a sweet, natural sound sought after by many. Solid state / Transistor amps may be easier to build without much distortion, and cater to a different audience. There are also hybrid variants mixing properties of those two, e.g. a bit of tube coloration in the preamp, transistor power on the power section.

TL;DR: things are complicated. Which is why we like them so much

 

[carboncopy]

Ideally that would be the case. In reality though many factors distract from that ideal, different amp circuit variants have different electrical properties that interact with the electric and dynamic properties of the drivers, making things quite complex.

There are amps that show less such interaction than others, getting nearer to the ideal „wire with gain“, and others that show strong character — often on purpose, appealing to a specific preference. Prime example might be tube amps, where most variants color sound with harmonics, which give a sweet, natural sound sought after by many. Solid state / Transistor amps may be easier to build without much distortion, and cater to a different audience. There are also hybrid variants mixing properties of those two, e.g. a bit of tube coloration in the preamp, transistor power on the power section.

TL;DR: things are complicated. Which is why we like them so much

Solid state has different kind of distortions. Termal memory, the need for strang local or global negative feedback, lot of problems. So it is not tubes with distortion vs solid state which is wire with gain.

Some distortions are measured und discussed more often but it is up to debate wheter they are the important measurements.

 

[Gippy]

So I sold my RS2x, but recipient of package found the black goop on back of driver to have fallen off

This is honestly the first I've ever heard of this phenomenon. I thought the goop hardened and made enough of a bond so that this doesn't happen. Sucks that Grado is charging for service, but most companies void warranty if it's not the original owner anyway. I would've insured the package and claimed that the shipping company damaged it in transit. When I sold my GS2000e I bought extra insurance (regular coverage is only $100) because I sure wasn't taking any chances for something that valuable.

 

[plakat]

Solid state has different kind of distortions. Termal memory, the need for strang local or global negative feedback, lot of problems. So it is not tubes with distortion vs solid state which is wire with gain.

Some distortions are measured und discussed more often but it is up to debate wheter they are the important measurements.

I know, and that’s not what I said. Most tube designs produce much more distortion though mostly of the harmonic kind which helps with the representation of natural instruments.

Solid state does produce distortion (depending on design), though overall much less — except if by design. The kind of distortion tends to be more of a problematic kind though, which is why most solid state designs try to minimize those byproducts. So neither is a wire. With gain, though solid state is better at approaching that ideal.

And yes, no measurement can completely describe how an amp ultimately sounds. Though measurements may help in pinpointing problematic combinations.

 

[ESL-1]

Solid state has different kind of distortions. Termal memory, the need for strang local or global negative feedback, lot of problems. So it is not tubes with distortion vs solid state which is wire with gain.

Some distortions are measured und discussed more often but it is up to debate wheter they are the important measurements.

I agree the numbers certainly can be a guide but I would rely on what I hear and feel with any component and certainly headphones and speakers. I would never base it on specs alone.

Good example: when I was still in retail I could compare phono cartridges with identical scans and they would never sound identical. At the time I had perhaps 20 phono cartridges in my collection.

For me numbers are a guide but not the final arbiter.

 

[Philimon]

This is honestly the first I've ever heard of this phenomenon. I thought the goop hardened and made enough of a bond so that this doesn't happen. Sucks that Grado is charging for service, but most companies void warranty if it's not the original owner anyway. I would've insured the package and claimed that the shipping company damaged it in transit. When I sold my GS2000e I bought extra insurance (regular coverage is only $100) because I sure wasn't taking any chances for something that valuable.

Seems unlikely that goop would fall off due to shipping so Im not going to blame UPS.
It is also the first time Ive seen mention of the goop falling off, another unfortunate possibility of x-series such as the incidents of hemp wood cracking and cups breaking.

I might start a new thread to collect instances of Grado issues so the thread would serve as a PSA. The last few pages of this “Fan Club” thread was calling Resolve a shill, meanwhile critical Grado posts get buried deep in thread.

Spoiler: insurance rant

I do insure all my packages and use UPS, but luckily have never had to claim anything.

I stopped using USPS a couple years ago after I first tried claiming a damaged package with USPS but they were of no help even when the circumstances were so obviously their fault…
I ship a package insured, tracking shows package arrives in destination city, but then there is no movement until suddenly it arrives back to me. A knock on my door and the mailman hands me the package torn open and shows me that the destination address has also been torn off. I accept. Then to not much surprise, the package is missing contents. After several attempts with USPS they would not budge to cover insurance claim. So stopped using USPS. Pirateship with UPS initial cost is practically as cheap while UPS I hope takes better responsibility.

I will prob not take Grado up on their offer to fix for $150 because there is nothing preventing the issue from happening again however unlikely. Ill keep as-is rather than mark down my classified listing $150 down from $300. I may try recabling them myself because the stock cable is a deterrent for portable use, freeing the headphone from that cable would make RS2x much more useable like my Koss Porta Pro.
edit: nvm, too scared to recable because worried about breaking cups.

 

[Gippy]

I will prob not take Grado up on their offer to fix for $150 because there is nothing preventing the issue from happening again however unlikely.

Last year I had to pay $400 CAD to get my GS3000e repaired due to L side grattle. It took almost 3 months and two attempts because the first attempt was botched, and I still had to cover shipping the second time. (They threw in a new pair of G-pads as an apology.) Now it's OK, but I expect to have to pay again if it breaks again. A new GS3000x costs over $3100 here, so while the repair ain't cheap, the alternative is much more costly.