[shimigg]

After 2 days with the Rs-x1 the cable got to me
But I did not fancy ungluing the driver on 2 day old £750 headphone
So I have put inline 3.5mm 3 pole female socket

I also took apart the old cable from my 325x
basically the 2 reds(+)left side run straight from the plug via the Y connector to the driver
also the two white right side (+) run straight from the plug via the Y connector to the driver
The 4 blue cables all got to the Y splitter and are joined together then a pair go to each driver

This is only a temp mod unit I have plucked up courage to fit so

So I would like to do this cable mod,

Can someone help with the soldering of wires ?

I would like to use this cable linked below in 3.5mm configuration:

https://mezeaudio.com/products/99-series-standard-cables

 

[VinMAC]

Thanks for the info. So, there isn't necessarily a better Grado, just a different sounding Grado!?
I already had a few Grados (SR325, GW100, The Hemp, The White, GH2)….
The only Grado I kept was the GH2 because I like it best. I can buy a GH1000 quite cheaply and am thinking…. I just don't know if it's too old and if it's better than the GH2.

The GH2 is a wonderful sounding Grado. The older series have much more of treble. It depends on your system what is best for you. I like the GS1000i because it has very much basspunch for a Grado and also nice midrange, treble and stage.

 

[Riverflow]

Now this is great! Which female plugs did you use ?

Also, since this is my first soldering in the audio world, when cutting the wire attached to the HPs, which color goes to which part of the plug ?

I used 3 pole female plugs from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancable-Replacement-Connector-Shrinkle-Headphone/dp/B07JNHVF85?th=1
The red cable is left positive
the white cable is right positive
And the blues are all negative I split the two blue on each socket

sorry for the poor quality of the the diagram above is for trrs so just ignore the extra terminal that I have drawn over

 

[Delmonaco]

Ok Grado fans. Help me out here.

I own the SR325X and the RS2X. Should I get the Hemp? Is it different enough from my other two, or would I be just wasting money on the "Cool Factor"?

I'm at the same spot!

 

[shimigg]

I used 3 pole female plugs from https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ancable-Replacement-Connector-Shrinkle-Headphone/dp/B07JNHVF85?th=1
The red cable is left positive
the white cable is right positive
And the blues are all negative I split the two blue on each socket




sorry for the poor quality of the the diagram above is for trrs so just ignore the extra terminal that I have drawn over

Is this the same on SR225 and 325 ?

 

[Moak]

The GH2 is a wonderful sounding Grado. The older series have much more of treble. It depends on your system what is best for you. I like the GS1000i because it has very much basspunch for a Grado and also nice midrange, treble and stage.

Yes, the GH2 is a very good headphone. Better than any Grados I've heard so far (including The Hemp). It's a question of whether it's worth buying a used GS1000 or Rs1x...if the GH2 sounds similarly good and there isn't much of a difference.

 

[Riverflow]

Is this the same on SR225 and 325 ?

Never done a 225 but the 325x and the 80 are the same

 

[Moak]

Thank you @TooFrank
So, from the perspective of technical abilities RS1X>GH2>Hemp?

And where in the list does the GS1000 belong?

 

[mks100]

Thank you @TooFrank
So, from the perspective of technical abilities RS1X>GH2>Hemp?

Agree with the RS1x > GH2. Have not heard the Hemp. I regretted selling my GH2 for the HF-3 a few years back. I was excited for the new cable. I can't tell you how many hours I spent with a heat gun trying to remove kinks in the old cable on various models. The wood was a downgrade from the GH2 and the HF-3 sounded somewhat anemic compared to other Grados. Happy to have the RS1x.

 

[Guts390]

The RS1x are indeed very rewarding to those who are willing to commit to the break in period. I find them to be extremely well rounded. And honestly, I even fell in love with the sub bass. And the sub bass is the usual point of ridicule on these. They're bassy when they need to be bassy. They don't dish out bass frivolously. It's not boomy. But I find the bass to be extremely tight, controlled, detailed, and punchy. Honestly everything on these headphones is stupidly detailed.

 

[Guts390]

@jonathan c I took your advice and gave it one more go. Re rinsed those pads that I washed. And you were right. They were not thoroughly rinsed. Still less stage than brand new pads, but tbh. These don't sound bad at all. Gonna stick to my guns, but wanted to let you know that you were right! It does work. Small loss in stage and small bump in bass. If you can live with that, it works good.

 

[Moak]

Agree with the RS1x > GH2. Have not heard the Hemp. I regretted selling my GH2 for the HF-3 a few years back. I was excited for the new cable. I can't tell you how many hours I spent with a heat gun trying to remove kinks in the old cable on various models. The wood was a downgrade from the GH2 and the HF-3 sounded somewhat anemic compared to other Grados. Happy to have the RS1x.

The GS1000 is purchased to an other person, now ….but I purchased the RS1x
I’m very curious…which from both sounds better for me (GH2 or RS1x) ….but they probably sound very similar and I'll have to look for a GS1000/i/e/x.

 

[VinMAC]

And where in the list does the GS1000 belong?

GS 1000 and GS1000i have much more treble, transparency and stage than the GH2. I do not know the RS1X.

But you can find a ranking of sound of the older modells here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hug...ur-own-comparisons-here-thanks-giogio.808325/

Hope that helps.

 

[Moak]

GS 1000 and GS1000i have much more treble, transparency and stage than the GH2. I do not know the RS1X.

But you can find a ranking of sound of the older modells here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hug...ur-own-comparisons-here-thanks-giogio.808325/

Hope that helps.

Thank you. Yes, I know the site... but for me the ranking is not how I feel about the headphones I know.
Headphones are a very individual thing…
Others' comments are just hints, but we have to test everything ourselves.

 

[ilomilo]

Yet again edited with my lastest findings and also added the Hemp

***************************************************************************************************************

Finally did a full comparison of all of my Grado headphones. Maybe it's helpful to someone torturing his brain about what Grado to buy next

I tested all headphones with a Mojo 2/Poly/Roon, EQ set to neutral but also tried EQ adjustments.
I don't care much about sound stage so i didn't say anything about it. For me they all sound great in that regard anyway.


GH2
- Very balanced across the frequency range
- Doesn't need EQ, works very well with every source i tried it with, even the iPad headphone jack
- No real sub bass, lower bass slightly bloated, otherwise punchy
- Ok mids
- Clear nice treble but not sibilant
- The sound has a certain je ne sais quois mojo, my girl friend loves it and so do i
- Works great with a Dragonfly Cobalt and Mojo 1


GS1000i
- On the muffled side
- Massive yet bloated bass and sub bass
- Very nice mids
- Low treble ok, high treble muffled
- Needs some EQ, the Mojo EQ (someting like +3/-3/+2/-2) makes it edible
- Can sound very nice and serious with the right sound material (e.g. jazz/classic) and EQ, in any case not an allrounder


PS500e
- Very balanced across the frequency range similar to the GH2 but more neutral with slightly more "bottom"
- Every frequency band is there, no need for EQ, because of that it sounds well-rounded or some might say "boring"
- Works well with every sound source
- Sounds like a real Grado but without the classic "downsides"


RS1 button ("Classic", not sure if A, B or C)

- I use it with L pads, this combination does VERY well with an iPod Classic but also with a Mojo 1 and especially Mojo 2 (with EQ someting like -6/+6/+2/-2)
- Defined impactful bass, never bloated
- Very good mids, nearly on par with the WH1 and GS1000i, voices are detailed and stand out nicely
- Great microdynamics
- Really good treble, comparable to the RS2e


RS2e
- Awesome with some EQ (someting like -5/+5/+2/-2)
- Very lean bass but surprisinlgy there is some sub bass
- Pretty, non-sibilant treble
- Good mids
- With EQ very nice defined punchy bass, the treble is great anyway
- Without the Mojo 2 EQ it always lacked something for me but with EQ it's da bomb!

- RS1 button and RS2e compete closely when used with a Mojo 2, every time i switch i think "Oh this one is better than the other". RS1 has a little more detail and microdynamics and RS2e separates things a little better and sounds more "substantial"


SR325e
- Similar to RS2, great with some EQ
- Lean sub bass, bass and mids (but more bass than the RS2e)
- Very good treble and extraordinary high treble (aka "Grado magic") which none of the others have!
- The treble is why you must keep this headphone, great to spot new nuances in guitars!
- Set EQ to someting like -4/+4/+2/-2 so you get a nice bass-ment under those awesome highs
- If it wasn't for that treble i'd say it does nothing better than the RS2e but it's worth keeping around


WH1
- Weird bell-shaped frequency range
- Sounds like a vintage radio which can work well for some kinds of music (Beatles, classic, singing, jazz)
- Very good mids, beautiful for voices
- EQ doesn't really help with the shortcomings


SR80X
- Sounds good on first listen, you get that Grado sound, but compared to the others it's clearly inferior
- The cable looks great but is stiff, I never minded the old cables but this new one is annoying
- Can be used with S- and L-pads. I prefer the L as you get more treble detail, S has a little more bottom and oomph
- Although worse than the others i have it's a steal for the money
- From memory i preferred the 60e, 80e and 225e, this X version has more bass which alas sounds kinda less defined to me


The Hemp
- I use it with L-pads, way too bassy and boomy and muffled with F for my taste. But i can see how someone not used to Grado headphones will love the heavy foundation with F-pads.
- I dial in 0/0/+3/-3 with the Mojo EQ, it sounds very nice then (similar but better than the 80X) but i always have the feeling it misses some details.
- I am glad i have the old version with the old cable and not the monstrosity that the 80X has.
- I am not sure if i really need it as as of now it does nothing better than the others for me, but i will give it more time.


tl;dr

GH2
Buy, you can't go wrong with it, it's magical with nearly every source!

GS1000i
Interesting, different, beautifully made, use for jazz and classic not for rock/pop

PS500e
Buy, you can't go wrong with it.

RS1 button
Awesome with my iPod Classic, a match made in heaven only slightly behind usage with a Chord Mojo 2 where it really shines.

RS2e
Buy if you got EQ or bassy amp, then it's awesome.

SR325e
Buy for the treble, it's cheap!

WH1
Still trying to find a reason why i need it, but it's pretty and special.

SR80X
Great for the money, but rather try the "e" versions or if you have the money get one of the higher up models.

The Hemp
Too bassy/muffled without EQ, similar to 80X but better than it.


Will definitely keep:
GH2
RS1 Button

Will most likely keep:
RS2e
GS1000i (because it's special)

Indifferent at this point:
The White (wouldn't be worth selling anyway)
SR325e
The Hemp

Will probably sell:
SR80X (does nothing better than the others)

Sold:
PS500 (too similar to GH2 and a friend wanted it and it's better that it's used a lot)