[RVD]

I received these phones today and have been listening to them for about 4-5 hours. I have been listening to them out of a Tangent-built Meta42 and a Sony NS500v. I figure I would post a few impressions of them against the Ety ER4P.

The first cd I played using the HP-2's my first thought was that the HP-2's were laid-back. I put on a second cd and then the Grado's were no longer laid back. This lead me to believe that the HP-2's are more neutral then the Ety's, because the Ety's seem to retain a certain character sound with all cd's while the HP-2's character seem to change from cd to cd. To me the areas that the Ety's beat the HP-2s is imaging and detail. The areas that the HP-2's beat the Ety's is in soundstage and are more neautral.

Again these are just my initial quick impressions of the HP-2's and are in no way a review. I hope the above made sense, as I am still new to describing the way headphones sound. I will try to post a review of the HP-2's against the Ety ER4S if there is enough interest. If there is enough interest I would probably post a review in a month or so when my setup is complete.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Do you think ety's produce more detail or is the isolation they provide allowing you to hear more details?

Biggie.

 

[RVD]

Honestly, I think that the isolation of the Ety's is a major reason why the Ety's have more detail, but I think if you were to take away the isolation of the Ety's they would still produce a little more detail then the HP-2's, but not as much as if the Ety's had the advantage of isolation. Still the Ety's do not beat the pants out of the HP-2's in detail they just have a slight edge.

 

[Zanth]

Congrats on your HP-2's!

I too find that Ety's have more detail but I believe it to be associated with the isolation. I have a fairly noisey listening environment (4 CPU fans) and this really has an effect on the sound. I did test this and found that when my room was dead quiet the HP-1000's did provide more detail. They were like giant Ety's. With a dead quiet room it is a great competition between the HP-1000's and the Ety's as to who has more resolution.

 

[M Rael]

Forgive me but I want to illustrate your thread:

The Grado HP1000 Series / HP2

 

[kelly]

Does that image look yellow to anyone else or do I need to adjust my monitor? Or did MRael paint his HP-1000 gold?

Thanks for posting your impressions, RVD. They match my findings exactly.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

It looks like the sun is setting on his cans.

Biggie.

 

[jms007bnd007]

Quote:

Forgive me but I want to illustrate your thread:

Man, could you please stop putting pictures of sweet Grado stuff in your posts....it just makes me want to go out and buy the dang headphones. Please.....be considerate of a poor college kid like myself.

 

[M Rael]

I thought the HP lovers would be amused to see an HP2 in the upscale case of the old RS1, instead of the drab packaging normal to the HP's. Problem was that the HP headband has a piece of rebar under the leather and it makes bending it into the required shape impossible (and I'm not about to deform my HP2's to amuse you lot.)
Anyway the following picture (sorry jamesbond) shows how wide the normal
head-spread is for the HP2's compared to what the RS1 can be bent into. Then too, the RS1 is a light headphone in general and doesnt need a stiff headband. The HP2 in contrast weighs nearly as much as a volkswagen and so needs all the headband help it can get.

 

[RVD]

I was surprised at how wide the HP-2's were when I first saw them compared to the newer Grado's. Too bad the Grado HP-1000 series did not come in some short of metal case like the RS-1 with its wooden case.

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by RVD Too bad the Grado HP-1000 series did not come in some short of metal case like the RS-1 with its wooden case.

I have one word for you RVD: Halliburton

(do a google search. i have always thought their smallest case would just be big enough, and it looks better than the square corner cases available from other people. i almost got one from 'AAA Camera' on the web but they took so long i cancelled my order. i mainly wanted it for the coolness factor. aluminum case for aluminum headphones. its a non-brainer. get one!!)

 

[KR...]

Here are some old but cool pics that I took myself of the HP-2 with the MS-2 :

HP2 and MS2 side by side

HP2 and MS2 ear cups

HP2 and MS2 Size difference

 

[RVD]

Those cases are really nice. I would definitely want to look into obtaining one of these cases in the future. M Rael want model did you find that would fit the HP-2's the best?

Those pics are cool KR..., are those the bowl pads on the HP-2's?

My flat pads seem to be in good condition, but leave this little black stuff on my ears and I was wondering if anybody has experienced this and if so do they have any solutions to fix it?

 

[M Rael]

Quote:

Originally posted by RVD M Rael want model did you find that would fit the HP-2's the best?

Its tricky but I thought the model 100C might be big enough. It would be close though. The next bigger size is a sure thing but who wants a case bigger than it needs to be? So I ordered the 100C for aaacamera.com's price of $139 (other places have it as high as $200+) but they took so damn long to fill the order I just cancelled. The insides of those cases are foam with pre cut serrations all over so you can remove sections to make the 'hole' as big as it needs to be. Measure the headphones and you'll see that the Halliburton 100C might work. Let me know if you decide to try it!

 

[RVD]

I found the 100c model for $132.95+ $15 shipping at cambridgeworld.com. At about $150 shipped I think I will end up purchasing one except not for a few weeks. I'll let you know if and when I decide to purchase one.