[psp123]

I'm not sure if I should go with Hifiman Deva or Grado W100 v2. Has anyone here compared them?
I will mostly use the wirelessly with an iPhone. I recently got a pair of Hifiman Sundara that I really like. I like a clear and detailed sound.

 

[trellus]

I'm not sure if I should go with Hifiman Deva or Grado W100 v2. Has anyone here compared them?
I will mostly use the wirelessly with an iPhone. I recently got a pair of Hifiman Sundara that I really like. I like a clear and detailed sound.

They’re quite different headphones — sonically, I‘d reach for the Deva’s because they are more detailed and just sound bigger, but they’re also … a lot bigger and with the dongle certainly a bit visually jarring. I end up with my Grado GW100 (I have v1 with the microUSB port but I believe sonically they’re the same as v2) more often just because they’re more practical and still sound great. But the Deva’s sound is addictive.

 

[psp123]

They’re quite different headphones — sonically, I‘d reach for the Deva’s because they are more detailed and just sound bigger, but they’re also … a lot bigger and with the dongle certainly a bit visually jarring. I end up with my Grado GW100 (I have v1 with the microUSB port but I believe sonically they’re the same as v2) more often just because they’re more practical and still sound great. But the Deva’s sound is addictive.

Thanks for the reply!
Perhaps it would be fun to try something different. I've never had a pair of Grado headphones before.

 

[Stevko]

I found that, with the v2 playing from android phone, they sound radically different with aptx vs. AAC. The Aptx sound is clear, midrangey and somewhat bass-light, about how I was expecting Grados to sound. AAC instantly delivers a ton more low end, which I liked at first, but then I realized the mids are really colored too. Not sure if this is a global phenomenon or limited to my specific device. I did try them for a bit on an apple phone, which I think defaults to AAC, and they sounded more "normal" there.


Interested to hear how these sound vs. RS2e..

Do they support AAC? ordered V1 yesterday. should I amp them?

 

[Stevko]

Bought a pair of GW100 second hand.
I like them. They’r really good.
Is V2 much better? Better sound with BT5?

 

[Meyvn]

Bought a pair of GW100 second hand.
I like them. They’r really good.
Is V2 much better? Better sound with BT5?

I have the V2s. I dont have the V1 to compare, but I can tell you that for devices that support aptx, the sound is definitely noticeably better. It sounds virtually identical to the way the headphones sound wired. For those that don't, the sound is a bit quieter and more veiled overall. There's just less detail across the spectrum. To decide whether you would notice or care I'd just compare side by side between wired and wireless, and I'd make sure your host device supports BT5 and aptx.

As far as the massive increase in battery life, I don't think it's a huge deal in my daily use. They still don't give you a way to accurately assess battery life, so you still only get like 20 minutes' warning when it's going to die. That simple fact squanders a LOT of the benefits of the added life.

It would still be quite beneficial if you're going on a trip, I will say. You could charge up before you leave and even if you're going to be gone a week, there's virtually no chance you'd run out. I only wear mine about six times a week for 30 minutes or so, so I get away with just charging them every two or three weeks without issue.

 

[ozz007]

I just got my pair, and im very impress with the sound wireless and wire.

Its a grado sound. For sure

 

[ozz007]

Ok I changed the pads to the ones the 325 uses but it made the bass over blown, so I put the big bowls and wow more detail, bass is more control and sound stage got bigger, now this is with the wire cable out of the wa7 3rd gen amp.

Its. Not where close to my PS500e but very close to my V7 grados.

 

[jeremiahl]

Thank you. I just drilled small holes and then slowly enlarged them using a dremel with a wood cutting bit. They certainly aren't perfect. The power button is blocked but if you rotate the cup you have just enough space to press it. I might saw off that end of the gimbal later.

I had to nearly destroy the left cup to get the pcb to fit. These are my first grados and actually my first nice headphones at all so I had no idea what I was getting into. The Shipibo audio parts are wonderful.

Judt waiting for earpads and a headband to arrive in the mail.

I am actually super interested in doing something similar - are you able to share how to removed the parts from the GW100 and managed to fit them in the Shipibo cups?

 

[schoolpizza]

I am actually super interested in doing something similar - are you able to share how to removed the parts from the GW100 and managed to fit them in the Shipibo cups?

I wouldnt undertake this unless you really are "super interested", and have some skill in soldering and reshaping parts with a rotary tool. The chance of messing up and destroying your GW100 is high. If you're still up for it...

Removing the parts from the GW100 isnt hard, you just uncrew the screws you see and use a hair dryer to remove the drivers from their mounts. The wires at the drivers and battery should be disconnected for now but try at all costs to preserve the connections of the wires on the pcb as they are TINY and hard to redo.

For the battery side- as you can see from the pic it was pretty easy. I just trimmed down the plastic battery 'seat' until the edges just scraped the walls of the Shipibo cup, and hot glued it in. No modding of the cup needed.

The PCB side was another story. The board is way too big to fit into the cup. You can trim pcbs safely as long as you dont cut into the essential connections, so I just examined it and shaved it down with my dremel right to the edges of where I could see circuits running. Even then, it's still way too big so you need to hollow out the cup. You can see in the pic how thin the walls of the PCB cup are compared to the battery one--thats how much material you need to remove. It took a long time and I just went very slowly, test fitting the PCB every so often. You should leave it a little thicker at the bottom so that the PCB has a 'shelf' to sit on and can be wedged in tightly.

You also need to map out holes for the buttons and drill them in the right places: power, a slot for the volume rocker, 1/8th" jack, tiny mic hole, and slot for usb-C connector. I drilled the holes small and slowly enlarged them with the fine carving dremel bit until they were the right size. For the power and volume buttons, a lot of test fitting, and carving out the inner wall of the cup is needed. They do have a small lip so they will slot into a squared hole nicely and get sandwiched in by the pcb. It would probably be just as easy to make or find some custom buttons rather than recycle the gw100's.

Once I had the cup modded just right, it was just a balancing act of setting buttons in the holes and wedging the PCB against them and making sure everything lined up, then hot gluing the edges of the PCB to secure it. I also glued the little mic component against the hole I made for it, as well as the plastic usb cover which has a tail leading inside the cup.

With the hardest stuff out of the way, now you need a mounting board for your PCB-side speaker since the cup's inner diameter has increased. I just recycled the plastic GW100 mount and shaved it around the outside until I could squeeze it inside the cup.. and you can see it there in the pic. I didnt do this, but like with the PCB it would be smart to leave a couple 'mounting points' of thicker wall near top of the cup to seat your driver board.

After that comes the tricky matter of feeding the black cable through whatever headband you decide to use and soldering all the connections back together. You can turn it on and test everything during this time. Finally, mount the drivers, and glue the driver mount you made into the pcb side cup, and you're done!

Sorry I can't provide a more step by step tutorial but this really was winged on my part and these are just my memories from over a year ago. Although it sounds like it's all just hot glued together, they are pretty solid-- the key is having everything fit snug beforehand so that the glue is not subject to much force. I would probably not do this project again given how hard it was but I do love the result and use them almost every day. I didnt notice any sonic difference from the mod and I use these with the G pads and a hearing-test EQ (which just adds a little extra bit of balance) and really love the sound. People say open back + wireless is a very limited use case but if you work from home, or spend a lot of time in your yard, it's perfect for that.

Feel free to pm me with any more specific questions and I'll do my best to help.

 

[jeremiahl]

Thanks for the very comprehensive response. Time for my turn now!

I finally managed to put this together from parts from everywhere! Thanks to Bruce from Wabisabi for the custom earcups and Silvian from Beautiful Audio for the ear pads.

Basically I did the same as you @schoolpizza but had it easy because my ear cups were (sort of) sized for the PCB - don't get me wrong I still had to very slowly chisel out all the holes for the connectors and buttons, and also open up the inside of the earcup very slowly and carefully with my chisel to fit the PCB, but definitely managed without power tools which makes is slightly less scary to do (though still very nervewrecking everytime I do a major amendment.

Took me a couple of weeks to do, but pretty happy with the result in the end! I would say sound wise, not too different from stock after changing the ear pads, slightly warmer but not significant. Love the look though!

 

[schoolpizza]

Thanks for the very comprehensive response. Time for my turn now!

I finally managed to put this together from parts from everywhere! Thanks to Bruce from Wabisabi for the custom earcups and Silvian from Beautiful Audio for the ear pads.

Basically I did the same as you @schoolpizza but had it easy because my ear cups were (sort of) sized for the PCB - don't get me wrong I still had to very slowly chisel out all the holes for the connectors and buttons, and also open up the inside of the earcup very slowly and carefully with my chisel to fit the PCB, but definitely managed without power tools which makes is slightly less scary to do (though still very nervewrecking everytime I do a major amendment.

Took me a couple of weeks to do, but pretty happy with the result in the end! I would say sound wise, not too different from stock after changing the ear pads, slightly warmer but not significant. Love the look though!

Ah, apologies for the late response, I only remember to check in here periodically.

Awesome work @jeremiahl ! Those cups look great-- and that's what I should have done, order larger custom ones. Your install is a good bit cleaner than mine on the inside. Truth be told I found dealing with the tiny, fragile colored wires to be just as big a pain as the woodworking.

I got the Beautiful Audio earpads as well and they are very good, clear and crisp, though I slightly prefer the cheap knockoff G pads for some reason.

Who will be next to step up to the plate? It seems like Grado is content with the GW100s-- they haven't been superceded or reduced in price at all. It would certainly be cool if they released a higher-end wireless model akin to the mods we've been doing, wood/metal construction and the latest bluetooth capabilities, etc.

 

[Ike1985]

Sweet. Thanks all. Looking forward to the GW100 and perhaps a few pads to play around with.

Hey man, couldn't send you a dm. Noticed you were selling the JOZ 5719, that's my favorite tube for the CDM. Do you still have it for sale? Please send me a DM if interested, thanks.