[Rob N]

I have a pair of HP-1's and HP-2's both with standard cable.The HP-2's sound rolled off in the treble and warmer sounding whereas the HP-1's sound crisper with more detailed treble and less warm,the bass on each is similar.Neither have any 'grattle' or show any sign of distortion.
The HP-2's have been used a lot (almost every day) during the last year of so.

Why do they sound different?Which is the 'correct' sound?

 

[jpelg]

1. Do they both have the same type of cable?

2. I found the HP-1000 series to benefit from use (I have the HP-2's with the UHB cable). Warm-up helps considerably, even with a burned in pair, if they haven't been used in a while.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

As you might expect someone from this forum to say, there is no "correct" sound. Should you desire the warmer sound with slightly rolled off treble (In reference to your HP-1?) than it sounds like your HP-2's are for you. If not, the HP-1's that you have may be more your style. If you're using the term "correct" in comparison with other's views of the HP-1000 series headphones; I would suspect that people in the forum have described them in both ways. Typically though, the way you're describing the HP-1 tends to sound a bit more like other's opinions of the HP-1000 series.

Trevor

 

[Sovkiller]

And is not supposed that the HP-1 ands HP-2 use the same drives, and just driferent matching figures...???? How is that they sound different???

 

[Rob N]

They both have the same cable

 

[grinch]

there is no way of knowing if your pair of "hp-2's" is not a pair of hp-3's. the difference between hp-3 and hp-1 has been easily recognizable to me at meets.

i haven't ever heard much of a difference between pairs of hp-1000, but i guess i've only heard five or six pairs, ranging from brand-new drivers installed by joe grado in 2003 to the hp-3 (which in my opinion, shouldn't be allowed to be called hp-1000 since it really doesn't sound nearly as good hp-1 or hp-2 at all).

 

[Rob N]

Quote:

Originally posted by grinch there is no way of knowing if your pair of "hp-2's" is not a pair of hp-3's. the difference between hp-3 and hp-1 has been easily recognizable to me at meets. i haven't ever heard much of a difference between pairs of hp-1000, but i guess i've only heard five or six pairs, ranging from brand-new drivers installed by joe grado in 2003 to the hp-3 (which in my opinion, shouldn't be allowed to be called hp-1000 since it really doesn't sound nearly as good hp-1 or hp-2 at all).

What differences do you hear between HP3's and HP1/2's?

 

[grinch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rob N The HP-2's sound rolled off in the treble and warmer sounding whereas the HP-1's sound crisper with more detailed treble and less warm...

heh suprisingly enough, this is what i think of when i think of hp-3. i haven't compared them in over a year though so my memory is probably foggy.

i suspected your hp-2's were actually hp-3's a long time ago, when you were talking about how much better r10 was.

 

[Rob N]

The difference is not subtle either.

I also remember hearing two pairs of RS1's,one was smoother sounding comapred to the other.

 

[nextcube]

Do the drivers in HP1, HP2 and HP3 virtually look the same?

 

[Rob N]

I've seen a few pairs of HP1/2's and the only thing I've noticed is on the back of some of the drivers it says 'Joseph Grado signature products' and below that '+ -' obviously so that the connections are made correctly.The others don't have anything written on the back.Other than that they look the same.

There is a slight difference in the metal work on some of these as well

 

[KR...]

Quote:

Originally posted by nextcube Do the drivers in HP1, HP2 and HP3 virtually look the same?

Yes!

The HP3 was the "budget" version of these headphones, they have less closely matched drivers than the HP-2. They were released as a limited addition. It would seem that this is what Rob N has.

 

[nextcube]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rob N There is a slight difference in the metal work on some of these as well

Hi Rob,

What are the slight differences in the metal work?

I've read other owners referring to the following differences:

a) matte/brushed aluminium
b) glossy/chrome aluminium
c) some cans are bigger than others (old series vs new series?)
d) differences in metal mesh (flat vs. doming)

Al I know for certain is the history of the cables:

1st: Unsigned
2nd: Joseph Grado Signature Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Reference Cable
3rd: Grado Signature Laboratory Standard Audio Cable

People tend to think that the UWB-cable is the last version, which isn't true.

 

[daycart1]

Very interesting. I'll bet that someone with good ears could be affected by very small differences in the earpads. The pair that is more used could have more compressed or hardened pads.

Also, if the headbands have different degrees of tension, this could effect how the drivers are oriented towards your ears.

How about experimenting with switching the pads around and with different driver positions?

 

[braillediver]

Some one once posted here about listening to all of the SR200’s (?) at Magnolia Hi-Fi here in Bellevue Washington and picking out the best sounding pair. So he felt there was a noticeable difference between the headphones new.

What consideration should be given to age and use/abuse by previous owners? Have you had both pairs since buying them new? If not aren’t they basically 2 unknowns as to actual age, number of hours of use, volume level of listening, integrity of amplifier signal, storage conditions and general handling.

Since they could be 5 to 10 years old there are a lot of unknowns.

Just because the drivers were closely matched when new I wonder how the drivers age over time and use?

Mitch