[Canman]

I'm getting some strange looks in the office today, but I don't really care because it sounds good

I am using a Joseph Grado HPA-1 to HP-2 fed by an iPod 4G and a Canare 3.5mm to RCA cable that I assembled. The iPod is loaded with a couple of albums ripped in EAC and encoded to Apple lossless. Sounds not bad!

The HP-2 has always been my favorite Grado (although I have been swayed by the PS-1 a few times) and I've missed it ever since I sold the last one a while back.

The HPA-1 came with a Grado Labs catalogue (circa 1992) that included a review/comparison of the SR-200 and HP-1 with the HPA-1. The article suggests that the Grado HPA-1 was one of the first dedicated headphone amps available (the Melos, though part of a preamp was another headphone amp that wasn't designed as an afterthought). The SR-200 was deemed to have the tonal balance of the HP-1000 without the resolution and neutrality, and I would agree with that.

Interestingly, the catalogue lists the SR-325 and the SR-80 as new products. SR-60 didn't exist yet. Was there ever an SR-300? This catalogue suggests that the SR-300 may never have existed like I thought it did. I previously sold an SR-325 that came with JG cabling and had different drivers than the current model. This SR-325 also had the more nuetral Joe Grado tonal balance. If anyone has ever seen an SR-300, I would like to know.

Also interesting is the fact that the retail prices for the prestige series have not changed in over 12 years.

 

[Jahn]

Nice find on the article. The only two areas I feel my SR200/HP1000 driver cans fall behind the HP-2 is the soundstage (what there is of it in the Grado HP-2 lol) and the bass. Yeah, I'm a bass lover, I admit it. As for being neutral tho, I find the SR200 is still Joe's design, and far more neutral than John's cans. Heck, any more neutral and my SR200 might start sounding...Senn-boring?

It is interesting that we all talk about the SR300, but I've never seen a pic of it or heard of anyone owning one. Urban legend? Someone do a better search than me and get visual proof please!

 

[zool]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Heck, any more neutral and my SR200 might start sounding...Senn-boring?

Hah! You might start some heavy arguments there. But I must admit, even though my hd600 still sounds really good to me, it gets kind of boring after a while. This is maybe the reason I'm so excited about my new cd3000's

(lol, found one more thread to bring this up in

). I really don't feel excited about listening to my hd600 any more as I use to do. I think I might put them in the shelf for a while then maybe start listening to them again after a couple of months.

HD650 on the other hand is another story.. I find nothing remotely boring about them and I will defenately buy them some day. They've got some voodoo shoodoo magic thang goin on. Dunno just totally loved em when I had them on loan

.

EDIT: Sorry bout going a bit off topic on this one.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Nice find on the article. The only two areas I feel my SR200/HP1000 driver cans fall behind the HP-2 is the soundstage (what there is of it in the Grado HP-2 lol) and the bass. Yeah, I'm a bass lover, I admit it. As for being neutral tho, I find the SR200 is still Joe's design, and far more neutral than John's cans. Heck, any more neutral and my SR200 might start sounding...Senn-boring? It is interesting that we all talk about the SR300, but I've never seen a pic of it or heard of anyone owning one. Urban legend? Someone do a better search than me and get visual proof please!

Dude there is going to be a mini meet apparently in NYC. At that meet will be my hp-1's, hp-2's and hpa-1 amp. Go take a listen and see what you think. I have sent the hp-2's today to a headfier. Actually any headfier is welcome to listen to my stuff at the NYC mini meet. Kind Regards.

 

[gsferrari]

mike - do you see that the HP2 is soo highly thought of? Now I am desperate to compare the HP2 with the HP1. Tyrion - im coming home

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari mike - do you see that the HP2 is soo highly thought of? Now I am desperate to compare the HP2 with the HP1. Tyrion - im coming home

It's on its way to Florida. Don know if it gets there though. I had to send it royal muppet mail

 

[holeinmywallet]

Correct me if I am misinformed, but don't almost all SR200s, including the one was included the original review in the Grado Labs catalogue NOT have HP1000 drivers in them? If that's the case I wonder why there are particularly some SR200s and not other Joe Grado SR models flowing around that have HP1000 drivers in them.

I would be surprised if there is a huge difference between the HP-2 and SR200/HP1000. Aren't the only things that separate SR200/HP1000 from HP-2 the HP2 having their drivers in different housing and with a different cable? I am happy with my SR200/HP1000, but would be interested in hearing HP-2 if they make a huge difference like a change in pads.

Hmm.. the fact that the retail prices for the prestige series have not changed in over 12 years. That's good. That means the price on them actually has gone lower.

 

[Jahn]

Believe it or not, I actually did prefer the HP-2 to the HP-1. I listened to both at the Fall NYC meet (tho i wouldn't mind listening to Red's at the mini!) and the HP-2 definitely brought more bass - at least the ones i tried. MJG's I think. The SR200 had less bass than both. We all figured that the bigger deeper chambers of the HP line figured for the increase in soundstage over the SR200 too. This tells me that if I ever get bigger chambers (hello headphile woodies?) I can expect bigger bass and soundstage. But yep the detail was all there, and just as forthcoming with the realism - i chalk that up to the HP1000 drivers.

 

[Canman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by holeinmywallet Correct me if I am misinformed, but don't almost all SR200s, including the one was included the original review in the Grado Labs catalogue NOT have HP1000 drivers in them? If that's the case I wonder why there are particularly some SR200s and not other Joe Grado SR models flowing around that have HP1000 drivers in them. I would be surprised if there is a huge difference between the HP-2 and SR200/HP1000. Aren't the only things that separate SR200/HP1000 from HP-2 the HP2 having their drivers in different housing and with a different cable? I am happy with my SR200/HP1000, but would be interested in hearing HP-2 if they make a huge difference like a change in pads. Hmm.. the fact that the retail prices for the prestige series have not changed in over 12 years. That's good. That means the price on them actually has gone lower.

Several members have actually replaced their SR-200 drivers with those from the HP-1000. The drivers are only one recipe (albeit an important one) in creating a good headphone. I think the solid build of the HP-1000 goes a long way in preventing resonances and colorations that are induced by the enclosure. The difference is seen in the refinement, specifically separation of details that the HP-1000 has.

gsferrari -- the HP-1 and HP-2 sound really close. I have heard some variability among HP-1000s and the HP-2 with the Ultra Wideband Reference cable seems the most open sounding to me.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn Believe it or not, I actually did prefer the HP-2 to the HP-1. I listened to both at the Fall NYC meet (tho i wouldn't mind listening to Red's at the mini!) and the HP-2 definitely brought more bass - at least the ones i tried. MJG's I think. The SR200 had less bass than both. We all figured that the bigger deeper chambers of the HP line figured for the increase in soundstage over the SR200 too. This tells me that if I ever get bigger chambers (hello headphile woodies?) I can expect bigger bass and soundstage. But yep the detail was all there, and just as forthcoming with the realism - i chalk that up to the HP1000 drivers.

Go ahead take a listen. There will be going to the qualia store I think. I have to find out more details. BTW Is there anyone willing to send me a qualia measuring device....just out of curosity of course.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoRedwings19 Go ahead take a listen. There will be going to the qualia store I think. I have to find out more details. BTW Is there anyone willing to send me a qualia measuring device....just out of curosity of course.

yes there is - PM soundmania he'll hook you up with one.

 

[TWIFOSP]

Grados are no good for my work

I work in a cube farm. The cubes are situated in a manner so that everyone's desk faces in a group of four. So my head is actually only about 4 feet away from someone elses head, but of course you don't notice since there is a large 6 and a half foot partition there. I only brought my 225s in once. I set them down on the desk at normal listening volume and then walked over to someone elses cube near me to see if I could hear them. They leak way too much!

No one complained, but I like to be a nice guy anyway. And it was an excuse to buy Shure E5Cs anyway, so it works out for everyone.

Hopefully your cube farm isn't quite as compressed. Ironically, I work for a Fortune 50 company. Frugal I guess!

 

[Xanadu777]

Two styles of drivers were used in SR200's. HP-1000 aka "black caps" and the later SR200's used the new style driver. The HP-1000 drivers were fitted into a plastic housing through the front, rather than loaded through the back. The lower part of the driver is white, while the area near the top center is black, assuming so they wouldn't stick out like a white sore thumb, thus the "black cap" nickname. This differs from HP-1/2's as they are held in place with hex screws and all white. The newer style drivers have more of an Alessandro sound than Grado. Enclosure plays a role on the HP-1000 drivers in the two models discussed. I also have a pair of Joe Grado 325's with HP-1000 drivers, so I too wonder if a 300 exists. I thought I'd seen them for sale here before, not sure if pics were used to verify...

Left to right... New style, HP-1, black cap

 

[Canman]

Larry, thanks for the driver history. The SR-325 that I had before had the "black cap" drivers.

 

[holeinmywallet]

Xanadu777, thanks for the awesome illustration and explanation.