[fenderf4i]

   
Have things changed over the years?  Way back when (sorry I've been out of this for about 7 years), John would have nothing to do with Joe and vice versa.
 
Best,
 
-Jason

 
 
Nothing's changed.

 

[jjcha]

   
 
Nothing's changed.

 
Shame.  Joe and John each make such awesome headphones. 
 
Still, back to the guys who are having issues with Joe, seems that hasn't changed either.
 
If you've got (1) time and (2) money to burn and (3) love the cans, I'd say roll the dice.  But unless you have all three in copious amounts and are willing to take the risk, well, you're not dealing with Grado the company.  You're just dealing with one old dude in Florida who found a neat little way to make some money off of affluent audiophiles.  And, quite frankly, if you can afford it, it may very well be totally worth it.  I'd roll the dice if I still had any of the HP1000s I've owned over the years.

 

[wink]

Senility is no excuse...
Send in the lawyers.

 

[pcf]

  To be fair the HPA-1/2 uses significantly, not slightly, better components and more of them (separate power supplies for battery and PSU)
I'm not sure you realize the the op-amp and circuits are hidden underneath the black metal shield in the pics you posted above.
 
The RA-1 looks pretty cheap in comparison.
 
Just for example the HPA-2 uses a $50 pot (Alps RK40) and boutique "film & foil" caps ; the RA-1 uses a $2 pot and Solen caps.
 
 
I don't think the RA-1 looks nearly as good inside:

 
 
Joe built the HPA-2 to be the best battery powered headphone amp he could build.
John designed the RA-1 to be an inexpensive replacement.
I've owned both and the HPA-1/2 is much better, especially with the HP-1000
Just my experience...
 
 

Agreed. HPA1, 2 are much better than RA-1 to my ears.

 

[tamahome77]

He called me again today and told me his bank does not want him to give out his account number for wiring and just send the certified cheque over night. This time the amount is $1590.92usd. He denied calling me a few days ago and giving me a quote of 1161.52usd. He said for each week that has passed that he didn't receive the money, he'll increase it by $100 and in a few weeks, he threaten to put my headphones up for sale. I told him that I've been waiting for 1 whole year for my headphones and he doesn't have the patience to allow me to think it through. He's crazy and beyond reason. I will definitely not send him any of my hard earned money.

Btw jjcha, I love your audio technica gospel!

 

[subtle]

   
I'd call a lawyer if I actually wanted the headphones back.  I would definitely not send him a cent more....well maybe enough to cover shipping but nothing close to $1000.

 
This.  Very much this.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

It's probably more money but would it make any sense to buy a plane ticket out to FL and take care of this in person?  Makes me wonder what the falling out between Joe and John was way back when.

 

[robm321]

If possible I'd try to converse through email with him, so you will have evidence of his lack of facilities and ludicrous demands. 

 

[tamahome77]

I've emailed Joe but he never replies via email. I might be able to get some assistance but atm I would have to stay patient and wait. If all things fail, I would probably take detour while going on a trip to USA but by that time my headphones may be gone.

 

[fenderf4i]

If it was me at this point, I would take any money that I would throw at trying to get the headphones back, and just purchase something else. I wouldn't want to own anything with that guys name on it after reading through this. I can only imagine how frustrating it's been to have spent that much on them already.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

He called me again today and told me his bank does not want him to give out his account number for wiring and just send the certified cheque over night. This time the amount is $1590.92usd. He denied calling me a few days ago and giving me a quote of 1161.52usd. He said for each week that has passed that he didn't receive the money, he'll increase it by $100 and in a few weeks, he threaten to put my headphones up for sale. I told him that I've been waiting for 1 whole year for my headphones and he doesn't have the patience to allow me to think it through. He's crazy and beyond reason. I will definitely not send him any of my hard earned money.

Btw jjcha, I love your audio technica gospel!

Sad way to be remembered... 

 

[devouringone3]

 
LOL.  HP-1000's are great no doubt but they don't decimate by any means today's "big boy" headphones.  I'd be curious to know what he heard and why he thought that!

 
He has always listened to his HP 1000 using his own recipe for a flat pad (if you want to compare apples with apples..). In the past he sold them as part of a driver replacement / recable / miscellaneous repair procedure, but since March 2012 they've been available to anyone calling and asking for them. I can't help but make him this last publicity, since his pads are really good (and the ones sold by TTVJ bad).
 
Joseph's improved flats boosts clarity dramatically and increase extension slightly but significantly. They impart a U shape and the so called “boring” aspect makes place for euphony.
 
 
It is Grado's compromising bare foam solution for ear adapters that is to blame. As long as they don't make an effort toward a change, Grado will be swimming in the sea of high fidelity sound reproduction with a ball and chain attached to their foot.
 
I noticed that the Grado/TTVJ flats, and up to a certain extent Joe's, are not level-uniform sounding. At low volume they sound muffled and not detailed (the upper part of the spectrum starts showing up only at moderate volumes). I always asked myself why the louder the more I enjoyed myself (on the HP 1000, at least), how could I change that.
 
But anyway, I had planned to order 5 some pairs of Joe pad prosperity for either 650 or 300 dollars, until I used all my accumulated frustration with swapping, A/Bing and taping Grado pads for two years to come up with:
 

 
 <-- My game ending pads, it has been a year since that photo and they're still on my head.
 
They have more bass than Joe's and a lot more than TTVJ's, share much of the clarity and details of the improved flats but none of their euphony (the sublime, focused highs and tight, punchy bass [pardon my lack of originality in terms] are lost in translation, but in my opinion the HD414's offer a more truthful and possibly, neutral, picture to begin modding with) and the best of all (for me in my last bout of frustration), is that they sound exactly the same from low volumes to high volumes (and not inevitably louder=better).
 
I thought of applying this mod I'm calling “sunflower” to the flat pads“i” to recreate the ultimate bass filled chamber Grado experience, but either their prohibitive cost and unsustainable source or the louder=better aspect threw me off, as I want to protect my hearing, considering I listen to music all the computer time (lower=better here). It would be fun to try though, but you need to have 30 to 60 minutes ahead of you because the mod is tediously long to do; the goal is to make it as hermetical and sealed-from-behind as possible.
 
Anyway if you want to try my mod go with the more uniform and neutral HD414's. It's not the best time to order anything from Joe.
 

Spoiler: Photos -- Making of

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
Reference point:
 
Nope
 
Nope
 
Nope
 
Nope
 
Nope
 
Sweet-spot, flush:
 
Half-assed:

 

 
My HP1000 came out of the blue as well, in fact. As these are quite rare, many owners are known as they are on head-fi, and it's funny to find pairs where you least expect. I've got a review website and a Facebook profile for it, and once I got a message from a guy in Brazil asking me if there was a market for a HP1000 here in Brazil – I replied that I would buy it, of course.

 
I got my two HP 1000 from a French speaking Andorran gentleman who had posted a classified in a Catalan language website I found at page 37 of my Google search for it. I couldn't have afforded it (as a poor student at the time; now I'm just downright poor and without a diploma) if it had not been of him, and though he asked me to buy the full package including a HPA-1, I was more than happy to carry on his rig for a second generation.
 
The HP2 was NOS, an unused back up, and the HP1 was, well, quite beaten up and full of character. I got fed up with the unreliable rechargeable 9-volts, so I wrapped and boxed the HPA-1 (and 2) into the closet. I'm planning on importing the versatile Phasemation EPA-007 headphone amp, in the slow process of making my first and decisive headphone rig –I'm not interested in cherry picking headphone amps, I'm not even an audiophile, I want to stay away from the curve of diminishing return; I will decide to like it for its LED, array of features and sleek potentiometers and be done, move on with my life–, but so far I've been fine and dandy out of the default headphone jack. Grados are easy to drive .
 

 
Just for example the HPA-2 uses a $50 pot (Alps RK40) and boutique (custom made) "film & foil" caps ; the RA-1 uses a $2 pot and Solen caps.

 
Nostalgia, rarity/collection, look, Leonardo said it. Although build and parts quality is worthy of a device costing USD 895 in 1991, that of a perfectionist, and not for a mere mortal, reason of the poor sales.
 
 

  At $125, the power supply was a fairly costly option, so not everyone bought it. but because the batteries compartment provides storing space for four 9V batteries, so you're never left stranded.

 
Hey I'm still looking for that dual voltage regulated power supply (bump). It would be the key to increasing the usability and usage of my HPA-1&2.

 

[maconhel]

  If it was me at this point, I would take any money that I would throw at trying to get the headphones back, and just purchase something else. I wouldn't want to own anything with that guys name on it after reading through this. I can only imagine how frustrating it's been to have spent that much on them already.

 
Today, I would not pay more than $ 350 on a HP1000.

 

[BoogieWoogie]

   
Today, I would not pay more than $ 350 on a HP1000.

That sounds exagerated no ? I heard the most of the hi end heaphones and still I prefer the hp1000 to pretty much all. 

 

[stacker45]

   
Today, I would not pay more than $ 350 on a HP1000.

 
$350, is exactly what I've paid for my HP1000, but I bought mine yesterday