[tenedosian]

Hi everyone. i am a fresh hf-1 owner and i want to improve it's sound quality without damaging it's originality.
(i am using a sony a845 walkman and a fiio e5 amp by the way).
how can i improve the sound quality of those beautiful cans in terms of
 
- instrument separation (most importantly)
- taking the soundstage closer and making it wider (not deeper like sennheiser's, but more aural, circular)
- signal transmission (for most importantly better, silky highs)
 
by changing pads? cables? amps? i'm currently using it with bowls.
thanks.

 

[fabio-fi]

I'd buy a better amp/dac, and use EQ software. My 2 cents. 

 

[BotByte]

Recable will only ruin your cans.
 
Lose the FiiO E5. It only screws up that HF-1 sound
 
A Cowon with Jeteffect would have increased the soundstage and seperation. My S9 does wonders for my Grados
 
Order a pair of G-Cush ear pads
 
 
That's about it. Don't alter the headphones, you'll screw them up and waste money. Replace the earpads and get a better Source, and lose the FiiO E5.
 
And yes, the FiiO E5 sucks, it makes everything from a Grado sound more muddied. the only thing it's good for is paired with a select few IEMs like my Brainwavz M1 to make the highs and lows come out. It kills the Grado's sound.

 

[BotByte]

Also, get better quality music.
 
My standards:
FLAC ripped from Vinyl with only 1-5% loss 2256 kbps
FLAC 920 kbps
MP3 320 kbps

 

[tenedosian]

Thanks for suggestions! I'll try the g-cush pads in the local seller and lose fiio e5. But i do not much like to leave sony and get a cowon. Actually my previous mp3 player was cowon iaudio 7  and i was a little bit disappointed with it. As to compare it with sony a845, it has muddy and weaker bass and laid-back treble and it was far behind sony in terms of detail and instrumental reality & naturality. cowon (iaudio7) sound is more metallic and artificial. sony has significantly higher resolution. As for cowon's point, using it's surround in level 2 or 3, i got the best soundstage i've heard from a mp3 player. i guess there would be a dramatic difference in SQ between iaudio7 and s9 but the metallic sound of cowon would still be present. i like the warmness and naturality of sony sound.
 
Also i'm using mostly wav or wma vbr (240 - 355kbps - which i think is better than mp3 320kbps), so i use good records or rips.
 
About amping, in terms of
 
- instrument separation (most importantly)
- taking the soundstage (especially i want closer mids & instruments) closer and making it wider (not deeper like sennheiser's, but more aural, circular)
- signal transmission (for most importantly better, silky highs)
 
from which of the below amps do you guys think i would get better / best bang for my money in my grado hf-1?
- mini^3
- rsa hornet
- a top quality cmoy like jds bass boost / biosciencegeek / caffeine ultra or a say ra1 clone
 
i can get hornet though it's expensive, if it has a considerable strength against mini^3
 
which one should i get?
Thanks.
 

 

[Chris_Himself]

Even though I am an advocate of modding cans, don't mod discontinued Grados, that would just be a shame, regardless of if you get sonic benefits from it. You could have Marty (Mlatinen) build you a set of custom SR-60's or something instead if you wanted one of those. You listen to good quality sources and you definitely have your priorities straight, so I definitely trust your ears!
 
Have you considered converting to desktop listening? That opens up a lot more cost effective options than sticking to portables, or is this strictly a setup that you would like to move around with?
 
Don't get the RA1, I've built the clone (and sold it off) and it matches well with Grado headphones.... but at 32ohm, what really doesn't?
 
Both of those serious amps are worth every penny for what you pay. I'd rather get start looking into DAC/amp's for RSA Hornet money, but I've listened to RS-2's through one of those and at that point I didn't find it so expensive anymore considering you could probably be happy with it for many years to come.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Pads and amp.  The Pico amps have great synergy with grados. 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Forget the portable amps. Get a proper desktop amp. A Dynalo will bring good things out of the HF-1, I enjoy the combination.

Also, not every headphone can be everything to everyone. If the HF-1 isn't what you want, then maybe another headphone will be a better fit.

I like the HF-1 well enough to keep it. But not enough to use it as my primary headphone.

Do not make permanent mods, either. That will destroy its value and you'd have a terrible time finding a buyer.