[ruinedx]

Listening to makeup and vanity set "Collapse" on the Hemp right now. Reallll nice.

Really like this headphone quite a bit for a quick listen due to its small size. Soundstage is surprisingly good for a headphone with no driver positional trickery.

 

[ruhenheiM]

~double post~
it's weird. it happened twice this week. i just hit enter and it suddenly posted

 

[ruhenheiM]

Thanks so much for the response. Would you say that Grados sound like electrostatics or maybe Audiotechnicas or the older Beyers? Specifically I am interested in the PS series.

Do you think Grados specifically the PS Series pairs well with analog sources?

they're sound very unique, nothing sound really similar like grado, some of them are close but with pretty obvious differences. other headphone which sound pretty close to my ps1000e is denon sh-90 (fostex t30 oem)

i don't have analog sources but i'm pretty sure grado tested all their headphones with vinyl too, john have 3 reference albums which he always used to test his headphones. i'm not sure how it would sound though

 

[audiobomber]

I have a friend, a long-term audiophile who is currently delving into head-fi. He borrowed the Sennheiser HD 6XX, which as far as I can tell is an HD 650, differing only in cosmetics. I loaned him my old SR60 (with WinnerEco L-pads). He says he's only listening to the Grados now, and will likely buy one higher up the range.

 

[ruinedx]

I have a friend, a long-term audiophile who is currently delving into head-fi. He borrowed the Sennheiser HD 6XX, which as far as I can tell is an HD 650, differing only in cosmetics. I loaned him my old SR60 (with WinnerEco L-pads). He says he's only listening to the Grados now, and will likely buy one higher up the range.

I had the HD600 for about 4 years ago. Was fully unimpressed and sold it a few months after buying it. Boring, boring, b-o-r-i-n-g is the best way I could describe it. I haven't heard the SR60 but the Hemp is far, far, far better than the HD600 was for music listening purposes.

I love Sennheiser's HD800s/HD820 series though for their incredible soundstage (and the HD700 for the same reason in a more compact form), it would take a mighty headphone to unseat them.

So at least for me with the currently in-production models I am with Grado < $1500 and Sennheiser > $1500. I haven't heard a GS3000 yet, though, but I have no real opportunity to do so currently; but I don't think it would win anyway because soundstage is king for me, though you never know.

 

[ksorota]

While I do not find the HD600 boring. I do think the Hemp phone is a more fun and engaging listen. I am now trying to decide if I should pick up a second pair so that I can keep one at work and one at home. Seems like these are going to be hard to find on the used market anytime soon and that they may sell out pretty quickly!

For $420, its a hard headphone to beat. Comfort is not at the sennheiser level, but also not bad. I have been using the flat Geekria pads and really like the added softness with little to no affect on sonic performance. So nice to have a light headphone that looks, sounds and just simply is great!

 

[Gippy]

In mid-July I bought the GS3000e & it’s been my “go to” headphone pretty much ever since. It’s that good.

There's more than enough people praising the GS3000e, but for me, going from the GS2000e to GS3000e was not just an incremental improvement. It was quite significant because the extra sub-bass (after EQ) in certain tracks and the reduced treble grain really has made the music come alive. Could be that I also upgraded my upstream gear (from iFi iDSD Black to Topping D90 + iFi Pro iCAN) but yeah, Grado made a real winner. A shame it's priced out of many people's budgets, especially in this time when people are penny pinching.

The one caveat is that there's possible build quality issues which should never happen in an $1800 USD headphone, such as driver mismatching (the GS3000e I heard in New York had a significant driver mismatch) and Grado using cocobolo sapwood (which is white) in some units instead of 100% heartwood. But that's why you demo first if possible.

 

[BobG55]

There's more than enough people praising the GS3000e, but for me, going from the GS2000e to GS3000e was not just an incremental improvement. It was quite significant because the extra sub-bass (after EQ) in certain tracks and the reduced treble grain really has made the music come alive. Could be that I also upgraded my upstream gear (from iFi iDSD Black to Topping D90 + iFi Pro iCAN) but yeah, Grado made a real winner. A shame it's priced out of many people's budgets, especially in this time when people are penny pinching.

The one caveat is that there's possible build quality issues which should never happen in an $1800 USD headphone, such as driver mismatching (the GS3000e I heard in New York had a significant driver mismatch) and Grado using cocobolo sapwood (which is white) in some units instead of 100% heartwood. But that's why you demo first if possible.

How do you detect a driver mismatch ?

 

[Gippy]

Run this and the tone should be centered or near-centered for all of it. However, you will need a control, such as another headphone, to ensure that it's not just your ears.

 

[ruinedx]

While I do not find the HD600 boring. I do think the Hemp phone is a more fun and engaging listen. I am now trying to decide if I should pick up a second pair so that I can keep one at work and one at home. Seems like these are going to be hard to find on the used market anytime soon and that they may sell out pretty quickly!

For $420, its a hard headphone to beat. Comfort is not at the sennheiser level, but also not bad. I have been using the flat Geekria pads and really like the added softness with little to no affect on sonic performance. So nice to have a light headphone that looks, sounds and just simply is great!

If you like the sound of the hemp you should pick up an hd700, around $420 used (no longer avail new). It's actually not too dissimilar to the hemp in sound but it's different enough (extended highs, bigger soundstage) that i think it would be more interesting than owning two of the same headphone. Note it requires an amp without harsh top end tho.

Or if not that maybe another grado in the same price range like rs2e. If it were me I wouldn't want two of the same when I'd have the opportunity to own two different sonic signatures.

All that being said the hemp will probably have better resale value than all of the above

 

[ksorota]

If you like the sound of the hemp you should pick up an hd700, around $420 used (no longer avail new). It's actually not too dissimilar to the hemp in sound but it's different enough that i think it would be more interesting than owning two of the same headphone.

Or if not that maybe another grado in the same price range like rs2

All that being said the hemp will probably have better resale value than all of the above

I picked up and tried out the Whites for a little while. They are impressive headphones, and while I liked the signature for older rock (for which it was designed) I just could not keep it around for a case where I might be interested in listening to one album; especially since the Hemp is a better signature for me overall. I would like to try out another wood Grado...but I am patiently waiting to see what comes up used and with all the talk of the GS3000e, I would really like to try one of those out!

Time to try and start saving some more.

 

[ruinedx]

I picked up and tried out the Whites for a little while. They are impressive headphones, and while I liked the signature for older rock (for which it was designed) I just could not keep it around for a case where I might be interested in listening to one album; especially since the Hemp is a better signature for me overall. I would like to try out another wood Grado...but I am patiently waiting to see what comes up used and with all the talk of the GS3000e, I would really like to try one of those out!

Time to try and start saving some more.

Yeah the gs3000e is the next most interesting grado to me after the hemp. I am looking to buy a high end open headphone in next 2 months for late night listening and it will come down to the hd800s or gs3000e

 

[donlin]

I picked up and tried out the Whites for a little while. They are impressive headphones, and while I liked the signature for older rock (for which it was designed) I just could not keep it around for a case where I might be interested in listening to one album; especially since the Hemp is a better signature for me overall. I would like to try out another wood Grado...but I am patiently waiting to see what comes up used and with all the talk of the GS3000e, I would really like to try one of those out!

Time to try and start saving some more.

Of course everybody's taste in sound varies but for what it's worth, I owned the GS3000e for a while and just couldn't quite love it. The Hemp on the other hand is wonderful. Just because something is way more expensive doesn't mean it's automatically better. The Hemp and GS3000e are both very high caliber headphones but very different sounding and in the end it comes down to your own taste and priorities.

Yeah the gs3000e is the next most interesting grado to me after the hemp. I am looking to buy a high end open headphone in next 2 months for late night listening and it will come down to the hd800s or gs3000e

For what it's worth, I currently own the hemp and owned the HD800S for years (bought it right when it came out and sold it earlier this year) and also owned the GS3000e for a while. I would rank them Hemp, then HD800S, then GS3000e. The Hifiman Arya is what prompted me to sell the HD800S. As I've said here before, there was something about the mid-range tone of the GS3000e that I just couldn't live with so I stuck with the HD800S at the time.

 

[ruinedx]

For what it's worth, I currently own the hemp and owned the HD800S for years (bought it right when it came out and sold it earlier this year) and also owned the GS3000e for a while. I would rank them Hemp, then HD800S, then GS3000e. The Hifiman Arya is what prompted me to sell the HD800S. As I've said here before, there was something about the mid-range tone of the GS3000e that I just couldn't live with so I stuck with the HD800S at the time.

Well I have the HD820 already and for me it's head and shoulders better than everything else I own currently including Hemp. I think a lot depends on your gear stack and what you are looking for. Soundstage to me is really important and I haven't heard anything better than HD8xx for this, which is why I'm leaning towards hd800s; while it may seem a duplication the hd820 is better for daytime listening and when more bass is needed - hd800s gives more soundstage tho for when isolation or more bass not needed. Haven't heard the gs3000 tho so didn't want to discount it given hemp solid performance for price.

 

[donlin]

Well I have the HD820 already and for me it's head and shoulders better than everything else I own currently including Hemp. I think a lot depends on your gear stack and what you are looking for. Soundstage to me is really important and I haven't heard anything better than HD8xx for this, which is why I'm leaning towards hd800s; while it may seem a duplication the hd820 is better for daytime listening and when more bass is needed - hd800s gives more soundstage tho for when isolation or more bass not needed. Haven't heard the gs3000 tho so didn't want to discount it given hemp solid performance for price.

If soundstage is the top priority, there’s nothing that tops the HD800S. I did a pretty extensive comparison between the HD820 and HD800S and for me the HD800S was better across the board.