Grado Hemp (2020) Measurements, Reviews, and Impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by Vtory, Jul 22, 2020.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Allow me to cut through all this confusion with the Force:

    Using the same pads, the Grado Hemp is a slightly less bright and smoother in the highs than the RS-2. Hemp driver does not appear to be in the the same class as RS-2. It appears to be in the SR-225 or HF-3 class. The Hemp driver is slightly less resolving, less clear, less snappy, than the RS-2. The resonance of the wood cup is different.

    The most significant factor with Hemp is that it comes with the F-cushions which are like the TTVJ DX pads. The TTVJ DX pads make almost any SR/RS Grado a lot more approachable for folks who dislike the bright and crunchy Grado sound with the usual bowl pads.

    The F-cushions are 85% of what make the Hemp special. The partial hemp cup material makes the resonance sound slightly different. The driver, as with all other drivers in the Grado lineup, are a variation: smoother, more mature, maybe less fun, less "oversteer", and also less resolving than the TOTL RS stuff.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2020
  2. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    I'll be honest if it weren't for the cool looking hemp earcups and the fact my other headphones are more treble-heavy I probably wouldn't keep the hemps because I find their HF detail to be significantly lacking.

    But the combination of their unique look and the fact that they might be useful on highly treble-skewed recordings (like The Outfield / Play Deep for instance) makes it a useful complementary device to my other headphones for use with bad recordings... and maybe when I want a more "chill" presentation.

    Plus artistically it's a beautiful piece IMO. The visual design aspect of these plays a significant part in the value equation.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2020
  3. Philimon

    Philimon Friend

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  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The Force is simply intuition based on experience.
    • Grado Hemp is $420. Grado RS-2 is $495. The Grado line does get more resolving, clearer, and faster sounding as we go up the line. The purity of the copper wires, number of windings, etc. do matter. The improvements are Incremental as we go up the line.
    • The Hemp being a limited special edition, "Hemp" wood cups, upscale headband, and F-cushions for a dramatically different sound, likely has a $200 premium over what it otherwise would retail at if those drivers were in placed in plastic cups. $420-$200 = $220 is roughly the cost of the SR-225.
    • The smoother response of the Hemp tells me the driver compliance is more damped. This usually translates into slower transients. It depends. I would need another measurement to examine the sensitivity difference.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2020
  5. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Sure, here you go. Note that do not directly compare my results with Marv's as I didn't do any additional adjustments to get harmonics right. Also environmental noise is a little high in my house (see the 2nd graph), which generates many high order harmonic calculations quite unreliable.

    upload_2020-8-5_16-3-56.png
    upload_2020-8-5_16-4-9.png


    I love their LTD culture -- except a few ones (including Hemp gimmick). Many one-off "driven by fun" products. And generally priced not too dauntingly from post-Utopia era standards. Some still a little weird though.


    Very in line with my reasoning, too. Grado never sacrifice their margin. From a long history, I believe they know how to differentiate product lines without carnivalization. SR225 or 325 level drivers are reasonably assumed. Maybe with a little tweak or two.
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2020
  6. pure5152

    pure5152 Friend

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    You’re probably right in that the hemp is not as resolving as the rs, but price probably isn’t the reason here - Grado would’ve priced it at $500 if they were going by their traditional margins. I think the real reason for any performance difference would probably be the driver size: it looks like the hemps are 40mm drivers whereas the rs2e has 44mm drivers. It’s hard to say without direct comparison, though, as the hemp seems to be a new driver based on the impedance
     
  7. udin

    udin Acquaintance

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    I recently acquired the Grado Hemp and I agree about the value proposition listed above. Essentially you are paying a premium for the wooden cups, the f-cushion, and the limited nature of the release. The Hemp do sound different than the 225e, though, if using the same pads. To me the 225e came across as softer sounding and less dynamic than the Hemp when I put the f-cushions on them. The Hemp seem to have a little more treble energy and thump in the bass. The f-cushion does not fit the 225e perfectly (just a little loose), but I would be interested to try to TTVJ deluxe flat pads to compare.
     
  8. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Based on those comments, it seems like the RS2e is the best value proposition if you’re already considering spending $420 on the hemp.
     
  9. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Mileage varies as the two aren't on the similar price plane: $420 vs $550 (=500+50). One is 40% more expensive than the other.
     
  10. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I thought the RS2e was $495?
     
  11. pure5152

    pure5152 Friend

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    ttjv deluxe flat pads are $50+shipping.
     
  12. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Ahhh, gotcha.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Indeed, with the "e" series, Grado further differentiated with RS2e and RS1e with 44mm and 50mm drivers from the rest of the line, the SR series with their 40mm drivers. I'd have to hear it. Sounds like this may be closer to SR325 levels of resolution / plankton than SR225. The HF-3 was definitely SR225 to SR325 level. A step and half down to two steps down from RS-2e. I'm just hesitant to opt for Hemp as a loaner with it being a limited special edition.
     
  14. Raimei Templar

    Raimei Templar Friend

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    I wonder how the GH3 might compare to the Hemp and the RS2e? Here in Japan there are still some GH3s for sale for around $400(RS2e is around 600 here!) I found some measurements on Reference Audio Analyzer Pro which indicate that the GH3 is a little more polite sounding with less treble, though it also extends less in the air region and bass. I assume this means the driver is not quite as good as the RS2.

    Grado has the most confusing lineup of any company IMO, as it is all over the place.

    Little disappointing the Hemps have slightly smaller drivers, not that 4mm is a massive difference. I always prefer headphones with larger drives as they actually sound larger(taller) which is silly to say but I find it to be true.

    Likely going to grab a Grado of some sort in the near future and some Yaxi pads. A couple of reviews out there say Yaxi pads cut treble slightly but most importantly that they are actually comfortable! That alone will likely make them my preferred pad.

    Edit:All right I went ahead and ordered a Hemp, figured I better grab it before it sold out! Ya'll are a bad influence! Will get some Yaxi pads and try them with it.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  15. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    Yeah I would say specifically if the visual design and limited concept is unappealing to you these probably would not be worth picking up for sound quality alone.

    But for me at least I really love the look of them, I think it's a fun concept, and they will be an interesting sonic alternative to use to my main headphones (hd820).
     
  16. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    Alright I am having a problem with my GRADO HEMP headphones

    When plugged into my external HPA and [connected to my DAC via balanced XLR], and I have the HEMP connected via the grado inline 4pin XLR connector, I am getting intermittent interference noises that almost sound like random ground loop artifacts. Sort of like every 10 seconds I hear quite loud buzzing/interference in either earcup even with the HPA set to 0 volume. I don't hear these noises at all in the HD700 or HD820 via exactly the same XLR connection. I also noticed the noise floor of the grado is much higher than the HD700/HD820 again with the HPA at 0. Defective/bad wiring?

    It seems to be the headphones. I think I am going to return for refund. They are really cool looking and fun sounding but I don't think the audio quality is worth getting a replacement.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  17. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Well, the Sennheisers are considerably less sensitive than the Grados. Low impedance, sensitive headphones are more likely to exhibit noise, hum, interference, etc. if it exists in your chain somewhere.

    So, no, probably not the Grados, but probably something else in your rig.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Grados are super sensitive. Craig at EC always had a pair of RS-1 and ATH-AD2000 around to test for noise, interference, and any sort of crap that may have come from the high-frequency 50kHz heater filament amps. Cheaper and faster than an AP-555. Denizens of ASR would be horrified.
     
  19. Ruined

    Ruined HD700 ruined my ear holes

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    Perhaps this is the case. My HPA has dual L/R 3-pin XLR. If I remove the 3-pin > 4pin XLR Y-Adapter and run unbalanced to the grados (as I ran it previously) the problem is solved.

    I think Y adapter may be bad then? Its just odd that the Sennheisers do not seem to notice this at all... Very strange! It seems if I pull the y adapter around it alters the signal almost like an antenna or perhaps bad connection at the amp side

    Anyone know where I can still buy a well built 4pin xlr > dual 3 pin XLR adapter? Moon audio? This one was from B+H who I thought sold decent stuff (cable I have is canare quad + neutrik connectors)
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2020
  20. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Seems like it could be something loose in the adapter. You may also be getting x2 gain from the balanced connection vs unbalanced connection making any issues more noticeable.
     

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