Grado-rama: A Guide to Grados

I'd really like to try a RS1x, a 50mm on ear sounds like a great time. I really like Grados, I have a ton, but I ultimately go for my Ksc75 more often as I think it has that Grado magic but with a more natural timbre.

It's enlightening too to hear how my Grados sound better out of my 3.5mm jack on my PC than my Bifrost 2 -> SW51+. I'm sure there's some diagram that shows how Grado you start off at a much higher sound quality / level then lets say a Sennheiser.

 

I have at some point owned a SR-125i, PS-500, PS-1000, GH1. I've heard an RS1, RS2, GS1000, GS2000 and a Hemp.

The GH1 and PS500 are my favorites. I really really enjoyed the PS1000, but it was soooo heavy, if you look down or to the side too quickly, it's slipping around and maybe falling off your head.

If I could only own one, I'd like to have my GH1 back. They are RARE.

I like the TTVJ flat pads, but the Geekera sound best to me and are pretty comfortable.

My PS500 is on it's way back home from a repair and I am sooooo excited. Friday come quickly.

 

I still have an old amp built by Grado fanboys around 2000. Used it with HD600 back in the days but it became noisy and i could never fix it. They said every headphone other than Grado was shit. Ran 12AX7’s.

 

You'd think - with all the comprehensive information regarding Grado here - why the heck don't we have a SBAF GS-1 (golden schlong) or ORFAS, or CHANGBAF-2.0

 

That'll either be a redone reference-voicing HP-1000 series or even more unapologetically fun-fi thing and either way it'll be grand.

 

This thread moved me to listen to my recently repaired PS500 from an apple dongle straight out of an iPhone. I am impressed at the detail, nuance, and cohesiveness. Plenty of volume. Sounds great. Keeps pace with a Danny Carey double bass kick drum solo nicely.

I’m geeked up to get upstairs with the SW51+ later this weekend.

 

Any impressions of the GS3000X?

 

Shane D, not really, I believe that each combination of pads and Grado's has something different to offer, with their own pros and cons.
The fact that there are so many stock and aftermarket options in all price ranges is a true blessing for Grado enthusiasts as it allows everyone to fine-tune them to their liking.

What I definitely don't like is G-pads on the Grado's with 40mm membranes, as I feel they make them sound "dry" due to the lack of bass. G-pads work fantastic with the 50mm membranes (PS1000 and everything above), but to me they were definitely not designed for the "smaller" Grado's.

P.S. I like Hemps with my shipibo pads a lot as well, but this will look like I'm shilling my own product, so I'll say no more

Here are some pics from my tests:

 

Beautiful collection. The White and Hemp were the ones I wanted to hear, but I'm enjoying the commentary with all the different models.

I had to financially let the HF-2 go, but it was the first Grado that I thought differently about. I was actually perplexed by the entire *F1* drama though.

Spirit Audio has a similar *Grado* cup design, but ran Isobaric. Interesting idea - curious how it plays out in real life. Most reviews I've read are positive.

 

I agree on the G-pads. They don't work, IMO, on the GH2's or Hemp's. I am currently trying to sell the Hemp's and going to tossing in several sets of pads.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/grado-fan-club.530965/page-4052

Post 60,777

 

I've been playing around a couple of simple modifications with my RS2x; One is pads rolling (Grado F/L pads, Tape-mod, two Geekria pads, two different L-ish pads bought from Aliexpress), which I'm planning to post separately later. The other is to replace the headband.

A few weeks ago, I discovered that the ETA O2's headband, presumably a Chinese clone of the Sony MDR-7506 design, was a good fit for my RS2x. While it may not be more aesthetically pleasing, its enhanced padding makes it significantly more comfortable, especially since I found the original headband a tad too firm on my head. I ordered a similar (I suspect nearly identical) one from AliExpress, and it arrived today, fitting just as I had anticipated.

How comfy!

Admittedly there are more premium-looking and possibly more comfortable products offered by agencies like Nyczaj or Beautiful Audio. I might consider those in the future as well. But for now, definitely not a bad investment for <$20.

 

The GS1000 was a misunderstood headphone. In spite of the fact that the first thing that you saw when you opened the box was the introduction sheet where Grado explained that they were designed for low volume listening, very few listened to them this way.

At low volume they sounded better than any other headphone I've ever heard. You truly felt like you were missing nothing by not turning them up. Somehow, at low volume, the soundstage also expanded, making the music sound like it was emanating from the walls.

If you did turn them up, they would of course become very harsh (Fletcher-Munson curves etc), so Grado changed the tuning for the GS1000i to be more "normal" and the series never regained that magic.

Of the hundreds of headphones I've had over the decades, the GS1000 are the only ones I still miss.

 

GS1000e continue to be my favorites for classical and guitar. Yes, RS1x is the Grado GOAT now, but there are feelings and instants in some records that just come out with a lot more heart out of the biggies.

moar science needed.

 

I've been contemplating why Grado opted for larger drivers with higher resonance frequencies in their premium models (RS1e/x, GS, PS) compared to the lower models such as RS2x. Drawing from my experience with the RS2x, I've formulated several hypotheses:

1. Been using the RS2x, I am a little surprised that I was not much bothered by limited bass extension compared to my planar over ear collections. A slight increase in bass extension, by a few tens of hertz, might not be as impactful as many believe, even when recordings indeed go fairly low (~50hz). Residue pitch might explain that, I think.

Our auditory perception often prioritizes harmonics over fundamental frequencies. So, even if a headphone's bass specification seems limited, as long as its harmonics remain intact or even emphasized, we can still perceive deeper bass tones despite measurement cut-offs. To my knowledge, this aligns with numerous studies highlighting the "missing fundamental" or "residue pitch" phenomenon, where the brain perceives a frequency even if it's absent, based on the presence of its harmonics.

Practically speaking, unless I exclusively rely on single Grado as a reference, I might overlook these missing fundamentals.

2. While resonance frequency directly correlates with bass extension, its underlying mechanism might also influence the quality of higher frequencies. Typically, drivers with a low resonant frequency possess a larger, stiffer, and/or heavier diaphragm. However, such diaphragms can exacerbate breakup modes and potentially compromise transient responses a little.

John Grado likely aimed for an optimal balance, suggesting that while higher-end Grado models might sacrifice some bass extension compared to the lower models, they could excel in midrange or treble quality. Particularly so if he went for stronger controls (suspension, damping, magnets, etc.), lighter material, and/or some smart choices on voice coil inductance or other acoustic designs. For example, even though the diaphragm is larger, if it's constructed from a lightweight material, it could result in a higher resonance frequency.

3. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many Grado enthusiasts, owning multiple models, don't consistently prefer the RS2x over the RS1x/e. This observation motivates hypotheses #1 and #2, hmm.

That said, I'm now much more eager to try out higher end 50mm or 52mm driver Grados myself.

 

Do Grados EQ well?

10/14/2023 Update
The answer seems to be "somewhat."

Took work sr80x's home and played with EqualizerAPO.

Adding boost below 100hz made them seem fuller. This is still far from being tight and punchy bass, but total FR feels more complete. Cohesion isn't perfect, but I think better, and it remains involving, so there's something to be said for that adjustment.

MJ2 + Yggdrasil GS + sr80x = too spicy treble. Shaving a couple dB off the 2khz peak seems effective without utterly breaking the sound. But you can't f**k around too much or it stops sounding like a Grado.

I'd rate the sr80x as C+ to B- in terms of taking EQ because you can adjust the most major characteristics but it's not a "tuner" ripe for fuckery. Better than HD800, which seems to shatter at the slightest suggestion of EQ.

 

I found a vintage pair of SR60 with the 'pink' drivers for sale locally very cheap. These would be the same type that Corey Greenberg reviewed in Stereophile in 1995: https://www.stereophile.com/headphones/532/index.html



they sound totally awesome (for my taste). Ironically I like them much better than the un-obtainium HP2 that I paid an arm and a leg for. the HP2 was very uncomfortable to wear, had a stiff firehose cable and good examples go for $$$. you would think with all these inconveniences they would sound totally awesome, but I mostly just found them boring and too monitor-like.

these early SR60 are also quite monitor-like in their presentation with really great separation and clarity (pretty much best I have heard) but not quite as stiff or sterile as the HP2. Still they are much less impressionistic with how they portray music than later entries to the Prestige series like the mid-2000s SR80 and SR325 I still own. There is not much artificial warmth (SR325) or boosted presence (SR225). I bet that they would measure like any other plastic cup Prestige Grado but they don't sound like it. Highly recommended if you like a flat and honest sound that works with any genre. You can google 'pink driver grado' to read old head-fi threads about these early models

 

Congrats on the purchase, they're legendary! I double checked on mine SR60 today, sadly no pink on the drivers... I still enjoy them very much and the cable holds up very well, unlike my SR125 where it gets stiffer every time I even look at them, I need to seriously consider recabling at this point.