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Posted

Listening to the HF-2's off of the AA HPA v.1.0. This amp loves Grado's and the HF-2 loves the AA. Not surprising, as my favorite pairing at CanJam was the HF-2/FET-A.

Posted

Hey people,

This is a huge thread, I wonder if someone could summarise some opinions on the HF2 for sound? Are/were they a limited Ed, and therefore all sold?

I currently have the Alessandro MS1 (SR125) and am interested in getting a higher end Grado, but some, like the 325, are overly harsh IME.

I'm also interested in the RS2, but not wanting to derail the thread, but any brief comparo's would be helpful.

Lastly, (am I running out of favours for a first post?) I'm in Australia, but going to Los Angeles in September, and would love to find somewhere in, or very near the city, to listen to the above phones, as I'll only be there 2 days.

If anyone knows any retailers I can audition, or email them to ask, it would be a terrific help.

I thank you.

Posted

HF2.jpg

just got'em in Hong Kong! :cool: unfortunately a business trip, so I won't really be able to try them until the weekend.:mad: Just a snippet now - miles/dead/phish etc - but I already know these will be my main phones (now that I bailed on balanced). These rock, literally! btw, I don't mind the F1 at all.

Posted

They are a limited edition of 500. There are probably under 100 left based on yesterday's report. July 31st is the last day you can order, if there are any left by that time, which is doubtful.

As for impressions, do your own homework (egad, man). I'll only say that I think you'll find that many, if not most, of us who have them prefer them over most in-production Grados, with a taming of the negatives while keeping the Grado house sound.

Posted

Hi Drubbing. The HF-2 is a limited edition, 500 of them are supposedly being made. You can still order a pair from Todd The Vinyl Junkie, until the 31st of this month, or until no more are left, whichever comes first.

Haven't heard them myself, but I've ordered a pair based on other people's reviews. From what I've gathered, they are probably on par with the RS-2 regarding general quality, possibly even better in some aspects.

Apparently it manages to sound like a Grado (fun, engaging, beautiful mids), while also possessing some qualities that are not classic John Grado (deep musical bass, non-harsh treble, improved soundstage). Please note that all of these impressions are based on things I've read, instead of first hand experience.

If you are really interested in high end Grado, you'll probably lament missing this opportunity later on - old school gradoists seem pretty stoked about these.

Also the previous limited edition Grado, the HF-1 went up in price after the production stopped, nearly doubled its market value.

These also come with a funny little flaw in the etching of the model name, but as you approach the question from the dark side of headphonia, it should be a non-issue.

Posted
Has anyone else noticed these?

just checked, yup.

btw, these are lighter than the PS-1s I used to have (and therefore are more comfortable...so far)

Posted
I think it's better than the RS-2 in all aspects. I'm enjoying them a lot with flats. I guess it's just grawk and myself.

Very good to hear that. I also ordered a pair of flats with them, figuring that once burnt in the bass might tighten up and reduce in quantity, and flats would then provide a little extra oomph in this department.

Posted
And the MS1 isn't an SR125.

As near as dammit, it is. It's the equivalent, if not the actual 125, I realise it isn't a straight re-badge, as Alessandro tweak the drivers.

I think Grado even make it - if they don't, they sell Alessandro all the parts to assemble AFAIK.

Thanks all for the responses. I was just after general impressions, and isn't forumming a part of the 'homework'. I had an inkling the HF2 were only selling a limited time, and the H-fi members thing too. I just won't buy phones I haven't heard - particularly Grado's @ $500, as when I tried the Alessandro MS2, which is apparently a less harsh 325 equivalent, they were really fatiguing.

So these will pass me by, as I'm not going to LA til early September. Oh well, I'll just have to check out the RS2 instead.

Posted
As near as dammit, it is. It's the equivalent, if not the actual 125, I realise it isn't a straight re-badge, as Alessandro tweak the drivers.

I think Grado even make it - if they don't, they sell Alessandro all the parts to assemble AFAIK.

I had an inkling the HF2 were only selling a limited time, and the H-fi members thing too. oh well, I'll just have to check out the RS2 instead.

Wrong.

Posted
Wrong.

My, how polite and expansive people are here. And a big fluffy 'Hi' to you guys too.

I've done a fair bit of reading on Grado after I got my MS1. The details escape me now, but I think it was in that h-fi John Grado interview, where he talked about his partnership with George Alesandro, that I got the information on the MS1/125 I related here.

Whatever the technical minutae of the parts used, it is certainly not wrong that Grado make the components that make up the MS1. They look like Prestige Grado's and they even bear the name - where the hell else are the parts going to come from?

Posted

Do you guys think it improper to ask Todd if, come deadline time (july 31st), i ask him if he can sell me a second pair if there are still cups available? I mean, if that is the cut-off date, what happens to all the extra cups... or can we ask to buy just an extra set of cups, to maybe have someone else refinish them? I don't want to insult the guy with an asshat request or anything of the sort.

Posted

i'm sure the basic driver is probably the same on all of them, but once they've had the various coatings etc, they're different.

Posted
i'm sure the basic driver is probably the same on all of them, but once they've been damaged for use in the lesser headphones, they're different.

is this the same thing?

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