Joe Grado website

[Leonardo Drummond]

Nice, Ryan! Let us know how it sounds!

ECP Audio DSHA-1

What do you plan to use?

Seems interesting, jvlgato... I had never head about it before, actually!

I now have a Meier Eartube, and I'm having nice results, but I recently tried a prototype amp that a friend showed me with the K1K and liked it a lot. And both headphones seem somewhat similar in terms of tonal balance - slighly mid-centric -, so I guess the result with the HP1000 might be good as well, drier in the midrange and more extended in the bass and treble. I'll probably hear it again soon!

[recstar24]

The k1000 and hp1000 are as different and polar opposite on the tonal balance scale IMO.

Using a cooler version of the DSHA1 myself.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Really?? I find them both quite mid-centric, at least in the position I use the K1K at and with the HP1000 with the yellow Sennheiser pads. The AKG seems to have some more highs and more bass impact, but they both have happy mids to me.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Really?? I find them both quite mid-centric, at least in the position I use the K1K at and with the HP1000 with the yellow Sennheiser pads. The AKG seems to have some more highs and more bass impact, but they both have happy mids to me.

Weird, my K1000 had less impact and less highs than my HP-1000 did. If I could have my pick of either one again, I'd take the HP-1000.

[jp11801]

Weird, my K1000 had less impact and less highs than my HP-1000 did. If I could have my pick of either one again, I'd take the HP-1000.

Say What?????

The HP 1000s that I owned and have listened to were rolled off in the highs and were not as fast or had the impact of the K1000s. The HPs had pretty great mids though

[jvlgato]

Seems interesting, jvlgato... I had never head about it before, actually!

I now have a Meier Eartube, and I'm having nice results, but I recently tried a prototype amp that a friend showed me with the K1K and liked it a lot. And both headphones seem somewhat similar in terms of tonal balance - slighly mid-centric -, so I guess the result with the HP1000 might be good as well, drier in the midrange and more extended in the bass and treble. I'll probably hear it again soon!

Haven't heard the Eartube, but Meier stuff I've heard has generally been pleasant enough, but just didn't do it for me. ECP is a small local Chicago outfit and HC guy. Nice stuff.

My very brief experience with the k1000 vs HP1000 was much closer to jp's experience. But have found Ryan's HP1000 with the magic substance to be more extended in the highs.

And with his cooler DHSA1, it must really be magical and cooler! Bastard!

[Leonardo Drummond]

Larry, did you have bass light or bass heavy K1Ks? Mine are bass heavy and have significantly more bass impact than the Grados! In fact, in terms of pure, dry bass impact, they have more of it than most cans I've heard to date.

jp11801, that matches my impressions.

jvlgato, I see! They look really good! Being a design student, I'm just not too happy with the logo

Some more treble extension (as well as a bit more bass) would be a good addition to my HP1000s. Not that I'm not enjoying it, I am (this one came to stay), but I reckon these are things that could be solved with some other amplification. I've always liked the Meier because it's very tubey and softened the mids of the AKG, which I've always found to be very hard sounding. However, I was really impressed with that prototype amp, because it seemed to maintain a soft-ish sound but with added bass and treble, and that sorted the mid-centric "issue" in a way. So I guess it could be what I'm looking for for the Grados as well!

[HiWire]

I'm running my HP-2 (with Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Reference cable and flat pads) on a Headsave Classic amp from an Arcam FMJ CD36 and it is heaven. I think the Arcam might have a slightly brighter presentation that offsets any slight treble rolloff and the bass is sepulchral. Soundstage and imaging are decent, but they might be more realistic on other headphone designs.

In the long term, I'm thinking of upgrading to an Apex Hi-Fi Arête + Volcano and Cardas Clear Light interconnects. Also, I've got my eye on the Oppo BDP-95 for SACD, HDCD, and Blu-ray playback.

[robm321]

Did someone say their HP-1000 had more extended highs than their K-1000? .... total opposite here.

The HP-1000 (with flat pads, no yellow crap) and K-1000s are both extremely neutral but sound nothing alike.

Edited June 29, 2012 by robm321

[Dusty Chalk]

What are you driving the K1K with, Leonardo? They benefit from a speaker amp -- sure, there are a lot of headphone amps that can drive them, but there are also plenty that can't. If you have a decent speaker amp (without too much gain, that is), try that.

[Spychedelic Whale]

I have been curious about this for some time, are they any good with rock & metal ?

[Leonardo Drummond]

and the bass is sepulchral.

That's something I'm really not getting with mine. They have as much bass I used to have with the HD800, which I considered bass shy.

The HP-1000 (with flat pads, no yellow crap) and K-1000s are both extremely neutral but sound nothing alike.

Thought the yellow pads were supposed to be good?

What are you driving the K1K with, Leonardo? They benefit from a speaker amp -- sure, there are a lot of headphone amps that can drive them, but there are also plenty that can't. If you have a decent speaker amp (without too much gain, that is), try that.

Peter, I tried it with quite a few amps actually, and while some seemed to tame the mids (such as the Meier Eartube, the one that I currently use), some didn't (like the Little Dot MKVI). Apart from these, I've tried a Cambridge 340A SE -- quite good combination, very energetic --, Marantz PM-11S2 -- softer, very nice as well -- and a vintage JVC A-S5 -- crap combo.

I find it interesting how we hear things differently, as most people here apparently don't agree with me in that they sound mid-centric, but to my ears that's really evident. Most other headphones I've heard have mids pushed back in comparison, and I think the only exceptions are Grados and Shure SE530. In any case, to be brutally honest I nowadays just think that the K1000s aren't really the headphones for me. They only work on certain specific occasions, and while these help my decision to keep them, a lot of it comes from its collectible factor. But well, I don't know what might happen down the road!

I have been curious about this for some time, are they any good with rock & metal ?

The AKGs or the Grados? The K1000s to me are hopeless, but the Grado's are good, especially with 60s/70s rock music.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Say What??

The HP 1000s that I owned and have listened to were rolled off in the highs and were not as fast or had the impact of the K1000s. The HPs had pretty great mids though

Well I won't blame the difference on the HP-1000 having a SAA Equinox cable and the K1000 having a stock cable. I did have to try multiple amps to get the K1000 to pick up some sparkle, which the SAC KH1000 amp did nicely.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Larry, did you have bass light or bass heavy K1Ks? Mine are bass heavy and have significantly more bass impact than the Grados! In fact, in terms of pure, dry bass impact, they have more of it than most cans I've heard to date.

I had #1378 bass heavy

[Torpedo]

Leonardo, the K1000 are dying stuff like the R10 and some other vintage headphones. If you've seen pics of the drivers, you'll know what I mean. It could be yours have too deteriorated drivers, hence they sound a bit different, darker and more muffled.

In any case I'd take the HP-2, R10, PS-1, even HD800 over the K1000 any time.

[Spychedelic Whale]

I listen mostly to psychedelic rock and metal so these being a Grado without all that glare could do the trick. The drivers have the same deterioration problem as the R10s etc.. ?

[Leonardo Drummond]

I had #1378 bass heavy

That's weird then, my AKG has a lot more impact than the Grado!

Leonardo, the K1000 are dying stuff like the R10 and some other vintage headphones. If you've seen pics of the drivers, you'll know what I mean. It could be yours have too deteriorated drivers, hence they sound a bit different, darker and more muffled.

In any case I'd take the HP-2, R10, PS-1, even HD800 over the K1000 any time.

Hm, that could be the case, but I doubt it, since it was bought as a pretty much NOS set, they even smell like new. However, I don't know if being kept in its box for 20 years could help or ruin the case.

And I agree with you actually, as a do-it-all headphone, the K1000 fails to me. They're fantastic on some occasions, but these are kind of rare (at least with the music genres I listen to), so even though I didn't like the HD800 very much, it sounded like a better all-rounder to me.

[robm321]

Thought the yellow pads were supposed to be good?

Remember Joe designed these, not John, so no need to "fix" the sound with different pads. Your preference dictates , but worth a listen if you haven't tried them.

[Torpedo]

The problem with the K1000 is not the driver material or the surroundings, but the adhesive they used to hold the membrane in place. Picaudio posted some pics elsewhere from a driver which was failing. I guess the adhesive losing its properties is just a matter of time, which probably can be worsened by poor caring, adverse climate, etc.

AFAIK the Grados in general don't have the same deterioration problems of other headphones.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Remember Joe designed these, not John, so no need to "fix" the sound with different pads. Your preference dictates , but worth a listen if you haven't tried them.

Oh, thanks Rob. Found them on TTVJ, I'll try to get hold of some!

The problem with the K1000 is not the driver material or the surroundings, but the adhesive they used to hold the membrane in place. Picaudio posted some pics elsewhere from a driver which was failing. I guess the adhesive losing its properties is just a matter of time, which probably can be worsened by poor caring, adverse climate, etc.

AFAIK the Grados in general don't have the same deterioration problems of other headphones.

I see, Torpedo! Tried a quick search to find the pictures to check whether that's my case but I couldn't find them. Mine are on loan now, but when I get them again I'll try and check if I can find anything!

[recstar24]

Finally got my hp1000 back from its long journey from joe Grado. Time to make up for long lost listening in these next two weeks before school starts. Since its been awhile I haven't quite pinned down how significant the upgrade has been, and honestly, it sounds as good as I remember them sounding. I did have a chance to play some of my newly mastered choral performances of my choirs from this past school year, and would say the level of detail and resolution seems to have increased. Changes and contrast in dynamics seem a bit more dramatic. Tonal balance appears to be the same, maybe just a bit more open on top. I have been listening to the rs1 for awhile so I am sure those are coloring my impressions, will need to compare with a stock HP to be sure. Will spend more time.

I did get the new super pads - they Have a little more depth and feel more firm but otherwise Look exactly the same. The new cable appears to be simply the ultra wide but doubled up, each side has its own ultra wide with 4 conductors on each side, and a new plug which I have seen before but can't recall who the manufacturer is.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Sorry if that's derailing the thread!

But a quickie: I've decided to sell my K1000s and already have a buyer. He's also interested in my Meier Eartube. I use it as a do-it-all amp since it has power to spare but, as the K1000s are leaving, I won't need that much power anymore. I now have an HP2, HE500 and plan on getting an HD600. The thing is that I've been looking for a more "wire-with-gain" kind of amp (but not one that makes my headphones sound aggressive) that pairs well with anything I might get in the future. Would it be wise to give up on the Eartube? I'm interested in the DHSA-1 given its sinergy with the Grado, but the question is, does it pair well with the other cans, especially the high impedance HD600?

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, from memory, the Eartube was colored, a la AudioValve, hardly what I would call wire-with-gain. Grace m903?

[HeadphoneAddict]

Sorry if that's derailing the thread!

But a quickie: I've decided to sell my K1000s and already have a buyer. He's also interested in my Meier Eartube. I use it as a do-it-all amp since it has power to spare but, as the K1000s are leaving, I won't need that much power anymore. I now have an HP2, HE500 and plan on getting an HD600. The thing is that I've been looking for a more "wire-with-gain" kind of amp (but not one that makes my headphones sound aggressive) that pairs well with anything I might get in the future. Would it be wise to give up on the Eartube? I'm interested in the DHSA-1 given its sinergy with the Grado, but the question is, does it pair well with the other cans, especially the high impedance HD600?

Out of what I've heard, Luxman P-1u or Beta 22 maybe, and Eddie Current BA.

On a tighter budget, the CEntrance DACmini, which I like with all my phones except for being slightly aggressive with HD800 and underpowered for HE-6. The Nuforce DAC100 is great with high impedance HD800, but not as punchy as the DACmini with my HE-500 and LCD-2. Get the DACmini 1 ohm mod and gain of 10, since it's got the power reserves to drive the orthos even better with a gain of 10.

Edited September 15, 2012 by HeadphoneAddict

[Leonardo Drummond]

Thanks a lot, Peter and Larry!

Peter, I actually didn't consider the Grace (and CEntrance for that matter, Larry) because it includes the DAC as well, and I wanted to avoid one-box solutions. In any case, do you think it should be up on my list?

And the Beta 22 sounds interesting... in any case, thank you both for the suggestions! I'll give them and the DHSA-1 some thought and see how it goes!