These are basically Sivga Phoenix but they actually fit my head.
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interesting as I was curious on the phoenix but I have ear sizing issues⊠Guess I will need to look into this regarding soundstage and sound signature
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They look sharp man 
- congrats
Do the pads attach to the cups the same way as the phoenix?
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Hmmmm⊠then @ZeosPantera will probably love them, though @DMS⊠that may depend on if they answer his complaints. I see he would probably say the headband would be better, though donât know about pad depth as I donât have either ^^
Yes and theyâre a pain in the ass to take off and put back on
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Have you tried any other pads on them? Iâm wondering if larger BW or dekoni would fit the plate
Review after 20hrs of listening:
Comfort - Not too bad but not that great. Ear pads are a bit shallow and my ears do touch the ear cups but my ears never started to hurt. What did start to hurt was the top of my head. The headband stretches out flat putting all the weight on the top of my head creating a hotspot there. Nothing Dekoni nuggets wouldnât fix.
Build - Very well built. All metal except for the earcups which I believe are wood.
Sound signature - Warm with vocal intimacy
Bass - Not as bassy as I was expecting. Itâs about the same in quantity as the Tygr 300 r, gr1 has a bit better extension but doesnât slam as hard as the tygrs, it slams like a bass boosted 4xx but the 4xx is faster and more detailed in the bass. Maybe they need to be broken in a little bit more.
Mids - Pretty forward and intimate. Vocals sound really nice on this headphone. Almost Sennheiser like. Electric guitars have a nice weight to em. Pretty full sounding.
Treble - balanced with the midrange. Can get sharp at times but for the most part itâs very smooth and stays in the background.
Pad swapping - The pads come off the same way as the Sivga Phoenix. The first pads I tried were the BW angled pleather. Those made them more v shaped. Had more bass rumble, treble was a bit shaper, mids were recessed. I also tried the BW angled hybrids and those had a more neutral tone. Was clearer sounding compared to stock but lost its fullness and vocal intimacy. Was also a bit too bright. Iâm curious to know how the upgraded Sivga Phoenix pads sound on these.
Soundstage - doesnât get very wide but is not super narrow like the Sennheiser 600 series. Itâs about in between a hd58x and dt880. Despite sounding more in my head they have pretty good instrument separation.
Imaging - decent accuracy. On letter by yosi horikawa his pencil starts from front left then goes behind my head then stops at front left. Like if he drew a smiley face.
Conclusion - A fun sounding headphone but thankfully doesnât over do it. It has a sound signature that you can listen to for hours but the comfort issues may prevent you from doing so. Dekoni nuggets could help with that. The build alone is worth its asking price and fortunately its got good sound quality to go with it. It is worth checking out. This may actually be a true upgrade to the X2HR.
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Has anyone gamed on these? How has your experience been if so?
Those that have owned for a few months, how are they holding up?
How does to compare to the X2HR and Phoenix?
Been using GR1 for about 6 weeks now. Imaging in games is really decent on these. Almost feels like mild wallhacks, at least in Hunt: Showdown. However I am looking for an upgrade - GR1 sound as if they are bass-forward, at least to my ear, and I generally prefer clean and detailed treble(which is no surprise coming from Beyerdynamic MMX 300 2nd gen). Soundstage is okay. Build quality is great. Really easy to drive.
They also respond reasonably well to EQ, but even with EQ I feel like the bass smears the overall sound signature too much. I just canât get used to how lows kinda envelope the sound. However, I am the absolutely not a bass head, so take it with a grain of salt.
Also after getting used GR1, it is now kinda difficult to listen to MMX 300 2nd gen (which are basically DT 770 with a mic), as they now sound really thin, even though I prefer the Beyer sound signature.
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Itâs basically a rehashed Sivga Phoenix with their pleather pads instead of stock pads.
While also being more expensive lolâŠ
As someone who owned the X2HR, the Phoenix/GR1 is better in every way to me.
Maybe less soundstage, but Iâm not a fan of huge soundstage on headphones⊠Got speakers for that.
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With those who have experience with bothâŠGR1 or DT 1990? Especially when it comes to bass, how do they compare? DT 1990 is supposed to have much better bass than X2HRsâŠ
been following this thread thinking of trying this headphone but uhh what? No, where did you read this? The bass on the DT 1990 is very neutral unless using the balanced pads and even then its raised up to a small degree. X2hr is a warm headphone it has much much more bass presence than a 1990 to the point of bleeding into the mids and being muddy. If by better you mean clearer than yeah.
interesting to know
Iâm going off of the measurements from RTINGS.
They show the DT1990 as having a flat-ish sound profile (Headphones - 1.4 - Graph - RTINGS.com) whereas that of the X2HR tapers off in the low bass (Headphones - 1.4 - Graph - RTINGS.com)
I do have the X2HRs and the bass is really good on them - so based on these graphs one can logically conclude the bass on the DT1990 should be - for the lack of a more accurate word - better?
Now, Iâm only wondering if the GR1 has a better or worse sound profile than the DT1990 (or the X2HR even) so I can make my next purchase decision.
I have been using the GR1 for a bit over two months, and the DT 1990s for only a couple of days, so I havenât gotten used to them yet. Take my impressions with a grain of salt.
Been using both with Schiit Hel. Note that DT 1990s could potentially scale better with higher end amps.
So, both are built well. DT 1990s feel sturdier but the clamping force is much stronger on them too. Stock pads are more comfortable on GR1s.
Iâm not a certified audiophile and donât really âknowâ sound, but Iâve been an avid music listener for decades. My impressions regarding the sound are thus:
Bass is punchier and cleaner on DT 1990, while it is more present and enveloping on GR1. GR1 sounded muddy to me, but not so much anymore after I got used to them. I would say the difference is like being hit with a boxing glove vs being hit with a pillow - pillow is bigger, but softer.
Mids in my opinion are somewhat recessed on GR1 and more forward, clear and detailed on DT 1990 - but not by a huge amount. Vocals arenât spectacular or particularly bad on either. I feel like DT 1990 wins here due to better clarity.
Highs are present and resonably detailed, but also somewhat veiled and not particularly clear on GR1. DT 1990 on the other hand are famous for being treble cannons even with balanced pads and do have the Beyer peak. If you can tolerate the sharp treble on DT 1990, they win hands down - more present, forward, detailed and clear than on GR1.
Soundstage is somewhat wider on GR1. It might be an error of my perception though, due to GR1 sounding more forward and having more body. DT 1990 sound a tiny bit thinner in comparison.
Imaging is great on both. DT 1990 are better with pinpoint positioning, and GR1 are a bit better for hearing distant sounds in games(Hunt: Showdown in particular)
Overall, despite sounding more enveloping and a bit veiled, the GR1 also sound a bit more forward overall. I cannot explain it properly - I just feel like the sound on them âhugsâ me more, while the DT 1990 keep a smidge of distance.
Both headphones will probably take some getting used to. Both have character and both are quite different, while not being too far apart from each other. Iâd say GR1 are more suited for relaxed listening and are less offensive, but at the cost of detail, slight veiling and some melding in low to mid range. DT 1990 on the other hand are sharper and less forgiving, much more aggressive. But also cleaner, clearer and more detailed at the cost of being more fatigueing.
I cannot say which one is better. DT 1990 are probably better overall, but not proportionally to the cost increase. I love detail so I prefer them, but purely based on value GR1 win. Accessories are better on 1990 - two cables and two sets of pads vs one of each on GR1. Both come with hard carrying cases. finding replacement cables shouldnât be difficult for either.
Circling back to bass, again it is good on both, just in different ways.
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I just returned the focal elex after I 0 days because my Gr1s performed at low 90s percent of the elex. Iâm not sure what witchcraft emotiva stirred into the pot, but when I can own a 300$ set of cans that can come this close to a hand made boutique headphone, at twice the price⊠it makes me wonder how much Iâll have to spend to get that next magic âwow factorâ I first got with my sundaras.
And after getting my Gr1s, I did sell my sundaras. (sacrilege I know). I am in awe of the imaging of the airmotiv set. One downside is they do not suffer crappy mastering gladly. Not at all.
Agreed on the Zen DAC. It out-performs dacs 3 times the price. I play my Gr1s via the pennacon balanced cable, using the Oratory1990 settings with no other tweaks.
As over-used as it is⊠These things punch far, far above their weight.
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Agreed, there is a lot of functional options on the zen you wonât find on units 3 times the price. I invested in a pennacon balanced cable for my airmotiv gr1s and it pushed the Gr1s to a whole new level
Hart Cables. thereâs even a code for HFG members for a 10% discount 
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Where can I find this code? Need me some cables.