The iFi amps with X-boost are a nice treat with the GH2ās. The Violectric amps fill them out nicely too.
Weirdest thing, and I didnāt expect it, was how well they pair with my Little Dot MKIII @ medium gain. Nice surprise.
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I wonder if the Violectric amps make Grados sound any better than the Asgard 3. Iām always surprised at how much nicer they sound on the Asgard and much I notice that magic missing when I use my xd-05.
Also, isnāt the MkIII a hybrid? If so, that would explain why it works so well. But speaking of tube amps, Iāve been rather curious about the Hagerman Tuba since Iāve heard that it was designed with Grados in mind. I wish is wasnāt quite so expensive so I could try it.
The LD MKIII is actually an OTL amp, which is why I was surprised.
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Iāve spent about 2 hours this morning trying to decide if I like the GH-2 or Hemps better and have gotten absolutely nowhere because they both sound so GOD DAMN GOOD with Queen.
I would listen to one, think āfuck me this sounds greatā, put on the other, and think "fuck me this also sounds great.
Donāt get me wrong, they sound different, but I genuinely canāt make any kind of decision based on Queen. I guess Grados are the kingās of Queen 
ā¦ Iām sorry Iāll se myself out.
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Also I think the Asgard 3 is making it difficult as well since it makes them both sound so good in general.
Boy do I wish my audio gear sounded worse so I could pick an arbitrary favorite /s
It does get harder as you get into nicer stuff. I can convince myself that one amp is markedly better than the other and then a different song or artist comes on and ohā¦that sounds Really good on the other amp. 
Once you get into nice gear (not even high end), the differences get more and more subtle. I am sitting here with four amps because each one can really shine in some way. That, or I am just getting really old and indecisive! 
The Law of Diminishing Returns is definitely a real thing.
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Iāve given up trying to pick a favorite. The Hemps and GH-2 are just too good to decide between. So Iām just going to give my thoughts on the GH-2 using the Hemps as a comparison point.
A general description of the sound signature might be bright, mid-range focused, and good but rolled off bass.
In short, the GH-2 have more treble and upper mids, less lower mids and bass, more dynamics/impact in the upper range, less dynamics/impact in the lower range, wider soundstage, and better imaging when compared to the Hemps.
The treble is phenomenal, especially when combined with the mid-range. It is definitely bright, probably too bright for a lot of people, but itās also very smooth and clean. It feels like there are no prominent peaks anywhere in the treble. Even with some of the most piercing treble sounds I can find in my library (ex: They Live ost: Sunglasses on) these never sound harsh or piercing. The only time they are ever too much is if the song has a lot of treble energy in general (like white noise or synth distortion) which can get pretty fatiguing at slightly higher volume. Otherwise I have nothing to complain about in the treble. Itās clean, detailed, and sounds great.
The mids are great as with all Grados. Like I mentioned, they mix very well with the treble to create a beautiful clear sound that feels so clean, detailed, and airy. Vocals are a high point imo. They cut through even in less vocal focused mixes like Rage Against The Machine and almost never sound shouty or harsh. Much like the treble, this only happens when itās the song that is harsh or shouty. Both male and female vocals are great, but maybe with a bit of a bias for female. The lower half of the mids is much more āneutralā than something like the Hemps (which are ludicrously warm) but still maintain plenty enough warmth to not sound cold. Guitar, both acoustic and electric, are wonderful. Piano, strings, brass, everything orchestral, is all great. Possibly even the best Iāve ever heard. Metal and rock are still great, sounding as gritty or clean as needed. The Hemps might do this kind of thing a bit better, but the GH-2 are still exceptional in this regard. Electronic and synth based music is great. There is plenty of energy in the mids to make heavily distorted synth-wave sound visceral and exciting. Honestly I have literally nothing bad to say about the mids, so Iām going to move on before I ramble too much.
The upper bass is fairly good. Itās a bit light compared to the Hemps, but overall itās more than adequate quantity wise. The real show is the quality. The bass is very tuneful (how distinguishable different bass frequencies sound) and detailed with plenty of texture. Bass guitar always sounds great. Bass drums still thud and kick well. Itās plenty detailed for lower synths and such to come across properly. The only real downside to the bass is that the sub-bass roles off. I wouldnāt say itās too extreme, even when compared to other headphones like the HD58X and the like, but it is still enough to notice.
Technical performance like detail retrieval is quite good. I think maybe a bit better than the Hemps, but not quite as good as my Lawton modded X00s. The real stars are the dynamics, soundstage, and imaging. These can still literally tickle your ear just like the Hemps, but they do it best with the upper end of the frequency response while the Hemps are best in the lower half. Guitar and higher pitched percussion are properly physical at times, feeling like a vibrator on your ear. A great example of this is the beginning of Roll Right by Rage Against The Machine. Then thereās the soundstage and imaging. I havenāt properly A/B tested against my X00s, but the GH-2 are at least as good from what I remember. It tends to be wider than the Hemps but never looses intimacy. Itās also just as deep as the Hempās stage, if not deeper. The imaging is just as good as the stage. Instruments are placed perfectly and sounds can move in an almost uncanny way. Like I said, I havenāt properly A/B tested against my X00s, but I think the GH-2 might be better.
In conclusion, I feel the same about the GH-2 as I do about the Hemps. I love them now during the honeymoon stage and I will love them just as much a year from now. The Grado house sound is just my bread and butter it seems.
I donāt really have any specific music recommendations. The only genre that I feel these do particularly better than the others is orchestral, but I have yet to feel these sound anything less than great with any music.
I would like to thank @mochimashu for pointing this pair of GH-2 out on head-fi. Without you I would have never impulse baught these less than a month after impulse buying the Elegia.
Now I want more Grados. I think I have a problem.
Nevermind. Screw you mochimashu, you enabaler .
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If weāre talking about Grado problemā¦ (seriously though most of them will be sold)
Well the good news is I think you have two of the best sounding and technically capable Grados that utilise the 44mm driver. You could consider GH1/GH4 (but I havenāt heard them personally, I generally prefer the more vintage Grado sound), and if you make the jump to the 50mm Grados thereās a fair chance that you find them lose the magic of the smaller ones, so Iād say youāre safe for a while 
Since you like pad-rolling and Shipibo gimbals I may also point you to another direction by getting aftermarket drivers to make your custom Grado-style headphones.
Glad youāre enjoying the GH2, I know how much you love the Hemp and will share my impressions when it gets here.
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I really want to build my own āGradoā so to speak, but I need to learn how to solder properly first (and have the budget of course). The GH-4 are tempting since that Norwegian pine looks phenomenal and they are reported to sound quite good as well, but I doubt I will get them, at least any time soon.
Those SR325 and old RS1 are very nice vintage sets. I forget, are the square rod RS1 a later version of the original or an early version of the RS1i?
If you use Grado drivers instead you can get away with soldering. Just need to heat up the glue and take the driver with the cable down. You could also get someone like Shipibo to pre-solder their cables to their driver before sending it to you haha
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I believe all square rod RS1 are RS1 original, and RS1i switch to round rods. Iām pretty sure mine isnāt the vintage S or A or B (those tend to have pink drivers or different carvings) so letās call it classic A or semi-vintage.
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Itās not thatās soldering is to much to learn, I just havenāt gotten around to it. I would rather get some good aftermarket drivers for $50-150 and make a good mid-fi headphone. I would also definitely get some fancier custom wood cups from Wabi sabi which would probably complicate pre-soldered drivers. Also I would probably go for a detachable cable so a pre soldered cable wouldnāt work for that.
Also why is the RS1 so complicated? Did they just make a tone of incremental changes?
I have the impression that the aftermarket drivers tend to cost over 100USD so anything below that would have to look at used market (also US prices would be lower than UK)
I think RS1 was complicated because for a long time it was their only proper headphone (in terms of being made from wood and represents the Grado house sound), other than the statement headphone, Josephās Gradoās legendary HP1000 but thatās a totally different story, and in the early days Grado was more like theyāll make whatever they can from whatever they have, so you see a lot of variation with different headband, drivers, rod, wood, packaging etc. And you also see the equally complicated variation in the the more budget friendly SR series - the very first models actually just used some less matched HP1000 drivers which now cost 1k. In a sense these vintage models were more like custom made and each unit arguably is a unique variation. It was not until John took over when the RS1 became more standardised (the model I have). And people classify RS1s into different class more for their rarity representing the period of time they were made, rather than generational differences (because before Classic A every unit was kinda different so there wasnāt a sense of āgenerationā so to speak)
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I swapped my GH-2 headband from the turbulent labs headband to the Plussound vintage leather. Itās odd that despite all the padding on the turbulent labs headband, itās actually less comfortable for me since it adds weight to the headband and the headphones are too light for the padding, so all it really does is make the headband rounded instead of flat. The stock headband and even the totally unpadded Plussound headband spread the weight out better once I angle the headband in the rod blocks. Iām still deciding if I like the vintage leather with the cocobolo or if the all black of the stock headband looks better.
Regardless, the cocobolo looks great in this lighting.
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