Iāll let you tell me eventually. I really like my own RS1 ā¦ from the old days before they had suffix letters, lol. And indeed it is different from other Grados Iāve heard. A larger, more lush, experience; preferred for some things, or some moods even, and not others, imo.
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FUUUUUCK even Motorhead sounds great with these and Motorhead is recorded like shit. Why do people turn their noses up at Grados again?
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I have the PS500e, they are excellent. They remind me or the HD650 with better quality bass. Iām looking to possibly go for the Hemp or RS1e.
I havent tried the RS1e yet but I actually did get the Grado White which uses the same or very similar 50mm driver as the RS1e and I was really disappointed by it. The Grado White had the worst bass of any headphone I have ever tried, it started rolling off hard at 80hz and was basically nonexistant by 50hz. Also had a shit ton of upper bass which masked the pathetic deep/subbass output even more. Its so bass light that it actually made everything sound outright wrong due to the lower fundamentals of instruments being sucked out. With EQ I could get it to beā¦passable, but even with a 10db bass boost there was almost nothing happening below about 40hz. Based on that experience I can see why many dont care for the 50mm Grados. The GH4 was in every way better for me (and cheaper). Only thing the white had going for it was the big wide soundstage due to it using the G pads and having the larger drivers/housing.
The GH4 had pretty solid fun bass with some boost, was bass lighter than the Hemp out of the box due to it using the L pads rather than the flat pads, but took eq like a champ. Obviously not a subbass champ and not the cleanest bass but it had some kind of wood resonance going on that was lots of fun to listen to. Gave it a very pleasant warm tone. GH4 did a better job than the Hemp in the āemotional engagement categoryā though hemp is more fun. I actually cried listening to the recent Chrono Cross live album with the GH4 off Asgard 3, me crying to music is a enormously rare occurrence! There were no tears with the Hemp at any point, just fun!
I still havent heard a RS2e yet though I really wanted to compare it to the GH4. Pretty sure they are extremely similar to each other with the main difference being the wood itself. My guess is that the GH4 also has a bit better sense of depth to it than the RS2e because the housing is a bit larger.
Does Hfiguides have a sell/trade forum? Iām considering trading my PS500E for a RS1E or Hemp.
For purely selfish reasons I would say get the RS1e. Also there is a buy/sell thread.
Does anyone want to trade? Lol
Iāve finally come to a conclusion about these pads in the Hemps.
They are good. They donāt sound worse is any particular way other than a little worse imagine but with a slightly wider sound stage. They add more treble but not too much and they ācleanā up any possible ābloatā in the lower mids and upper bass (if you donāt like the lush sound of the Hemps). If you want a slightly brighter and less lush sound with a more over-ear fit, these are great.
Iāll be sticking with the stock flat pads though. I love the way the Hemps sound with the stock pads. Iām glad these pads are good since it means more people might be able to enjoy the Hemps with the different sound and fit, but I only got them to experiment.
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I received these last week, since there were a couple in stock on Amazon. I actually just wanted to try them and return them, but Iām not going to. Iād been curious about Grado for quite some time, but I was put off by reports of their anaemic bass. The Hemp definitely doesnāt have this problem; the bass is more impactful than I was expecting, especially as an on-ear headphone. Guitars sound amazing in rock and most ālighterā forms of metal. Now I want that effect in all my other headphones!
This is a good set for poor recordings, it doesnāt seem to care too much what you give it.
Comfort is better than I expected, but the attachedā¦ garden hose is a bit silly. I can live with it for the sound, though.
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These are very different from other grados. Very different and the best Ive heard
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They are great. I really hope they turn the Hemps into a regular model like they did with the PS500e which was originally a head-fi limited edition. This is a tuning they should really keep around.
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I hope they do too. A lot of people like them a lot by the looks of it.
Zeos hype train incoming!!!
I agree with how great he says these are and ācreamyā is a good way to describe the sound in a word. If you are ok with possibly having to mod a bit or are willing to put up with the problems, GET THESE!
But speaking of the problems, I donāt 100% agree with the Z man here. The rod blocks are not fragile. Not only have I not seen many (if any) reports of them breaking, but my own experience is that, even when actively trying to break them using a dead blow mallet and a screw driver, they donāt break easily. The only problem with the rod blocks as they are now is they will over time (years) get loose and not stay in place and they are a little ugly. I also donāt really agree that they should revamp the headband design. As it is, itās simple, effective, and very light weight. The only part of the headband that really NEEDS an upgrade imo is the plastic gimbals. Starting with the SR325e and up, they should really use a downscaled version of the metal gimbals they use on the 50mm driver models (GS1000e and up). Also, the stock pads on the Hemps are just fine imo. They are not great for long term comfort, but they are a big part of the sound and good enough once they have broken in. If you get these, love them, and feel you NEED to change the pads, the geekria G-cush pads (these are what Zeos used in his review) are a great option for a kind of over ear fit, but the best Iāve found so far are the geekria hole punch flats. These are a softer foam and keep the sound very similar to the stock pads but I still find the stock pads to be better sounding. The Geekria pads just loose a little something imo.
@ZeosPantera if you love these as much as you seem to, I would recommend you check out Shipibo audio. He makes aluminum rod blocks and gimbals and they are wonderful. They make my Hemps feel like the best built headphone I own and you can lock the rods in place to keep your hight and prevent the infinite spin.
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Why is the Hemp review by Zeos not listed on youtube?
Maybe it was for Patreons and HFGF first 
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That explains it.
Hi Zeos. You enjoy them very much, but where does it rank in terms of technical performance? Obviously enjoying music is the main thing about them, but I donāt want them to be too underdetailed
this pleases me, i have the Vever Gās for my 60ās will absolutely try them on my Hemps tonight, headslap as to why i havenāt done it yet
They certainly arenāt as detail oriented as some other headphones, but I have not once thought that I was missing out on parts of the music. In fact I was probably paying more attention to the sound just because of how it is presented. Listening harder so to speak?
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I may have done a thing. One of the Yolkās snapped when I removed the cup. I was prepping to do a cable mod and once that snapped I had to think of a way to keep using them. So I destroyed an unloved set of HiFiMan HE300 and Hot-Glued the G1000 pads to the inner plastic rings then fastened them with wire to the Hifiman Yolks. Now I can just pop the Hemp Pods in and out. Still need to do the wire mod but I can say this system actually works prett well. Much more secure feeling then the stock grado design.
not sure it will catch on thoā¦
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