I love how both Zeos and DMS review of the Hemps boil down to āFuck, these arenāt supposed to be this good, but they areā.
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His negatives about them at the end just sounded like a general description of Grado headphones. I want some ohm walsh speakers now ā¦
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I think DMSās review is slightly confusing. If it sounds really nice, why wouldnāt the timbre or frequency response reflect that? WHat sorcery is that?
Could be because measurements do not mean a whole lotā¦
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How well a headphoneās frequency response matches an arbitrary target means very little to how good it actually sounds. If your meat computer likes what it hears then thatās what sounds good to you.
Also I donāt think he really said anything bad about the timber. He mentioned how much he liked pianos in particular, but I donāt remember any specific criticisms.
The Hemps sound so good imo because they have an unorthodox but very enjoyable tuning while also having at least good, if not great technical performance.
I could be wrong, but I have a feeling these would be optimal on a hybrid tube amp. The SP100 and TA-01B arenāt it, because I own them and tried them, but out of a SP200 and Zen Dacās Headphone out, theyāre great, donāt get me wrong, but I feel a hybrid could just bring them a little further. Let me know your thoughts and if you have any suggestions.
While Iāve not tried the Hemps on anything other than solid state amps, I think a tube amp might be too much. The Hemps are already extremely warm and the treble isnāt too hot imo, so a ātubeyā sounding amp might make them sound too muddy.
All that said, I am very curious about the hagerman Tuba. It has a low Z output (needed for the low impedance Grados) and us know to be a cleaner tube amp that plays very well with Grados.
Well thatās why I want a hybrid, but not any hybrid. Iām thinking one thatās just a little bit more tubey than a solid state. I agree that anything like a full tube or a hybrid thatās very tube like would be too much
since the hemp is kinda warm, would a thx amp be better or a class a or a tube amp?
Its weird how Grado has some hemps with white stitched headbands while others have black stitched headbands.
The more recent ones have white stitching since they ran out of black thread.
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Iāll be able to test that considering I have the liquid platinum and I just bought the grado hemps. Should be here by the end of the week
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I would avoid THX since it doesnāt have the best reputation around these parts. Many people hear feel THX has harsh and brittle treble and it less detailed, despite itās good measurements.
I use the Asgard 3 which is class AB, meaning it is class A untill a certain threshold where another cercuit kick in to get more power (I may not have that totally accurate). So I would say get an Asgard 3. Itās my favorite way to listen to the Hemps. Itās makes the Hemps thick, lush mids even more textured and dynamic. The Asgard 3 Hemps combo makes me make lewd noises when I listen to Black Sabbath.
I want that amp. Does it pair as well with the Hempās as I hope?
Mine sound great out of my SP200- better than my Zen, and cheap tube hybrids, but I believe there are probably better pairings out there, I just donāt know what they are.
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So yes and no. They do sound good but I actuall prefer them out of my old portable rig. I chalk it up to the old fiio amp being single ended natively rather than using the single ended output of the balanced singxer. The lower midrange is a little funky on the singxer but spot on with the fiio combo. Iāll either have to get a good desktop single ended amp for them or have them rewired balanced. And the stock cable is crap ro deal with.
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Good stuff! Hope you enjoy your time with them.
Easily my favorite headphone right now. I took a clamp and hung them upside down by the plug and used a heat gun on low to relax the cable a bit. After it cooled down the crazy bends and turns it takes fresh out da box were completly gone. Much better.
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Any references or recommendations for someone who can do a detachable cable mod for these??? My pair is on the way but I got the Hemps used & single ended. Canāt wait =)