I have a closer pic.
I like the differences in wood pattern, each set is distinctly unique.
8 Likes
Okay after several days of listening here are my impressions of the sound. Iāll try and be brief. I really like these headphones. They really shine with classic rock and pop for me. The midrange on these cans is excellent vocals are very present and pleasing to my ear, fore example I really enjoy powerful female vocals like St Vincentās Savior or London Grammarās Maybe on these cans. The bass is the only real weakness of this headphone for me. I find it is good enough for most songs however on bass heavy tracks I think it canāt keep up, for example In Kanye Westās Love Lockdown there are 3 bass hits that loop throughout the song but are isolated in the intro, on some headphones like the 99 noir, t60ās or the mh755 the first 2 notes are fast and hit hard but the 3rd note is longer and really extends down. On the hemps it just sounds short and flat, So I wouldnāt recommend these for bass heavy genres like EDM or most rap. Overall though I think these are a great set of headphones well worth their price. Classic rock really kicks ass on these.
6 Likes
Had some time with the Hemps and I really like them a lot! These are some FUN headphones, most fun I have had with headphones in a long time.
For me the bass is the standout on the Hemps, ironic considering Grados reputation but its a lot of fun. It goes suprisingly deep for a on ear dynamic and has a quick ābouncyā quality to it. It reminds me of the T50RPs bass quite a lot, its not very impressive on a technical level but its got wonderful groovy fun to it. Its clearly got quite high THD and you cant tell all the definitions of low notes the way you can with a more technical headphone like a DCA Aeon 2 Open (EQed to fix funky FR) but its FUN. I find the T50rp to be kind of one notish and the Hemp is similiar though a little better defined IMO.
I love how out of the way the bass is, its off in the background doing its thing, bouncing away but not bleeding into the mids at all. I cant say how it would do with ultra bassy hip hop as I dont listen to that, but with electronic music/synthwave I really like it. It wont rattle your head like an Audeze, but I think it sounds less anemic than a 650.
Midrange is absolutely gorgeous, stellar 10 out of 10 stuff easily as good as a 650 and better IMO for female vocals which are a real standout on the Hemp. If you love to listen to ladies sing, Hemp is a winner.
The upper-mids are the most flawed area IMO as its got the jacked up 2.1k-2.5 region Grado is infamous for though its not as bad as most Grados are based on FR graphs. I cut this region by EQ (2100hz -2db Q3) and it sounds awesome, a little extra energy but fun.
Treble is incredibly smooth, honestly its probablly a bit too laid back as it sounds DARK at times, suprisingly enough for a Grado. There is a peak in the 10-11k region but honestly it doesnt bother me at all at the volumes I listen to if your gonna crank it to earbleed you should cut it with EQ a bit.
The air region is pretty rolled off which makes the Hemp not sound as āHIFIā as other headphones in this region but I dont care personally as I find too much air irritating.
The main deal breaker is the comfort factor, for many people this will be intolerable. I find it acceptable for 3-4 hours or so as long as I get the earcups positioned right after that I have to start shifting them around but they are certainly not ultra comfy.
The Yaxi pads are a miss with the Hemp IMO, they kill the stock sound too much though the comfort is leaps and bounds better. Main issue is that the 2.1k peak gets REAL bad with Yaxi pads as everything else drops in volume while that peak stays about the same or worse. It also gets extra energy in the 4.5-5k region which is not great. Treble gets boosted a bit which is a positive IMo as Hemp is dark with stock pads but its not worth the trade off. You get a little more soundstage as the pads move it further from your ear too. THe bass also gets murdered as the GRado drivers just dont project bass well, they need to be slammed on your ear to perform well here IMO.
This being said I did make a EQ for the Yaxi pads which improved them greatly, I still like the stock pads better though. Here it is should you desire to try them:
Preamp -2.5db
Low Shelf Filter 200hz +2.5db
Peak Filter 2100hz Q3 -5.5db (YES IT IS THAT BAD)
Peak Filter 4900 Q2 -2db
6 Likes
I got a standard pebbled black one.
https://turbulentlabs.com/shop/grado-leather-headband-pebbled-black/
Sounds like they need better kushionā¦
For me not really. I donāt ever have issues with the headband hurting my head. I just got this because I had some drop rewards points so I got it for like $30 after shipping and tax. Plus it looks nice.
Ohā¦ I just got the joke. Iām am the stupid.
I tried the earzonk L-cush pads on the Hemps and can confirm that the stock pads still the best. The bass was still good but the mids where changed (less full maybe) and the impact was reduced.
1 Like
oh and thank you for that Kodo album, listened to that and then Yosiās Vapor album back to back, couldnāt believe the bass out of these on Interlude
1 Like
Itās been about a week. Do you have anything to say about the Hemps or are the other headphones youāve gotten recently taking up your time?
To be quite honest I need to try the ttvj f cushions, stock is just so uncomfortable to me, especially after switching the 80ās to the geekria pads, actually was just about to switch to them, currently have the 80ās on a btr5 with LDAC
Forgot to mention I truly appreciate all of the experimentation you did as well
Also I need a headband, looking at the beautiful audio stuff, as I have no balls to even think about taking these apart
Believe me when I say the pads soften up and get more comfortable after about a week of exclusive and heavy use. I had some problems at first but I stuck with it because they sounded so good to me and now the comfort is not a problem. As for the headband, get an aluminum set from Shipibo and a headband like the accessory house global (AHG) one I linked in the SR60e/SR80e thread or a turbulent labs headband. Of course this spending is only worth it if you really like the headphones. Personally I think they are worth the grand total of $570 ($545 with the AHG headband) but itās up to you to spend your money.
1 Like
Just made some more headphone purchases but my next round will be for these. I absolutely do, ive just been doing the rotation, would like to get everything all at once, but still nervous to take everything apart, but ur right I just need to tough it out and get the pads worn in
1 Like
I agree about the pads they softened up quite a bit after a while. Bending the headband ever so slightly to relieve the clamp a bit also helped.
3 Likes
1 Like
The misodiko pads are fine on the Hemps but the stock F-cush pads or TTVJ pads (same thing) are still the best. The misodiko pads sound about The same as the earzonk L style pads, so a bit less bass and slightly brighter highs. Overall the Hemps really donāt need pad swapped since the stock pads break in and become much more comfortable and they sound the best out of the options Iāve tried.
2 Likes
I was really happy with the stock pads once they broke in until I put on my porta pros with yaxi pads. Those yaxi pads are soft and plush. Canāt beat the sound on the hemps though.
1 Like