Rupert Neve RNHP Precision Headphone Amplifier

Except I actually have a somewhat valid reason and I don’t hate them with a passion lol

Well there is that yes…

Don’t get me wrong I have amps that drive the 4XX It’s just with the testing I’ve been doing lately I realize they don’t have the best speration, or as detailed. They don’t really benifit from the RNHP.

The 4xx is an amazing headphone at the price and I love it. Again a but… Once you begin to compare it to some others things become apparent… Not because they are bad on the 4xx but because other seem to do something better

Now with brighter headphones, I am not as big a fan. I didn’t like it with my Grado’s or Beyer’s on first listen.
I am thinking that it took my brain a while to adjust to the sound.

When you decided to get a clear and rnhp you should have prepared for this lol, you jumped a few performance tiers with that setup so some stuff might sound less satisfactory. I also enjoy the 4xx especially for the price, pretty satisfactory still to me imo. Other headphones in the range like the 880 600 ohm or 58x or whatnot compete and trade blows with the 4xx too

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Yeah once you listen to something brighter you will adjust to get used to it

Both of which sound better in the RNHP. Big difference in the Grado. The THX adds sparkle to headphones that are loved for their sparkle… You end up with a glitter bomb of sparkle that becomes overwhelming quickly.

I prefer the Grado on the Spark. The DT880 didn’t lean as bright as the Grado, so I could go either way. The RNHP plays the Dt880 tonally the way I think were intended. The Grado are a whole new beast now… And they only cost $100

The RNHP has more punch at the bottom which the Grado love, and the removal of the extra THX magic sparkle makes them less fatiguing. At the same time the natural bright lively nature of the headphones gets to shine and balance out the lows. Grado are also known for mids and again the RNHP leans more true to life so the vocals have never sounded better.

Grado and RNHP are a good combo.

I’d could argue the same for the DT880, though the 600ohm versions need to be turned up almost all the way. Using the balance connector input

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I found I tried to force myself to enjoy the grado sound when I had it on the little dot with revealing tubes and analytical opamps. It became instilled in my head that the sound settles down when I persist through and listen for longer periods.

Fast forward, got my EL Amp, and was amazed how good (a.k.a different) the Grado’s sounded by adding warmth… that I took out going for the analytical sound.

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Yeah, Grado are underrated in some circles. I think you really have to pair them correctly. If your first Grado experience is on a THX listening to EDM or higher pitched vocals, you’ll likely hate them.

The true to life the music sounds the better the Grado do. Just look at the music they test with.

I’ll mention it again though, songs that are hard to listen to on the THX are fantastic with the Grado on the RNHP.

Grados are a specialized headphone for a certain market with a certain sound, if you match up to the demographic they are a great option

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I’d say the same thing for the T2 PRO the right amp makes all the difference

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Idk why but I just didn’t like the t2 pro on whatever I had it on, I just preferred the t2 over the pro tbh

I rate the RNHP is a good investment if you have mid tier headphones… It will ignite the “what if” itch and make you inevitably upgrade to the next tier.

@giova05 @Andrew_Davis lol

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The cheaper Grado’s, say SR325e’s and under, are brighter and can be less appealing. My GH2’s are my favourite headphones and pair Really nicely with my Burson Fun-Classic and my Liquid Spark (a combo which I am using right now).

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This is a great comment… translates to “if you’re in that group of people that really likes them, you’ll really like them!”

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I’m sorry lol, I’m not in that group so there isn’t much meaningful things I can say, I can respect the grados but they just aren’t for me (not a real wordsmith or anything here)

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I can confirm the T2 Pro sound 500% better on the RNHP.

“I’ve been living my life wrong” lol

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That’s another thing I like that amp, it works well with harder to drive headphones but also has good performance for most headphones and iems

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No, your wordsmithery was perfect. Someone trying to say something nice… lol.

I have some old… pretty old… RS-1, and the second and third “head-fi” (or “head-f1”) special editions… really like them a lot, myself.

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