Grado HP100 SE Review: The Most Capable Grado Ever?

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by purr1n, Mar 17, 2025.

  1. DrForBin

    DrForBin Friend

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    hello,
    so, what do they weigh?
    cheers!
     
  2. AxeFigo

    AxeFigo Acquaintance

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    Really curious about the THD measurements. Wondering how it would be.
     
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  3. edd

    edd Almost "Made"

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  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Give me a bit for the following:
    1. distortion
    2. big pad measurements
     
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  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Last edited: Apr 12, 2025
  6. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Forgot to ask but the FR looks different, is this with the salad bowl pads or also the flats, just not compensated and without smoothing? If these are the salad bowls I get what you mean about preferring the flats-- the bowls just make it more v-shaped with a distinct edge in the upper mids.
     
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Was on a temporarily coupler while I was away. Back in Corpus now. Will make distortion surfaces.

    However we can see the distortion is already much better than any other Grado. Confirms what I am hearing.
     
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  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    These are new. I ran successive sweeps at different SPLs.

    Grado HP100E
    Dynamic Compression
    YEL 99db SPL, GRY 96db, BLU 92db, ORA 88db, VIO 86db
    upload_2025-4-9_11-10-36.png

    There is a bit of dynamic compression as we get louder in the bass, but the effect is minimal, less than 0.5db from 86db to 99db. It will be interesting to see how other headphones fare.
     
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  9. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Any possible reason for blue trace to have extra wiggling in the high bass and above that sort of tracks with the D2 spike and the impedance curve, or just a one-off thing from environment? IIRC other headphones didn't exhibit compression above bass frequencies, but would be interesting to compare how something like this with less rigid acoustic damping than other designs fares compression-wise out of stuff like the Midgard with that Halo topology magic and just other amps, maybe with lower damping factor.
     
  10. k4rstar

    k4rstar Britney fan club president

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    How do these compare to higher end Grabbo clones like the LTS (LTA?) v1 or similar?

    How do they compare to 90s pink driver Grabbos like the first SR60?
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Just ignore the blue trace. Basically occasional noise in the measurement process. I'm more time limited these days so didn't want to redo them. The idea is that we can get the gist of it.

    Anyway, distortion surfaces. I will say that for a dynamic headphone, the results are astounding. Even compared to planars, the results are amazeballs.

    The distortion increases as we go up in volume in the lows, this is expected. There is some D2 in the upper mids and a few localized spikes in D4. However, the levels are relatively low. For a dynamic, we will typically see colors hitting up in the YELLOW color. Here, everything is green or blue. If anything the distortion skews toward third order slightly, but again levels are low.

    Grado HP100SE
    Second Harmonic
    upload_2025-4-12_13-41-35.png

    Grado HP100SE
    Third Harmonic
    upload_2025-4-12_13-42-50.png

    Grado HP100SE
    Fourth Harmonic
    upload_2025-4-12_13-43-38.png
     
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  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    MORE IMPRESSIONS AND IN A NUTSHELL:

    I finally had a opportunity to run it through my Eddie Current custom 45 tube amp using the Gungnir 2 DAC / Mercury 3 Streamer as the source and the technicalities were on par with the best dynamics around. I did this to see if the HP100SE could scale up with better equipment, and it sure did, while still requiring minimal requires to get good sound (Grados have never really needed a fancy amp other than a regular headphone phone dongle output, and the HP100SE is no different). Anyway, the HP100SE resolves on a scale better than any prior Grado and on par with the best dynamics.

    The tonal signature with the F pads lies somewhere between the old Joe Grado HP1000 (neutral-dark) and the John Grado (upper mid-crunch) sound. However, a welcome surprise is that this now comes with bass extension into the lows that matches the open TOTL dynamics. The distortion is low and arguably bests the revered HD800 (which sounds a bit grey in comparison), and this comes with the trademark Grado "fast" transients. The large salad bowl G pads gives us a tonal signature like the GS3000X. I can still see the tonal signature not to some people's liking, but keep in mind that we haven't even explored the use of different pads to tune the response. I am curious what we can arrive for personal tuning though different pads.

    Despite the use of the flat F pads, the headstage was expansive with better than expected depth. I wonder if the deeper cups contribute to this feel. At no point did I feel claustrophobic or having a three-blob effects as with many $2k planars.

    The Grado HP100 SE is, in my opinion, the brand's finest headphone to date, outshining models like the RS1X and GS3000X in terms of clarity, resolution, and bass extension. It comes with two ear pad options — large G pads and flat F pads — with the F pads favored for achieving a balanced tonal signature that blends elements of the classic John Grado sound with the Joe Grado characteristics, while also enhancing overall technical performance. These headphones provide improved bass response and reduced distortion levels, featuring a resonant frequency of 51Hz and a nominal impedance of 43 ohms, making them compatible with a wide range of amplifiers. The build quality stands out, featuring large drivers and robust metal components. Overall, the HP100 SE performs exceptionally well in both basic and high-end setups, offering an expansive soundstage along with the ability for customized tuning through different pad options. The HP100SE, which invokes the HP1000 moniker, truly embodies the spirit of the Joe Grado HP1000, living up to that legacy.
     
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  13. chesebert

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    Which of these amps will work the best with HP100: ECBA, ECAF, ECZDS, TA66 and CFA3?

    With classic TP mod, can I expect HP2 like sound profile but with way better technicalities?

    Following is a stream of thoughts over days and not in any way coherent ‍

    Edit: Guess I am not going to get any answer on this. I will have to buy the cans and find out for myself.

    Edit 2: okay I got the cans. Still burning in but is it me or are the HP100se drivers incredibly fast? I would say faster than 800S, HP2, HEK unveiled, JOAL and in the ballpark of Utopia (may even be slightly faster than Utopia). Not quite at RAAL level … but what is. Also, I am getting a PS1 vibe from these…

    Utopia level of driver tech. Incredible level of micro dynamics, extremely fast and may even be a bit smoother than Utopia through the mids. HD600 is not even in the same league. (HP100 with TTVJ pads and Moon Audio Silver Dragon on Kevin Gilmore amp)

    Also, TA-66 is a no go. Uncontrolled bass, uncontrolled driver, lacking focus, resolution.

    EC AF (EML 300B2.5v) is okay to good. Balanced is too much of a good thing for HP100 on some songs. A bit dry and slight too much upper mid energy (could be not enough current delivery capability)

    Headamp Dynalo+ - nice, synergistic pairing

    ECBA/Elrog 300B - nice, synergistic paring with all the tube goodness.

    Edit 3:
    I picked up a pair of EML300B 2.5v to replace the RCA 2a3 on the ECAF. When I initially listened with the new tubes I didn’t quite like AF (the cans may also have not been burned in long enough). Now that the tubes and the cans are broken in the sound signature is now closer to ECBA, although not quite as wet but the tonality, drive and soundstage have all been improved when driving HP100. Diana Krell sounded live, transparent, intimate, warm and natural. Depth perception is excellent when such information is present in the music. The general presentation is as if you are standing next to Diana on stage or the front row and the band extends well behind her.

    I have done some back-and-forth testing with and without the rubber rings. I found the rubber changes the sound and introduces some resonances at the upper mid and treble that's not desirable. You may or may not hear this with the stock copper cable, but it was pretty obvious using the silver cable. YMMV.

    Edit 4: Having had HP100 for 3 weeks now and I have been mainly using CFA3 with them. CFA3 makes HP100 sound even more speaker like with realistic dynamics and deep and expansive soundstage. There is this realistic weight to the notes that is very speaker like. The tone is natural with hint of warmth without losing clarity or resolution. The human voices sound so natural and smooth with a touch of clarity that makes the voice real. Piano and violin have the right attack with lots of information and without sounding sharp in any way. Downside of CFA3 is I have almost no range on the volume, which does suck. The dac used is PBD Merlot.
     
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    Last edited: May 7, 2025
  14. rustybusty

    rustybusty New

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    The removable cables alone make this an instant purchase for me.
     
  15. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    If this is on par with a Utopia with what I think ought be an even roomier headstage (from limited demos I feel the Utopia is generally more intimate than even the Senn kids) then I think they're beating Focal at their own game. I'll be damned if I didn't think Grados had the potential to reach that level of performance just because of how immediate they've always sounded but gah if this were a more affordable headphone it would be stomping lots of TOTL offerings I think.

    Thanks for taking the plunge to verify for yourself, the impressions are greatly appreciated. Kinda makes sense that too high an OI amp would be overly loose (even accounting for the FR differences, naturally :p ), Grados do seem to want at least some extra grip. The KG amp pairing isn't one I felt would have worked with it, so colour me wrong there. I've always liked Grados more out of hybrid amps for my preferences, but it seems the voicing on this one is definitely more versatile.
     
  16. Technician

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    Yep. Impressive write-up, @purr1n! Will put these in the bucket list, though in this day and age the chance to get a hold of a pair is slim to none with salaries we're getting paid in out 3rd world hell hole. At least there's the option to audition a pair where I live to get the taste of Grado HP100.

    [​IMG]
     
  17. joch

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    I suspect the FV?

    The TA-66 requires high impedance to work well.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'd pair the FV with the big salad bowl pads or secret experimental pads (both of which are way more comfy than the F)

    Focal headstage sucked. I never understood why. Yes, the HP100SE with the close in F pads has better (deeper and more expansive) headstage. Chalk it up to the internal cups. I think this is why ZMF cans have great headstage.

    I didn't like the TA-66 with the HP100. TA-66 seems best with HD600 and HD800.
     
  19. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    What's FV just out of curiosity? None of his amps could be abbreviated that way AFAICT
     
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  20. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Think it's the Folkvangr? https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...-measures-like-shit-but-sounds-grrreat.12429/

    Hmm. Okay yeah I haven't had a Grado since 2016~17 I think primarily for reasons of comfort. This is VERY curious stuff :p
     
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