This is terribly tempting...

jamming out to Art Pepper (mosiac collection) and they sound great. I do not have other grados to compare them to but out of my netbook>pico amp/dac they sound great. Ahh the mids

and I'm jamming out to Don Byron's Tuskegee Experiments with macbook>pico. Nice drums, great for clarinet. Very fun 'phones.

Thanks for the feedback, that gets me one step closer to ordering. It's a bit of a concern because the RS-1's that Biggie had didn't seem to fare so well with my Pico, they were OK but seemed a bit blah, lets just say I certainly wouldn't be running out to buy another pair. The MS2i's on the other hand seem to match up very nicely with the Pico.

Lots of Led Zeppelin and a little squashing down of bowls have pretty much reconciled me with my HF-2s.

Still can't deal with them with flats. Bass lines just seem to flop about all over the place.

Lots of Led Zeppelin and a little squashing down of bowls have pretty much reconciled me with my HF-2s.

My cat likes to bite... well, gum... my bowls on my HF-1. So I've had to wash them a few times. And it's pretty amazing the difference it makes. They soften up quite a bit and have the best balance of comfort and sound. To my ears, anyway.

I have decided that I will not be biting. I'll prolly kick myself in a few months, but for the time being, its a good decision.

so how does everyone feel about the new grado cable? I like the feel of it, soft and malleable. I'm not going to venture into any sonic impressions, but fit and finish wise I think it's an upgrade.

so how does everyone feel about the new grado cable? I like the feel of it, soft and malleable. I'm not going to venture into any sonic impressions, but fit and finish wise I think it's an upgrade.

It is the newer, thicker version that is on the updated "i" versions, correct?

chicken entrails would have been an upgrade, in terms of fit and finish.

Very organic sound:p

Also allows you to divine whether you'll like the next song before actually hearing it.

I'm not a fan of the handling characteristics, and the joint still seems prone to grado crimping . I imagine I'll want something else eventually, but for now it's fine.

And the crimping looks worse, if anything, because the sleeves are fatter.

My cat likes to bite... well, gum... my bowls on my HF-1. So I've had to wash them a few times. And it's pretty amazing the difference it makes. They soften up quite a bit and have the best balance of comfort and sound. To my ears, anyway.

It makes the highs sound cleaner?

I never noticed the cable. That's a good thing.

FYI the new cables are so much larger in diameter because they now have 8 wires inside them. No clue why, but they use 4 blue for ground (2 to each cup) and 2-white/2-red for the signal wires. Pretty bizzare since I've generally been told all this does is increase the capacitance of the cable although I suppose in theory it lowers the resistance.

Well, they sure sound good. I'm fully adjusted and ready to join the fan club!

They're particularly pleasant with smaller-scale guitar/male vocal recordings like, say, my own personal trinity of Cave, Cohen and Knopfler.

Has anyone one had issues with comfort or fit? That's been the main reason I've stayed away from Grados. I used to own MS2i's and the bowls just killed me. And I have used SR-60's and the flats on those made me feel like my ears couldn't breath.

All this talk has gotten me interested in them...

Also, has any one considered changing the headband to the ones offered by JMoney Audio?

They're still grados

The headband is actually vastly improved over the HF-1 already. It's proper stitched leather and a lot more rigid, so it does a lot better job distributing the weight.

But there's a lot more weight to distribute. Stock HF1s don't weigh anything

They probably are similar to what were my MS2i's then.

It's wider than the one I took from my 325i for my HF-1.

Also, has any one considered changing the headband to the ones offered by JMoney Audio?

While it is a Grado, it does seem that this is one of the most cushioned headbands that Grado has ever made. I think it looks fine how it is unless you really want yours brown.

... and the flats on those made me feel like my ears couldn't breath.

All this talk has gotten me interested in them...

I don't know how to tell you this, but your ears can't breathe.

It's a no-lose proposition to buy the HF2. If you like them, great. If not, there's a 30-day return policy, you can sell them for no loss or you can keep them a couple of years and probably sell them for twice what you paid for them.

Pretty bizzare since I've generally been told all this does is increase the capacitance of the cable although I suppose in theory it lowers the resistance.

It also decreases the inductance of the wire. Speaker guys do it because the little bit of "accidental" inductance from the cables screws with their crossovers.

I don't know how to tell you this, but your ears can't breathe.

First of all, I'm not entirely sure that's true -- we breathe about 2% through the pores in our skin.

Secondly, he could be just saying that the air around his ears get stagnant and they get sweaty as a result. Which is how I thought it was meant.

First of all, I'm not entirely sure that's true -- we breathe about 2% through the pores in our skin.

Secondly, he could be just saying that the air around his ears get stagnant and they get sweaty as a result. Which is how I thought it was meant.

Peter, you did notice my winky emoticon, didn't you?