November 3, 201213 yr The GS-1 is completely opposite of the Melos and to this day remains one of the most refined and transparent amps I have ever listened too. i have a special "final" GS-1 im probably going to be posting up. though i really want to keep it.
November 3, 201213 yr Author i have a special "final" GS-1 im probably going to be posting up. though i really want to keep it. No you don't you want to release it in the wide k thx.
November 14, 201213 yr Such a beauty... I'm very sorry for bumping this again, but I have a question, hope you guys don't mind. My HP1000 doesn't have the screens, so quite a bit of debris (bits of the old yellow foam) has gone in the drivers. I don't think it has any negative sonic effect, but it does bother me considerably. Is there any safe way of removing it? Can't think of anything.
November 14, 201213 yr Hey Leo, You should be able to disassemble the hp1k's pretty easily, remove the pads and loosen the hex screws. That might help with the cleaning. Having recently acquired both a SHA-1 and an EC/SS I have come to realize that many of the comments made in years past aka "the best Grado amp" were likely overblown and generalized. I still appreciate both amps however in different aspects. The SHA-1 I have is bone stock and so far has been trouble free -- I think that alone is a major improvement over the SHA-Gold which had more complexity in the design. I don't even like the EC/SS with Grados but it really emphasizes treble sparkle when I want it, the hissing noise floor of the amp is pretty bad. The SHA-1 is also nowhere near neutral but it does do well with Grados, I think Recstar nailed it about it being too hot and gritty.
November 14, 201213 yr Oh hey Doug, didn't know you were around! I tried that already, brushing the drivers softly with a brush, but I still can't get most of it out... By the way, do you have another K1000? Despite not liking the HP1000/SHA-1 combination, I think the Melos works somewhat well with the AKG, actually.
November 14, 201213 yr Is it possible there's some static charge or really mild magnetism holding the pieces to the drivers? You could try de-staticking them with a ZeroStat, but I don't know what to do about the magnetism other than to try defeating it with a really mild magnetic field while cleaning it (I.E. magnets close but not touching)...? Not sure that would even work, so verify my suggestion before trying it. Unless you have a cheap headphone around that you can use for that purpose.
November 14, 201213 yr The drivers are glued together like newer Grado drivers. If you have undone all of the screws a turn or so you may need to push the drivers out from the back. I would not advocate it in any case unless something is BEHIND the drivers. For gunk IN the drivers - between the ear-side of the driver and where the mesh should be, I'm not sure that there is a fix.
November 14, 201213 yr I'm very sorry for bumping this again One must never apologize for bumping HP-1000 threads I think the Melos works somewhat well with the AKG, actually. Maybe as a preamp, but its not sufficient as an amp. I wouldn't bother with the K-1000 unless you power them with a speaker amp Edited November 14, 201213 yr by robm321
November 15, 201213 yr Thanks for the help, guys. Is it possible there's some static charge or really mild magnetism holding the pieces to the drivers? You could try de-staticking them with a ZeroStat, but I don't know what to do about the magnetism other than to try defeating it with a really mild magnetic field while cleaning it (I.E. magnets close but not touching)...? Not sure that would even work, so verify my suggestion before trying it. Unless you have a cheap headphone around that you can use for that purpose. Peter, I've got a K271 lying around, maybe it's worth a try! Although I'll have to find out where I can find a ZeroStat here! The drivers are glued together like newer Grado drivers. If you have undone all of the screws a turn or so you may need to push the drivers out from the back. I would not advocate it in any case unless something is BEHIND the drivers. For gunk IN the drivers - between the ear-side of the driver and where the mesh should be, I'm not sure that there is a fix. nikongod, that's exactly where the dust is. As I said, I don't think it has any effect on sound quality, but I don't like seeing that dust there... One must never apologize for bumping HP-1000 threads Maybe as a preamp, but its not sufficient as an amp. I wouldn't bother with the K-1000 unless you power them with a speaker amp It doesn't have gobs of power, but from everything I've heard with it (and I've heard quite a few things) it's one of the better ones, even though it does lose some refinement and can't go very loud!
January 17, 201313 yr Oh, thanks! That's very helpful. The dust still bothers me quite a lot. How's the result with the HPA-1? I've been offered an HPA-2 for my Melos, but unfortunately the guy backed out...
January 17, 201313 yr The HPA-1 and 2 were basically high end RA-1's. Think of an RA-1 but with a $50 pot (Alps RK40) and "film&foil" caps (I dunno the brand...) instead of a $2 pot and Solen caps. One mustn't forget that they were wired with Grado wire... because that makes all the difference in the world.
January 17, 201313 yr The HPA-1 and 2 were basically high end RA-1's. Think of an RA-1 but with a $50 pot (Alps RK40) and "film&foil" caps (I dunno the brand...) instead of a $2 pot and Solen caps. One mustn't forget that they were wired with Grado wire... because that makes all the difference in the world. also it had better synergy with the HP-x Joe Grados. there was no point in using them with the newer wood grados. for that, you need a wood amp.
February 9, 201313 yr There have been quite a few for sale, lately, mainly around the 2K mark. Most for a bit less actually (like mine, which was 1.800 and another one that was 1.600) and some for a lot more, such as the one that's currently at the other place. There was also another one on eBay for like 2.200. I guess about 2K is what they seem to be going for nowadays.
April 2, 201313 yr Those custom made capacitors probably make that best Grado amp ever. I would like to roll opamps with Joe Grado.
April 2, 201313 yr It already sounds better than $20k pre-amps & systems costing >$50k. No need to roll op-amps.
August 15, 201312 yr Guys, I'm really confused here. I just got an SR200 with the Black Star drivers from a friend in order to compare it to my HP1000, expecting that they would be the same headphone pretty much. But in actual fact, they sound nothing alike. The HP1000 has really rolled-off highs in comparison, a lot more mid-bass, which blurs the presentation a bit but makes it warmer. The SR200 sounds A LOT clearer, with better highs as well. WTH? Are there different HP1000 drivers going around? Neither is the i version, btw.
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