Introducing Lawton Audio-- Denon Mods, Re-Cables, Woodies & More.

[markl]

Well, the impressions are very interesting/useful. But, even so; i haven't seen impressions about the tone versus the stock cup (that in my opinion is very good indeed for being "plastic"). But the soundstage and mids improvements are very good to listen, and is something that interest me a lot with the stock pads, because i don't have those problems (about the midrange lack of detail/airiness and bass out of control) with the velours.... But, the velours are a temporal mod, because they belongs to another headphone that will need them back.... For that i have interest in this cups.
Markl, there is not another form to get the cups for anyone in my conditions (that can't use paypal...)...?

wilashort,
Tone/timbre and overall presentation of each of our custom cups will depend on which wood is used. We have spent months experimenting with different woods and different sizes and shapes of cups to arrive at our design. Our final design is neither too big nor too small, but just right. It's slightly larger than the stock phones, which in our experience provides not only a wider soundstage but significantly deeper one as well, with better layering of instruments front to back.

The tone/timbre and sonic characteristics, however, vary chiefly depending on the overall density of the wood used. We have experimented with and ultimately rejected the use of the most dense and hardest woods available as being not "musical" enough for our tastes, although they were very controlled and tight.

Lighter-density, soft woods like the Afican Sepele Mahogany, have a rich tone with lots of body, providing a very liquid sound, with full-range dynamics and rock-solid bass response. The lighter-density woods are great for rock/pop/electronica listeners who tend to be more "active" listeners; the kind who want to tap their toes, bob their heads, or play air guitar or air drums. Our low-density woods require additional damping (which we provide for free), to sound their best. This addition of damping does not negatively affect the great tonailty in any way, but provides the extra control and firmness they would otherwise lack. FWIW, I personally use the African Sepele Mahogany cups, fully damped. They suit my listening style and music preference best. Your mileage will vary depending on taste, listening style, and musical preference.

Our medium/higher density woods like the Jarrah and Mulga are ideal for those who value greater control and stability to the sound. These cups have a slightly drier, more matter-of-fact and warmer tone, with better-controlled highs and lows. Not as hard-hitting or as aggressive as the soft woods, they present the sound in arguably a more balanced way. I recommend the higher-density woods for listeners of acoustic jazz or classical, or those who prefer to kick back in the big comfy chair, close their eyes and drift away to their music.

How big are these differences? In our experience, the difference in sound between different woods is rougly equal to a major and very effective cable swap, roughly in that range. Now, there are people who still claim that all cables sound the same, and just aren't sensitive to these kinds of differences no matter how dramatic they may sound to someone else whose ears are more sensitive.

We do an analysis of our customers listening preferences at the outset, and make specific recommendations for the type of wood best suited for them. Sometimes, the best wood is not necessarily the one that looks best to an individual, so a balance has to be struck by the customer between beauty and performance. So far, I'm happy to say our process so far has resulted in nothing but bulls-eyes for our customers, whether they ended up with high or low density woods. Feedback so far has been very positive with the various woods performing as advertised in terms of suiting the customers listening needs.


P.S. At this time we are only set up to accept Paypal. However, I suppose we could accept US dollars/cash (not foreign currency) sent AT YOUR RISK. We cannot be responsible for any loss or theft of such cash.

[Wilashort]

Markl, Thank you for the explanation (very good and to the point that i want to get...). You should put it in your website.... i really value your efforts an honestly, very much.

In other hand, i am the user of the first group (that like Pop, Jpop, Rock, jrock, etc (see profile)), that for that want this mod for my Denons (i love them a lot for his natural tonality capability (and potential)).
I really like to enjoy my music the most realistic possible (when there is real instruments), and like it aggresivelly/extreme (the faster ones..), that make me vibrate in emotion (as i could get with a woody grado type headphone (but that i don't want to expend in one) with a upper midrange peak). And for that; i want that this headphone to be more aggressive (specially in the midrange but not in the treble) and that sound more spacious and with more (or a little) depth in the soundstage (just as with the velours). and more details in the midrange...
That is the role/use, that i will going to give to this headphone (i don't want that this headphone, to be a laidback one (that role is for the DT990 (but not much to be boring, but more panoramic in his headstage ) that i will get updated...)).
In other hand, yeah. I don't want/need a recable (i feel that they are overpriced (in my opinion...) and i am not willing to pay such sums of money in a "simple" cable). I want better the benefits from the cups...

Ah, another thing that i want to known (or i'd like), is if there is a possibility to close a little bit more, the vent ring to minimize a lot the sound leakage, or there is some impact in the sound quality (or any)?
And for last, i will do the possible {when i get the funds [hope and i want to buy one of the 'future' demo cups (that will be good to my economy, and conscience...)]} to make you arrive the money in a secure way (if there is any, additional to MoneyGram...)...

Thank you very much

Originally Posted by markl

wilashort,
Tone/timbre and overall presentation of each of our custom cups will depend on which wood is used. We have spent months experimenting with different woods and different sizes and shapes of cups to arrive at our design. Our final design is neither too big nor too small, but just right. It's slightly larger than the stock phones, which in our experience provides not only a wider soundstage but significantly deeper one as well, with better layering of instruments front to back.

The tone/timbre and sonic characteristics, however, vary chiefly depending on the overall density of the wood used. We have experimented with and ultimately rejected the use of the most dense and hardest woods available as being not "musical" enough for our tastes, although they were very controlled and tight.

Lighter-density, soft woods like the Afican Sepele Mahogany, have a rich tone with lots of body, providing a very liquid sound, with full-range dynamics and rock-solid bass response. The lighter-density woods are great for rock/pop/electronica listeners who tend to be more "active" listeners; the kind who want to tap their toes, bob their heads, or play air guitar or air drums. Our low-density woods require additional damping (which we provide for free), to sound their best. This addition of damping does not negatively affect the great tonailty in any way, but provides the extra control and firmness they would otherwise lack. FWIW, I personally use the African Sepele Mahogany cups, fully damped. They suit my listening style and music preference best. Your mileage will vary depending on taste, listening style, and musical preference.

Our medium/higher density woods like the Jarrah and Mulga are ideal for those who value greater control and stability to the sound. These cups have a slightly drier, more matter-of-fact and warmer tone, with better-controlled highs and lows. Not as hard-hitting or as aggressive as the soft woods, they present the sound in arguably a more balanced way. I recommend the higher-density woods for listeners of acoustic jazz or classical, or those who prefer to kick back in the big comfy chair, close their eyes and drift away to their music.

How big are these differences? In our experience, the difference in sound between different woods is rougly equal to a major and very effective cable swap, roughly in that range. Now, there are people who still claim that all cables sound the same, and just aren't sensitive to these kinds of differences no matter how dramatic they may sound to someone else whose ears are more sensitive.

We do an analysis of our customers listening preferences at the outset, and make specific recommendations for the type of wood best suited for them. Sometimes, the best wood is not necessarily the one that looks best to an individual, so a balance has to be struck by the customer between beauty and performance. So far, I'm happy to say our process so far has resulted in nothing but bulls-eyes for our customers, whether they ended up with high or low density woods. Feedback so far has been very positive with the various woods performing as advertised in terms of suiting the customers listening needs.


P.S. At this time we are only set up to accept Paypal. However, I suppose we could accept US dollars/cash (not foreign currency) sent AT YOUR RISK. We cannot be responsible for any loss or theft of such cash.

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by markl

Phiaton PS 500 Sound Impressions
OK, I wasn't expecting much, frankly, yet, what Phiaton delivers at a mere $299 is a real crowd pleaser. Pretty damn sweet. Lots of folks are just going to love these cans, and they are right to think so.

The Phiaton is an unexpectedly pleasant surprise! It performs very well indeed for a $299 headphone.

It sounds quite realistic. Tone/timbre are quite naturalistic, but a tad on the "dry" side. It's surprisingly balanced, from the top highs down to the lower mids. However, the mid-bass has quite a bit of a bloom to it that is out of proportion, but that lends this phone an artificially impressive slam and pump/punch that will please quite a few amateurs, even if it's not as solid or heavy as the bass of the mod-ed Denons.

That said, bass is surprisingly deep and reasonably tight. It goes pretty low, maybe within shouting distance of the Denons, yet does not quite seem to vibrate and roll off the head; it's more controlled, if not quite as full and solid.

The Phiaton is pretty fast and is a definite head-bobber. But it has a sort of "phantom-attack" to it. Where it should unload heavy bass slabs that lay the smack-down like the mod-ed Denons do, it instead tends to pull back and flutter like a butterfly, sort of tickling the ear. This leaves the bass sounding a bit light relatively speaking even though you can tell it goes deeper than the average phone.

The edges of sounds are quite soft on the Phiaton, instead of being sharp and defined.

Soundstage is a bit restricted but not bad. The Phiaton presents a fairly large picture, that slightly portrudes beyond the stock cups. Not as big as the mod-ed Denons, but not super-small, either.

Conclusions
The Phiaton PS500 passes anyone's initial smell-test. This is no amateur headphone, or a poor-man's anything. This is a simply outstanding heaphone for the price.

It presented itself to the world as a "luxury" headphone. That created unrealistic expectations. Throw them away and just listen to the Phiaton PS500, and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

At the $299 price point, let me predict the Phiaton will create quite a stir, and deservedly so. I was totally prepared to hate this phone but its performance turned me around straight away. Anyone who tells you this is a sub-par or irrelevant headphone has some other ulterior motive at work.

The reality is that the Phiaton PS500 is easily as good as any of the other full-size headphones in its class, and maybe better than 2/3rds of them. Probably better than 3/4 of them.

If you've followed my reviews over the years, you know I hate almost everything and have been merciless against phones I felt under-performed. The Phiaton is by no means the be-all and end-all of headphone listening. The fact that I don't hate it already says a lot. The fact that I'd go further than that and say a lot of people are going to simply love this headphone FOR THE PRICE, says even more.

It's cheap. It's good. It's going to make lots of people very happy and deservedly so.

OK, I called it first, and you read it first here.

Mark

It sounds like it will be better than a stock D2000 or ATH-A900 Limited, is that a good assumption?

[markl]

"Better" than stock D2000? I don't think so, but it depends on the listener.

[Wilashort]

I don't like his appearence.... His price (if that is the price list) isn't cheap but either overpriced; just 'fair' for the performance that seems to offer, very good....

[HeadphoneAddict]

Originally Posted by markl

"Better" than stock D2000? I don't think so, but it depends on the listener.

Okay, so bad assumption? Your mini-review of Phiaton PS 500 just makes them "read" like they will sound better than they actually sound, since there weren't comparisons to other similar budget priced headphones. I got confused - nevermind...

[markl]

Larry, sorry for the short answer, I guess I should clarify, considering I don't find the stock D2000 completely acceptable, I was thinking in terms of the mod-ed phone. So, yes, maybe in some ways the Phiaton does out-perform the stock D2000. But once you mod the Denon, there's not much comparison I would say.

[markl]

Custom Cups for the D5000 and D7000 Now Available for Pre-Order!
All of our previous cups were made specifically for the D2000 which uses a unique design to attach the plastic cups that is different from that used by Denon for it's wooden cups on the D5000/D7000. At long last, our latest revision cups, made specifically to fit the new D7000 (and also fit the D5000 incidentally) are available.

Now that we have cups that fit, we will soon start to ship our LA7000 headphone, the very finest we offer. LA7000 consists of a Denon D7000, our custom cups, full markl Mod, and Jena Labs cable.

Once again, we arrived at the final shape and size of our cups after much experimentation; our cups are larger with more air behind the driver, and this creates a a not insiginificant increase in soundstage width and depth. We can also tailor the tone/timbre of the sound based on customer preference by carefully selecting the best wood for each listener.

Check it out, that's our cup on the left and the Denon stock cup on the right:




Here you can a sample from our latest shipment of bubinga cups specially made for the D7000:



Just to show how hard it is to capture the true beauty of these cups, here's another pic with a different background-- same cup but look how different it looks. Truth of these cups lies somewhere in between.




LA2000 Now Shipping
The very first of our LA2000 headphones are now starting to ship. Based around the Denon D2000, this pair has mahogany custom cups, full markl Mod and Jena Labs cable with balanced Furutech jacks. Sweet:

[markl]

LA2000 Bubinga "Strawberry Blonde"
Every time Roshan and George send me a new shipment of cups, there's this great moment where I get to unwrap the goodies and just stare in awe at how simply beautiful they are. That moment quickly passes, though, and then I admit I'm touched by a little bit of jealousy over the lucky customers that get these new pairs. Truth is, I want to keep them all! I wish I had a dozen Denons so I could just pick and choose different models to select different woods for both their beauty and diffrerent tones they produce depending on my mood that day.

Anyway, this latest batch are made of this amazing Australian wood called "bubinga". I've dubbed them "Strawberry Blonde" because that's just what they are-- ribbons of strawberry shot through copper bands, then a separate blonde streak below. Sexy? You bet! Let's peep.







Baby got back. Look how big and fat (but not too big or too fat, we tried that, and this is the right size) her hind-sides are. Can you say "bigger soundstage"?.


The fact that all the Strawberry Blondes are currently SOLD OUT, is almost irrelevant. Soon there will be another shipment of cups that will be just as pretty to take your breath away.


P.S. We can and will be stocking more bubinga. This is a great wood, that is medium-high density, yet is quite light in weight. It is often used in the manufacture of musical instruments. As a higher-density wood, it will not require extra damping most of the time for most listeners.

[mrarroyo]

Mark, those are freaking gorgeus! Now if I had a first born I would sell him/her to afford a pair.

Just kidding (selling the first born that is).

[markl]

LA7000s-- Lawton Audio Flagship Headphones. Now Shipping.
Based around the new top-of-the-line D7000 from Denon, our totally re-imagined LA7000 headphone takes this fine headphone to a whole new level. It gets our full "markl Mod", the incredible Jena Labs cable and Furutech jack, and our superior custom wood cups.

It took us a while to get the design specs just right for the custom cups for the D7000/D5000 (considerably more complex than the D2000 for reasons I won't go into). When you consider that our cups, with all of their human labor and sweat equity, cost just about as much as what Denon charges when you jump from the D2000 to D5000, we feel our superior cups truly represent a solid value in that you aren't just upgrading the physical beauty of your Denon phone, but greatly enhancing the basic sound on a fundamental level.

Size (and shape and wood type) matters. After going through so many designs and wood types, and doing a lot of critical listening, we are confident you will find our latest generation cups greatly preferable to stock.

It should also be mentioned that the basic "markl Mod" also differs depending on what headphone is used (D2000, D5000, D7000), and even which wood is used if you are replacing ear cups (some of our wooden cups need extra damping, and some don't). After going through 5 different damping compounds and evaluating each one on different phones, I have narrowed it down to 2 of the best-performing ones that I use depending on the base headphone employed in the mod. One is thinner, and has a slightly different make-up than the other. I can opt to use more or less of each damping material depending on customer needs and combination of other mods employed (Jena cable, custom cups, etc.).

The bottom line is that when you order a headphone from Lawton Audio, you are getting a custom product made to ensure the correct balance of lows, mids and highs, with a slight tailoring to your personal listening preference. This is not a one-size-fits-all headphone where we employ the exact same mod on each and every headphone, ignoring the differences in sound between models and ignoring the cumulative effects of other mods ordered. The critical thing is you get a well-rounded headphone that meets your needs without tilting the presentation too far one way or another.

I'm listening right now to two separate LA7000s with our latest revision cups and slightly different mod strategies employed. This is a sponsored thread where members of the trade get to say whatever they like, so you should take everything with a big grain of salt, but even I was taken aback by just how big a leap in performance this phone provides. Wow. I can't wait to get the feedback from new owners.

They both sound amazing, with subtle yet appreciable differences in tone. Key word to describe the sound of LA7000 is "BIG". Huge soundstage and just more of everything else. Everything is rendered with extreme clarity and definition. Unlike the stock phone, instruments are layered front to back and sounds seem to emanate from a greater distance in space left to right. The tonal balance is much better than the stock phone; far more even and natural. The bass is so tight and solid without the bloat and loose-ness of stock, I would put the bass performance easily up against any other phone you want to name.

OK, so here are some pics of the latest LA7000s:



That's African Bubinga on the left and Western Australian Sheoak on the right. The Bubinga is a slightly denser wood, provides a slightly tighter bass response, and a bit of a more balanced, controlled sound overall with a nice dash of warmth. The lower-density Sheoak is slightly more full-range, open and brighter sounding wood. Both of these woods are often used in the manufacture of musical instruments, and as such are highly musical. In both you can see the carefully-measured extra stuffing we provide in the ear pads and the slightly larger size of our latest generation cups. The thick pink wire you see is a dead give-away that these cans have been re-cabled with other-worldly Jena Labs.



Here we see a close-up of the bubinga cup, a truly stellar combination of strawberry ribbons of color steaking through various shades of bands of copper. Gorgeous.



Here is a nice image of the latest wood we have started to use, Western Australian Sheoak. This wood is of medium to low density, and as you can see is composed of honey-colored tiger stripes, a nice flame-like effect. Absurdly beautiful stuff.



Finally, here we see our crack quality-control inspector sniffing out any anomalies. Nope, this one is perfect!

[mrarroyo]

Beautiful work as usual Mark. If it is not to forward on my part please consider me as a tester/reviewer of the LA7000.

Maybe after you return my D5000 w/ the Bubinga wood cups and the MarkL Mods. Thanks.

[markl]

Miguel, you are going to love it. Cheers.

[markl]

Some extra beauty shots by request of the new LA7000:



Above is the new Australian Sheoak.



That's Australian Bubinga. Sweet.



Finally, here's the Bubinga LA7000 with full view of the Jena cable.

[mrarroyo]

I had to get a large towel to wipe the drool! AWESOME!