Symphones Magnum/ Magnum Light - Page 8  

Got mine this afternoon. They look beautiful. Spending 15 minutes - "WOW!" The details, bass, punch, impact, and air is harmonious.

Sadly, I just purchased some B&W Nautilus speakers for a great used price. So, my headphone days are on hiatus for now. I'm putting these up along with my Millet Starving Student tube amp on the forsale forums. This is the only reason to sell these special and spectacular cans.

Rhydon made a very special product and worth the price. My equipment has focused on speakers and IEMs for now.

Yeah I was eyeing the JMoney ones today and they look awesome. Far better than the ones I currently have.

Why not listen to them for a while????

See what you think. You may be surprised. You'll at least not be 'drugged' by appearance. Or will you, since you don't like how they look.

Give me a while... I'm almost decided to part with my own Magnums.

Sadly, you're putting them up for sale after 15 minutes???????

I thought it was obvious that the metal cups come from the headphones? The only thing you could do is get a pair of MS2is and ask Rhydon if he can transfer the mod to them instead.

I've been looking at them also. I just can't decide between the regular or larger mushrooms. Maybe when I choose between which pads I prefer. The bowls or Jumbos.

Are you or anyone else able to compare this with any Grado cans in the similar range (SR325, RS2, MS2 stock, HF2)?

Or heck, even compare it with higher-end Grados (RS1, GS1ki).

I also wonder if the MS2/SR325 Magnum mod will sound different from mods done to the plastic-housed Grados?

Care to comment?

Did you read about the actual mod you are paying for?

The lite mod is for new drivers, the inner cups.

The full mod has the lite plus the rods, gimbal.

Everything else is stock from the cans you original provide. If you wanted metal mushroom cups, you needed to provide the MS2, SR325 or the HF2.

I would be curious to find out if plastic/wood/aluminium cups make a difference to the overall sound!

Guys, guys it's just that I asked for the whole driver assembly (drivers/chamber/cups) when I originally PM'ed Rhydon, so I figured they would be included. Perhaps it was a misunderstanding but if he can make me matching cups then all is good.

Looking back at my PM's I did state I wanted the whole driver assembly, so maybe he though I meant just the driver's?

Well I've jumped on the JMoney's and we will see how they are

As an edit to my post, I didn't want to ramble on about it but I feel I did, so I apologize to Rhydon and you guys for that.

OK I promised some sort of impression so...

(Lite version)
Of course it is tough because it has been several weeks, but they seem to have more bass detail now. In listening to some tracks I'm quite familiar with I'm definitely noticing more in the low end. I guess there is actually more detail overall but I can't be certain - vocals seem to be clearer than I remember, but again it could be me adjusting to Grados after nothing but Sennheisers for a while.

Overall I'm very happy. I'll post more after I have had more time with them.

I used to own the SR80 many years ago but did not like the sound and realised I was more of a Senn guy. So I have to say I am not really familiar with the Grado house sound.

There are headfiers with more experience (maybe Currawong?) who may be able to answer some of those questions.

So far it seems most people are satisfied with their magnums, it is more a question of where they fit in the spectrum of available phones and mods.

Actually, the only person who would have listened to all the combinations (SR60i to RS1, metal vs plastic, full mod vs lite mod etc.) is Rhydon. I asked him about this before via PM and he did reply. Maybe he could comment as this seems to be the hot topic at the moment?

I thought it worth mentioning there's a discussion thread with some impressions and comparisons here as well:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/mag...ro-ms2-434471/

Someone recently asked me if my pair had survived the honeymoon period, and I can say they definitely have. Instrument reproduction is just delicious balanced on my rig.

Some thoughts though: The first Grados I tried were HF-1s belonging to a friend, and I found more amps I didn't like them with than did. It wasn't until I tried them in my latest rig that I really "got" the sound, and liked it! The HF-2s which I bought afterwards I like, and their less peaky treble seems to result in better results with a larger range of amps, or even out of an iPod. However, I was already into Stax at that time, and they do deliver music in a way that makes most dynamic headphones feel like they are just pretending, and not really delivering, especially with the treble. The HD-800s seemed to come close...so very close stock, though I feel I've nailed it by replacing the cable on them with the mostly silver APS V3 since. The Magnums delivered without the need for a re-cable, though I have another APS V3 on them now (which, I feel, has made a small difference, possibly in the bass, but without the ability to compare easily don't take my word for it). Now the difference between the HD-800s and the Magnums to me is mostly cavernous soundstage vs. intimacy, but I don't feel at all I'm losing any detail if I switch from the former to the latter while listening. It's worth adding here that I was using them initially with the stock 325/MS2 drivers which weren't nearly as detailed though tonally the same. Warnings about hype notwithstanding, I do believe that Rhydon has succeeded in creating top-tier headphones for under $1k.

There are a couple of hard-core Grado fans and much more experienced Head-fiers than I whom I'm hoping will get a pair sometime and give their thoughts on them especially as I am making pretty strong comments about them.

I think if Rhydon or some other head-fiers finds a way to make them compatible with the GS/PS1k jumbo pads, much like how the MS1000 operates, then you'll be able to get the best of both worlds. But I know from a fact that the pads are very picky as to what Grados they go on..they particularly do not do so well on very bright headphones

Here is a thought - why should it?

When I saw the photos Ryhdon posted of the inside of the MS2i I was quite shocked to see that the plastic driver housing inserted internally into a plastic ring just out of view by the grill.

This means that despite much talk about the sound of MS2i and SR325is "bouncing off metal" it in fact did nothing of the sort - it was plastic all the way from the grill to the ear. The metal, then, is just aesthetic? Perhaps it makes some difference to the sound overall to have that assembly surrounded by dense metal, but certainly not from sound "bouncing off metal".

This actually made sense - the SR series is plastic, the RS series is wood. It doesn't matter if MS2i or SR325i is cloaked in metal - the sound waves still only come into contact with plastic anyway.

Ryhdon confirmed that he changes the plastic ring which the driver hosuing inserts into with a ring made of the same alluminium he uses for the driver housing, presumably he does this whether you send him plastic, metal or wooden Grados.

From this point of view, the only difference between different Grados would be the size and shape of the air chamber from "i" to non "i" and the elongated RS1.

Or am I way off mark? This is just speculation...

I think you're way off... try this experiment - cover the outside of the cups (over the grills) while playing music... the sounds changes drastically, no? So it comes in contact with more than just plastic if your hands covering the metal make such a difference... of course I could be off, but the whole point of open vs closed headphones is how the sound waves bounce around, no? Otherwise why put up with leaking sound? Maybe I'm way off...