Also, here's a repost of something I posted in an earlier thread:
In the thread where MacDEF takes apart the two, he says:
"The drivers actually look a bit different since, as you mentioned, the 50s look more "metallic." However, I actually examined the two drivers and they seem to be made of *exactly* the same material; it looks like, for some reason, the material is simply colored differently (clear vs. metallic)."
i.e. What MacDEF is saying is that they look different but are probably the same.
However, in this thread:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/show...;threadid=42184
Hawkfire explains that:
"The KCS-35, Sprotapro and Portapro line tranducers use a cellulose based diaphram for thier drivers. The magnets used are Samarium Cobalt.
The KSC-50 line uses a MYLAR (titanium) based diaphram and Neodynium magnet for their drivers."
This would explain the visual differences MacDEF noticed.
Based on Hawkfire's information and MacDEF's visual inspection, I think it's more likely than not that the drivers are different. One would expect that the mylar/titanium diaphragm would look similar to the cellulose one, just be more shiny or metallic, just as MacDEF observed. (Of course Hawkfire could have been not telling the truth or mistaken, but in the absence of information to the contrary, it's hard to say that.) Apparently, however, the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers are the same.
