[Saintkeat]

All Martin Customs fans and people who had their headphones custom made by him do post in here.
 
I'd like to start a gallery of his work, simply because.. They're gorgeous!!
 



 
African Mahogany Cups, Red Mahogany Gimbals and Rod Blocks, and Brass Rods.
 
I've started the ball rolling, so lets keep the pictures coming!

 

[markkr]

I no longer own either of these, but Martin does AWESOME work so I'm sure the new owners won't mind if I post these.
 
 
African Mahogany 325is

 

 

 
Bloodwood 225i

 

 

 

[livewire]

Marty is the man!
Great service, reasonable pricing, shipped right on time.
My MCA MS1i cocobolo custom mushrooms look & sound awesome.
(photos by Marty - before I installed drivers / cables)
 

 

 

[Mozu]

I was thinking of having Marty work over my MS1is with cocobolo as well next year.  What were your impressions of the setup after you got it up and running?

 

[JamesMcProgger]

here's mine with the cups he made me, I have planned a redo in the cable some day later, I want it braided and brown.
 

 
edit: SR80 inside.

 

[livewire]

 
Quote:

I was thinking of having Marty work over my MS1is with cocobolo as well next year.  What were your impressions of the setup after you got it up and running?

As I said before, simply awesome.
I thought the stock Allesandro MS1i sounded good before,
with the addition of the cocobolo tonewood these cans are like a homerun hit clear out of the park.
Not just a small step up in quality, way better. The Grado sound is still there but now more refined.
Listening to Pink Floyd's "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (Part One), David Gilmoure's guitar
has highs that now sound three dimensional (increased texture and resonance), almost as good as my Stax rig.
 
Nick Mason's drums are thunderous, yet tight. Vocals seem average, no appreciable improvement.
Another metric I use is Ottmar Liebert's CD Nouveau Flamenco. It is spanish guitar instrumental.
The first four songs scale nicely on Grados: "Surrender To Love", "Santa Fe", Barcelona Nights", Flowers Of Romance".
 
I have A-B'd these with a friend's RS-1 and I dare say they sound almost as good.
(The RS-1 has a little wider soundstage and marginally better instrument separation.)
 
I am running FLAC through a HRT Music Streamer II DAC, headamp is a Gilmore Lite.
I've also tried a V-Link and Neko DAC as my source, it seems that the GL pairs up better with the HRT.
(the balanced Neko is normally used with my KGSSHV Stax amp)
 
In closing, I will say these cans are "keepers". I have no desire to climb the "Grado ladder".

 

[Nick01]

I've just sold mine recently
 

 

 

 

[Nick01]

Quote:

 
 

 
African Mahogany Cups, Red Mahogany Gimbals and Rod Blocks, and Brass Rods.
 
I've started the ball rolling, so lets keep the pictures coming!
 
 

OMG!!!!! Wow!!! So cool!!!! Speechless!!!!!
 

 

[nkkuma1]

Quote:

OMG!!!!! Wow!!! So cool!!!! Speechless!!!!!
 

Truely piece of Art!

 

[rawrster]

These pictures are real nice
 
I'll be commissioning Martin to work with my headphones soon so looking forward to when I get them.

 

[Hifianddrumming]

 I'm just in the process of ordering some custom cocobolo cups for my SR-125is. Just making sure: are they worth it?

 

[Saintkeat]

Woodying your Grados are the most significant step you could take in the modification route. You WILL definitely hear a difference. Different woods have different sound qualities as well, owing to the density and porousness of the wood. That said, Cocobolo seems to be a favourite around here. From what I've heard, bass is nice and thick.
 
Nick01 Cheers! Your now sold Marty Grados had similar Gimbals and rod blocks to mine!! I had mine modified to fit my detachable jack set up. Needed space at the bottom to fit big Rhodium VAL 3.5mm and Viablue 3.5mm plugs.
 
Marty if you're reading any of this, I'll be hoping to feature your work (as well as mine =P) in a year long stop motion video project starting soon.
 
To everyone else, keep the pictures coming!!

 

[xaval]

Proud owner of Martin's Serial #001 Full woody Jacket here. Martin gets the job done with perfect manufacture premium quality at all levels. Perfect communication also. He's surely the best. I've provided more than enough pics and feedback on the woodie review thread so I'll post just a couple of pics: the good ones are his lol
 

 

 

 

 

[jackwess]

Holy cow! they are sexy as hell! how much did you guys paid? 

 

[livewire]

Price depends on the material used as well as how much work done.
Marty can provide (most) all of the parts as well as assembly labor,
if you are not inclined to do it yourself type projects.
Check out his website for a better idea and email him.
Google: Martin Custom Audio.
 
(I dont know if it's cool for me to post his site here on HF.)