It was a productive weekend. I cut 23 shells, which is no small feat with cocobolo. It started out with what was going to be a wash - since my drill press quit working and I had to replace it - but once I got started, I was on a roll. Before the day was up, I managed to get battered, bruised and bloody - and even had my daughter pick a chunk of cocobolo out of my hand on the way to The Mechanic for a diversion (I don't recommend pulling out splinters at highway speed). I had to shower three times today (which is more than I can say for shaving or combing my hair) but I spent the day with these cans - and loved it. The bass is full but not muddy in the slightest. Comfies get a bad rap for delivering a muted sound, and no soundstage, but one man's muted highs are another's elegant restraint. With the quarter mod (which I pulled off by using the drill press on the pads using high speed, very slow descent and a 1 5/8" drill saw over scrap wood) the highs are crystal clear without calling attention to themselves as spiked. That "wow" effect of spiking the treble - with "air" that turns fatiguing five minutes later - is replaced by a flatter, better-balanced, presentation. I'm reminded of the HD800's trick of operating in Grado Land (compared to other Sennheiser cans) but without sizzling right into sibilance.
The one downside is that I now smell like cocobolo dust - even after a meal at McDonald's. I don't care. I skateboarded the jogging path around Lake Hollingsworth (three miles in the moonlight) and these babies never ceased to amaze me. It made me want to make a ritual of it, something I did more of before breaking two fingers re-learning Newton's First Law of Motion. (Gxddxmned Grado cable! I was worrying about it when my board stopped on a rock, causing me to react too late.)
The bass is not bloated or loose. It's tight but it's there - and quite punchy. It's not just the kick drums that are making their presence known. It's the bass line, which is so much more articulate. On The Beatles' Good Night - one of the few tracks giving the mic to Ringo Starr - there's an interesting metronomic beat of uncertain origin that kicks in before the orchestra starts. Is it a string bass? It must be because it has pitch. Yes, the scales, bowed later, prove as much. You can hear "air" on the Rolling Stones' Jumpin' Jack Flash. The horn section on Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners is scrumptious. Unlike with some of the higher-end Grados, the piano work never feels spiky, even with TM's sometimes jagged playing. Rush's Limelight just snaps and pops. Bob Marley's Chant Down Babylon is very bassy - as if we were there, enjoying a live performance (as does Dynamite Hack's Boyz-N-The Hood). The Cars' Candy-O just sizzles and punches (straight to the chest). On the other hand, Shontelle's T-Shirt has a low presence-establishing bass beat but sounds as open and clear as if it didn't. Not every track sounds equally great. ELO's In the Hall of the Mountain King does sound muted and veiled but that's probably the recording. I'm hearing a "wow"-sounding voice or effect which I'd never realized was on this track. I'm also hearing echoes and other forms of detail and space, even on this less-than-stellar recording.
This is why I sold my PS1000, HD800 and T1. These mods are more than just tweaks. As we push for the very best, even from the low-fi to mid-fi choices, we are sending a snowball down the mountain, one whose size and impact - by the time it reaches the bottom - is impossible to tell. So many people have gotten off the sidelines are now grabbing for their Grados (or ordering new ones) all in an effort to trick their ride into something truly spectacular. Things are happening. It's an exciting time.
