Greetings! Im currently parts swapping through 10 or so pairs of hd-280's, mostly with one dead driver, trying to assemble as many working pairs as possible. My customer says he doesnt want to spend $30 each for factory replacement drivers, so Im looking into some more affordable offerings, just...

Pic of the transformer

I just picked up a really clean and fully functional Sha Gold (non reference/ maestro version), which appears to be stock from what I can tell. It's got some sovtek 6922's in it which sound ok, but definitely leave some room for improvement. The only other tubes I happen to have on hand that are...

  Thanks! Gray Limba? It's from a board that is very clearly divided down the center with black limba on one side, white limba on the other. It's definitely from the more whitish side, but I was really surprised that after sanding, the grain started to pop out with a light grayish-black...

Fleasbaby- Thanks man! It's always exciting to see pics pop up of the new cups you and several others are always making, you do incredible work. Appreciate the leads on the experts, its always hard to tell when you've crossed into "you're on your own" territory with stuff like this. Good to know...

Those are gorgeous! Interesting timing on the release of these considering the CITES II export restrictions that just went into effect on true rosewood species.

I have a question in regard to how to objectively determine what effect the cups have on the frequency response of a given driver/ set of headphones. Not entirely sure if this is the best place to post it, but I am working with V7's and this would seem like the right group to ask.   In trying...

  Yep, absolutely. I've had many situations like that running live sound through unknown equipment, usually when I wasn't the only one with my hands on the volume knob. I'm very lucky to still have hearing at this point in my life. I really try to treat my ears with more respect now than I did...

  Its out of concern for the plastic surgeon's lonely wife. He's going to need at least a week to repair the damage when these things MELT YOUR FACE!!!! Because these cans RAWK!!!   Did I get it? Is that why?  

Thats cool. You guys have such a diverse array of trees over there. Macassar has always been one of my favorites but it's *really* expensive here, as far as hardwoods go. I've got some stashed away for when I feel like I'm good enough to attempt to make some cups out of it. Tigerwood mostly gets...

the guitar in my avatar has a tigerwood neck (goncalo alves) with a macassar ebony fretboard. I agree, amazing looking wood. :) And kingwood is a true dalgbergia rosewood species, which they just put all kinds of restrictions on due to it being overlogged. Gorgeous stuff, but Im afraid it's...

  I hope you like them. That really is a fantastic purchase you stumbled into. High def files make a difference, definitely give them a chance before you get rid of them. They would be very hard to replace at that price down the road if you find yourself with sellers remorse.

  I hear you about the price of the hp-2's, pretty insane how much they go for. I would rate the SR100/200/300's a much better value by comparison. But I'll be damned if the hp-2s aren't one of the prettiest sets of headphones I've ever seen. Flawless workmanship in such a simple design. Keep...

  Great classic rock cans, would be good for techno too if you add a couple of sub-woofers to your Onkyo. :) Haven't heard the in ears, not really a fan of having things stuffed into my ear canals. Guess Im just old school like that. lol

...Oh, and an amateur attempt (inspired by youtube) at aluminum smelting, to figure out lost-wax casting my own aluminum cans. Still have work to do on this one. The Youtube process for this sucks, btw. It's A LOT of fun, but don't expect good results.

    I have to be honest, I lucked into my set of Blackstar SR200's just because I was in the right place at the right time. If it weren't me, it would have been the guy right behind me, most likely. I bought them without having any idea of what they were, I only knew of Grado from their phono...

  I would argue against that assessment. Those drivers are special, regardless of which cups they reside in or what model number is on them. They are unique apart from today's Grados while still being able to hold their own against the current high end offerings. Just a different sound signature.

  Someday... ;)

Luck is a huge factor. But not hesitating when you see it is the biggest thing. If you even blink, someone else will probably snatch it out from under you.

The 200's sound amazing, the 1000's have never been plugged into an amp before. I assume they sound better than the 200's, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to plug them in. I picked up a second pair of 200's (the ones in the picture next to the HP2's with the peeling cheese cloth)...

      Quote:   Found these at an estate sale (along with some black star sr200's), nos. The deals are out there if you keep your eyes open.

That's all subjective. But given the relative upgrade in driver quality over easily 95% of all other headphones on the market today, I'd say probably. That is if your phone has decent output to begin with. Plug them in and give them a listen, pads be damned.

TTVJ Flats are very highly recommended. Luckily, those drivers sound good out of just about anything, but and amp will make them sound much better.

Yep, those be them (hp-1000 drivers, not pinks). You scored big time, Congrats! I would give those a very good listen before selling them.

Can you post pictures of the front of the drivers? Those look like hp-1000 drivers from the back.