[fs454]

So I'm about to make my first audiophile buy. First good pair of headphones...ever. I just got some KRK V8 Series I studio monitors for my postproduction rig and fell in love with them. Tweaked a little for casual music enjoyment they're some of the best sounding speakers I've ever heard. Long story short I'm now hooked and want headphones. I discovered Martin Custom Audio when looking for something different and originally planned on picking up a used set of Grado RS1s, but then I really thought if I'm spending the money, why not get something unique and have Marty build me a full set around Magnum V4 drivers? 
 
So I emailed Marty, and have been paining myself over wood choice and whatnot and have settled on: 
 
HWJ (full cups with the sexy aluminum gimbals) in Black and White Ebony wrapped around the Magnum V4s
 
I have a few questions though. Do these resell well if I were to end up selling it down the road? I don't think I ever will but before I plop down a ton of cash, I'd like to know all the possible outcomes of my investment. 
 
Next, for the $600-750 price range  am I overlooking anything or am I buying competitive headphones? I've never heard Magnums before in my life let alone a Grado set in the past year that wasn't the SR60i but I feel confident that I'll like what I'm getting. I really love the Grado look to begin with and Marty's work is incredible. 
 
 
I'm just being nervous about my purchase. I don't even have an amp yet but I'm working on getting the O2 or maybe the TubeMagic DAC/amp combo...I can't spend too too much in this area just yet. I just really, really am having a hard time finalizing my wood choice for the headphones..I can't decide if I want the light B&W ebony with the possibility of non-symmetrical cups or something deeper and more uniform like Cocobolo. Opinions are welcome, heh. 
 
 
Thanks. 
 

 

[obobskivich]

I'm unfamiliar with these specific customs, but I know that most Headphile products take a beating on resale (it's a similar concept, but he primarily does Beyerdynamics). As far as "are you overlooking anything" - probably, but if you like what you're getting, who cares? With this kind of headphone, you're basically buying the looks and uniqueness, not the sound quality. Headphile is a similar affair (I am not trying to say either is bad). I'm wary of such customs, precisely because of the full custom nature of the product - they're built for you, and that hurts them on resale. Especially if you have a lot of mods done to your own tastes. If you love the result, then all is well, but if you're even the last bit unhappy then it's a problem (there's usually no returns, and resale is a loss). 
 
 
I'd do some more research, see if you can't demo a pair of RS1s or GS1000s (and others, from other brands, if possible). Figure out what you really want out of your headphones - I highly doubt that my "it" corresponds to your "it" and I suspect that if you determine what you want you'll have a better chance of finding it.
 
 
 
 

 

[idletime1213]

 
Quote:

Next, for the $600-750 price range  am I overlooking anything or am I buying competitive headphones? I've never heard Magnums before in my life let alone a Grado set in the past year that wasn't the SR60i but I feel confident that I'll like what I'm getting. I really love the Grado look to begin with and Marty's work is incredible.

 
 
Are you set on getting a Grado? At that price range, there's the HE-500 which is competitive with the flagships of other models and IMO the best under-$900 headphone. The O2 *should* be able to handle it. Shure is also releasing their SRH1840, though only a handful have heard these. There are the old classic D7k as well. All very different sound sigs, but available at the same price range.
 

 

[MohawkUS]

I was also about to get a Martin Custom, but I decided that I really didn't care about how the headphones look so much as I do sound. You can get a full magnum build quite a bit cheaper. I suggest checking out ohrenholz, and reading this thread here http://www.head-fi.org/forum/newestpost/592921 before you make up your mind. Of course the cheapest option would be to make the cups yourself and to DIY it, you could have a full build for under $350 if you play your cards right.
If you want a premium looking magnum, Martin is a great choice though, and he's a great guy to work with, but your paying a heavy premium for the 'uniqueness' factor of his products.

The magnum is a great choice for a first headphone, I haven't gotten one yet myself, but I just love the Grado sound. I've been through a fair number of headphones and I always come back to my K81s which are very Grado like in their presentation(trade blows with SR-80i), I can't wait to get a taste of a high end Grado sound with the smoother and more refined magnum sound.

 

[fs454]

I'm a very technical guy but I don't think I can actually make the cups on my own, as much as I'd like to. I just wish there was a shop around here that I could try a few of these different headphones out at, but there's pretty much nothing in my area while I'm at school (Ithaca, NY). One concern I wanted to address is comfort. All the research I've done seems to suggest that the grado style of headphone isn't too comfy although again I've never even had enough time on a set to know. 
 
The Denon D7000s look incredible as well and I could totally do custom wood cups down the line...or is that sacrilege to a such a high end set? I like the Grado look a lot better but I hear the Denons are very, very comfortable and may have a fuller soundstage. 
 
 
 
So I'm not really set, per se, on getting a Grado or grado-style set, as I'm really inexperienced as to what each sounds like. Ugh, haha, this is tough.
 
 
:EDIT: That Electronics Expo deal on "Open Box" AH-D7000s is very, very, very enticing. That'd leave me a lot more spending room to buy an amp. They also have a lower impedance at 25 ohm? This pretty much means non-amped sources will be more acceptable for the occasions that I want to listen through, say, my iPhone in a pinch, correct?
 
Quote:

I was also about to get a Martin Custom, but I decided that I really didn't care about how the headphones look so much as I do sound. You can get a full magnum build quite a bit cheaper. I suggest checking out ohrenholz, and reading this thread here http://www.head-fi.org/forum/newestpost/592921 before you make up your mind. Of course the cheapest option would be to make the cups yourself and to DIY it, you could have a full build for under $350 if you play your cards right.
If you want a premium looking magnum, Martin is a great choice though, and he's a great guy to work with, but your paying a heavy premium for the 'uniqueness' factor of his products.
The magnum is a great choice for a first headphone, I haven't gotten one yet myself, but I just love the Grado sound. I've been through a fair number of headphones and I always come back to my K81s which are very Grado like in their presentation(trade blows with SR-80i), I can't wait to get a taste of a high end Grado sound with the smoother and more refined magnum sound.

 

 

[obobskivich]

Changing the enclosures on a headphone is a cosmetic thing in the best case scenario; worst case it destroys the sound. I find Grado headphones very uncomfortable over time, and to have a very closed-in/small/bad soundstage. They're polarizing - you will either hate them or love them. Denon is a lot less polarizing - most people seem to like them.