[irjoe]

will putting felt pads on the insides make hte bass more prominent? or just tame the highs?

 

[kintsaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by irjoe /img/forum/go_quote.gif will putting felt pads on the insides make hte bass more prominent? or just tame the highs?

If you listen to your Grados with HD25 small vinyl pads instead of stock pads you will be surprised how bass heavy for real basshead people they become and the highs are tamed somehow. There are also velour HD25 pads and I tried those also but the effect is clearly most dramatic with the vinyl or leatherette ones. This is why I think that further improvements may be possible through experimentation but Nic is right at low to moderate levels the music pro is perfect and I may say that includes bass but it is so inviting that you want to turn it a bit more up to get a bit more of that wonderful bass.

 

[kintsaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif How do you manage to drive an Alessandro by utilizing a T-amp? ..... I mean, those bridged Tripath amps are fried by combined ground and are not suited for the relatively high impedance/ high sensitivity either. Maybe you are listening way louder than most listeners. I can't remember the MS-Ultimate distorting noticeably (similar to clipping) at my normal listening level unless the recording itself is crappy, and I do listen quite loud at an average of 80-85 dB (measured some time ago with an SPL meter calibrated to +- 1dB). Regarding electrostats : My Stax SR-4070 definitely starts to distort heavily only beyond ear bleeding volume.I estimate beyond 110 dB.I can't stand such volume for more than a few seconds anyway. My other electrostats can't be cranked that far but certainly to levels above 100dB and that's more than enough for most music except some extreme crescendos in classical music but those are too extreme for most headphones and loudspeakers and aren't often mastered that way anyway (given that your average listening level isn't above 85 dB).Even classical music is often slightly compressed in order to avoid such extreme SPL differences within one movement.Vinyl isn't even technically capable of such a dynamic range and the recording has to be compressed or the needle would jump like a kangaroo. Are you sure what you perceive as distortion similar to clipping isn't actually your hurted ears that clip?

1) My friend Yanni a seasoned tube amp designer one day told me that I can drive dynamic phones with power amps in fact one day he donated me a tube amp he had made from spare part leftovers along with an adapter cable and when I tried it I was pleasantly surprised. After that i used the adapter cable to try my Trends Audio and I was surprised again. Then I tried a number of various power amps with various power ratings including 1.5, 10, 30, 80 and 180 Watt and they all worked nicely. However depending on the headphone set and the amp I would some time get some humming noise which I could get rid off by using a series resistor.

I used to have an RKV II with a resistor without the impedancer that I would drive the Grados with and that sounded similar to the tube amps. The RKV II is an OTL German tube amp 3.5 Watts with 120 Ohms output impedande that Vertigo-1 used to say was the only amp to make his R10 come up live and other people used to use it to drive the AKG K1000. After a few months Vertigo's RKV II had to go for service (he was not using the impedancer) but I am driving a larger load not a smaller one so it is not like I am sorting the terminals of the amp.

2) You are right the O2 ( I do not have a 4070 ) does not clip but the Sigma ( I do not have a Lambda ) and the Koss ESP-9 do clip. The clipping is not as much the overall level as the EQ settings to exaggerate the bass.
The SR-125 which was the first Grado I tried almost 9 years ago had the right bass like the Music pro and it would not clip. Although the mids and highs were very musical the Music-Pro is an order of magnitude better.

I understand that my statements and descriptions may very well sound inconsistent and the only explanation that I can come up with is that there are wide variations between individual drivers especially with Grados.
Another possibility is mood swings but I have had quite some time and in the case of Grados years of ownership to know that this is not so.

 

[akabane@drjackel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Actually DIY, ApatN or me.

oo ic.. i already get the item already and just modd mine..

 

[Amarphael]

Wow are those DIY GS1000 cups you put on there?

Anyways here are my 1000'ned RS-1's:

It's defenitly in another league than a regular RS-1 in all the aspects of resolution, sounstage, bass etc. that were mentioned BUT... I feel there's somewhat drop in treble sparkle making them a bit darker. Also strangly distortion with electric guitatrs sounds somewhat compressed... i can't figure why is that so 'cuz the upper mids are as marvalous as ever except for that. is that similiar to the 'sssh-boom' effect?

So i don't like them that much with Metal currently but other than that i'm really intrigued by thier new enlarged status.

 

[cosmopragma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kintsaki /img/forum/go_quote.gif 1) My friend Yanni a seasoned tube amp designer one day told me that I can drive dynamic phones with power amps in fact one day he donated me a tube amp he had made from spare part leftovers along with an adapter cable and when I tried it I was pleasantly surprised. After that i used the adapter cable to try my Trends Audio and I was surprised again. Then I tried a number of various power amps with various power ratings including 1.5, 10, 30, 80 and 180 Watt and they all worked nicely. However depending on the headphone set and the amp I would some time get some humming noise which I could get rid off by using a series resistor.

Please be careful with loudspeaker amps in combination with headphones.
I guess by "adapter cable" you mean a 6,3 mm (~1/4") jack at the headphones side and 4 bare wires or bananas at the loudspeaker side.
In this case there are two problems:

1) Whenever you plug the headphones in while the loudspeaker amp is running there is a short for a fraction of a second.There's no way to avoid this (except you are utilizing a rare special Neutrik jack) due to the flawed concept of the TRS connector.
Designers of headphone amps have to take that into account and therefor almost all headphone amps are robust regarding shorts.Many loudspeaker amps are not.A fuse might blow or in case of a fuseless ultraaudiophile minimalistic amp a whole circuit is fried ......
At least you should plug the headphones into the the jeck before you turn the loudspeaker amp on and turn the amp off before you unplug the headphones.

2) Some amps, especially bridged or symmetric/balanced amps, don't like the ground of both channels to be combined, and combined ground is another design flaw of the stereo TRS connector headphones are usually equipped with.
It was sheer luck you didn't damage your Tripath chip based amp when you did drive your headphones this way, with an emphasis at not yet.
Please don't do it again.

I know, Greeks don't want to take advice from Germans these days, but honestly, it's not a malign conspiracy to prevent you from having fun, we just want to save your amps ..........

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amarphael /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's defenitly in another league than a regular RS-1 in all the aspects of resolution, sounstage, bass etc. that were mentioned BUT... I feel there's somewhat drop in treble sparkle making them a bit darker. Also strangly distortion with electric guitatrs sounds somewhat compressed... i can't figure why is that so 'cuz the upper mids are as marvalous as ever except for that. is that similiar to the 'sssh-boom' effect? So i don't like them that much with Metal currently but other than that i'm really intrigued by thier new enlarged status.

Really astonishing, an overall darker sound objects all my experiences and theories. I still believe MS1 / MS Pro are the ideal candidates for this mod.

Anyway, overall good news for the Grado fraction though.

 

[kintsaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif Please be careful with loudspeaker amps in combination with headphones. I guess by "adapter cable" you mean a 6,3 mm (~1/4") jack at the headphones side and 4 bare wires or bananas at the loudspeaker side. In this case there are two problems: 1) Whenever you plug the headphones in while the loudspeaker amp is running there is a short for a fraction of a second.There's no way to avoid this (except you are utilizing a rare special Neutrik jack) due to the flawed concept of the TRS connector. Designers of headphone amps have to take that into account and therefor almost all headphone amps are robust regarding shorts.Many loudspeaker amps are not.A fuse might blow or in case of a fuseless ultraaudiophile minimalistic amp a whole circuit is fried ...... At least you should plug the headphones into the the jeck before you turn the loudspeaker amp on and turn the amp off before you unplug the headphones. 2) Some amps, especially bridged or symmetric/balanced amps, don't like the ground of both channels to be combined, and combined ground is another design flaw of the stereo TRS connector headphones are usually equipped with. It was sheer luck you didn't damage your Tripath chip based amp when you did drive your headphones this way, with an emphasis at not yet. Please don't do it again. I know, Greeks don't want to take advice from Germans these days, but honestly, it's not a malign conspiracy to prevent you from having fun, we just want to save your amps ..........

Thanks for the advise I must have either been too lucky with the tripath or Yanni may have used that rare connector (It looks funky fat silver and black with a red lutch switch). I am not going to use the T amp again I will buy an S master Sony walkman instead.
I asked Yanni and he said he does not remember what he used but he could modify the tube amp to just drive the Music-Pro.
The extra amp adds body but also adds distortion whereas the S master amp of the Walkman will give the extra power clean.

 

[charliex]

Add me to the list of proud MS1000 owners.
I just finished building my MS1000

thanks to distancers from Jeremy, a pair of brand new GS1000 pads, some black and white felt and finally a beyer headband to add some class. I was amazed at how easy this DIY was. I used black electrical tape to attach the distancers (very secure and also readily reversible). I drilled the three 1.5 mm distancer holes and used felt to tame the highs.
Wow!! It's like taking the $100 pair of MS1's and through a little magic turning them into a $1000 pro headphone. The improvement is sound is phenomenal - deeper controlled bass, excellent detail and what a soundstage!
A highly recommended DIY project!

 

[nickchen]

I rest my case

 

[akabane@drjackel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amarphael /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow are those DIY GS1000 cups you put on there? Anyways here are my 1000'ned RS-1's: It's defenitly in another league than a regular RS-1 in all the aspects of resolution, sounstage, bass etc. that were mentioned BUT... I feel there's somewhat drop in treble sparkle making them a bit darker. Also strangly distortion with electric guitatrs sounds somewhat compressed... i can't figure why is that so 'cuz the upper mids are as marvalous as ever except for that. is that similiar to the 'sssh-boom' effect? So i don't like them that much with Metal currently but other than that i'm really intrigued by thier new enlarged status.

Yes, that is the GS1K bowl pad. actually i thought the woody body is does not include the distancer kit. Went the body kit arrived wow is included the item now i no need to worried to find it. anyway nice RS1 you got..GS1K bowl pad really make look nicer and improvement of SQ. Most important roll is that distancer which made much much more improvement on it...i just cannot believe on that after i installed the kit...

 

[EddieE]

I went the "cheaters" route and bought a pair of a fellow head-fier. Will hopefully be with me within a couple of weeks. Quite excited to hear what the fuss is all about.

 

[kintsaki]

Can someone please explain what the three holes drilled on the distancer are for and how they affect the sound?

 

[kintsaki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickchen /img/forum/go_quote.gif That works. No, the velours pad is much bigger, you get a fullsized circumaural that way. Wait, I search NoXter's pics in the german thread... Huh, looks like we didn't use 414s then, that looks rather like the stock pads of the MS1...how were they called? I always mix up flats and comfies...

I finally managed to increase the power of my Music Pro, to where I wanted it (probably 6 db).

Using the arrangement in the picture that I am borrowing above with stock pads under the Sennheiser pads

with the "short length" distancer installed and surrounded by the stock pads and the "standard length" distancer glued on top of the short distancer and surrounded by the vinyl and not the velour version of the Sennheiser pads. In addition I covered and closed 90% of the outer opening of the stock wood cases with paper masking tape.

The next thing I am going to try might be to cover the internal surface of the GS pads with carbon fiber wood or leather either all or 3/4 of the length up to the point it touches the ear in an attempt to make a new pad to mimic a horn.

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kintsaki /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can someone please explain what the three holes drilled on the distancer are for and how they affect the sound?

Without the 3 holes, the mids get altered in a negative (ultrasonish) way.

To your 2nd post: I don't know if it's just me & my evening tiredness, but I just don't manage to work myself through these tapeworm sentences right now, Mike.