[Slater]

About marantz mph-2 rebrands... There is Akai 50x, freeboss and isk anything else out there? I can't get any of those shipped to eu below 45€. It's bit too much for a yet another headphone I don't need. I'd Be Happy If I could get a pair for €35.

Edit: forgot lyxpro. That is too expensive also.

ISK MDH9000, Akai Professional Project 50X, LyxPro HAS-30, freeboss MDH9000, Marantz MPH-2

The price of the Akai Professional Project 50X fluctuates all of the time. I've seen it go from $15 to over $100, and everywhere in between. The most common price is $24.99. You can check the Amazon prices using camelcamelcamel, and set a price alert to notify you when the price is where you want it.

My recommendation would be to just wait for the price to drop to where you want it, and buy then.

You could also find it on ebay, which may be an easier way to get it to the UK than Amazon. I just checked ebay.co.uk and there's a ton of the Akai Project 50x for the low £20 prices...

Remember if you get the Akai Professional Project 50X, you'll want to change the pads as the stock pads are horrific.

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

I was looking into the Fostex TH610 but the Bosshifi B8 is tempting for the very low price. Some reviews are very enthusiast and some says the sound is very bad (taste or clones maybe).

What is the top 5 ChiFi? Still hesitating with the N350 according to a review.

 

[Roderick]

I just checked ebay.co.uk and there's a ton of the Akai Project 50x for the low £20 prices...

unfortunately those ship from US so shipping to Finland becomes too expensive. $20 for The headphones and another $20 shipping would be what I'm willing to invest. Isk and freeboss cost about 45 euros on aliexpress with free shipping. Bummer...

thing is I just ordered takstar pro82 and it would have been nice to get another new headphone to go with it. It's refreshing to compare new headphones to each other instead of using just your old ones as a reference.

 

[Pharmaboy]

About marantz mph-2 rebrands... There is Akai 50x, freeboss and isk anything else out there? I can't get any of those shipped to eu below 45€. It's bit too much for a yet another headphone I don't need. I'd Be Happy If I could get a pair for €35.

Edit: forgot lyxpro. That is too expensive also.

FYI, the original design appears to be the ISK MDH9000. It was unavailable for awhile, now is back:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hea...ur-Computer-K-Song-Earphones/32640978002.html

All the others are rebrands of the ISK.

There was a 5th rebrand, but the company that offered it, Stellar Labs, no longer seems to have a website.

Just checked Amazon UK and found the LyxPro for 49 pounds: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_s...ywords=Lyxpro+HAS-30&rh=i:aps,k:Lyxpro+HAS-30

I don't think any of the clones sell for under 45 euros at this point...

 

[Soul_Est]

After seeing all of these excellent headphones, I'm wondering which one I should go for as a donor shell. I owned pair of SoundMAGIC HP100 whose hangers and pads deteriorated. All I have left are the cups and drivers which I'd like to transplant. My list is made up of the:

• Freeboss MDH9000
• MSUR N350 or N550
• BossHiFi B7S or B8

What would make the best donor?

 

[nomad1]

After seeing all of these excellent headphones, I'm wondering which one I should go for as a donor shell. I owned pair of SoundMAGIC HP100 whose hangers and pads deteriorated. All I have left are the cups and drivers which I'd like to transplant. My list is made up of the:

• Freeboss MDH9000
• MSUR N350 or N550
• BossHiFi B7S or B8

What would make the best donor?

Buy Bosshifi B8, listen to it, and then keep using it without changing drivers

 

[mbwilson111]

Buy Bosshifi B8, listen to it, and then keep using it without changing drivers

...and don't change the pads either. Ruins the sound.

 

[Soul_Est]

Buy Bosshifi B8, listen to it, and then keep using it without changing drivers

...and don't change the pads either. Ruins the sound.

Thank you very much for the recommendations. The reason I want to transplant the HP100 drivers are because of the original headphone's sound signature: Reference and flat with an excellent soundstage. I will read over several reviews of them to understand what I may be getting myself into though.

 

[Mojo Warrior]

FYI, the original design appears to be the ISK MDH9000. It was unavailable for awhile, now is back:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hea...ur-Computer-K-Song-Earphones/32640978002.html

All the others are rebrands of the ISK.

There was a 5th rebrand, but the company that offered it, Stellar Labs, no longer seems to have a website.

Just checked Amazon UK and found the LyxPro for 49 pounds: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=Lyxpro+HAS-30&rh=i:aps,k:Lyxpro+HAS-30

I don't think any of the clones sell for under 45 euros at this point...

Stellar Labs version ($36+shipping) can be found here:


http://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/hc-5985/full-size-monitor-dj-headphones/dp/78Y7635

 

[Pharmaboy]

Stellar Labs version ($36+shipping) can be found here:


http://www.newark.com/stellar-labs/hc-5985/full-size-monitor-dj-headphones/dp/78Y7635

That's them! Can't believe you found it.

This has to be the cheapest one of the ISK MDH9000 clones. No idea what it would cost for Stellar Labs to ship to Norway, but it's at least worth asking.

 

[Lurk650]

Thank you very much for the recommendations. The reason I want to transplant the HP100 drivers are because of the original headphone's sound signature: Reference and flat with an excellent soundstage. I will read over several reviews of them to understand what I may be getting myself into though.

I would image the housing plays a part too so transplanting might significantly change the sound

 

[DaaDaa]

I would image the housing plays a part too so transplanting might significantly change the sound

Correct

 

[Slater]

After seeing all of these excellent headphones, I'm wondering which one I should go for as a donor shell. I owned pair of SoundMAGIC HP100 whose hangers and pads deteriorated. All I have left are the cups and drivers which I'd like to transplant. My list is made up of the:

• Freeboss MDH9000
• MSUR N350 or N550
• BossHiFi B7S or B8

What would make the best donor?

What size drivers are you looking to fit - 40mm? 42mm? 45mm? 50mm?

Is the driver designed for closed? Semi-open? Open? Do you know the approximate cup volume of the headphones where the drivers you are using came from?

Keep in mind transplanting doesn't always work out the way you plan. I have transplanted drivers and they ended up sounding like crap. The most ideal way would be to transplant the CUPS, not the DRIVERS. For example, the headband broke on some soundMAGIC HP150 cans. So I found a compatible headband from a Superlux headphone, and just transplanted the entire soundMAGIC cups over. That way, the sound didn't change.

Just some ideas to think about...

 

[Omega17TheTrue]

Anyone want to test a made in china Audeze LCD 4 Clone? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/106...-Headphones-balanced-version/32787508555.html
Not cheap. The name is Leagginal Planar headphone.

 

[Saoshyant]

I am so not that brave.