[thelostMIDrange]

 
 
 
raw mahog sleeve vs tuoil with no inner wall wetsand
other variable is of course the added end detail on the right cup but i've found this is minimal affect.
no other variables
 
interesting test but nothing new here for me. finish does it's job of refining the entire sound especially mids on up. There is a artificial splash on the finished cup but this is because it hasn't been wet sanded, it is original oil finish.once wetsanded,the finished cup would be superior in every way. again raw wood, no contest....I do need to do a test with oiled outside raw wood inside vs fully oiled cup, but i suspect i know the results of that one. will do it sometime in any case..
 
overall sound, again, not bad, mahogany is a good fun all'rounder but with no real magic anywhere and a little airy thin and not natural in upper mids. total grado sound here, but nicer because of the magnum
 

 
btw, i feel mahogany is 'fun' only because the upper mids are in the front, and this is where snare drums do there thing keeping the time and pace of music made by humans. hence 'it's fun and lively'......try some music not made by humans with snare durms and with a timekeeping beat elsewhere besides upper mids and I bet mahog is not longer 'fun'
 
there are other ways to get fun and pace from a wood than this. and plus the costs to the overall e/q and unatural sounds are way too high just for a little 'fun'

 

[thelostMIDrange]

 
 

 
full paint only 1 day dry time, not really enough for paint, would take a week or more to harden so not really fair to it,
VS
truoil
both are hond mahog
 
no other variables
 
paint is damped a bit, maybe helps a bit with this mahogany because the upper mids need damping but i suspect with a nicer sounding wood the paint would dampen and ruin an otherwise lively sound...still need to wait for paint to dry though, this could very well be soft paint doing this....also this is not huge affect, very subtle damping affect.....will try again after a week or two for full paint dry and maybe again after a top poly coat, that unforunately paint needs.  don't expect great results but why not check it out.

 

[chrislangley4253]

you are awesome. Absolutely awesome.. Can't wait to find out where the santos leads you and I'm excited about this layered dampened cup, as well. 

 

[drtturnip]

 

how so?

It was actually a backhanded compliment.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

 
It was actually a backhanded compliment.

I caught it.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

I caught the backhand ! it's all good though we all don't have the same sense of humor, but at least we have one.
 
made my first full sized set of tiger maple, still in raw wood form. will final sand tonight and choose first finish. likely a light linseed oil since it seems to sound good and dries quick.
 
in raw form with 150 hour drivers.
 
lots of potential negatives with this scenario and expected it to sound worse than it does:
unburned drivers
raw wood
no headband
 
are all tone suckers
 
but with that in mind, very clear and natural sounds, great space, great bass, a little light (lacking low mid fullness), upper mids and trebles unrefined
 
I know the finish can deal with that last issue, and to some extent the lack of fullness. burned in drivers should further fill in the midrange........If not, I may smell a hybrid limba/santos cups in the wings...........oh I forgot, that would be a waste of time, all woods pretty much sound the same, finishes don't matter and driver burn in is a myth............................I guess i have a sarcastic side after all !.
 
 
 

 

[thelostMIDrange]

just popped in 300 hour drivers in same raw cups......fills out the mids nice. upper mids more natural...finish should do the rest.
 
 
 
listening to some of my know to be particularly harsh recordings. I have them in a folder, labeled, harsh recordings....tiger handles them quite well and not doing so by making them dull or murky. don't know how it's doing it. tiger, whisper your secrets to me so i can help you sing. I am your friend. tell me why you sound so fresh, like a summer breeze up my shorts.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

just popped in 300 hour drivers in same raw cups......fills out the mids nice. upper mids more natural...finish should do the rest.
 
 
 
listening to some of my know to be particularly harsh recordings. I have them in a folder, labeled, harsh recordings....santos handles them quite well and not doing so by making them dull or murky. don't know how it's doing it. santos, whisper your secrets to me so i can help you sing. I am your friend. tell me why you sound so fresh, like a summer breeze up my shorts.

Right on!
 
Rolling on the floor man.
 
 

 

[dorino]

MID must get a lot of slivers.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

MID must get a lot of slivers.

splinters?

 

[dorino]

Quote:

splinters?

Yes. My father always said slivers, they mean the same thing.
 

 

[t-crisis]

Hey lostMIDrange, 
 
I don't mean to get off topic, but how do you mount the drivers in the cups? You have a lot of experience with how the magnums ring with the wood and so I figure you're the guy to ask. I have mine mounted with double sided foam/tape stuff for now, but I would think that maybe glue would work better. Does it matter?
 
 

 

[thelostMIDrange]

i get both of 'em. slivers and splinters, and once in a great while i get a sphincter. those are a bitch to get out.
 
this post is for budding cup tuners everywhere. some guidelines tips and techniques for listening to sound and sound differences: some dos and donuts if you will:
 
1.always try to reduce all variables except one at a time, two is ok. especially if you are familiar with variable 2 and can mentally weed it out of the equation
2.best way to judge anything when you are at the beginning of an investigation is to have one cup different than the other. in other words it doesn't take 2 separate sets of headphones to hear a quality. Sure that would be great in a perfect world. but when you have to make the things you are goint to listen to it's best to minimize the amount of stuff you have to produce.
3. so when you are using one cup, you can't just have the one cup on the left ear and other on the right comparing the variable you are investiagating because your ears are different. Yes they are, I think the left is connected to your right brain side and other to other. but regardless of what's happening with the internal wiring, you hear different with each ear...so what you do is listen to one cup with left ear, drop it move up the other cup (the variable) to same ear and listen, then repeat with the other ear. back and forth if needed quicklike until your impression is solidified.
4. be scientific in your test forumulations and preparations and artisitic when it comes time to listen. in other words, do your work to get your variables worked out and planned, but when you listen, relax, sink into your unconsicous childlike mode and just hear the sound. If you try and listen, you mess everything up. a good zen buddhist will tell you never try to do something that comes naturally. sound comes to your brain, you don't need to strenuously or actively reach out, tense up and listen for it.
5. it's good to divide things up unto bas middle and treble to be able to categorize and comuunicate it but pay more attention to how you feel while listening and especially when you are done if it is a longer term session. do you feel happy, sad, perplexed,have a headache, annoyed, joyous, horny, hungry? etc
6. there's alot more to this list, will add later, right now i'm hungry.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

depends on how tight the opening is. fwiw if it's too loose, usually a thin tape such as electrical or even thinner wrapped part way around the driver edge is enough to hold it in there snug and i haven't noticed any loss or gain of any sound from having to use tape. if it's tight, your're done. i don't see the need for glue ever unless you are a corporation and letigious. grado glues them to reduce returns, and movement from shipping and maybe they even oversize the opening to make it easier on themselves. I'd guess all of these for them. but for personal use, i don't think glue's a good idea. can't get it out if needed. I found out some guys put a little ridge around the driver to allow for a small tool to ease the driver out from the top and that is a great idea. i've been just pushing them out from the back, will try and put a few tab openings on the top to allow for a tool to dig in and ease the driver out from the top so one doesn't have to remove andor ruin the screen in the back just to get at the driver. I'm still learning

 

[thelostMIDrange]

mythbusters installment #1
 
you can't ruin the sound of a great driver with the choice of wood cup .
 
wrong !
 
yes you can. if you choose the wrong wood and the wrong finish for that wood, the affect on sound is so great even the mighty magnum v4 will end up sounding as bad as the grado sr80.
the affect of finish alone is huge. Not only the type of finish, but how and how much is applied. and where. I wouldn't advise anyone buying wood cups in the classified section if they will be used for the same driver the seller used. They didn't sound good for him and most likely won't for the new owner. the classifides may be a cup graveyard.