obobskivich
Headphoneus Supremus
If I'm remembering correctly, the Bellari is not a true OTL - it's a hybrid of sorts. It's been a while since I looked at one though. Bellari specs it to drive loads as low as 16R iirc, which is quite a feat for an OTL (the 12AX7 also doesn't provide anywhere near the output current to match Bellari's power output claims) - there are certainly a number of higher end (very robust) OTLs that can knock that out no problem (like some of the Moth or Eddie Current amps, which cost as much as a used car), but generally speaking the inexpensive OTLs you'll find on eBay or elsewhere (and even the Schiit OTL (by Schiit's own admission)) are not suitable for low Z headphones overall (which includes Grados). In some cases it's actually dangerous for the amplifier, headphones, and user to attempt such a pairing (it can damage the amp and potentially start a fire) - so if you really want OTL for whatever reason, triple-check that the design is safe and stable with the headphones you want to use (and again, the Bellari specs indicate that it is safe for headphones like the Grados). Transformer coupled or hybrid designs will be a completely different question - something like the Woo WA6 (transformer coupled) or the Musical Fidelity hybrids should have no problems as long as you select the right output impedance.
I think you're fine with the iPod and such - they're really quite clean. You have to remember that Apple by and large has a stigma around it, and people are always looking for a way to have "not Apple" products (usually to save a buck), but if you've already got the thing, why bother?
As far as mobile devices being less fidelity oriented - that's a tricky one. The biggest argument/issue is that they don't have tons of voltage swing (which is a limitation of the batteries), but the primary defenses are that they run on batteries, and generally have very stable, low Zout, clean output sections. For Grados I think you're AOK, but if you wanted to hook up a more power hungry or high Z headphone (like an HE-6 or T1) you'd very likely run into some trouble.
Personally, for at-home use, I cannot stand using a PDP (I'm at my computer or stereo for at-home music listening, I don't want to bother with yet another device that has to be charged and that I can't control with the keyboard or stereo's controls) - so I don't do that. But I can certainly see where that isn't everyone's situation (I used to spend time reading for leisure, and would bring a portable CD player and headphones with me out onto the deck or similar - it was quite pleasant; this is just an example of where a portable device makes sense).
Yes and no. You have to remember that musical instruments and loudspeakers (which headphones are subset to) are different beasts. The enclosure certainly DOES matter (the sound does not just come from the drivers - the enclosure makes a big difference). However the material that goes into the enclosure is up for debate - some people will argue that the deader the better (lower resonance, less coloration, etc - this is partly why MDF has become fairly popular among mainstream designers (it'd be too heavy for headphones though), along with more exotic materials (I've seen granite, aluminum, ABS, etc)). The other side will say that having a more "live" cabinet has benefits - Grado Labs themselves seem to fit into this later category. I will say that the RS-1 and GS-1000 certainly sound different (and to me, better) than the Prestige series headphones (which are predominately plastic, except the SR-325 (which itself is distinct imho)). Now, is this the result of the wood? Or the result of different enclosure geometry? Or is Grado using substantially different drivers? Or is it some combination of the above? Personally I'd say the last one is probably the best answer - the cups *are* differently shaped, they *are* a different material (which can make a difference), and there likely *are* differences between the drivers as you move around in the Grado line-up.
As far as throwing $200-$300 of mods onto an SR-60 - I'm going to say that I'm skeptical and somewhat hesitant to do so. Because at the bare minimum you could start out with the SR-225 (which has better driver matching from the factory), but without hearing them first or otherwise having a good idea of what the mods are exactly doing, it's really tough to predict what your outcome is going to be. And in a lot of cases the mods *are* aesthetic (like the not inexpensive leather headbands and all aluminum gimbals and rod locks - that's all aesthetic, sure the rod locks provide some functional improvements, but zipties or collars will do the same thing for a lot less money). Wood cup modifications for headphones are a bit trickier to analyze though; certainly there is a purely aesthetic component to putting very expensive and rare hardwoods on your headphones, but on the other hand, I'm inclined to say that (based on woodies from Audio-Technica and Grado that I've heard), there is something to the wood as a housing.
My best advice would be to track down a pair of RS or GS series cans to audition, and using that information moving forwards. I still think spending the price of the headphones a few times over on mods is silly, but if that's what you wanna do, there's nothing wrong with that (and there are some VERY cool looking art pieces that people have made out of Grado headphones - certainly if you just like woodworking and want to make something one of a kind, I'd say go for it (and come back and tell us about it!)).
Also, I think it's cool that you play the harmonica - it's an instrument that has never made sense to me.
Like bbophead, I'd be interested in your impressions of the LCD-2 as well. And yeah, I've seen the magnetic reel setups on computers and projection systems and they're pretty sweet to sit and watch, and I can imagine it looking pretty slick with my audio equipment too. Question: do RTRs need pre-amps? (I've seen them marketed, but I don't know if they're required or not; I really know nothing about RTR for audio).
And I'd agree here - at a certain point I think it's worth stepping back and asking about how much you're spending. I'm reminded of a Pawn Stars episode where the guys are looking at buying a Buick Regal lowrider, and the owner had put like $40,000 into customizing it. The response from one of the Pawn Stars was along the lines of "yeah, and it's cool, but it's still just a Buick Regal..."
And it was indeed a cool car, but at the end of the day it was still a Buick Regal. For the guy who owned it, it was awesome though - and if that's what you want to do, go for it, but if you're trying to get a Mercedes S Class or something like that out of a Buick Regal, I'd think there are more reasonable routes (like just buying the S Class with the money you were gonna use to trick out your Buick).
going to bought grado gr 10
Sweet. Come back and tell us about them! I've been very curious about the Grado IEMs, but I only ever seem to find impressions or reviews of the cheapest model ("iGi" or something like that).
See, when you mention "c-pad" in that generic context, that's another story altogether. I'm old enough that I still think of the Headphile C-Pad though (which that is basically ripping off). I will tell you that putting the bagels on your Grados will change the sound dramatically (and imho negatively), and that when I tried my SR-225s with various not-Grado pads (mostly just held together by hand for a quick trial) it was not an improvement either. I think with such a modification the best you can hope for is that you don't muck things up too much.
If Grados are really that uncomfortable that you're looking at dramatically re-working them, I'd honestly say it's probably time to consider another headphone. Pads influence the sound pretty heavily (and this is often overlooked or ignored), and if the pad style of whatever can you're using doesn't work for you, that can should probably be written off unless it's a relatively simple modification to get what you want. Otherwise you're generally going to change the cans pretty dramatically in a quest for comfort, and at that point, I'd say just consider other cans.As far as your "simple test" - wouldn't work from a sciencey perspective. Change-over time is too high, and your listeners would certainly know which was which due to differences in weight, fit, etc (I can tell the RS-1 apart from the GS-1000 apart from the SR-60 apart from the SR-325 etc by fit). I've seen some acoustics measurements on wood versus glass versus metal etc and generally the bottom line is that over a certain frequency they all become reflective (so in the treble region), and under a certain frequency they all become transparent (in the LF region, unless you're talking lots of whatever material). So to an extent there's something to the claim that wood doesn't do much, but then there's FR and CSD data that shows the RS-1 or MS-Pro being fairly distinct from the SR-225 or SR-325; or the Audio-Technica woodies being fairly distinct from the non-woodie AT closed cans. Now I don't think there's any straight-across "this is this headphone just with wood" to compare, but the woodies certainly plot out differently. Here's some examples:
RS-1:
http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/rs-1.html
SR-225:
http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/sr-225.html
A900:
http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/ath-a900.html (I know there is an A1000, but this guy hasn't measured it)
W1000:
http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/ath-w1000.html
On the surface these should be fairly similar within a given brand, wood cups aside, but they measure differently (which should mean "sound differently" too). How much is the wood? How much is driver difference? How much is geometry difference? Hard to say - but at the bare minimum it's safe to assume that the manufacturers here are putting their primo kit in wood bodies, so even if the wood itself isn't doing anything sonically, the woodie cans are still the higher-end model (in other words if the RS-1 is really just an improved driver and better cup design, and it doesn't matter if it's wood or plastic, that doesn't change that the RS-1 is a great headphone and that I prefer it over the SR-225).
Yeah, I would agree with this, or just put bowls on them. But either way, opening up that driver is the key.
