[Grev]

Does anybody have a list of needed equipment and instructions to mod the Grado/Alessandros?
 
I have a extra set of aluminium cups from Jaben so I'm hoping to get the other bits and pieces to make a pair of MS1000m (m as in magnum ).

 

[stratocaster]

 
Quote:

I'm still all over the place as to what to do with the 2nd pair.  How to get them configured, etc.  If anything, they will be a useful pair of backup drivers if anything were to happen to the primary drivers.  When I hear the Magnum drivers in the wooden cup, I can't imagine where the sound could improve anymore.  At this point, it seems right next to heaven.   Then, if I were to hear a pair withe the aluminum chambers and became engrossed with them, I'd have to open up some of my wounds that have already started to heal.  

 
I tested the V3.5's in the alu air chamber/wood hybrid setup and have the drivers in a one-piece cocobolo woodie now. It is difficult to say much without simultanous A/B testing, which I will be able to do once the V4's arrive. But from what I recall about the sound of the alu/wood hybrid, the alu chambers provide a little more neutrality, toning down the lower frequencies a tiny bit. In nuances. Actually, I wouldn't call it an improvement over the woodies, only if you go for neutrality. When I mount reversed Senns on my Cocobolo woodies I end up with pretty much the same response.
If I just had the woodies, I guess from my experiences with my setups so far, I would not feel a strong urge to go aluminum. Even more so, if you do not already own alu outers or slip-on woodies, which you would then also have to fund. Again, that may change as soon as I will finally be able to do a simultaneous A/B comparison and pinpoint noticeable differences.
 
 

 
Quote:

Does anybody have a list of needed equipment and instructions to mod the Grado/Alessandros?
 
I have a extra set of aluminium cups from Jaben so I'm hoping to get the other bits and pieces to make a pair of MS1000m (m as in magnum ).

You would need a housing for your Magnum drivers.

1. you could use wood - that would mean you would have to turn or drill wood liners with the same spec's as the inner plastic housing that holds the Grado drivers in place
2. you can use such a standard Grado plastic housing - first you would have to remove the Grado driver from its plastic housing with one of the methods suggested in the Sr60 thread and then fix the Magnums in it. On the other hand, I am sure that some modders have such plastic housings lying around and will let you have a pair for free if you ask for them. I also used to have lots but since I don't have use for them I got rid of them. I much prefer to have my Gradessandros and Magnums in wood or aluminum.

 
You could then just put the drivers together with the housing in the Jaben cups and screw the lid on, which itself would work as the distancer.
 
Personally I would not go for the plastic option. You would end up with quite a heavy and strange aluminum-plastic combo. I would try to get hold of wood shells like Cabillas' and wood distancers (as offered by some guys in the MS1000 thread), install the Magnums and be prepared for joy. But that of course is just my humble opinion.

 

[meltdown100]

Anyone have further impressions on the V4 after a bit of burn-in time?
 
I just ordered a pair - for $120 I couldn't resist.  I'm really stoked to see what these will do, I'm thoroughly impressed with the performance from my lowly SR-60 drivers after all the mods so I am really hoping these will take them to a significantly higher level.  
 
And sorry if this got asked already:  Has anybody tried poking holes in the felt on any versions of the Magnums yet?

 

[stratocaster]

Quote:

Anyone have further impressions on the V4 after a bit of burn-in time?
 
I just ordered a pair - for $120 I couldn't resist.  I'm really stoked to see what these will do, I'm thoroughly impressed with the performance from my lowly SR-60 drivers after all the mods so I am really hoping these will take them to a significantly higher level.  
 
And sorry if this got asked already:  Has anybody tried poking holes in the felt on any versions of the Magnums yet?

My V4's  have not arrived yet. Congratulations on your purchase. You won't regret it.
In addition, I would NEVER poke the Magnums, or any of the higher-end Grado drivers. And as far as I know, nobody has dared to carry out that sort of operation on any set of Magnums yet. Why take the risk if you are satisfied with the sound and think it can't get better?

 

[lisztian420]

Good job guys!
 
I spent the last nite reading the entire Magnum 325i Mod thread, and this thread. I think I have a good understanding of how they sound, and the differences of all the various versions of drivers according to fellow head-fiers. I hope this thread can stay pure & informative. I hate those stupid dramas of people arguing over nothing on head-fi. Especially on a well established thread. It is a real time-waster. Not in a fun way either: (
 
I have couple of Deep Mahogany Cups(All-Wood) that I am considering to mod with Magnum drivers. I need help guys. I have a couple of questions to Strat, wje, and other seasoned modders.
 
It seem no one is using mahogany wood cups anymore. Is there a reason for this? Is the SQ inferior to other woods?
 
I have researched and asked this questions numerous time. I still haven't gotten a definitive answer. Do the depth of the chamber affect SQ?
 
How does the V4 sound? Any detailed reviews? Since many of us are using wood cups, would it benefit us to go for brighter version like V1? We all know how wooden cups darken the SS. Anyone tried asking Raydon for this options?
 
wje, on earlier post, you mentioned that electrical tapes would do fine holding the driver in place. How's that working for you? I also prefer not drilling on my wooden cup. Seems like a PITA. IF you have any other advices on how to install the driver without drilling into our wooden cups, please share.
 
Thanks. I am so addicted to the idea of magnumizing my woodies. I better order the drivers soon before I start losing sleep over it.

 

[lisztian420]

What about blue-tac mod?
 
I think one of the fellow HF member tried it and said the Bass got tighter and the treble became a little more controlled. However Raydon seems to be against the idea. Anyone else tried this?

 

[stratocaster]

Quote:

It seem no one is using mahogany wood cups anymore. Is there a reason for this? Is the SQ inferior to other woods?
 

 
I do own some Mahogani cups as well. They sound awsome. Nothing to worry about any inferiority to any other wood. For me, since I make my own cups, it's just that I like other woods better from the aesthetic point of view.  If I had to judge the sound aspect, I would rate my Mahoganis quite high.
 
Quote:

...electrical tapes would do fine holding the driver in place. How's that working for you? I also prefer not drilling on my wooden cup. Seems like a PITA. IF you have any other advices on how to install the driver without drilling into our wooden cups, please share.
 

 
I either use felt around my drivers when the diameter of the cup does not allow a tight fit. Another method I am using is to line the upper part (just the depth of the driver) with an appropriately thin layer of foam. Then I intall the drivers in this kind of foam "bed".

 

[stratocaster]

Quote:

What about blue-tac mod?
 
I think one of the fellow HF member tried it and said the Bass got tighter and the treble became a little more controlled. However Raydon seems to be against the idea. Anyone else tried this?

I would not use anything on the Magnums. I guess Rhydon must have done a lot of experimenting on his drivers and will probobly know best what might affect his drivers negatively. When I listen to my V3.5's I do not feel any urge to apply any further modding on them.

 

[lisztian420]

Awesome tips Strat! Thank you!!
 
I think the methods you mentioned above are more sophisticated. I will be sure to try that: )
 
As for the blue-tac mod, I believe Rhydon had tried tons of modding and upgrades. I probably will try it anyways after I get the drivers as they are easily reversible. I like to try everything once, as long as it's reversible.
 
Finally, for the hole-poking mods, I guess that will be reversible if you have some RE0 filters or something. If I read correctly on the other threads, I remember someone mentioning holes in the V2 and/or V3 drivers. But again, I read both threads in the past 24 hours and my brain is a little fried. And I could be wrong.

 

[stratocaster]

Quote:

Awesome tips Strat! Thank you!!
 
I think the methods you mentioned above are more sophisticated. I will be sure to try that: )
 
As for the blue-tac mod, I believe Rhydon had tried tons of modding and upgrades. I probably will try it anyways after I get the drivers as they are easily reversible. I like to try everything once, as long as it's reversible.
 
Finally, for the hole-poking mods, I guess that will be reversible if you have some RE0 filters or something. If I read correctly on the other threads, I remember someone mentioning holes in the V2 and/or V3 drivers. But again, I read both threads in the past 24 hours and my brain is a little fried. And I could be wrong.

The V2 drivers had three holes open by default. As far as I recall Rhydon undid that approach as a result of his customers' lack of enthusiasm regarding the bass performans of the V2's. There simply seemed to be too much bass negatively affecting the balance of the drivers.
I found it really hard to undo the hole venting in my Grado drivers once I started to get tired of the bass boost. I had to experiment a lot with different materials to close the holes with in order to get the sound of the stock Grados back. So, I am not a fan of poking holes into drivers. Not any more. But again, many people here might disagree and love their poked Grados.
 

 

[Twinster]

Hello Lisztian420 and congratulation on the Magnum drivers.
 
I have not done any impression or A/Bing yet because I'm still waiting for my headband & cup for my V4. I have about 150 hours of burn in at moderate level on them so far and listened to them (by holding the aluminum cups to my ears 

) and I find them very smooth and balanced. It's like honey to my ears.
 
Regarding your question about the Mahogany cups I think it's a very good tone wood and probably a good reason Grado are using it.I own the MS-Pro and they have Mahogany wood cups and I'm very satisfy with how they sound. Modders just like to personalized their creation so that would be my guest on the variety of other woods used for cups and also the crusade for exploration of various sound from different wood tone.
 
Personally I would not physically modify the Magnum drivers. They have been tuned very well and would not risk to break the balanced signature sound. If you want to accentuate the Bass I would recommend you try the Flat pads or just the tape mod on bowl pads.
 
Regarding the Sound signature of the version 4 I've asked Rhydon to gave me his opinion and design goals for it because I do not have any reference from previous version like Stratocaster so here's his response:
 
"Mainly i focused on high frequency performance in the V4. The highs are much less strident and more neutral. The V3.5's were good but the got a little sibilant on some recordings. The V4 fixes that and does quite a nice job in the high frequency department."
 
Happy modding!  

  
 
Quote:

Good job guys!
 
I spent the last nite reading the entire Magnum 325i Mod thread, and this thread. I think I have a good understanding of how they sound, and the differences of all the various versions of drivers according to fellow head-fiers. I hope this thread can stay pure & informative. I hate those stupid dramas of people arguing over nothing on head-fi. Especially on a well established thread. It is a real time-waster. Not in a fun way either: (
 
I have couple of Deep Mahogany Cups(All-Wood) that I am considering to mod with Magnum drivers. I need help guys. I have a couple of questions to Strat, wje, and other seasoned modders.
 
It seem no one is using mahogany wood cups anymore. Is there a reason for this? Is the SQ inferior to other woods?
 
I have researched and asked this questions numerous time. I still haven't gotten a definitive answer. Do the depth of the chamber affect SQ?
 
How does the V4 sound? Any detailed reviews? Since many of us are using wood cups, would it benefit us to go for brighter version like V1? We all know how wooden cups darken the SS. Anyone tried asking Raydon for this options?
 
wje, on earlier post, you mentioned that electrical tapes would do fine holding the driver in place. How's that working for you? I also prefer not drilling on my wooden cup. Seems like a PITA. IF you have any other advices on how to install the driver without drilling into our wooden cups, please share.
 
Thanks. I am so addicted to the idea of magnumizing my woodies. I better order the drivers soon before I start losing sleep over it.

 

 

[stratocaster]

Quote:

"Mainly i focused on high frequency performance in the V4. The highs are much less strident and more neutral. The V3.5's were good but the got a little sibilant on some recordings. The V4 fixes that and does quite a nice job in the high frequency department."
 

It is quite astounding to me that Rhydon considered the V3.5's sibilant. I noticed no sibilance, absolutley NONE AT ALL. That is one of the aspects I like so much about them, they are quite airy, detailed, fast and there is no sibilance. But, that might very well be the efffect the wood shells have on them.

 

[Grev]

Regarding the wood housing, where can I find a place/person that makes them?  Also would it be completely woodified or would it still contain some plastic?

 

[Nick01]

Quote:

Regarding the wood housing, where can I find a place/person that makes them?  Also would it be completely woodified or would it still contain some plastic?

Google Martin Custom Audio
 

 

[Twinster]

I would say that the wood cups does tame down the high frequency for sure. I can say that the high's on the V4 are not rolled-off and are very good (For the 20 min or so of testing so far). That is with the chamber do. Maybe the wood will have a different result. You will be the best person to report that back to us.
 
Quote:

It is quite astounding to me that Rhydon considered the V3.5's sibilant. I noticed no sibilance, absolutley NONE AT ALL. That is one of the aspects I like so much about them, they are quite airy, detailed, fast and there is no sibilance. But, that might very well be the efffect the wood shells have on them.