[wje]

Quote:

If you love HF2's  the Magnums aren't going to be your style.  HF2s to me are a sennheisered Grado,  I hated them.   But everyone is different in their preferences.   I wouldn't spend anymore time on the magnums having heard both,  the sound signature is completely different to my ears.

 

 
In my case, I've never heard the HF-2 Gradified headphones. I guess  in this case, ignorance is bliss on my part.
 
 

 

[thelostMIDrange]

.....

 

[sluker]

I had both the HF-2 and the Mag v3.5 (full alum) together for four months. 
At first I A/B's them extensively. Prior to the Mag the HF-2 were my favorite grado but I have to say that I felt they were no competition for the Mag's. The HF-2 were close with average rock recording but the detail and separation of the Mag's was far superior on good recordings and mellower music such as jaz. The HF-2's were a one trick pony while the Mag's do everything well. I did not nor do I now notice any sibilance in the midrange with the Mag's while the HF-2's made my ears tired after a couple of hours listening to rock.
Where I did prefer the HF-2 was with the G-cush pads which do not work at all with the Mag's, but that was strictly for comfort. 
I do agree with your interpretation in that the HF-2 is much more in your face but sacrificing detail in comparison to the Mag's however I do not hear the midrange sibilance at all.
I guess that just proves we all hear differently
 
Quote:

I'm afraid to say you may be right and one reason I say so much about them. Not alot of folks, if anyone, owns both currently and can directly compare them.........If I didn't have them to directly AB, I might have different impresssions of the mags. I would still notice the upper mid issue i'm fairly sure, but the other details I wouldn't likely notice........Also, I was not so smitten with the hf2 until they had some hours on them after which the bass came into more focus and treble came up........But mags and hf2 do have alot in common imo, more-so than any of the traditional grados.....namely smoothness, great instrument realism and truness, instrument separation, and a touch of warm 'tubey' color.

 

 

[thelostMIDrange]

.....

 

[meltdown100]

My magnums are starting to get burned/settled in, and I'm starting to get some listening in.  Wow, the instrument separation on these is stellar.  I know it's been said before but worth mentioning over and over again.  It's that good.
 
I'm getting to hear these for the first time in a really weird way because I am tuning a cup design with them and it's almost hard to know if I'm doing something right or the drivers are just that great.  I'm sure it's probably the latter - I'm starting to think I should go to using SR-60 drivers instead but that's gonna be hard after spending time with these.  I'll wire my second pair up into a pair of traditionally vented cups and do some A/B comparisons.
 
I fired up Guns N Roses' 'November Rain' (lossless) as a random pick from my library.  There's a cacophony of stuff going on in that song, and I could separately hear every bit of it.  It like the audible equivalent of seeing a 1080p TV after having watched standard def, it's that dramatic a difference.  Finally seeing what all of the buzz was about - these trounce everything else that I can ever recall having listened to.  This is unquestionably the no-brainer Grado upgrade to get before considering wood or cables or anything else.  
 
What I think might be the most impressive thing about these is that they retrieve massive detail without sounding analytical at all.

 

[daniloreyes]

Hey Melt...
 
How long did you burned them in before noticing the change?
 
Thanks
 
Dan

 

[meltdown100]

Maybe 15 hours.
 
I gave them a quick listen when they first arrived and they actually sounded pretty good out of the box.  I plugged them in and let them run for about 15 hours and then noticed what I did last night.  The instrument separation just smacked me in the face.  They haven't even burned in that long, that they could continue to improve even more is pretty amazing.

 

[chrislangley4253]

This is un-questionably the no-brainer Grado upgrade to get before considering wood or cables or anything else.  

What I think might be the most impressive thing about these is that they retrieve massive detail without sounding analytical at all.

A big thing coming from someone turning out cups. I agree entirely. These drivers are so nice. "no-brainer" for sure.

Incredibly detailed, while still being really, really fun and enjoyable (unless your tracks are of really low quality, but they still play pretty nice with those).

Maybe 15 hours.

I gave them a quick listen when they first arrived and they actually sounded pretty good out of the box.  I plugged them in and let them run for about 15 hours and then noticed what I did last night.  The instrument separation just smacked me in the face.  They haven't even burned in that long, that they could continue to improve even more is pretty amazing.

Rhydon says to give em 2-3 weeks.

 

[wje]

I think the advise of making the purchase of a pair of Magnum drivers is almost paramount, and should be considered one of the first moves that one makes on their upgrade path.  Then, the other items can follow (wooden cups, etc.).  However, sadly, I see people putting money into silver cables, new custom gimbals, etc. and completely overlook some of their source gear.  After dropping $400+ into a custom pair of Grado-style headphones with Magnum drivers, it's a shame to just drive them soley with an iPod player.  So much is being left out of the music by not having a nice little amp that will deliver that little extra current to really make one's headphones come alive.
 
Then again, there are many of us who have been through this process and have the formula down to a "T".  Most of our trials are well documented in these threads as one starts to read through  them and see how the systems have evolved for the members here.  But, there's still about that once a week event when a newbie comes on here and explains that they don't have the time to read the threads and asks for the Cliff's Notes version of the process. 

 

[meltdown100]

It takes a big time investment to come into this hobby (or lifestyle, as I call it) and figure out what you are looking for.  The journey is part of the fun though, and I think that part of the problem is that when somebody has maybe one or two hundred bucks to spend it becomes a tough choice on what to get as the best 'bang for the buck' upgrade.  The newbies want a quick answer vs. doing the hours of research.  I for one enjoy the hours of research.
 
For any Grado owner that choice should have gotten much easier now.  Get the Magnums first.  Right now I'd even recommend investing in them before any source gear or other upgrades if the budget is tight.  That stuff isn't going anywhere but who knows how long Rhydon will have these available for sale.  Hopefully for a good long while, but you never know.
 
I just built a real full headphone with them and I'm really impressed.  I know this sounds criminal, but I had pigtail wires soldered onto the drivers so that I could test different cups with them...  So I was moving these wonderful drivers in and out of cups and just twisting short copper leads to 'hook them up' so I wouldn't have to resolder them going from cup to cup.  They have been installed into a permanent home now (I think), and suddenly instead of working I'm back to listening to Gary Moore tear it up.  These are really great, I had high expectations after reading this thread and I'm happy to say they were met.
 

 

[Currawong]

I found a clear amount of difference using the V4s first with my iPhone, then from my Fostex HP-P1 and finally from my main rig. An interesting improvement over the V2s is that the bass quantity doesn't change when switching to the Stacker. I've noticed different models of ATs were affected similarly to varying degrees as well. I wonder if it is related to the impedance vs. frequency response of the drivers. 

 

[Twinster]

Very nice wood work MD!  Also can you please tell e we you got this headband? It look very comfy and last but not least I notice you got a Kicas amplifier 

. Too bad they stop making it. Another very good Canadian product. I had one too and miss it very much.
 
Quote:

It takes a big time investment to come into this hobby (or lifestyle, as I call it) and figure out what you are looking for.  The journey is part of the fun though, and I think that part of the problem is that when somebody has maybe one or two hundred bucks to spend it becomes a tough choice on what to get as the best 'bang for the buck' upgrade.  The newbies want a quick answer vs. doing the hours of research.  I for one enjoy the hours of research.
 
For any Grado owner that choice should have gotten much easier now.  Get the Magnums first.  Right now I'd even recommend investing in them before any source gear or other upgrades if the budget is tight.  That stuff isn't going anywhere but who knows how long Rhydon will have these available for sale.  Hopefully for a good long while, but you never know.
 
I just built a real full headphone with them and I'm really impressed.  I know this sounds criminal, but I had pigtail wires soldered onto the drivers so that I could test different cups with them...  So I was moving these wonderful drivers in and out of cups and just twisting short copper leads to 'hook them up' so I wouldn't have to resolder them going from cup to cup.  They have been installed into a permanent home now (I think), and suddenly instead of working I'm back to listening to Gary Moore tear it up.  These are really great, I had high expectations after reading this thread and I'm happy to say they were met.
 

 
 

 

[meltdown100]

Lot of nice audio stuff comes out Canada, no doubt.
 
The K.I.C.A.S. is a great amp - I wasted no time getting one after reading Skylab's review.  Performance for the price is stellar.  I've heard much more expensive amps that sound great but not better than the K.I.C.A.S. (to my ears anyway).  These sell pretty cheap in the for sale thread (around $200ish I think?) when they pop up and I cannot recommend it enough.  It has sounded great with every headphone I've tried in it, the magnum being no exception.  Dead quiet and transparent, like an amp should be.  Maybe just a slight touch of warmth.
 
The leather headband is from Jin at headphonelounge and it is top notch, besides looking good the padding on the bottom feels really nice - a real comfort upgrade also.  

 

[Twinster]

I'm not sure if you know but Purity Audio had the K.I.C.A.S and the Caliente version that was a bit warmer. If your KICAS has the version 2.0 PCB you can just add two jumpers and change the sound if you like. On mine I had added a toggle switch that allowed both mode easily.
Quote:

Lot of nice audio stuff comes out Canada, no doubt.
 
The K.I.C.A.S. is a great amp - I wasted no time getting one after reading Skylab's review.  Performance for the price is stellar.  I've heard much more expensive amps that sound great but not better than the K.I.C.A.S. (to my ears anyway).  These sell pretty cheap in the for sale thread (around $200ish I think?) when they pop up and I cannot recommend it enough.  It has sounded great with every headphone I've tried in it, the magnum being no exception.  Dead quiet and transparent, like an amp should be.  Maybe just a slight touch of warmth.
 
The leather headband is from Jin at headphonelounge and it is top notch, besides looking good the padding on the bottom feels really nice - a real comfort upgrade also.  

 

 

[sluker]

With a little help from thelostMIDrange and some DIY (isn't this what it's all about) I am now able to use the Jaben cups with the Magnums in a wood inner chamber. 
The Grado G-cush pads are still a no go, but the G-cush knock offs sound great. Magnum bass impact with extra soundstage. 
 


 
Now I just need to take off the red anodizing.