[dorino]

Quote:

my bad, they are slightly hollowed out. The gimbals are never straight, they are bent for good reason. 

My guess is they were totally real, but very terribly put together. A lemon? Anyway, the earpad was the last straw for me. Definitely going back. Already boxed up.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

My guess is they were totally real, but very terribly put together. A lemon? Anyway, the earpad was the last straw for me. Definitely going back. Already boxed up.

yeah, sounds like you just got a rough pair. plastic molding isn't an exact science and grado doesn't have the best quality control 

 

[dorino]

Quote:

 
my magnums
 

Ah! That's the headband I'll be having.
 

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

Ah! That's the headband I'll be having.
 

it works nicely, and you would do well to not quote all the pictures like that.

 

[rawrster]

I got the HD414 pads and quarter modded them (or at least as good as I can do..my quarters dont look very much like a circle) and they make a world of difference in sound as well as comfort. I can't stand the bowl pads and they are so uncomfortable while the reverse mod HD414 are a heaven send for me. The v4 sound a bit more airier with a bit more treble presence from some initial impressions of them but I'm not changing them back

 

[thelostMIDrange]

mahog vs limba raw v4 300 hours
 
mahog has a upper midrange 'center', snappy sound, gets the foot tapping, a little thin, overalll very nice sounds. grado'y, not what' i'd call a sophisticated sound or intimate. a little generic. There's plenty of detail but lacking some body and soul
Limba has a low mid 'center', more intimate sound, vocals and midrange seem more expressive but not as snappy or detailed. bass is a little less defined than mahog maybe. With the burned in magnums, the sound shifts down from a high mid centered to a low mid centered. Since many are familiar this is a rough way to explain imo. Fresh, they sound alot like grado with a little senn650. burned in the sound a little more 650 than grado with a little orthodynamic quality which teh limba gives. The mahog does not give this quality. It's a 'give' or compression in the midrange. It translates emotion in guitars and vocals more - chords sound deeper and richer, but at the expense of a little 'clarity' compared to mahog which is more matter of fact and deliberate in it's delivery if that makes any sense. I don't feel as much a part of the music compared to limba emotionally but do more so rhythmically with mahog.... 
 
NOTE: these are RAW wood impressions, things change once the finish goes on........see next post for finish affects.

 

[chrislangley4253]

[22:02] <grinder> "the sounds were wistful, much like my halcyon days with my dearest elizabeth.  the highs are oddly reminiscent of those spring days in the apple orchard, while the lows instill a great feeling of nostalgia for my mother's blackberry pie"

 

[dorino]

Quote:

mahog vs limba raw v4 300 hours
 
mahog has a upper midrange 'center', snappy sound, gets the foot tapping, a little thin, overalll very nice sounds. grado'y, not what' i'd call a sophisticated sound or intimate. a little generic. There's plenty of detail but lacking some body and soul
Limba has a low mid 'center', more intimate sound, vocals and midrange seem more expressive but not as snappy or detailed. bass is a little less defined than mahog maybe. With the burned in magnums, the sound shifts down from a high mid centered to a low mid centered. Since many are familiar this is a rough way to explain imo. Fresh, they sound alot like grado with a little senn650. burned in the sound a little more 650 than grado with a little orthodynamic quality which teh limba gives. The mahog does not give this quality. It's a 'give' or compression in the midrange. It translates emotion in guitars and vocals more - chords sound deeper and richer, but at the expense of a little 'clarity' compared to mahog which is more matter of fact and deliberate in it's delivery if that makes any sense. I don't feel as much a part of the music compared to limba emotionally but do more so rhythmically with mahog.... 
 
NOTE: these are RAW wood impressions, things change once the finish goes on........see next post for finish affects.
 

 
How does the mahog compare to some of the higher end Grados?
 

 

[thelostMIDrange]

Limba raw vs Limba w/ 3 coats gunstock oil        v4 300 hours
 
The finish is the only way to refine the midrange and upper end. I don't think I prefer the raw wood sounds in any wood vs a finished one. The trick and difficulty is how to choose and apply the finish so that the wood sound is enahanced not ruined. Raw woods generally sound good, but lack control in the way the mids and trebles decay. Raw sounds are more splashy and un-civilized. The decay is more ragged. The finish gives body to the upper end. Raw wood just doesn't sound 'finished' or right in some way. Cup tuning is how to choose the wood and finish for a particular driver. It has to be deliberate. To not fine tune methodically results in a total crapshoot as to whether it will sound musical and even........... And these two woods are actually quite similar in properties and yet they are quite different sounding. Those exotics are way different in their properties. We are at like page one of the story of cup tuning................In a way, I feel wood is a great choice of material for cups but also, not ideal. It takes the finish to really bring it up to the level the magnum driver deserves. Wood is too organic sounding raw and needs finish to refine it. Metal is not organic enough raw and needs a finish to give it soul. I think we'd have better luck and control with the former than the latter. It's hard to give soul to metals but possible to give grace to wood imo
d is

 

[dorino]

snip

 

[t-crisis]

Quote:

It's hard to give soul to metals but possible to give grace to wood 

I like that

 

[thelostMIDrange]

perhaps an extreme example,but for fun, I made these mahogany in paint.....  more proof that finishes matter.....these don't sound good. Next is to remove any paint from inside surface and recheck. Should sound similar to oiled mahogany I suspect. ......

 

[dorino]

Quote:

perhaps an extreme example,but for fun, I made these mahogany in paint.....  more proof that finishes matter.....these don't sound good. Next is to remove any paint from inside surface and recheck. Should sound similar to oiled mahogany I suspect. ......
 

On the plus side, they look very nice.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

they might sound fine too. If after the paint is removed on the inside, they don't sound the same as mahogany with standard finish, we will have more evidence that the outside surface finish affects things.......I already have evidence from other oil/poly/laquer treatments that told me this. but whether paint on the outside is better or worse remains to be seen

 

[dorino]

Quote:

they might sound fine too. If after the paint is removed on the inside, they don't sound the same as mahogany with standard finish, we will have more evidence that the outside surface finish affects things.......I already have evidence from other oil/poly/laquer treatments that told me this. but whether paint on the outside is better or worse remains to be seen

 
I'm curious about this as well. Instrument manufacturers go to great lengths to avoid painting high-end wooden instruments because the wood needs to be able to move with the sound (see: violins, acoustic guitars, any wooden string instrument). It's interesting to see whether headphones work the same way or not. In a way, the body of a guitar and the can of a headphone are doing similar things.