[7keys]

Okay, ordered a pair of drivers and mahogany cups, got a spare MDR-7506 headband so will use it for now.

I can't wait to read your opinion.

 

[sling5s]

  Okay, ordered a pair of drivers and mahogany cups, got a spare MDR-7506 headband so will use it for now.

Will not regret it! 

 

[xuan87]

So... I finished building the Nhoord headphones at 4am. Probably could have got it done earlier but I was hooked on silicon valley at the same time heh heh. Will try to finish building the Magnum V7 today and waiting for my last modded grado drivers to arrive but I'll eventually do a 5 way shootout with my HF2 and turbulent labs grado headphones.

Nhoord drivers still burning in, but initial impressions were pretty positive.

 

[7keys]

So... I finished building the Nhoord headphones at 4am. Probably could have got it done earlier but I was hooked on silicon valley at the same time heh heh. Will try to finish building the Magnum V7 today and waiting for my last modded grado drivers to arrive but I'll eventually do a 5 way shootout with my HF2 and turbulent labs grado headphones.

Nhoord drivers still burning in, but initial impressions were pretty positive.

That'll be interesting.

 

[xuan87]

Just finished building 2 headphones over the weekend, one with the Symphones Magnum V7 drivers and the other with Nhoord red drivers. A very simple affair, easily the most time consuming portion is the braiding of the cable.
 
I bought the headphones frames from Taobao and it comes fully assembled. The wood are South Africa Ebony and Rosewood. Each frame is about $100 shipped to Singapore, and come with 2 different set of pads, 3M grills and pads which I didn't use.
 

 
The cups are screwed together, with SMC connectors, so it's a simple matter to unscrew the cups, attached the drivers to the cup lids with double-sided mounting tapes (because the drivers are slightly smaller than the lids), solder the connecting wires to the drivers and screw back the lid. At this point, your headphone portion is basically done.
 

 
Here they are with the balanced cables attached. I used silver plated wires terminated in 4 pole XLR plugs.

 

[thaddeussmith]

Can you link to the headband assemblies please?

 

[xuan87]

Taobao link

 

[joeq70]

Lot of assemblies that look like they will work from Taobao actually. Some of them are a bit homely looking, but these are pretty cool: 
 
https://world.taobao.com/item/523773242807.htm?spm=a312a.7728556.2015080705.19.E3H4ne&id=523773242807&scm=1007.12006.46753.i36270117595&pvid=563d9671-07e5-4689-97ec-59ba061a41b6

 

[xuan87]

  Lot of assemblies that look like they will work from Taobao actually. Some of them are a bit homely looking, but these are pretty cool: 
 
https://world.taobao.com/item/523773242807.htm?spm=a312a.7728556.2015080705.19.E3H4ne&id=523773242807&scm=1007.12006.46753.i36270117595&pvid=563d9671-07e5-4689-97ec-59ba061a41b6

 
Yup, just a matter of choosing the design and pricepoint that you want.
 
A note of caution though: The inner diameter of the cups may not fit the drivers that you're using so you need to take special note. From experience, they can range from 40 to 50mm. I specifically bought 50mm ones so that I have some room to play with. Better to get too large ones, than too small ones.
 
The ones in the link are meant for 40-44mm diameter drivers.

 

[joeq70]

   
Yup, just a matter of choosing the design and pricepoint that you want.
 
A note of caution though: The inner diameter of the cups may not fit the drivers that you're using so you need to take special note. From experience, they can range from 40 to 50mm. I specifically bought 50mm ones so that I have some room to play with. Better to get too large ones, than too small ones.
 
The ones in the link are meant for 40-44mm diameter drivers.

Oh good catch. The Nhoord Red are 46mm so no go.

 

[thaddeussmith]

ha, of course...
 

 

[xuan87]

Many sellers on Taobao do not ship internationally but you should be able to find a forwarder to ship it to the US. Google for such a guide.

 

[xuan87]

So both my Nhoord and Magnum has about 10-12 hours of burn in and I took 20 mins last night to do a quick A-B comparison. There is nothing objective about this, purely subjective, but the characteristics of these 2 headphones are actually quite different.
 
The Nhoord will probably be the more popular options with most people: it's slightly warmer, and has more of a V shaped FR with more bass quantity, making it the more fun headphones to listen to out of the two.
 
The Magnum will be more popular with critical listeners or what I call the HD800 club: It's more neutral and transparent, more flat and technically more superior compared to the Nhoord (more resolving and more detailed). But it's also more sterile, a little (very little) thin, and I found the trebles to be quite fatiguing, depending on the song I'm listening to.
 
In the end, it's hard for me to pick a winner between the 2, because I do like a flat neutral headphones (that's why I have the R70X), but I like a fun warmer headphones too (that's why I have the THX00).
 
More detailed impressions to come after they both have 50 hours burn-in, but I don't think my initial impressions will change much.

 

[Konstantin690]

Measurements of the Nhoord are HERE.

 

[sling5s]

Anyone care the Nhoord with the new Grado RS1e (non-protruding driver)?
My ears prefer the Nhoord over GH1 but I'm wondering how it compares with the RS1e (since it has gone through a much needed revision).