project86
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2007
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I've had the red "AluMod" package for a few months. Mine has vintage RS-1 drivers inside (with some mods I learned from Bilavideo), SR-60i cables/headband/forks, GS-1000 pads, and a Beyer headband (long story about why it uses these particular parts.....) It basically ends up being a deep cup PS-1000, and sounds wonderful. I call them the Red Devil RS-1. A few points to make:
*Build quality is excellent on these things. Easily on par with the real PS-1000 (which I also own). If they were silver, had engravings, and weren't so wide, they could be used to make PS-1000 knock offs that would be indistinguishable from the real thing.
*The G-Cush style pads that Jaben sells with these don't seem to be exactly the same as original Grado models. They are functionally the same as far as comfort and sound, but they have a few slight differences in build and texture and I can tell they are not identical to the real thing. Again though, they are just as good.
*Here is a link that shows the install process:
http://jaben.net/forums/index.php?topic=15062.msg265864#msg265864
It's pretty painless as long as you are comfortable soldering. During the install, you might as well recable at the same time since you already have it open. I did but then ended up going back to the SR-60i donor cable for now, long story.
*Many people report that putting jumbo pads on a Prestige series model doesn't work so well. Bilavideo has discovered some excellent mods that seems to make it work much better. I got these from him:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/504043/fs-modded-sr60i-w-jumbo-pads-extra-bass-sold
and like what I heard so much that I replicated it on my RS-1 drivers. Obviously I didn't need the wood strips on mine.
*Jaben only lists the AluMod as working with MS-1, SR-60, and SR-80. I see no reason why any other driver wouldn't fit though. Someone could replicate my Red Devil creation for cheaper by using an HF1, although that would require taking apart a limited edition Grado.... But I imagine any driver modded Bilavideo style in these shells would still sound pretty darn good.
*These things are very heavy. So much so that they might be too heavy for some users. They are noticably heavier than even a PS-1000. I am a big guy and it doesn't bother me but I don't usually do more than an hour with them at a time.
Here's a few pics of mine, before I got the Beyer headband:
*Build quality is excellent on these things. Easily on par with the real PS-1000 (which I also own). If they were silver, had engravings, and weren't so wide, they could be used to make PS-1000 knock offs that would be indistinguishable from the real thing.
*The G-Cush style pads that Jaben sells with these don't seem to be exactly the same as original Grado models. They are functionally the same as far as comfort and sound, but they have a few slight differences in build and texture and I can tell they are not identical to the real thing. Again though, they are just as good.
*Here is a link that shows the install process:
http://jaben.net/forums/index.php?topic=15062.msg265864#msg265864
It's pretty painless as long as you are comfortable soldering. During the install, you might as well recable at the same time since you already have it open. I did but then ended up going back to the SR-60i donor cable for now, long story.
*Many people report that putting jumbo pads on a Prestige series model doesn't work so well. Bilavideo has discovered some excellent mods that seems to make it work much better. I got these from him:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/504043/fs-modded-sr60i-w-jumbo-pads-extra-bass-sold
and like what I heard so much that I replicated it on my RS-1 drivers. Obviously I didn't need the wood strips on mine.
*Jaben only lists the AluMod as working with MS-1, SR-60, and SR-80. I see no reason why any other driver wouldn't fit though. Someone could replicate my Red Devil creation for cheaper by using an HF1, although that would require taking apart a limited edition Grado.... But I imagine any driver modded Bilavideo style in these shells would still sound pretty darn good.
*These things are very heavy. So much so that they might be too heavy for some users. They are noticably heavier than even a PS-1000. I am a big guy and it doesn't bother me but I don't usually do more than an hour with them at a time.
Here's a few pics of mine, before I got the Beyer headband:
