[KneelJung]

Quote:

Just did the quarter foam mod and punched two holes in each driver on my SR80i and reaping the benefits.  May go one or two more holes in each driver, but not doing all of them.
 
I think I'm going to do the anti-resonance felt mod next.  Hoping to do a set of homemade wood cups down the line.  Is there a particular tone wood people go for, or is it mostly asthetics that they base their wood preference on?

Personally I think the tonal qualities of the wood are the bigger deal, but if you go with something like Cocobolo you get the best of both worlds. I've had these on my head for the last week.
 

 
Tonights my last night with them. A pair of woodies custom lathed from Cocobolo  by Marty of Martin Custom Audio. Magnum drivers from Rhydon at Symphone Magnums; and a detatchable 8 conductor silver cable by pbstefanandwich, the owner of these amazing headphones. Trust me they sound more incredible than they look. Marty also turned these beauties for another participant in thread, Sysfail I believe.
 

 
And here is another pair of Coco' that are on his web site...
 

 

 
Cocobolo was sort of the official wood of this thread when it was started. My first pair of woodies were a pair of Coco's that were fashioned with a drill press. I had a pair of SR60 drivers seated in them; and while my 60's dont hold a candle to the Magnum drivers, I think there was / is a similar tone and timbre that gets presented because of the tonal qualities of the wood. I shared that thought in a PM last night with the head fier I am forwarding these phones to. So we'll have his impressions soon as well.
 
Hope that helps.

 

[acold7dusta]

Hey guys, just wanted to thank you guys for the easy to follow mods & tips

 
I was getting bored with my SR-60's (~4 yrs old now) and the air flow mods and dynamat in the enclosure certainly transformed these phones into a giant killer! Looking to eventually recable for a slightly longer and lighter cable...any suggestions?

 

[jinteddy7]

does anyone suffer from red ears with the grados? when i wear them with comfies /  bowls for like an hour my ears get really painful and turn red .. Bowls are sort of circumaural but still the ear cartilage touches the driver. With the sock mod the headphone is too tight and the pressure is all around the ears too much plus i feel part of the driver is furthur away from my ears ... i dont know how to explain it .. ive sort of got an idea of making goat skin earpads for grados with an angle of cushioning so that the driver is at equal distance from the ears the whole time. But that will have to wait once ive finished with my diploma this december.

 

[Chris_Himself]

 
Quote:

does anyone suffer from red ears with the grados? when i wear them with comfies /  bowls for like an hour my ears get really painful and turn red .. Bowls are sort of circumaural but still the ear cartilage touches the driver. With the sock mod the headphone is too tight and the pressure is all around the ears too much plus i feel part of the driver is furthur away from my ears ... i dont know how to explain it .. ive sort of got an idea of making goat skin earpads for grados with an angle of cushioning so that the driver is at equal distance from the ears the whole time. But that will have to wait once ive finished with my diploma this december.

Dude I get this thing I called Grado itch from that, you really have to make sure none of your ear is touching the cheese grater cloth... You really have to wear the pad as far forward as you can so that the center of the driver fires into your ear
 

 

[Twinster]

 
Quote:

does anyone suffer from red ears with the grados? when i wear them with comfies /  bowls for like an hour my ears get really painful and turn red .. Bowls are sort of circumaural but still the ear cartilage touches the driver. With the sock mod the headphone is too tight and the pressure is all around the ears too much plus i feel part of the driver is furthur away from my ears ... i dont know how to explain it .. ive sort of got an idea of making goat skin earpads for grados with an angle of cushioning so that the driver is at equal distance from the ears the whole time. But that will have to wait once ive finished with my diploma this december.

Funny you brought that subject because here what I start working on this week end: (Keep in mind it's just a demo) Leather Cover for Bowl Pads.
 


 
I started by just doing the ring around the pad to simulate the "Tape Mod" and ended-up sewing the top too to make it more comfortable.As you can see the top circle is pretty rough and I still need to adjust the size. I only have one done so far so my listening test is not accurate because with one side only the brain (my brain anyway) has trouble processing the differences. One thing is for sure it's way more comfortable and don't get the itch from the Grado Pad. I'll be doing the second cover soon (maybe tonight) and report back the improvement/impact on the sound. Cheers!  

 

 

[jinteddy7]

Quote:

 
Funny you brought that subject because here what I start working on this week end: (Keep in mind it's just a demo) Leather Cover for Bowl Pads.
 


 
I started by just doing the ring around the pad to simulate the "Tape Mod" and ended-up sewing the top too to make it more comfortable.As you can see the top circle is pretty rough and I still need to adjust the size. I only have one done so far so my listening test is not accurate because with one side only the brain (my brain anyway) has trouble processing the differences. One thing is for sure it's way more comfortable and don't get the itch from the Grado Pad. I'll be doing the second cover soon (maybe tonight) and report back the improvement/impact on the sound. Cheers!  

 

HEY thats AWESOME ... love the look, thats around 99% what i had in mind  =) one thing i would really like to know is if it gets hot due to the leather ... Thanks man ... looks beautiful what type of leather are you using btw
 
 

 

[CABILLAS]

This is a new idea, or not?. I saw tape in the "wall" of the bowl, and people say that it modify the sound  to more closed, have you hear them?

 

[Twinster]

 
Quote:

HEY thats AWESOME ... love the look, thats around 99% what i had in mind  =) one thing i would really like to know is if it gets hot due to the leather ... Thanks man ... looks beautiful what type of leather are you using btw
 
 

Thanks!  I used cow hide for these and I haven't try them long enough to get hot but I'm based on my experience with the leather pads on the ESW9 it should be fine. I managed to complete a second one last night and the result is much better ( I perfected my hand sewing technic 

 ). I have not done listening yet because it was to late. Took over 2 hours for one pad. I'll report tonight.
​
On a different note I very like the headband that you are making. Very professional look. Are you planning to make a model with more padding? 
​
Cheers!
 
 

 

[Twinster]

 
Quote:

This is a new idea, or not?. I saw tape in the "wall" of the bowl, and people say that it modify the sound  to more closed, have you hear them?

That is the Tape Mod and it increase the Bass frequency. Cheers!
 

 

[jinteddy7]

Quote:

 
Thanks!  I used cow hide for these and I haven't try them long enough to get hot but I'm based on my experience with the leather pads on the ESW9 it should be fine. I managed to complete a second one last night and the result is much better ( I perfected my hand sewing technic 

 ). I have not done listening yet because it was to late. Took over 2 hours for one pad. I'll report tonight.
​
On a different note I very like the headband that you are making. Very professional look. Are you planning to make a model with more padding? 
​
Cheers!
 
 

Actually the pictures dont cut it .. The latest headband actually has double the cushioning and its actually more than what appears on the photos. super comfy.didnt have time to take out my dslr so this ais a pic from a lg phone . 
 

 

[Chris_Himself]

On a different note I very like the headband that you are making. Very professional look. Are you planning to make a model with more padding? 
​

 
I ended up buying one (we're just two guys from across the world selling different things) from Jin...
 
The padding is actually pretty sufficient. I hella broke mine though installing it the wrong way (padded side up). I like mine a lot, it just has 2cm cut off the end since it punched through the top of it

 

[Twinster]

Quote:

Actually the pictures dont cut it .. The latest headband actually has double the cushioning and its actually more than what appears on the photos. super comfy.didnt have time to take out my dslr so this ais a pic from a lg phone . 
 

 


Quote:

 
I ended up buying one (we're just two guys from across the world selling different things) from Jin...
 
The padding is actually pretty sufficient. I hella broke mine though installing it the wrong way (padded side up). I like mine a lot, it just has 2cm cut off the end since it punched through the top of it

Ok. You are right the picture on your site doesn't represent the thickness. I'm basicaly looking to replace the Leather band from my MS-Pro and I need better padding for comfort but also to allow more adjustment. I have a small head (And bald in top of it) and currently wearing them on the smallest possible adjustment. I will be placing an order on your site later today. Thank you!
 

 

[jinteddy7]

damn wish i had a lathe

 

[stratocaster]

Well, this is my first Magnumized Grado-based phone. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the great thing about Symphones is that you get the drivers and stuff separately and this is a DIY dream come true. Yet, most important of all, at the end of the day it is the sound that counts. And to my ears, this thing sounds GREAT. I am certainly bad at that audiophile expert talk, and sound preferences vary a lot, but one thing I can say for sure: compared to the lower end Grados, modded or not, this is a HUGE step up. There is no comparison with respect to sound, and still the costs of this mod - wood and leather included - were lower than a new stockGrado SR80 for us Europeans!
Rhydon certainly offers a very interesting product. And, in my experience, very good customer service. In my dealings with him he proved very responsive and generous. One thing one has to accept though: you have to be willing to wait  for the stuff. But it is worth the wait.
 

 
 
 
 

 

[wje]

Hopefully, we'll see some new mods on Grados start showing up in this thread in a few weeks.  The cup order from Spain arrived today - but, I wasn't home to sign for the order.  I'll get them picked up tomorrow so the distribution can begin!  While this was an exciting experience to work through, I don't think I could be responsible in this hobby doing something like this on a full time basis.  I do take things very serious and do want nothing but success.  Needless to say, I did experience a few moments of worry - sort of the "what ifs" scenario.  However, I'm happy that they're in the hands of the postal system at the moment and soon, they'll be heading out to their respective new owners.
 
Additionally, the "trial" pair of Magnums in the wooden cups made by Marty will make their way to my house.  Needless to say, it will be quite an exciting weekend to try them out.  I'll also be able to meet a couple of the forum members as a personal delivery of the wooden cups is being scheduled.  The others live too far away, or I'd offer the personal hand-delivery service to them, too.
 
Finally, things are getting somewhat "normalized" with our family as each day some of the grieving lessens a bit on the passing of our grandfather / father / father-in-law.  I hope to return to some more sewing time on the machine and churn a few things out.  I have too much material that I've accumulated and it's just sitting there at the moment.
 
More to follow as time permits ...