[Currawong]

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@ Currawong Nice to hear that. I see you refer to these Magnums as HP-2 clones. Have you heard the HP-2s? How does it compare? A clone? Or entirely different beast altogether?

Well, they look almost exactly the same, down the the screw layout and gimbals, and I figured many people reading my signature would more likely have heard of Grado.

 

[Rhydon]

Hey Tim, i sent you a PM regarding your drivers.

 

[feckn_eejit]

I'm at around 275 hours of burn in on my V2s now.  Starting to seriously enjoy them.  Few good goosebump moments, which is a great sign!
 
However, Walter Becker's _Circus Money_ is still so boomy as to be unlistenable... this was AWESOME on the V1s, and is awesome on all my other setups, however it could easily be argued the rest of my setups are bass-light, which is obviously my taste...
 
__11 Tracks of Whack_, on the other hand, sounds killer.
 
One of the albums in the pop oeuvre I've been paying attention to during the break in process is the recent remaster (by the producer himself, Thomas Dolby) Prefab Sprout's _Steve McQueen_. This is one of my favourite albums of all time and I've always thought this remaster sounds fantastic on everything I've thrown it at.  Until this listen at ~275 hours, the V2s have made it unbearably boomy and "one-note-bass"ey... now it sounds great!
 
More to come........

 

[tim3320070]

Well my personal preference is to err on the side of a little too much bass presence vs. too little. I am hopeful to receive some from the second batch.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

I'm at around 275 hours of burn in on my V2s now.  Starting to seriously enjoy them.  Few good goosebump moments, which is a great sign!
 
However, Walter Becker's _Circus Money_ is still so boomy as to be unlistenable... this was AWESOME on the V1s, and is awesome on all my other setups, however it could easily be argued the rest of my setups are bass-light, which is obviously my taste...
 
__11 Tracks of Whack_, on the other hand, sounds killer.
 
One of the albums in the pop oeuvre I've been paying attention to during the break in process is the recent remaster (by the producer himself, Thomas Dolby) Prefab Sprout's _Steve McQueen_. This is one of my favourite albums of all time and I've always thought this remaster sounds fantastic on everything I've thrown it at.  Until this listen at ~275 hours, the V2s have made it unbearably boomy and "one-note-bass"ey... now it sounds great!
 
More to come........

I feel much the same way. I've been listening mostly to jazz, which has avoided, for the most part, having to wait for the bass to tighten up. Now the V2s are more a great all-round can though, but they still totally nail it for me with jazz. According to iTunes I've played the Koto Song and You Go to My Head from Take Out 45 times recently. I've updated my review as well by the way, though mostly with the tonal changes the V2 drivers have.

 

[feckn_eejit]

I have trouble believing it, but the V2s continue to wake up and come alive for me with more and more burn in........ they are still a little too bassy, but everything else is becoming AMAZING.  Layers upon layers of effortless detail... while the V1s seemed to slap you in the face with detail, this is like having it gently tossed at your face and hitting it like it's *cold* whipped cream.  Very nice!
 
It's been a *long* time since a component has come my way that causes me to go through lots of well-known albums, discovering new bits of the production buried off to the sides.  No ingredient of the music hurts for any other ingredient, no matter how buried or panned off to one side. 
 
Tasty.
 
Oh, and I know I shouldn't....... but they sound EPIC cranked up loud................. perfect bass.
 
If only the bass would mellow out a liiiiiiiiiiiiiittle more at sane listening volumes...

 

[regal]

How are the mids presented more like RS1's(close)  or HF-2's (distant) ?  And are they still not sounding right with flats?

 

[shawn_low]

Ok, I've had it plugged it in playing electronic beats for the past 4 days. That's about 80 hours. Plus 20 hours prior.

The bass is still slightly boomy and undefined (at the low extensions). I wonder if plugging one of the two holes in the driver will tame this a little?

But listening to a variety of music, mainly pop vocals. It's not too bad. It doesn't have that fatiguing sharpness or trebly peaks of the V1s.
 
@ Regal:
I can't decide if the midrange is recessed or forward. I guess it's inbetween. There's a decent soundstage and the vocals (right now listening to Babel Giberto's Tanto Tempo) sort of float in the space in the middle of the entire soundstage.
 
BUT it does sound a little unnatural. I don't know. The sense of airiness seems to be almost overwhelmed by the underlying bass. It's not thumping but just a little undefined (for lack of a better word).
 
I'll say that instruments are VERY WELL presented. Really accurate and good speed too. Guitar, piano, drums, cymbals etc.
 
Update: The Tanto Tempo album unfolds. I'm listening at low-levels. The details are well presented. I hear the layer of the tracks and lots of detail I didn't notice before. The 'strangeness' of the floating midrange isn't as obvious. I'm guessing it's still there but my mind has adjusted to it.
 
I'm liking these more than the V1s but I still wish the bass could be brought down just a notch. Comfort level is typical Grado (ie: low).
 
Update 2:
Listening to Bobby McFerrin's Bang!Zoom! A very vocal-driven jazz album.
 
It's giving me goosebumps. The vocals aren't very forward but just right. The air around it doesn't compete with the piano, and drums (the hi-hat). But the kick drum 'thump' is kinda jarring. As if it was trying to bust out of the middle of the drivers into my ear.

 

[Currawong]

The mids are a little forward, but not as much as ATs, for example, which annoy me.  They are forward enough thought that it takes a little while to get used to the sound if you've come from something like HD-800s, but less so first listen in the morning.  The impression evaporates when you dial up something acoustic with a good solo (trumpet, sax, piano, guitar or the like) and the player's feeling and intent comes through.

 

[les_garten]

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The mids are a little forward, but not as much as ATs, for example, which annoy me.  They are forward enough thought that it takes a little while to get used to the sound if you've come from something like HD-800s, but less so first listen in the morning.  The impression evaporates when you dial up something acoustic with a good solo (trumpet, sax, piano, guitar or the like) and the player's feeling and intent comes through.

So how would you rate the changes, better, worse, same?

 

[feckn_eejit]

Shawn--given my experience, 80 hours of hard burn in on these things isn't anywhere near enough....... hundreds is more like it!

 

[SemiAudiophile]

I actually haven't been actively burning mine in at all. Just been using them regularly and they seem to be improving each time I give them a listen. Mines probably have about 50hrs give or take. The bass seems to be getting better defined and a little tighter and they no longer appear to be as boomy as before, in fact they are starting to integrate more into the music. 
 
I agree about the mids, they are neither on the lush or on the thin side. They are typical forward Grado mids without being too much or too little. 

 

[tim3320070]

Quote:

The mids are a little forward, but not as much as ATs, for example, which annoy me.  They are forward enough thought that it takes a little while to get used to the sound if you've come from something like HD-800s, but less so first listen in the morning.  The impression evaporates when you dial up something acoustic with a good solo (trumpet, sax, piano, guitar or the like) and the player's feeling and intent comes through.

Yours are still balanced, yes?

 

[Currawong]

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Yours are still balanced, yes?

 
Yes.

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So how would you rate the changes, better, worse, same?

I'd say better overall for me and potentially for anyone interested in them.  It's a pity he can't make them faster, as they would be better value than a Grado at the same price IMO.

 

[shawn_low]

More listening and a quick A-B with HF-1s.
 
Album: Florence & the Machine (Lungs). Very heavy on vocals and drums.
 
At the office and my rig isn't high-end at all. uDac->Jaycar SCHA amp with all the mods
 
The HF-1 and magnums are tonally similar as mentioned by Currawong.
 
But the HF-1 has more forward mids and is brighter overall. In comparison to the Magnums, they sound almost too-trebly and peaky.
 
Putting the Magnums on, it's as if calmness descends on the music. Bass isn't that tight on this rig. It's there, just not 100% well-defined.
 
These comments are all over the place but the music is frenetic and I'm trying to listen and write.
 
I'd better get back to the music.