[AHorseNamedJeff]

Holy quint-post.

Anyways, I never got the drivers backward becausei remembered the one with the red cable is left (strange huh?), also I put experiment down because it sounded the beet. To me you're just over thinking this whole thing a bit. The differences in tone really aren't that fine, they're pretty fricken obvious.

 

[wje]

  Love the look of those cherry cups.

 
The look even better in person.  In fact, I'm looking at them right now.   During my time with them as I perform some non-formal listening tests of the various cups, I'll find time to take some better daylight pictures so people can see the side-by-side variations in the appearance of the cups.  However, I'm sure if the degree of the sun in the sky is not in proper alignment, it's my guess that someone might comment on my pictures as being in-accurate.  

 

 

[Keithpgdrb]

is there any kind of finish on the cups?  

 

[fleasbaby]

How are the cup reviews going Wayne? Dying to hear what your thoughts are...am toying with the idea of getting a pair of "beater" SR60/SR60i and asking to join in the fun actually.

 

[wje]

  How are the cup reviews going Wayne? Dying to hear what your thoughts are...am toying with the idea of getting a pair of "beater" SR60/SR60i and asking to join in the fun actually.

 
I've just been inspecting the cups a bit and getting a feel for the woods.  Posting an ad in the forum will most likely result in getting responses. I've received a couple of such offerings.  Those are on their way to me.
 
Soon ... stay tuned.

 

[wje]

As a brief check-in, I thought I'd get some pictures of the various woods taken in the daylight, so people can get an impression on how they all appear.  While the walnut - far right, appears quite dark, the 2nd picture with the cups on their sides reflect a great shot of the walnut.  The end of the walnut has a decent grain, but the sides (being the ends of the grain) tend to be darker, and absorb a bit more oil.  This can take away from the beauty by a slight amount.  Meanwhile, the birch when compared to the cherry looks pretty neat.  The grain the birch is tighter than that of the cherry, but their appearance remains somewhat in the same or similar color family.
 

 
 

 

[Behemothmanface]

Cups look great. I'll be making some for myself. I would love some rough detentions to get me started. I have some ebony, purple heart, Kentucky coffee, Brazilian and American walnut that i'd like try.

 

[Behemothmanface]

I'd love to see a comparison with one type of wood with different finishes. I could imagine there would be a tonal difference between unfinished, tung oil, linseed oil, polyurethane, and lacquer. wait......maybe i'll just do that......

 

[wje]

I was waiting on a pair of SR-80 drivers as I decided not to use the pinks. But, the Senn PX 100 II drivers arrived today. Those will be incorporated to my impressions of the cups. Plus, some mor Senn 414 pads that I will reverse quarter mod and have them on the cups so I only have to quickly swap the drivers to continue listening with a minimal pause between the woods.

Good stuff!



Edit: The Senns are in my Padauk cups at the moment to get somewhat of a baseline reference.

 

[wje]

As my process works along, I thought I'd share a few pictures for those who might question how this process of swapping drivers from one cup to the next is possible.  Well, it's actually quite easy as my pictures below represent.
 
 
Picture # 1: As you can see in this picture, the driver and cable have been placed into the birch cup.  There is a slit in the wood present, which was designed by 7Keys to permit you to easily move one set of drivers from one cup, to the next.
 

 
 
Picture # 2: The ear pad for the headphone cup has been installed so it is now ready to be installed onto your Grado (or other) headband to begin your listening for the impressions that you will share here in the thread.
 

 
 
Picture # 3:  After spending a session listening to music with the drivers mounted in the birch cups, the ear pad has been removed and then the driver, while still connected to the headphone cable, was simply lifted out of the cup.  
 

 
 
Picture # 4:  In this image, you can see how the driver and cable have simply fit into the next cup for listening to collect some impressions of the sound so that they can be shared with the group.
 

 

[j0burger]

Les Paul guitars have a mahogany bottom with a maple top giving them a lovely warm, punchy sound with lots of sustain. How about mixn n matching the wood on your next set of cups?

 

[Alphamega]

Loving this thread, never really taken any notice of the modification scene, but I was interested in perhaps purchasing some Grado SR-80i's and saw this thread. The impact the different woods have had have got me thinking that I would like to get some wooden cups built for me in the future. Also interested in seeing what other woods you guys check out for the next round of experiments. Exciting!

 

[wje]

  Loving this thread, never really taken any notice of the modification scene, but I was interested in perhaps purchasing some Grado SR-80i's and saw this thread. The impact the different woods have had have got me thinking that I would like to get some wooden cups built for me in the future. Also interested in seeing what other woods you guys check out for the next round of experiments. Exciting!

 
Yes.  Please stay tuned for more impressions based on the various woods.  I'm in the middle of my review period at this time.  Sound is one area to judge, but I also have to ensure that the beauty of the Walnut doesn't have any affect on my pre perceived-views and impressions of the cups.  With each wood type, we all like different qualities, colors, shapes, etc. That's the beauty of going custom.  I've had many species of woody Grados over the past 3+ years.  I don't believe any of them have ever disappointed me.  The beauty has always been great (many of the cups I finished for myself with stain, poly, etc., or even refinished some to change the look a bit).  The sound has always been good, too.  If one tonewood gave 5% better performance, yet I only had my existing pair of wooden Grados, I'd never realize that difference since I wouldn't have the ability to test side-by-side to see where my impressions took me too.

 

[Alphamega]

I'm looking forward to your reviews. Yeah the Walnut does look fantastic, and judging from Jeffs reviews also sound fantastic.
 
I have been reading about wooden custom cans all night and I am thinking that I should look into getting a woodworking hobby when I am back in the UK, looks like it can be a lot of fun, and incredibly frustrating at times.
 
I assume you have listened to some Mahogany cans, they seem to be the most popular choice for the wood used. You will have to tell me how these stack up against mahogany, if there is a comparison you can actually make, with there not being a mahogany cup to use.
 
Would be very interested in seeing some Blackwood and Purple Heart (Would look absolutely beautiful) cans too.

 

[wje]

I do have mahogany cups, but they're on my Grado RS1i headphones.  If I'm using a driver from the Grado SR-80 in the walnut cups, I don't think it would be a very fair comparison.  The RS1i is a better setup / headphone, but keep in mind, when going for something a further up the chain, normally the level of improvement is quite minimal.  Sure, the RS1i is a beautiful headphone with great mahogany cups, I still wouldn't be disappointed with many of the SR-80 / SR-80i based Grados that I've heard in many variations.  Remember, at the end of the day, it's the music that matters most.