[Rauliki]

I suppose it will be mahogany cups, or other wood option this time?

 

[fleasbaby]

Would you buy woody cans for them to make PX1i?

 
No, I feel they should be dubbed the SennWjester
 

   
...
 
Hopefully, I'll scour the Web some more over the upcoming break and see what other alternatives might be out there. However, in this hobby -- or this particular section of the hobby, it's always good to have one pair of your "reach for" headphones that stay constant or near constant, and are not in a state of flux like the "tweaker pair" of headphones where you mess with cables, cups, drivers, and headbands.  If doing all of this with only one pair in ownership, that would be manic.
 
...

 
Amen. I have tried that before and it got ugly. Ditched a few builds and headphones I still regret losing and you lose your ear for what it is you're trying to achieve.

 

[Rauliki]

Thats why i'm looking for px in wood (i suppose mahogany cups, or not?) as the pair to mod. If it will be even better than my sr60, that would be something.
Rs1i in Poland cost about 1000$, that's too much.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

   
No, I feel they should be dubbed the SennWjester
 
 
Amen. I have tried that before and it got ugly. Ditched a few builds and headphones I still regret losing and you lose your ear for what it is you're trying to achieve.

 
In early days, same here! I quickly learned the benefits described, above, by wje

 

[wje]

I think people are probably questioning my saneness with respect to what this offering from Sennheiser offers.  People feel there is a slight risk involved by buying $42 drivers and then finding out they are not that good.  Or, they might not have the tools to resolder the wire connections for the cable to uninstall the old drivers and install the new Sennheiser drivers.  But, let me qualify things a bit further, if I could:
 
My Grado PS-500?  Sold.
 
My Grado RS1i?  Sold.
 
Additionally, as much as I like to plug the Magnum drivers for their improved performance over the standard Grado offering, my view of that scenario has changed.  Instead of directly recommending the Magnum drivers, I feel that at the Sennheiser PX100 II drivers exceed the performance of that driver by quite a bit.  And, the Senn PX100 II drivers are nearly down to 1/3rd the cost of the Magnum drivers.
 
Now, I want to talk about sound, and sound quality.
 
Bass:  I felt my PS-500 headphones had a lot of bass and not enough highs for details.  With some genres of music, this can be great.  For others, they may not like what the changed signature actually does to the sound.  However, the bass with the Senn drivers is better ... much better.  The bass is solid bass, yet detailed bass.  Bass that works with the wooden cups and just delivers a bass that is fast, detailed, and what most of us tend to seek out of headphones.  This aspect has me stunned ... and my jaw dropping all the time.  In fact, my jaw has dropped so much over the past few days, I now have swollen lymph node on the side of my neck where the jaw hinges by my ears.  I'll get that taken care of later today ...  However, back to the bass.  The driver might have too much bass for some people.  Yes.  I did say too much, depending on your tastes.  Remember it is not boomy, or sloppy bass, but quick, detailed and nicely presented bass, yet I do find myself using a slight bit of EQ to neutralize it a bit.  But, I don't thing of more bass as being a bad thing, as that seems to be what about 80% of Head-Fiers are on a mission for.
 
Mids:  The mids do not suffer on these at all. The mids do the right thing and sound is there.  I don't feel that this is really a "V" shaped sound.  Just a headphone with a strong low end, a nice mid, and a pleasant upper frequency region.
 
Highs: The highs are not overhelmed in this particular configuration by the the bass.  There are times with many headphones when this can happen.  However, the highs are neutralized a bit from that of the Grado house sound we know of in the SR-325is and down to the SR-60i.  The RS2i and above, have a more refined treble that is detailed, yet not overwhelming.  The treble on the Seen drivers in the wooden cups happens to be wonderful.  Not recessed at all, yet the percussion and cymbals come out in detail, and do not dissapoint.
 
Granted, what I've written here are the impressions I have after 20+ hours of music listening - and listening to tracks and passages in my music that are my "Go-To's" when trying to providing some impressions on how 'X' compares to 'Y'.  I want to state again, these are my take-away's from what I've heard.  With that, I want to say YMMV, as not all of us hear the same way, yet we also have our own prefernes in sound.  Again, not one headphone can do everything, and do it well for all people and this includes headphones at the $2000 level and higher, as well as those that populate our Mid-Fi category where a lot of us also tend to fall.
 
I have funds, and was thinking that maybe I should opt for the HifiMan HE-500 again, or the Audeze LCD-2.2 to try it again, as I've heard it in the past.  Now, I feel less so with that desire.  The bass is there for me, and I have a much lighter package to wear, as well as wooden cups, too - class, style, customization options, etc. ... and, all in a package for a surprising cost of less than $200.
 
Agian, your mileage may vary.  Finally, is this this combination the "end game" for me?  Not actually, but close.  Keep in mind, I'm always a tweaker at head and having somehting locked down and finalized isn't in my agenda with this hobby.
 
Enjoy!

 

[Rauliki]

  I think people are probably questioning my saneness with respect to what this offering from Sennheiser offers.  People feel there is a slight risk involved by buying $42 drivers and then finding out they are not that good.  Or, they might not have the tools to resolder the wire connections for the cable to uninstall the old drivers and install the new Sennheiser drivers.
   
Agian, your mileage may vary.  Finally, is this this combination the "end game" for me?  Not actually, but close.  Keep in mind, I'm always a tweaker at head and having somehting locked down and finalized isn't in my agenda with this hobby.
 
Enjoy!

I'm really happy about that PX100 II driver that you found pretty good. I've read about them on some forums before Head-Fi and they were praised as very good value for money. (Shame I read that after buying Koss Porta Pro for the same price, they weren't bad except for that very poor quality cable).
As I probably won't ever buy RS1i and I like to mod, I think 200$ (1/5th of what I would have to pay for new RS1i) for almost the same experience (which I may like or dislike, but I want to try) is great chance.
Few months ago I didn't know what Grado is. I bought sr60's out of curiosity.

 

[Levictus]

Additionally, as much as I like to plug the Magnum drivers for their improved performance over the standard Grado offering, my view of that scenario has changed.  Instead of directly recommending the Magnum drivers, I feel that at the Sennheiser PX100 II drivers exceed the performance of that driver by quite a bit.  And, the Senn PX100 II drivers are nearly down to 1/3rd the cost of the Magnum drivers.

Thanks for the write up Wayne, answers a lot of questions for me and worth a try. Are they the same drop in size as the Grado drivers? Do you have a picture of the driver?

 

[Levictus]

I posted up some pics of three new sets of cups I started here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/119314/post-your-grado-mods/4395
Post 4409

 

[wje]

Thanks for the write up Wayne, answers a lot of questions for me and worth a try. Are they the same drop in size as the Grado drivers? Do you have a picture of the driver?

 
In my case, I only had to use one wrap of electrical tape around the driver.  Right now, they are just rested in there as I'm switching cables around so I can perform the tonewood testing.  I though I'd use the pair of Senns that I have for the testing, but then my additional 2 pair arrived in the mail today.
 
I'll get a good picture posted late tonight / early tomorrow.
 
I'm going to follow you link - I want to see the cups you're working on! 
 
Edit: the cups are coming along nicely.  Here's a direct link to your post, so people don't have to scroll down and locate it: http://www.head-fi.org/t/119314/post-your-grado-mods/4395#post_10015780

 

[Levictus]

Thanks Wayne

Any thoughts on the Sens HD239 driver vs the PX 100 II for $10 more? Little discussion about it here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/592762/sennheiser-hd-239-vs-px-200-ii
Possible too that it is same driver but sounds a bit better in the different enclosure. Thoughts?

 

[Levictus]

And PS, where are you finding the drivers/phones for $42? Thanks

 

[Levictus]

According to the Innerfidelity Wall of Fame, seems he is suggesting the PX 100ii and 200ii share the same driver and prefers the HD 239,. He also says the 100ii now sounds better than the Grado sr60i too check it out
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-ear-pad-open

 

[Levictus]

Wow! JR has the HD 239s on sale for 39.95!
http://www.jr.com/sennheiser/pe/SEN_HD229BLK/

 

[wje]

Wow! JR has the HD 239s on sale for 39.95!
http://www.jr.com/sennheiser/pe/SEN_HD229BLK/

 
Your link is to the HD-229 for $39.99.   The HD-239 is $79.99, and features a discount of $52.00
 
Link to the 239: http://www.jr.com/sennheiser/pe/SEN_HD239/

 

[Levictus]

Your link is to the HD-229 for $39.99.   The HD-239 is $79.99, and features a discount of $52.00

Link to the 239: http://www.jr.com/sennheiser/pe/SEN_HD239/

Whoops, sorry

Edit: so the HD 238 is only $29.99 which is the predecessor to the HD 239, thoughts on that one!
http://www.jr.com/sennheiser/pe/SEN_HD228BLK/