[ShaolinGrump]

Ask @shampoosuicide why I started this FrankenCan project: Denon AH-D9200-style (real? from AliExpress vendor) in an Alessandro tribute cup with Shipibo pads and a custom drillium plywood donut baffle. So amazing from Audeze Deckard.

 

[msing539]

Hmm... what should we call it?

Grade
Dengro
Gradenon

Probably not Degrade

 

[ShaolinGrump]

Degradeon is pretty good!

There’s a lot of story behind this build. I’ll try not to make it boring. I started Grado lust on the weird end of the spectrum: a gently used B-stock PS2000e for a screaming deal in mid-2021. I’m glad I have it as a benchmark. I met @fleasbaby and his craftsmanship later in 2021. The Gradoesque I built with Bruce’s maple and rosewood cups helped comfort my dad as he died of aggressive cancer. I’ve been on a serious Gradoesque kick since then. 50mm drivers are TheThing in my quest to understand the Grado family’s head-fi genius. Grado TheWhite are one of my very favorite headphones.

 

[ShaolinGrump]

 

[ShaolinGrump]

 

[ShaolinGrump]

I’m on Day3 with the Denon drivers in rehabbed Alessandro tribute cups with Shipibo pads. Audeze Deckard is the amp. I have two digital front end paths on a switch. Roon+Qobuz is the source.

I was extremely impressed yesterday by the sound. Better than PS2000e which always sounds a little mellow, dead or thunky to me. PS2000e is a fantastic set. I’m just being picky. Gradoesque can tend bright. So I’m working in between those bookends.

 

[msing539]

I love the Denon drivers--I don't know if the AE versions are OEM, but in the Denon threads, some people have taken them apart... certainly the 7200, if you wanted to compare.

 

[fleasbaby]

@ShaolinGrump Fun to see more pics of this build...haven't been lurking on Head Fi much lately, pleasant surprise to see this thread

 

[ShaolinGrump]

The "Alessandro" x Denonesque has been my go-to set every evening this week. Very satisfying from Audeze Deckard Class A. Bass might be too heavy for some, and not deeply articulated enough for others. I really like the sound signature. I can't identify other dips by ear. I don't think it has overly noticeable spikes. I think I can hear some W-shaped signature effects, but I am just guessing. Covering the cups with my hands (approximating closed back), doesn't change the sound much. Only slightly muffles the music. The drillium wood spacers are doing real work: not ringey and not deadening to my ears. The pad support foam connection and driver mounting tape aren't robust enough to disassemble and take out the drillium spacer just for comparison. I am going to enjoy and trust what I think is happening with the driver and spacer interaction.

 

[ShaolinGrump]

@fleasbaby made some Zulu inspired BalticBirchPly notched ebony cups for 50mm drivers. More Denonesque madness is developing. I had FreeEdge 300ohm clones(?) from my last AliExpress shopping. I installed in the new WabiSabi BalticEbony cups, but one driver is DOA. I had a $15 backup set of new drivers also. Those are burning in now. Kinda sibilant still.

 

[ShaolinGrump]

 

[ShaolinGrump]

C-baffles installed and de-installed. More testing tomorrow. Bass was fuller with the c-baffles behind the drivers. It was nice bass, controlled bass.

I then swapped from salad bowls to Dekoni calfskin (solid) for Grado. The Dekoni are like cheap subwoofers on your head: tons of bass, too much and too muddy bass. But it takes the edge off the cheap ChiFi sibilant drivers.

 

[fleasbaby]

C-baffles installed and de-installed. More testing tomorrow. Bass was fuller with the c-baffles behind the drivers. It was nice bass, controlled bass.

I then swapped from salad bowls to Dekoni calfskin (solid) for Grado. The Dekoni are like cheap subwoofers on your head: tons of bass, too much and too muddy bass. But it takes the edge off the cheap ChiFi sibilant drivers.

The reduction in volume in the chamber behind the driver, and the narrowing of the vent hole in the outside face, might also be getting you that cleaner bass. If its worthy of "final configuration" status, and you want them one day, let me know the dimensions and I can likely turn cups with the updated chamber size for you.

 

[ShaolinGrump]

New driver day for the BalticEbonies!! Except I almost destroyed one. They are fragile. 500ohm and burning in now. First impression: the goodness potential is making me sad I am not more carefuller.

 

[ShaolinGrump]

Running nicely off my new handbuilt 4.4 RCA for head-fi cable even. Don’t try silicon surgical tubing unless the wire is solid and you’re patient. This took more than an hour to sheath.