Grado driver mod?

[omendelovitz]

Hi all,

Once upon a time there were some posts about modding Grado drivers with some kind of sticky tack to mimic the tack seen in the higher end Grado cans. Searching for the threads here and on headwize has produced nothing useful. What I am looking for mainly is:

1) what type of stuffs to put on the back of the Driver's centrepiece (magnet I presume) to change the sound;
2) where I can find this kind of material;
3) other material options that will yield the same results as the tack; and
4) how much/what difference this mod will make (anybody who'se done this mod - I'd love to hear from you! )

Thanks!

[kontai69]

You may be referring to an old post that I started a while ago in which I did this to my SR-60 (among other mods)...
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=135433

I applied a small blob of Dynamat Xtreme sound damping material to the back of each transducer. I was inspired to do this mod when I used to own the RS-1 where I noticed that there was a tar-like material applied at this location. My MS-Pro also has this blob.
If you can't get a hold of Dynamat, I'm sure any sticky goo will have a similar effect (e.g. Blu-Tack). I had some Dynamat left over from a install I did to my vehicle.

You can see the blob in this pic...


I did not do any A/B testing so I can't say what benefits there are to this mod. However, since Grado does this to their upper end cans, I figure it has to have some useful effect.

[omendelovitz]

Thanks Kontai. It's funny, I've already done the mesh mod with my 125's without ever seeing your post, and definitely noticed a nice improvement in the cans. MY GS-1000's have the same driver blob as the rest of the upper-crust Grados which I can only attribute to driver resonance damping objectives.

Thanks again!

[kramer5150]

My RS1 has that blob too. But not my HF1

Garrett

[omendelovitz]

Originally Posted by kramer5150

My RS1 has that blob too. But not my HF1

Garrett

Can anyone with an MS-2/i or SR325/i chime in and tell us whether their drivers have blobs? I'm curious if the blobs are only placed on the wood housed headphones... Maybe the tack counters a resonance found only when using wood as a case???

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by omendelovitz

Can anyone with an MS-2/i or SR325/i chime in and tell us whether their drivers have blobs? I'm curious if the blobs are only placed on the wood housed headphones... Maybe the tack counters a resonance found only when using wood as a case???

Of the other grados Ive owned...
MS1 = no blob
MS2 = no blob

[omendelovitz]

Originally Posted by kramer5150

Of the other grados Ive owned...
MS1 = no blob
MS2 = no blob

MS1 - makes complete sense;

MS2/HF-1 - none: this can only lead me to believe that the tack is used as a performance upgrade and not a compensator (HF-1 has wood driver housing).

Thanks Garret! Let the modding begin!

O

P.S. - anyone know where one can easily obtain dynamat extreme and/or blu-tack?

[fureshi]

you should be able to get blu-tack or something similar at home depot or lowes.

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

PS-1's have tar on the drivers.

Biggie.

[omendelovitz]

Originally Posted by NotoriousBIG_PJ

PS-1's have tar on the drivers.

Biggie.

Hey Biggie,

Can you confirm that the driver mounts/housing in the PS-1 are all Al? I know the MS-2/i's and 325/i's are both plastic bottoms covered by Al.

Cheers!

O

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Originally Posted by omendelovitz

Hey Biggie,

Can you confirm that the driver mounts/housing in the PS-1 are all Al? I know the MS-2/i's and 325/i's are both plastic bottoms covered by Al.

Cheers!

O

Its all alluminum, and the little screws are plastic. There was also a small peice of dampening material inside the cups. In my unit it was replaced with speaker dampening material all along the inner walls of the cups.

Biggie.

[nikongod]

how well does blue-tak dampen when it gets all hard?

jsut food for thought.

btw, for the amount of dynomat you will need, you can probably get some out of a trashbin at an auto suply shop.

[omendelovitz]

Originally Posted by nikongod

how well does blue-tak dampen when it gets all hard?

jsut food for thought.

btw, for the amount of dynomat you will need, you can probably get some out of a trashbin at an auto suply shop.

yeah, maybe I'll stick with the dynamat...

[kontai69]

Originally Posted by nikongod

for the amount of dynomat you will need, you can probably get some out of a trashbin at an auto suply shop.

Very true. Just one square inch of Dynamat will give you enough material to treat several headphones.

To clarify things for those who are interested in using Dynamat for this mod...
Dynamat Xtreme is a thin aluminum foil sheet that has a layer of gooey elastomer material on the back. I rub the gooey stuff off the foil with my fingers and roll the elastomer into a ball around 1cm in diameter. I then apply this to the back of the transducers. I don't use the foil.
I imagine any similar material will work, including poster putty or Blu-Tack as mentioned previously. One advantage of Dynamat is that it is black and not light blue, which will look "tacky." You may also try looking for some roofing material called "Peel-N-Seal", which is similar to Dynamat Xtreme but is rubberized asphalt-based. It can be found at hardware stores. For the amount that you will need, you can probably "borrow" a small piece for free.

[MD1032]

So what kind of sound difference does this mod make?