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Grado RS1 "Shack Hack" Mod (56K beware!) - Page 3

post #31 of 50
2/10/08 at 4:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by s1rrah View Post
Reason???

Seems this question is best answered with more questions:

1. Why would a Sennheiser HD580 owner order HD600 grills?

2. Why would a Grado RS1/RS2 owner order the well known and appreciated "Flat Pads"???

3. Why would any given user of any given decent headphone chose to purchase a cable upgrade???

...

The answer ... or, answers... of course, would be and is ...

BECAUSE IT MAKES A REAL DIFFERENCE IN THE SOUND!!!!!!
but didn't you just cover up the driver with extra padding and the bowls are still there?
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post #32 of 50
2/10/08 at 6:00am
I did this mod because I like the bowl pads since I do not like having direct contact with my ears, but I also wanted something to cover the drivers. To me, the highs on the sr-80s are just a tad too shrill for my liking (and yes, they are burned in about 70 hours now). The bowls add a bit of space so they phones aren't totally pressed against my ears, and the modded pads tone down the highs (and in my opinion, bring out the bass a bit). And the pads add just a bit more comfort for me.

So why not just use pads, or get sr-60s? I went with the SR-80s over the 60s since my ears were burning up when demoing the 60s. I hate it when my ears get hot, which is also why I wanted an open headphone. In my experience, the closed phones cook my ears (but now after being a member here I really want to try the Beyerdynamic 770s) .

I still plan on trying out the Sr-80s with 414 pads, but so far I'm liking this mod a lot.

S1rrah, thanks for the note in your original post! I was so excited to try this last night at midnight I searched my place for some foam padding, only to have to wait to go to Radioshack today.
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post #33 of 50
2/10/08 at 6:04am
Another suggestion I can give is after cutting up the pads, place it over the driver. You can sort of eye where the holes are in the driver (at least in the sr80, not sure about other models), and then make holes in those positions to open the sound up a bit.
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post #34 of 50
2/10/08 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlysleeping View Post
The bowls add a bit of space so they phones aren't totally pressed against my ears, and the modded pads tone down the highs (and in my opinion, bring out the bass a bit). And the pads add just a bit more comfort for me.
The additional pads affect all frequencies really. It's actually quite a dramatic shift, depending on how many holes and the type of foam one uses. I can quite confidently confirm your claim that the bass is affected. It's a bit 'fatter' and ever so slightly more balanced with the highs and mids than it's stock, secondary role (to the highs/mids, that is). Again ... those are my highly personal and subjective comments ... so, user results might vary.

Otherwise .... I'm just getting started.

Today I'm going to go to Home Depot to try and find a cheaper more readily available source of different types of foam. I figure material type and density will hugely affect the results of any given hole configuration, so I'm going to experiment with anything I can get my hands on.

Also going to try and device some sort of cutting template for punching out the foam circles that will cover the driver (since I'm not going to be spending 5 bucks on the Shack pads ever other day!)

Gonna stick with my medieval brass punch for the time being ... but after I finalize a material and hole placement layout that suits me the best, I'm gonna investigate making some sort of 'multi-punch' that can punch all the holes at once and in a way that the holes interact with the natural driver assembly holes.

Never had so much fun changing the way things sound.

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post #35 of 50
2/10/08 at 11:52pm
Please let us know what you find for foam. My modded radioshack pads came out different on each pad. They don't sound too much different, but I'd like to get them to match.

I'm also going to try reverse bowl + RS pads underneath.
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post #36 of 50
2/11/08 at 4:13am
wow nice
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post #37 of 50
2/11/08 at 4:23am
nice mod, need to try this on my new SR-325i
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post #38 of 50
2/11/08 at 4:40am
Reverse bowls + shack pads underneath = super-comfortable! Big thumbs up on this mod. My wife even said that the 80s are more comfortable now.

Now I want to get more foam so I can try 7 holes instead of 5, and so I can get the pads to match on both sides. I doubt its affect the sound much, but aesthetically I'd like the pads to look the same.
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post #39 of 50
2/17/08 at 5:18pm
Thread Starter 
Just a little two week or so update ...

Yesterday I took the filter/inserts out and I was completely blown away by how much more glaring and even harsh (at higher volumes) the highs became.

This was really only painful/obvious on the louder rock tracks ... the difference, though still apparent, is not nearly so striking when listening at moderate volume levels and when listening to classical.

But needless to say .. I put the mod filters right back in. I totally prefer the sound of my RS1's with the slight curtailing/adjusting done by this mod.

My roommate, who owns the SR80's and SR225's, upon spending a few hours with my modded RS1's says that he can't stand the change, claims it diminishes the detail a slight bit and prefers the default, open driver high frequency sound ... so just goes to show ...

It's all so gloriously subjective in the end.

I honestly don't hear any diminished detail ... just a bit of smoothing on the high frequency edges which I really like.

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post #40 of 50
2/18/08 at 1:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlysleeping View Post
I did this mod because I like the bowl pads since I do not like having direct contact with my ears, but I also wanted something to cover the drivers. To me, the highs on the sr-80s are just a tad too shrill for my liking (and yes, they are burned in about 70 hours now). The bowls add a bit of space so they phones aren't totally pressed against my ears, and the modded pads tone down the highs (and in my opinion, bring out the bass a bit). And the pads add just a bit more comfort for me.

So why not just use pads, or get sr-60s? I went with the SR-80s over the 60s since my ears were burning up when demoing the 60s. I hate it when my ears get hot, which is also why I wanted an open headphone. In my experience, the closed phones cook my ears (but now after being a member here I really want to try the Beyerdynamic 770s) .

I still plan on trying out the Sr-80s with 414 pads, but so far I'm liking this mod a lot.

S1rrah, thanks for the note in your original post! I was so excited to try this last night at midnight I searched my place for some foam padding, only to have to wait to go to Radioshack today.
Exactly my thoughts. I may try this with my 325i. And I already have a pair of Rat Shack pads handy.
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post #41 of 50
2/18/08 at 4:11am
Has anyone found somewhere to get foam padding? The fabric store I visited looked at me like I was nuts, and a hardware store suggested some fiberglass pipe seal stuff (did not go with that option). I would like to get some foam squares or something and try different holes patterns and configurations.
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post #42 of 50
2/18/08 at 4:42am
Auto parts store sells these flat approx 8"x15" pads that you can put down and kneel on as you work on your car on your knees. Camping stores sell foam pads to go under sleeping bags, etc...
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post #43 of 50
2/18/08 at 10:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by onlysleeping View Post
Has anyone found somewhere to get foam padding? The fabric store I visited looked at me like I was nuts, and a hardware store suggested some fiberglass pipe seal stuff (did not go with that option). I would like to get some foam squares or something and try different holes patterns and configurations.
I've been unsuccessful as well ... the one thing I have not checked out and that others have recommended is upholstery repair shops.

These would have a variety of foam styles and thicknesses as generally all furniture (the trim on car interiors, etc.) have a layer of thin foam beneath the leather or vinyl.
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post #44 of 50
2/20/08 at 6:38pm
Looks like nylons will work too!

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/sr3...y-mod-298751/?&
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post #45 of 50
2/21/08 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
Just a little update for those of you looking for foam sources other than Radio Shack:

I've recently discovered that Ebay has quite a variety of generic headphone foam kits which you can get for as low as $2.00 per 4 pair if you dig around.

I'm going to order some today and will let you know how they work.

From what I can tell/measure ... any set of foam covers at least 50mm wide (and up) would work for this mod.

Could be a cheaper route for multiple tests vs. the 5.00 Radio Shack kit.

Here's a link to the EBay search results:

headphone foam, MP3 Accessories, A V Accessories Cables items on eBay.com

...

FYI.

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