Hello everyone,

I've been getting familiar with DIY headphone fun over the past few weeks. I even made a couple of interconnects (which I will be posting soon). But before I could get to recabling my Grado 125i headphones, the left ear went on the fritz. I open them up and it looks like the copper voice coil is not properly secured... or something to that effect. I do not have any coherent noise coming out of them. Nothing is ripped or separated, but it seems as though something is loose because when you give them a little shake it rattles. Take a gander at the pictures, maybe they'll help...

Any advice is appreciated!

how about you show us them interconnects eh?

Or better yet, show me how you opened that grill without poking holes into the drivers, or damaging the aesthetic of the headphone.

Wow, how did you take it apart?

Non-wooden Grados can be taken apart pretty easily. Use the search or use your brain.

frogstomp88, everything is good with voice coil from this pictures. The diaphragm itself are little dented though.
Make the ictures of the other side of the driver, Maybe you've destroyed the constact tips...

Yeah, I might try to pull up the dents with some scotch/masking tape (per head-wize) would that be causing the extreme distortion/ hideous noises I'm hearing. When I shake it, there is sometimes a little rattle or something moving around... Any ideas on what that might be?

I'll post pictures of the other side of the drivers when I get a chance... (they're at home and I'm in my last week at school)

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I can't ask or what. Everywhere I read people say that taking out the driver is difficult.

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Exactly. I am interested in how you opened it as well.
To the OP, it looks like your diaphragm is dented. That might cause the fritz sound.

Alrighty, that's the first thing I'll try to take care of. I think I can pull out the dents with the tape method...

Steps in taking the drivers out:
1. Remove headband.
2. Heat up cups where the grill slides on. (Blow-dryer or 1/4" of hot water)
3. Slightly file down the black 'bumps' that hold the driver in the inner cup.
-There's about 8 of them, not all need to be taken way down
-I just scraped them with a small straight-edge, good hands and a dremel might do it too
4. With a fine straight-edge screwdriver, gently pry out the driver from the inner cup(the part with the now-filed bumps.
-The cracking sound is just the glue along the inner cup breaking; its okay.
5. Viola
-(Careful not to pull the small pads off connecting the headphone cable at any
point)

Hope this helps anyone who's looking to get inside. Thanks for the advice on my own new project!

Great! I knew you have to open by filing the bumps etc. but I was chickening out when I tried with my cup. Thanks a bunch!

So I removed the dents in the diaphraghm... but to no avail, the sound did improve but it is still really distorted.

Any other ideas?
Otherwise they might end up for sale for someone whose looking for a project...

Check for tears or cracks in the diaphragm.

There aren't any... could it have something to do with the copper-colored wire? Have I overlooked something or is this a possible lost cause?