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Solution found for DT880 Grattle / Rattle problem at low frequencies

Nov 12, 2011 at 4:57 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 31
Lord Soth

Lord Soth

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Hi everyone,
 
Recently my DT880 developed the infamous "grattle" or "rattle" on the right side.
This only happened when playing low frequency music e.g. drums with plenty of bass etc...
This phenomenon is best described as hearing some sort of paper rattling sound at low frequencies.
 
If you do a search on google or other audio forums, this one included, some have suggested opening up your cans and looking for stray hairs to remove.
 
Yes, I tried all of that but all to no avail.
 
The following is an alternative way to solve this problem.
 
The best part is that there is no need to open up your precious pair cans and risk perforation of the vulnerable white portion of the driver.
 
So if your DT 770 or 880 or 990 (since they are in the same family) starts to act up, here are the steps I carried out successfully to solve it.
 
1. Download a 150hz file
http://www.burninwave.com/download/freq150.wav
 
2. Play this file on any player
On your audio player, set repeat play on this one track.
 
The grattle or rattle problem is most active at this frequency.
 
If your headphone has the rattle problem, you will hear the driver resonating at this frequency.
 
3. SLAP that side of the driver
Yes, whilst your headphone driver is resonating at the 150hz frequency, with your cans on your head, just apply some hard slaps on that side.
 
My cans are now back to normal and I am in audio nirvana again.
gs1000.gif

 
This reminds me of the good old days when the only way to solve technical problems with electronic equipment was to apply some hard thumps to the said equipment.
deadhorse.gif

 
 
 
Nov 12, 2011 at 5:09 AM Post #2 of 31
That's funny. I did a frequency sweep with my DT880 (amped) and non of those rattles exist. Tried it without an amp and music never sounded more amusing. 
 
Nov 12, 2011 at 8:26 AM Post #4 of 31
 
Dec 20, 2011 at 10:35 PM Post #6 of 31
This is the first method I tried when the rattling developed on my DT770s - IT WORKS!
Have to admit, I was skeptical upon first reading, but I really do owe OP for this fix. Perhaps I was just lucky; still worth trying though. 
gs1000.gif

 
Dec 21, 2011 at 9:34 AM Post #7 of 31


Quote:
hsojtehpwn said:
This is the first method I tried when the rattling developed on my DT770s - IT WORKS!
Have to admit, I was skeptical upon first reading, but I really do owe OP for this fix. Perhaps I was just lucky; still worth trying though. 
gs1000.gif
Click to expand...


Hi,
 
You are very welcome.
happy_face1.gif

 
The scientific reason for why this method works is because the driver of the DT770/880/990 family of cans tends(*) to resonate at 150Hz.
 
That is the cause of the low frequency paper rattling sound which was experienced by so many people.
 
The trick I discovered was to apply some taps to the affected driver only at this low resonating frequency.
 
(*) P.S. I would not recommend this family of cans to anyone.
From the numerous online reports of this problem, I would say that it is a manufacturing defect.
 
Jan 16, 2012 at 1:20 PM Post #8 of 31
The TS's "solution" didn't work for me.
 
First, my grattle (which was in the L driver) was audible at v. low freqs. So, < 100 Hz. I tried playing around with cycling low-freq "resonant" tones. No help.
I tried almost everything else: tweezering out hair strands (this helped in other beyer models), using Scotch tape to pull out hair strands, on that black felt disc that's glued to the larger "paper" disc/diaphragm assembly w/radiating patterns. Still no go. I lived with this for over a year and then got courageous ....
 
That large black felt filter glued to the white assemb. ... I partially peeled it back to expose the domed driver element underneath. And, sure 'nough, there were a few hair strands REALLY tangled up into it which I tweezer'd out. I also dapped the driver dome with Scotch tape to remove any other unseen debris.
 
And that WORKED! 

(above: carefully peel back the glued-on black-felt filter disc to expose domed driver (you don't have to remove it all the way -- only enough to fold back in order to expose the driver dome); inspect for hair/debris and clean as necessary. Apply light/thin string of rubber cement on SAME "glue trace" as orig. Press filter disc to orig position and complete re-assembly.)
 
Jan 18, 2012 at 11:41 AM Post #9 of 31
Hi Alphaman,
 
Thanks for sharing your alternative* technique over here.
 
The reason I started this thread was because I opened up my cans and inspected the whole driver with a magnifying glass but could not locate even the tiniest strand of hair. I wanted to pull out my own hair....
blink.gif

 
That low freq grattle is really a "PITA".
 
If more people come forward and share their techniques over in this thread, this could probably be turned into a sticky FAQ for fellow DT880 owners.
 
* or rather the original hair removal technique.
 
Jan 19, 2012 at 6:41 AM Post #10 of 31


Quote:
lord soth said:
The reason I started this thread was because I opened up my cans and inspected the whole driver with a magnifying glass but could not locate even the tiniest strand of hair. I wanted to pull out my own hair....
blink.gif
Click to expand...

Do you have dark-colored hair? If so, it can be hard to see against black felt. Alternatively, once the dark felt is pulled back, you have a totally white/silver background -- so my dark strand stood out well. Not so good for light-colored hair. If you're going gray, try a commercial hair color ;)
 
 
 
Jan 19, 2012 at 8:41 AM Post #11 of 31
Quote:
alphaman said:
Do you have dark-colored hair? If so, it can be hard to see against black felt. Alternatively, once the dark felt is pulled back, you have a totally white/silver background -- so my dark strand stood out well. Not so good for light-colored hair. If you're going gray, try a commercial hair color ;)
 

 
Click to expand...

 
Yes, my hair is turning Gray because Barcelona is snapping at my heels in the Spanish La Liga.
 
h/w after I lift the Champions League Trophy and Spanish League Title and Kick Barca's butt, my hair should be returning back to jet black again.
 
Oops, I have let slip my soccer fanatic tendencies....... ;)
 
 
 
Jan 19, 2012 at 10:06 AM Post #12 of 31
The hair are really a problem with all the DT7/8/9 line. The earcups filter isn't very efficient, we no longer count peoples with this same problem.
 
May 1, 2012 at 12:21 AM Post #13 of 31
Just got the rattle with my old 880s, just tried the above solution, and ... it worked. Very odd. Might try opening them up and searching for hairs anyway, but thanks to the TS for this!
 
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