Jake,
The HP-1000's can get quite dirty inside the chambers. Apon receiving my first pair, i cleaned them out immediately. The first time took a while, but when the second pair came, things seemed to go much faster. This is quite a simple procedure and im sure anyone who takes the care and time to do it properly should have no issues.
1. Unscrew the driver damping screws around the base of the HP-1000 chamber. I believe the smallest American-style Allen Key will work perfectly. (Put them in a special place, careful not to loose them).
2. Remove the HP-1000 drivers from the chamber, by turning the chambers upside down, the drivers should simply "fall out". Be very careful with these, tho im sure you already are aware they are no longer produced and one of a kind. Just keep repeating that to yourself when compelting this procedure. Just for tips, I would wrap my HP-1000 drivers in small plastic bags, then use a twist ties to secure a tight seal (making sure the drivers were protected against all odds).
3. Proceed to take a Qu-tip, dip it in some water, and clean the inside of the aluminum chamber/cup. This is an easy place for dust and gunk to hide, so make sure to be thorough.
On a side, dont be alarmed to see the inside of your HP-1000 chamber to be coated with a shinny bronze like substance. This is an acoustical treatment that Joe Grado applied to the inner aluminum cup and rear of the metal screen. I have seen some pairs of HP-2's where this substance had started to come off. Im not sure if it is due to how some people clean their headphones or just age, but DO NOT use any solvents/chemicals when cleaning the HP-1000's. Joseph said to use only clean water and very little of it. Tho im not sure if there is a special aluminum cleaning method out their, use it at your own discretion.
4. Take a dry Qu-tip and re-clean the inside of the chambers. The water will remain behind the lip of the inner aluminum housing so let the headphones dry for a good 20mins before exposing and replacing the drivers in their chambers.
5. Re-secure the drivers in their housing, screwing in the damping screws. Be careful on this step, you do NOT want to over-tighten. Remember the HP-1000 drivers are plastic. Yes, very hard ABS plastic, but still treat them with care. Tighten the screws gently, giving each screw 1 stage of a turn at a time. This will allow the drivers to be balanced and secure on all 5 screws equally.
And there you go! Perfectly clean HP-1000's!
I must note. Do not get into the habit of doing this procedure more then once a year. I dont like to tamper with my equipment, and i cant even start to imagine how much ware this can put on the solder joints/drivers/ or cables if this procedure is carried out repeatedly.
Take care of them! They're the best god damn headphone in the world!
(ok, easy guys, i can hear the HE90 boys getting restless
....)
anyone else ever have problems with gunk or loose screws with the HP-1000 line?
