[Adam18]

An update ..... After about a month of enjoying my SR-125's with the yellow Sennheiser pads (w/ reverse quarter modification,) I switched back to my original Grado pads ("L-cushions") with the outer circumference now covered with a thin layer of scotch tape overlayed with a thin layer of black electric tape.  WOW !!! ----- Same terrific midrange and crystalline treble, but now with an increased tightness and definition to the bass.  The lower octaves now seem deeper and better defined, with proper control and pace, and the soundstage seems naturally wide and well delineated.  Comfort is better (for me and my ears) than with the Senn pads, and I am spending many happy hours with my Grado cans on my ears listening to i-Tunes and Spotify music at my computer desk.  The synergy between the SR-125's, my AudioEngine D1 DAC/headphone amp, and Mac Mini computer is really, really good.

 

[bbophead]

Quote:

An update ..... After about a month of enjoying my SR-125's with the yellow Sennheiser pads (w/ reverse quarter modification,) I switched back to my original Grado pads ("L-cushions") with the outer circumference now covered with a thin layer of scotch tape overlayed with a thin layer of black electric tape.  WOW !!! ----- Same terrific midrange and crystalline treble, but now with an increased tightness and definition to the bass.  The lower octaves now seem deeper and better defined, with proper control and pace, and the soundstage seems naturally wide and well delineated.  Comfort is better (for me and my ears) than with the Senn pads, and I am spending many happy hours with my Grado cans on my ears listening to i-Tunes and Spotify music at my computer desk.  The synergy between the SR-125's, my AudioEngine D1 DAC/headphone amp, and Mac Mini computer is really, really good.

Congrats!  Happy = good.

 

[Adam18]

Thanks bbophead..... You are correct.  Happy = Good, especially true when there are so many terrific sounding products out there.  For now, I am a happy camper, ..... but who knows what the future holds ?  Happy Listening !

 

[Adam18]

So I decided to try something completely different, and I'm loving the change.  For $ 84.40 + tax, I bought a brand new pair of AKG K 240 Studio headphones.  Again, from my local Guitar Center, with a 30 day return policy.  Well, I'm keeping these babies !  They are much more comfortable than the Grado's, and deliver a completely different sonic experience.  Now, don't get me wrong, the Grado's are terrific, and I will be keeping them, but I am now officially a "two pairs of cans guy."  The AKG's throw a much wider soundstage, with a smoother presentation and a very nice dynamic range.  The music flows freely, with very good top to bottom extension and a musical coherence that I am really enjoying.  The Grado's seem a bit more "analytical" while the AKG's tend to be more "relaxing."  They both have excellent synergy with my AudioEngine D1 DAC/amp and MacMini computer, and I am looking forward to many hours of musical enjoyment with both sets of 'phones.  I think they represent different styles of the art of headphone design, and it's going to be a lot of fun having both pairs in my home.

 

[kramer5150]

Yeah AKG and Grado make a good complimentary set.  They both do a lot of things well in different ways, similar impedance loads and thus require similar types of amplification.  I am a little late to the thread but reading your original post, a K240s or K701 was my first line of thinking.
 
In my stash I rotate in an RS1, HF1, K240S-55 and K701.
 
Your assessment of the K240s (55 ohm) is spot on.  Semi-bassy, relaxing groovy... fun presentation.  Good DVD movie watching cans IMHO.  I sold my DT770-80 once the K240s bumped them a notch down on my preference scale.... thats says something, as popular as the DT770 is.

 

[Adam18]

Hi Kramer.... Nice comments.  Thanks for joining the discussion.
 
"Groovy" is the perfect description.  Ya' know, our love of music is a wonderful hobby, and I have been an "audiophile music lover" for over 40 years.  And as much as I love my main system, which I describe somewhere in an earlier posting on this thread, I am enjoying my headphone listening more and more.  I love listening to music whenever and wherever I can (in fact, my wife and I are going to a "salute to Joni Mitchell" concert tonight in Albany, NY ..... several big name vocalists are getting together to sing the entire "Blue" album plus many more Joni songs) and music appreciation has become a major part of my lifestyle.  Whether it's Jerry Garcia or Duane Allman, the Beatles or the Stones, Stiils or Young, Brahms or Bach, or Miles or Coltrane .... it's all good.  We should all feel very lucky to enjoy the pleasure of music.
 
By the way,.... I was trained as a classical cellist, and am now a fan of a well played guitar.  Everyone talks about Gibson vs. Fender, but I think that, in a certain sense, Kramer guitars may be the best of all.  Happy Listening !

 

[jarvik]

Interested to read this.  I've also rediscovered the (original) SR-125, thanks to a change of ear pad.  I haven't had the original bowls for years; replaced them with Senn 414 yellow pads.  They were always okay, but I haven't liked them much ever since buying a pair of Shure SRH440s.  
 
Just for the hell of it I tried the reverse quarter mod a few days ago, and these are now gorgeous headphones.  They don't handle symphonic music as well as the Shures, but they surpass them for jazz, lute, anything with single well-defined instruments or vocals.  There's an airiness that you simply can't get out of closed cans.
 
And if you bend the headband wide so that the pads put almost no pressure on your head, these become seriously comfortable headphones.

 

[les_garten]

  Thanks bbophead..... You are correct.  Happy = Good, especially true when there are so many terrific sounding products out there.  For now, I am a happy camper, ..... but who knows what the future holds ?  Happy Listening !

 
Don't know if you've done this yet.  But on all Grados I take the pads and soak them in some detergent and water, like Dawn, or something you would wash clothes with.  I keep squeezing and squeezing them.  You should get a ton of black crap out of them.   This IMO makes them much softer.  Let them air dry for a few days.  May have to do this a few times.  I think I used clothes soap for it now that I think of it.
 
You want a nice set of Grados, get some HF-2's...

 

[Adam18]

Thanks Les ..... I have since switched to the larger "G" cushions ("Ear Zonks" brand ..... $ 20 from Amazon.com) and am extremely
happy with them.  Much more comfortable for me than either the plain "L" cushions, the "L" cushions with circumferential tape, or
the yellow Sennheiser cushions ("stock as is" and with "reverse Quarter modification.")  Driven by a five year old Project HeadBox II,
my Grado SR-125's sound better than ever, with (finally !) the several hour listening comfort to match.  My next consideration will be to
perhaps try the Schist Vali amp.

 

[les_garten]

  Thanks Les ..... I have since switched to the larger "G" cushions ("Ear Zonks" brand ..... $ 20 from Amazon.com) and am extremely
happy with them.  Much more comfortable for me than either the plain "L" cushions, the "L" cushions with circumferential tape, or
the yellow Sennheiser cushions ("stock as is" and with "reverse Quarter modification.")  Driven by a five year old Project HeadBox II,
my Grado SR-125's sound better than ever, with (finally !) the several hour listening comfort to match.  My next consideration will be to
perhaps try the Schist Vali amp.

 
 
The G cushions are very comfy.  I have a lot of them!
 
You may want to take some electrical tape and tape the sides.  This will help get some bass back that you lose with the G-Cushions.

 

[Adam18]

Okay ..... So I'm now enjoying three totally different headphone systems at home. Upstairs in my library, in front of my widescreen monitor - Mac Mini, watching you tube videos, my AKG K240 Studio's powered by the AudioEngine D1 dac/amp is a mighty fine combination. Secondly, believe it or not, my Harman Kardon CL's plugged directly into my iPad Air 2 is a great way to listen to iTunes music while playing around on the iPad surfing the web or rolling through apps. And finally, my leather chair by the living room fireplace is the perfect spot for "serious listening" with my G cushion modified Grado SR 125's powered by a really nice Project Headbox Ii amp. In fact, as I'm typing this, I'm really loving Diana Krall "Live in Paris" album through the Grado - Project set-up. Perhaps a change to the Schiit Vali for the Grados ? Any thoughts ?

 

[HeavenNotes]

   
 
The G cushions are very comfy.  I have a lot of them!
 
You may want to take some electrical tape and tape the sides.  This will help get some bass back that you lose with the G-Cushions.

Hello.  Can you show a photo of it?

 

[les_garten]

  Hello.  Can you show a photo of it?

 
Have some fun with this:
 
Use electrical tape by the way.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evaluation-grado-stock-and-modified-ear-pads#B8dQEvhRYYPUJHPp.97

 

[HeavenNotes]

   
Have some fun with this:
 
Use electrical tape by the way.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evaluation-grado-stock-and-modified-ear-pads#B8dQEvhRYYPUJHPp.97

Thank you so much!!! 

 

[les_garten]

  Thank you so much!!! 

 
 
I've just re read a bunch of Grado mod posts.
 
It seems there is some difference in the sound of clear scotch tape and electrical tape.
 
This original mod was done with clear scotch tape.
 
I would try that first.
 
There is an incredible amount of sound change that can come from different pads and pad mods, so don't discount any of these mods as crazy.  They do work.
 
Of course my Favorite Grado  are the HF-2's
 
But they are all nice.  I still have 125, 225, 325 and the HF-2's
 
You could try different levels of scotch tape as in narrower strips, you would need to get different rolls to do this though.  I imagine you can get it in different widths.