alessandro ms2i no clamping force?
Sep 29, 2014 at 12:53 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

Fungus

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I just purchased a used pair and when I put them on, I immediately noticed there's zero clamping force. 
The ear pads are basically just touching my ears. 
Is this normal? 
 
Sep 29, 2014 at 1:42 AM Post #2 of 11
You can bend the headband to make it tighter/looser. My well worn grados are quite loose fitting
 
Sep 29, 2014 at 1:43 AM Post #3 of 11
  I just purchased a used pair and when I put them on, I immediately noticed there's zero clamping force. 
The ear pads are basically just touching my ears. 
Is this normal? 

 
It's not 'normal', stock they clamp decently tight, but 2nd hand they could have had the headband bent or just loosened over time. My MS2e are a lot tighter than my MS2i
 
Sep 30, 2014 at 6:43 PM Post #5 of 11
How much clamp force are you guys getting on your new ms2? 
 
There is a bit force clamp force but no where near as much as my brand new hd25s
 
When I tilt my head to 90 degrees, I can start to feel it slip my ears. Maybe this normal because of the added weight from the metal cups? 
 
I tried pressing the metal headbands together but isn't getting any tighter. I don't want to snap it by bending too hard.  
 
Is it actually possible to replace the metal headband with a new one? 
 
I'm concerned that the lack of clamping force will effect the sound. 
 
Sep 30, 2014 at 8:24 PM Post #6 of 11
Yes you can replace the metal headband, problem is finding one. Unfortunately once it has been bent I think it loses most of that force forever, you can't bend it back in to tighten it - at least that's what I've found. I'm not bending my new MS2e as I like the extra clamp, it's decently tight, doesn't feel like slipping.
 
Oct 1, 2014 at 3:30 AM Post #7 of 11
The clamp on my SR60 and RS1 aren't as tight as my HD25's, but they are tight enough to be able to headbang without them falling off.
Luckily, Grado's aren't dependant on a seal for good sound and so lack of clamping has next to zero effect on the sound. I notice almost no change in sound when I slightly pull the cups away from my ears, or pushing them further against my ears.
The pads leak too much air for the clamping force to be a significant factor, talking about the bowls here. The comfy pads do gain some bass with more clamping.
 
Oct 1, 2014 at 6:03 AM Post #8 of 11
  How much clamp force are you guys getting on your new ms2? 
 
There is a bit force clamp force but no where near as much as my brand new hd25s
 
When I tilt my head to 90 degrees, I can start to feel it slip my ears. Maybe this normal because of the added weight from the metal cups? 
 
I tried pressing the metal headbands together but isn't getting any tighter. I don't want to snap it by bending too hard.  
 
Is it actually possible to replace the metal headband with a new one? 
 
I'm concerned that the lack of clamping force will effect the sound. 

 
The headband is made from spring steel, so it's pretty robust and it should be possible to bend it back into shape. I've loosened / tightened the clamp of several Grados in my time.
 
The best way to tighten it is to first remove the earcups from the C shaped plastic pieces, so you are left with just the headband assembly. Then hold one end of the headband (NOT the plastic parts) in each hand, with your hands crossed over. Now un-cross your hands so that the headband makes a loop shape, with the bottom ends crossed over. Hold it there for a bit and release. You may have to do this a few times, depending on how much clamp you want. If you go too far, you can just bend the headband outwards again.
 
Note that when I had a 325is, I found that even brand new and clamping hard, they didn't stay on my head very well. I think it's just down to the weight and the on-ear pads.
 
Clamping force doesn't affect the sound of Grados too much, although if you have them very loose I found the bass can suffer a bit.
 
Oct 1, 2014 at 7:57 AM Post #9 of 11
   
The headband is made from spring steel, so it's pretty robust and it should be possible to bend it back into shape. I've loosened / tightened the clamp of several Grados in my time.
 
The best way to tighten it is to first remove the earcups from the C shaped plastic pieces, so you are left with just the headband assembly. Then hold one end of the headband (NOT the plastic parts) in each hand, with your hands crossed over. Now un-cross your hands so that the headband makes a loop shape, with the bottom ends crossed over. Hold it there for a bit and release. You may have to do this a few times, depending on how much clamp you want. If you go too far, you can just bend the headband outwards again.
 
Note that when I had a 325is, I found that even brand new and clamping hard, they didn't stay on my head very well. I think it's just down to the weight and the on-ear pads.
 
Clamping force doesn't affect the sound of Grados too much, although if you have them very loose I found the bass can suffer a bit.

I'm not very good at taking things apart.
 
I'll try the crossing the hand method out but with the cups attached since the cups can swivel and won't get in the way if I angle them at 90 degrees. 
 
For the people that find the clamp force to be tight enough to be able to head bang with might just have big heads 
bigsmile_face.gif

 
Oct 1, 2014 at 9:01 AM Post #11 of 11
  Couldn't do it, the ear cups are in the way.
 
How do I detached the cups from the c cup plastic holder? 
 
Is it just held on by screws? 

 
No, it's just held on by two pegs on either side that slot into the metal cups. These pegs are what the ear cup pivots up/down on. You can see them sticking out slightly on the outside of the C holder.
 
You just need to stretch the C holder apart slightly to remove the pegs from the metal ear cup. Take the ear pads off first, and do it one side at a time. The plastic will stretch enough without breaking!
 

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