[PsychoZX]

@fureshi: lol. It hasn't even been a week since you got my sr-225s and you are already modding them?

 

[fureshi]

heh heh...yeah. with my first pair of sr225, i couldn't bear to do anything to them since they were brand new but i sold them before i did anything. with this pair, i guess i wasn't afraid to try. btw psychozx, thanks for selling them to me! i forgot how good they sound.

 

[Ozric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by saturnine Even the RS-1/2 look like the wires were soldered by an ape.

LOL...that explains how my cable bore the brunt of being yanked so hard without coming loose inside the housing. The connections must be submerged in a pool of solid solder

 

[ajt976]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozric LOL...that explains how my cable bore the brunt of being yanked so hard without coming loose inside the housing. The connections must be submerged in a pool of solid solder

Well not only that, they use a freakin zip tie to hold the cable inside the driver housings!

I'll agree with the ape solder job though...man, the mongaloid that put my 125's and 225's together must have used all of a 3''-4'' piece of solder on EACH termination! The solder pads are covered in solder, this joint has the surface area of like half a penny and a good couple mm's thick...I kid you not.

Ahh...but I'm still rockin to them aren't I!

 

[ilovesocks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ajt976 Well not only that, they use a freakin zip tie to hold the cable inside the driver housings! I'll agree with the ape solder job though...man, the mongaloid that put my 125's and 225's together must have used all of a 3''-4'' piece of solder on EACH termination! The solder pads are covered in solder, this joint has the surface area of like half a penny and a good couple mm's thick...I kid you not. Ahh...but I'm still rockin to them aren't I!

Instead of thick solder, what would you prefer? Just enough solder covered in epoxy? Seems like robustness makes for longevity, doesn't it?

 

[ajt976]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovesocks Instead of thick solder, what would you prefer? Just enough solder covered in epoxy? Seems like robustness makes for longevity, doesn't it?

I don't know, I guess one could consider it a good thing. I just though it could have been done a lot cleaner with less solder and still maintain a flawless mechanical bond. And it's not so much as thick as it was large in diameter that surprised me.

Who cares though, I thoroughly enjoy the sound and really...that's all that matters to me. I figure if I really have that much of a problem with it, I'll go and fix it later myself, but for now I'm too busy listening to music!

 

[seeberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Im tempted to drop some MS1 or K240s drivers into my MDR-CD870 can... Since I blew out one of the drivers and a replacement is $90 from sony. Speaking of sony... dayum... (looks at his MDRV6 hanging next to his MS2)... Youd never guess which is the superior can. The V6 is soo durable, sleek, smooth and comfey. IMHO its the ultimate image can since howard stern and all the rappers/MTV rockers wear them in the studio... instant recognition on the street in those tihngs. Garrett

Yeah, I agree that the V6's have that "studio" look to them, but the sound was poop compared to what came out of my SR60's when I tried out a pair. Of course, if Sony would properly put SA1000 drivers in a closed studio headphone, that might make up for it.

Anyway, as far as how Grado's look, I love their understated styling, its very spartan. They do one thing well, they sound awesome. That's it- that's all I want, and if I need looks and comfort, viola, SA1000's are right up my alley!

,
Abe

 

[fureshi]

here's the inside of my sr225. i had to use a heat gun to warm up the housing to get the glue soft enough for me to pull the top and bottom housing apart. i cleaned it up a bit but imagine twice as much glue in there that's in globs all along the side.

here's a pic of my sr225's without the button and silver paint on the lettering. because of light reflecting off the lettering, it looks like there's still some silver paint left but there isn't. without the paint, it really looks like a toy but for some reason, i've grown to like the look...

 

[RnB180]

the solder job was not an act of robustness, I looked at it, its poorly soldered. the pools of solder almost leak over to the other sid and something that resembles liquid electrical tape is applied between the joints after soldering.

The solder used is also a low temp variety and takes for ever to cool.

EDIT: fureshi, yours doesnt have the gob of liquid electrical tape that mine had.

 

[RnB180]

on the topic of opened headphones, I opened up my AKGs to recable, and

these are also headphones under $100 mark,

compared to the Grados the AKGs definately looked like some very nice craftmanship inside and out. A far more complicated and well designed assembly then the grados at the $100 mark

 

[Rob N]

In my experience there's less variability in build with the RS-1's.However I did have a pair of RS-2's that were very poorly laquered,the distributor agreed and I got a new pair.

 

[ajt976]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi here's the inside of my sr225. i had to use a heat gun to warm up the housing to get the glue soft enough for me to pull the top and bottom housing apart. i cleaned it up a bit but imagine twice as much glue in there that's in globs all along the side.

Good golly fureshi! That is a cripe load of glue!!! My 225's didn't have quite that much but the screen was so firmly adheared to the inner cup (the one that holds the driver) after they sealed the driver housing that it stayed there and came off of the outer cup! So I had a plain black ring and an inner driver cup with a glued on screen. It was kinda funny.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fureshi here's a pic of my sr225's without the button and silver paint on the lettering. because of light reflecting off the lettering, it looks like there's still some silver paint left but there isn't. without the paint, it really looks like a toy but for some reason, i've grown to like the look...

The same thing happened to my BRAND NEW 225's. Probably a week or two after I got them 2 of the silver letters rubbed off. After I looked a bit longer, I found I could easily rub off the rest of the lettering (on that side only, just my luck) with my thumb. I liked the look, but after a while I really missed my stock grado look. I ended up swapping out the rings off of my 125's and putting my 225 buttons back on, restoring them to a more "stock" look. So here...pictures right!

Darker picture of SR-225's with silver lettering rubbed off

SR-125's with black rings and restored SR-225's (and their bigger brother)

Closer look at the de-silvered rings on the 125's

Here's what I ended up doing with them!


And here's a link to the rest of that rescreening albumn in case anyone wants to see more pictures.

Fureshi, you might want to find some old Grado rings from someone and take a crack at sanding those rings down. I was kind of worried before I started, but I very much prefer the shaved down look over the rubbed off lettering look. IMO, I think it looks a little cleaner.

Edit: Yay! 200th post...*does happy dance*

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joey_V You got to have the whole package, IMO. You want to drive a car with a 400hp engine but looks like a box (literally a box)??

But what does a car have to do with headphones? Headphones are rather personal and private. You are out in public with a car, people have to watch you occasionally or risk running into you. A Ferrari speeds by, we all look. A person wearing an RS-1 walks by, 1 out of 1000 looks (and likely only a Head-Fi'er).

You don't see yourself wearing headphones, unless you are the type to stand there looking in the mirror, and if you do that, you're well on your way to the laughing academy. Same with people who get out of ther cars and stand there for half an hour staring at it. Or staring at their house and property for an hour. Don't we have better things to do?

Besides, most cars "housings" are designed to go with their engines. Same goes for headphones. I've heard some very nice looking headphones that sounded like crap. If they'd designed a solid housing for the drivers instead, they made have had something listenable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox This lack of attention to detail is part of what keeps me from buying a Grado. There is absolutely no excuse considering what they charge for thier headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesse_w agreed, inexcusable. I like the sound but I have serious problems with their lack of care and the generally obnoxious attitude of the company. jesse

You guys are hilarious. $95 bucks for a headphone that sounds as good or better that $300 ones and you whine that they didn't hire someone to spend hours making them physically smooth as silk.

You don't even own Grado's and you bitch about the "lack of care and the generally obnoxious attitude of the company"? ROFL! Grado is the benchmark for great customer service and support.

 

[warpdriver]

Well said Beagle....I personally don't care what my car looks like, especially to other people....as long as *I* like the way it drives. That's why I like cars like Subaru WRX, they look like stink, but go like stink.

On the Grado issue, as long as their shoddy looking construction doesn't affect the sound quality, I'm happy. I'm probably done with Grado's for now, I have my 225's and they sound spendid, next in line is something from the other worthy brands.

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle You guys are hilarious. $95 bucks for a headphone that sounds as good or better that $300 ones and you whine that they didn't hire someone to spend hours making them physically smooth as silk.

Poor soldering, crappy design and globs of hot glue might be acceptable for a $95 headphone, but what about the SR225 or the RS1? How do you excuse that?

And sorry, but what $300 headphone does the SR60 sound better than?