Completely removed the grills from the back of my Grado SR-60's

[dallasstar]

I was looking at the headwize page with Grado mods, and I noticed that one of the suggestions was to replace the plastic grill with a metal one. However, I decided that if there was such a problem with grills, why not remove them all together... so I did. The sound now is less shrill at the top end while still retaining the same Grado signature / detail. It also sounds more open and realistic. I tried listening to some of the really earsplitting tracks that I found difficult to tolerate with the Grado signature, and they were a lot more listenable this time around.

Has anyone else tried this? Does this make as big a difference for those who already have metal grills as opposed to plastic?

By the way, I totally understand that this could just be placebo, but it really does seem to make a difference for me. It's not a dramatic difference, but a difference nonetheless (positive difference). The difference becomes more apparent after listening to a wider variety of music. If any of you are up to it, let me know what you think of it after you're done.

http://headwize.com/projects/showfil...=grado_prj.htm

 

[S_Dedalus]

One reason for the grills is protection, you might want something back there to keep fingers, sharp objects, food, screws, or other potentially driver-unfriendly objects out.

 

[taymat]

This is really weird, I had this thought the day before yesterday whilst perusing the grado labs website and now you've done it! I noticed the upgrades from sr-60 to 225 are better driver matching/grills/wire. The main difference in grados as you go up the prestige line-less shrillness. The main difference in sound when you restrict the flow of the air out of the cups-more shrillness. So I thought hmmm why don't I buy an sr-60 and take out the grills/re-wire it to see how much performance I can get compared to my rs-1! Looks like you've beaten me to it, now I'd re-wire them with ofc from drivers to plug. BTW how did you get the cups to open apart without scratches, etc?

 

[dallasstar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taymat This is really weird, I had this thought the day before yesterday whilst perusing the grado labs website and now you've done it! I noticed the upgrades from sr-60 to 225 are better driver matching/grills/wire. The main difference in grados as you go up the prestige line-less shrillness. The main difference in sound when you restrict the flow of the air out of the cups-more shrillness. So I thought hmmm why don't I buy an sr-60 and take out the grills/re-wire it to see how much performance I can get compared to my rs-1! Looks like you've beaten me to it, now I'd re-wire them with ofc from drivers to plug. BTW how did you get the cups to open apart without scratches, etc?

Use the hairdryer technique and then use the back of the spoon. It shouldn't scratch anything, and if you think it will, then just use your hands to pull it apart instead of the spoon. It shouldn't be too difficult if you use the hairdryer for long enough. (see link in initial post for details about hairdryer technique).

Quote:

Originally Posted by S_Dedalus One reason for the grills is protection, you might want something back there to keep fingers, sharp objects, food, screws, or other potentially driver-unfriendly objects out.

From the looks of the insides w/o the grill, it seems Grado has already taken extra precaution to protect the driver even if the grill is removed. Though, I suppose if a magnet were to get in there, something bad might happen, but what are the chances of that?

 

[S_Dedalus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dallasstar Use the hairdryer technique and then use the back of the spoon. It shouldn't scratch anything, and if you think it will, then just use your hands to pull it apart instead of the spoon. It shouldn't be too difficult if you use the hairdryer for long enough. (see link in initial post for details about hairdryer technique). From the looks of the insides w/o the grill, it seems Grado has already taken extra precaution to protect the driver even if the grill is removed. Though, I suppose if a magnet were to get in there, something bad might happen, but what are the chances of that?

Even something small, like a hair, can cause a rattling noise, IME.