QQQ
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 18, 2007
- Posts
- 2,575
- Likes
- 16
I wasn't a big fan of Grado protective grill since i first saw a pair of Grado phones. Firstly, it's the main source of discomfort since it presses hard adainst the ear when wearing grados. Secondly, after i solved the comfort problem with pair of diy liberators(thus taking the grill away from resting on the ear), i didn't like that grill as the objest which sits between the driver and my ear, affecting the sound. So, after i luckily aquired a pair of beat-up SR 225's i decided to get rid of that grill. This is very tricky procedure, with lots of risk of ruining the cans! I used a soldering iron with thinnest possible tip to cut away the grill, working around the diameter. Again, it's very dangerous - insert a hot soldering iron a bit too far and it will melt the driver=dead cans.
Anyway, without grills it looks like it:
After that i glued-on my diy liberators and damped the inner side of the tube with foam:
Next i put a piece of nylon(read: pantyhose) on the top to protect from dust:
With installed pads it looks like it:
Not only there's no more obstacles on the way of the sound, it's much more comfy now with nothing pressing against the ear making these cans most comfy ones i've ever tried after the k601.
The sonic results are really pleasing-much more open, clear, distortion free and "full" sound with headstage way better than stock.
Of course, any headphone maker understand that those protective grills spoil the sound, but they cannot go without it since it protecting the drivers. On the other hand, when cans are used in safe conditions, with some modding you can really go beyond stock sound-wise!
More than that, i created my own genuine leather\suede headband: inner side which is in contact with head are made from lambskin, outer part are finished with suede:
Lastly, a great head-fier vvanrij sold me a pair of goldy SR 325i cups which i used here. One slight tweak-i don't like how bare wire goes into Grado cups, so i added some stress reliefers:
Lastly, for those who interested: there're formally no sonic difference between plastic cups and metall, but, due to considerably more weigth of the metall cups it positively influences the SQ on higher volumes, not allowing the cans to vibrate on bass notes, thus, improving the sound in some way.
Finished view:
Just wanted to share.
Anyway, without grills it looks like it:
After that i glued-on my diy liberators and damped the inner side of the tube with foam:
Next i put a piece of nylon(read: pantyhose) on the top to protect from dust:
With installed pads it looks like it:
Not only there's no more obstacles on the way of the sound, it's much more comfy now with nothing pressing against the ear making these cans most comfy ones i've ever tried after the k601.
The sonic results are really pleasing-much more open, clear, distortion free and "full" sound with headstage way better than stock.
Of course, any headphone maker understand that those protective grills spoil the sound, but they cannot go without it since it protecting the drivers. On the other hand, when cans are used in safe conditions, with some modding you can really go beyond stock sound-wise!
More than that, i created my own genuine leather\suede headband: inner side which is in contact with head are made from lambskin, outer part are finished with suede:
Lastly, a great head-fier vvanrij sold me a pair of goldy SR 325i cups which i used here. One slight tweak-i don't like how bare wire goes into Grado cups, so i added some stress reliefers:
Lastly, for those who interested: there're formally no sonic difference between plastic cups and metall, but, due to considerably more weigth of the metall cups it positively influences the SQ on higher volumes, not allowing the cans to vibrate on bass notes, thus, improving the sound in some way.
Finished view:
Just wanted to share.
