morph2k4
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2010
- Posts
- 159
- Likes
- 16
It's amazing how much of a difference the full suite of mods brought to these cans. I found that the easiest mods made the most difference, which surprised me quite a bit. I did all of the mods to one side, leaving the other stock for comparison purposes through the journey. Here's what I did, ranked in order of value to sound quality.
1. Driver venting - drastic increase in bass response
2. Cut out the center of the comfies (I can't stand the normal SR-80 cups) - major increase in clarity
3. Damp the driver magnet with rubber pads - significant reduction in vibrations (which were only noticeable after the venting)
4. Removed the cloth over the front of the driver - no difference to my ears
5. Replaced plastic mesh with metal - no difference to my ears (and miserable process, by far the hardest)
First up, the driver venting. Incredibly clutch. This headset brought a lot to the table for 90 bucks, but the bass was just weak and unexciting. I started with 4 holes, and liked what I heard. I went back in and finished the rest, and the change in bass response was astounding. They sounded like a whole new set of cans! However, with the new bass came a new set of unpleasant vibrations. This was easily remedied by adding a rubber adhesive foot to the magnet, tightening the new bass right up.
Next up was modding the comfies. I find the L-cush (or whatever came on the SR-80 stock) to be miserably uncomfortable, so I picked up a set of SR-60 pads and cut out the center. Damned if I'm gonna spend 45 bucks on the G-cush pads. Removing this tiny bit of foam ended up making a huge difference. I guess the less material between your ear and the driver the better.
Finally came the quagmire phase, replacing the plastic mesh. Let me just say, if you consider modding your Grados, DO NOT BOTHER DOING THIS. I could detect no change in the sound signature. More importantly, this mod was VERY time consuming. I would estimate the grill replacement took three times as long as the rest of the mods combined. I was expecting the entire grill to be easily removable, but it ended up breaking off in pieces. I couldn't get the outer edge of the grill off of the inside of the cup, so I had to clip the mesh in 1mm increments at a time so the edges would fit into the random bits of plastic still stuck on the inside. If the metal mesh goes on top of the remnants of the old plastic mesh, the cups won't close all the way, so it had to fit perfectly. I also took a misstep using screen material from a screen door. It looked fine, but it was way too soft. When glued into the ear cup, it still disconnected on the slightest impact. I ended up buying a thick metal mesh pencil holder from the hardware store, which was much more rigid and could hold its shape in the cup.
Man, the new grills look great, but what a headache for a cosmetic improvement. Its not like I can see them while wearing them
On the whole, I'm really happy with how things turned out.
One final note: I strongly recommend the steam method for taking the cups apart. The plastic on the ear cups is pretty soft, and any other separation method is definitely going to damage the cups cosmetically. The steam was painless, and let me just pull the cups apart with my hands. Just make sure you let everything dry out before firing it up.
1. Driver venting - drastic increase in bass response
2. Cut out the center of the comfies (I can't stand the normal SR-80 cups) - major increase in clarity
3. Damp the driver magnet with rubber pads - significant reduction in vibrations (which were only noticeable after the venting)
4. Removed the cloth over the front of the driver - no difference to my ears
5. Replaced plastic mesh with metal - no difference to my ears (and miserable process, by far the hardest)
First up, the driver venting. Incredibly clutch. This headset brought a lot to the table for 90 bucks, but the bass was just weak and unexciting. I started with 4 holes, and liked what I heard. I went back in and finished the rest, and the change in bass response was astounding. They sounded like a whole new set of cans! However, with the new bass came a new set of unpleasant vibrations. This was easily remedied by adding a rubber adhesive foot to the magnet, tightening the new bass right up.
Next up was modding the comfies. I find the L-cush (or whatever came on the SR-80 stock) to be miserably uncomfortable, so I picked up a set of SR-60 pads and cut out the center. Damned if I'm gonna spend 45 bucks on the G-cush pads. Removing this tiny bit of foam ended up making a huge difference. I guess the less material between your ear and the driver the better.
Finally came the quagmire phase, replacing the plastic mesh. Let me just say, if you consider modding your Grados, DO NOT BOTHER DOING THIS. I could detect no change in the sound signature. More importantly, this mod was VERY time consuming. I would estimate the grill replacement took three times as long as the rest of the mods combined. I was expecting the entire grill to be easily removable, but it ended up breaking off in pieces. I couldn't get the outer edge of the grill off of the inside of the cup, so I had to clip the mesh in 1mm increments at a time so the edges would fit into the random bits of plastic still stuck on the inside. If the metal mesh goes on top of the remnants of the old plastic mesh, the cups won't close all the way, so it had to fit perfectly. I also took a misstep using screen material from a screen door. It looked fine, but it was way too soft. When glued into the ear cup, it still disconnected on the slightest impact. I ended up buying a thick metal mesh pencil holder from the hardware store, which was much more rigid and could hold its shape in the cup.
Man, the new grills look great, but what a headache for a cosmetic improvement. Its not like I can see them while wearing them
On the whole, I'm really happy with how things turned out.
One final note: I strongly recommend the steam method for taking the cups apart. The plastic on the ear cups is pretty soft, and any other separation method is definitely going to damage the cups cosmetically. The steam was painless, and let me just pull the cups apart with my hands. Just make sure you let everything dry out before firing it up.
