[reeseboisse]

I've been in an exploratory mood with my Grados recently, modding their physical traits to be more comfortable, look better, and sometimes even make some audible improvements.

I've done almost all I can in that regard, so I was thinking about what else I could do to improve them. I hear people often talk about buying aftermarket cables to improve several aspects of a headphone's sound, and I became curious. I know that there is no easy way to do this on a Grado, but I'm willing to do a little soldering.

My question is: what kind of cable would work for this purpose? Would aftermarket cable designed for another set of cans, but "adapted" to mine work?

I know next to nothing on this subject, so any help at all is appreciated.

 

[ECM]

I have read about others installing mini-mono socket to each earcup so they can experiment with aftermarket cables. If I remember correctly, the mini socket was installed in the hole where the cables normally exit. They looked to me to be those that can be purchased at Radio Shack. They are a bit smaller than the 1/8" size socket and are mono, not stereo. I guess you could use a stereo socket, but then you would need to run a pair of cables to the other earcup.

 

[reeseboisse]

I have seen that. Your post also gave me an idea: do you think it would be in any way possible to get my hands on a pair of the sockets that Sennheiser uses in it's cans? That would certainly make some options if it worked...

 

[Demolition]

These plugs and jacks are very hard to come by unless you scavenge them from Sennheiser headphones and cables themselves. We were discussing this matter in this thread a little while ago, and thought we had found a source for the plugs, at least. It sounds promising, but no results as of yet.

D.

 

[reeseboisse]

Hm. Well honestly if I took this route, I wouldn't be too concerned with plugs so much as sockets; I wouldn't go through the trouble of DIYing my own cables, and instead probably buy a pre-existing Sennheiser aftermarket cable. Although, those are expensive.

At first, before ECM suggested what he did, I was thinking of perhaps some microphone cable or something, but then I would probably run into some hassles with connectors and stereo wire and all. And that's something I don't need, considering my current knowledge level on this subject.

 

[ECM]

Many have considered diy cables for Grado's for various reasons. One reason is the way Grado makes the cables. They seem to be "crimped" at the "Y." I have thrown the idea around myself because I dislike the "Y" and I also don't care too much for the cables getting tangled. If the earcups had sockets, then they could spin around all they wanted and the cable could get untangled simply by unplugging it. I have had my 125's for about 3 months now, so I don't plan on modding them just yet. I read about someone building diy cables from cat5 cable, but the headphones ended up sounding too bright. Maybe a "darker" cable would be the way to go. If you decide to mod your cans, be sure to keep us posted!

 

[caliguy100]

reeseboisse,

What exactly do wish to accomplish by changing your cables? Many people with Grados change their cables for many different reasons like ECM has mentioned. If you would like to experiment with different sounds I would recommend that you diy your own cables. Buying after market cables can get pretty expensive especially if they weren't designed for Grado headphones in the first place. I am in the process of diying cables for my Grado headphones

 

[reeseboisse]

Changing the sound is my main intent, but I wouldn't mind being able to unplug them from the cups.

Caliguy, what have you done so far? I'd love to hear any results you've gotten.

ECM, is there any way to tell how a cable will sound just by knowing it's specifications? Or is there no way but the hard way to find out?

 

[caliguy100]

I haven't found any body's impressions posted after swaping or changing their cable around. I have a pair of HP-1 drivers that I am going to wire with silver cable. I don't care for the thick stiff cable that my grados have. I am considering the mono-sub mini plug idea from Headwize. It seems like a good idea. The cable will not twist up and I could swap out cables a lot easier.

 

[ECM]

reeseboisse,

I'm not sure it is possible to determine how a cable will sound. there are other factors such as what solder you use and also the plugs themselves. i read a thread a while back where a DIYer used two cables for his headphones. copper for a laid back sound (eg. on poor recordings) and silver for an uncolored, unforgiving sound (good recordings). if you mod your grado's with plugs, then it should be easy to try many different wires and configurations. i know some home audiophile cables actually have impedance matching circuits for home speakers, but i don't know if anyone has done it for headphones. sounds interesting though.