Grado driver mod?

[kontai69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclejr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey, is this easily reversible? i.e. does the stuff come off okay?

Yes, but if the transducer is painted black, removing the goop will also remove the paint. I found this out the hard way when I tried to reposition the goop.

I wound up using a black Sharpie to recolor the removed paint.

 

[unclejr]

So long as the paint's cosmetic, I think I could deal with that.

Thanks.

 

[noseallinit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by omendelovitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, so far my hypothesis seems to be accurate: the tack has applied some refining touches to the cans - imaging has increased in accuracy to a noticeable degree; bass response (resolution and attack [punchiness]) has improved noticeably; resolution has also increased nicely (more 'blackness' b/w each note and different instruments as well). I'm going to compare them to my GS-1000's now to compare the refinement that way too...

Quote:

Originally Posted by kontai69 /img/forum/go_quote.gif To clarify things for those who are interested in using Dynamat for this mod... Dynamat Xtreme is a thin aluminum foil sheet that has a layer of gooey elastomer material on the back. I rub the gooey stuff off the foil with my fingers and roll the elastomer into a ball around 1cm in diameter. I then apply this to the back of the transducers. I don't use the foil.

so did omendelovitz end up lining the walls of his drivers also? did he use just the black tacky substance or the foil too when lining the walls? did this add to his results?

how come yawl just did not leave the foil on the black tacky substance when applying to the back of the tranducer? what is the dampening material of the Dynamat? black tacky substance? foil? or both?

 

[lisztian420]

Hi,

Just found this thread! Looks like a pretty good idea for a Grado Mod. Can the experienced members of this mod confirm the improvement of SQ after so many months of listening to them? So,.. I read something about blue-tack and I bought myself some Stick-Tack I wonder will those work? They should work like Blue-Tack I suppose but they just aren't that sticky. Anyways,... I am just interested of finding out how real is the SQ improvement with this mod after having experience them for a few months. Thanx!

 

[classic_rock_69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quaddy /img/forum/go_quote.gif i agree with most of that, i HOPE, our old enemy placebo isnt at work here but i just added some blue tack and am hearing difference as described above on my sr325i's. this is my first little journey into modding grados, i firstly taped up the pads, making them more bassy, then removed the model button, stripped the black grills to natural stainless colour. then added this dampening material to back of driver. and also added a very tight shank washer to the aluminium housing. hopefully, liberators and recabling is in the future.

I'll be doing all the same things to my 325i's when they get in. Excpet i'll be using the flat 414 pads and using the liberator mod with the extra trick that Kees posted up.

Can't wait.

 

[lisztian420]

Is the liberator back in production?? Anyways... I am still really interested in some of your impressions after a few months of experiencing the benefit from this mod. Thanx~

 

[b0dhi]

I would image that the tacky stuff serves a similar purpose as a water tower on top of a tall building - to dampen resonances. You can imagine what the difference in sound will be by taking a plate of metal and flicking it with your finger. It'll ring at a certain frequency. Attach some blu-tack to the back of the same piece of metal and flick it again. The (higher frequency) ringing will be much reduced.

 

[classic_rock_69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lisztian420 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is the liberator back in production?? Anyways... I am still really interested in some of your impressions after a few months of experiencing the benefit from this mod. Thanx~

No they still don't have the product to make the liberators. It's unfortunate but hopefullly it won't take them too long to get things back in motion.

 

[GlorytheWiz825]

Does anyone know how to pry the housing apart? My seems to be stuck on real tight...

 

[kontai69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlorytheWiz825 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know how to pry the housing apart? My seems to be stuck on real tight...

Remove the foam pads from each cup. Though not necessary, you may want to carefully pry off the plastic C-shaped cup holders (aka yoke) from each cup to make it easier to grab the two halves of the cups. This can be tricky. Also, label which cables are "left" and "right" to make sure you don't switch them around during reassembly.

The halves of each cup are held together with a bead of hot glue which is hard but softens to a sticky gel-like state upon heating. Lay the headphones flat on the floor (i.e. with the drivers facing towards floor). Blast the side of each cup with a hairdryer for a minute along the entire circumference of the cups. Do NOT blast heat into the grills on either side! After heating, quickly pry the halves of the cups apart. Use your bare hands to avoid putting tool marks on the cups, especially on aluminum ones.

Upon reassembly, I reuse the hot glue that remains. Just soften it with heat (should turn from opaque to clear) and quickly reassemble the halves of the cups. If you labelled the cables beforehand, you will know which side is which ("L" or "R").

 

[GlorytheWiz825]

Thanks for the info kontai69. I will give this a try tonight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kontai69 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The halves of each cup are held together with a bead of hot glue. Lay the headphones on the floor. You may want to pry off the plastic C-shaped cup holders first. Blast the side of each cup with a hairdryer for a minute or so; apply the heat evenly along the entire circumference of the cups. Don't blast heat into the grills on either side! After heating, quickly pry the halves of the cups apart. Use your bare hands to avoid putting tool marks on the cups, especially on aluminum ones. Upon reassembly, I reuse the hot glue that remains. Just soften it with heat (should turn from opaque to clear) and quickly reassemble the halves of the cups.

 

[intoflatlines]

Does anyone know the difference between Dynamat and Dynamat Xtreme? I got some Dynamat from someone and the backing is a blueish plastic instead of metal. I am curious if this will work or if the Xtreme version is better for some reason?

 

[lisztian420]

Hi,

I love my grados and they are really great for modding. But I am not a very handy person and most of the grado mods are really simple but they all work really really well! Well,.. I am really interested in this mod but the process is quite a lot of work for someone like me

. So can some people actually report back the improvement/difference on SQ to justify all these trouble. Please I will really appreciate your help because I don't have a heat gun or anything to remove my sr325i with. Before I go out and buy one I want to make sure this mod actually works well and it is worth all the trouble. Please also tell us what material do you use for damping. Thank you!

Charlie

 

[Sherwood]

This seems like a marginal comment at this point, but just so you know the difficulty of removing the cups depends on the age of the grados. Old ones are much easier than new. I was able to get mine off without much trouble at all, using only a hairdryer. Lots of people use hot water in a cookie sheet, as well, but water always frightens me around soldered connections.

I also tried the damping, and I think it's cost-and-time effective. Fatman711 is selling the mod material for $3 plus shipping right now, fyi.

 

[JWFokker]

Huh. I just used the tapered neck of a spoon or fork to slide around the cup and the glue eventually cracked and it popped apart.