[San Raal]

Hi,

A while back I posted regarding an odd buzzing coming from the right can of my RS-1 headphones. A very helpful head-fi member replied that Grado Grattle maybe the issue and by gently sucking at the affected ear peice one could remove the offending hair causing the problem.

Well, the grattle seems to come and go which may mean that Im not having much luck getting whatever is in there out, 5 minutes after gently sucking the buzzing will eventually come back (at about 300Hz or so)

Is there any method to permanently remove the problem myself without returning the headphones - I live in the UK and Ive returned these Grados before - Its a 2-3 month wait

Id also like to ask fellow head-fi people - does the GS-1000 suffer from the same issues? As I may consider getting these fixed, sold and auditioning those instead - Im addicted to the grado sound but the grattle is driving me nuts!

Thanks

 

[MaZa]

Try sucking bit harder. Seems very persistent Grattle, I get it VERY rarely.


...and cut your hair too.

 

[LFF]

I find that the "sucking" tip works 99% of the time. The other 1% is my hair going into the cup.

 

[San Raal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Try sucking bit harder. Seems very persistent Grattle, I get it VERY rarely. ...and cut your hair too.

Heh heh, I think shorter hair is probably worse - more tendancy to stick up

When I suck the phones make a clicking noise - I usually chicken out at this point. Is it safe to go any further without risking damage

 

[b0dhi]

I also get the grattle on my GS1000 sometimes. Sometimes I can blow it away, other times the hair is stuck for a long time. If you're getting persistent grattle, you may have a crinkle in the diaphragm (possibly caused by sucking on them) which causes the rattling noise. This is very hard to fix, you need to open them up, fix the crinkle, then re-set the diaphragm using a hair-dryer.

You may be damaging the headphones if you hear a clicking noise when you're sucking them. You should cover the rear vent by, for example, placing them down flat on a piece of paper, and blow into the front from various angles. This creates an air-tight seal which keeps the diaphragm from moving or deforming much as you blow onto it, while at the same time allowing the hair to dislodge.

 

[MaZa]

If you hear the diaphragm rattling when sucking, then you are sucking too strong and are in danger of damaging them.

 

[Televator]

never close your lips all around the driver opening when sucking, this will create a vacuum and possibly damage the driver!

just tout your lips on about a quadrant of the driver and suck (so you create a good airflow)...

This way I managed to suck out hairs each and every time (I know for sure as I found them in my mouth afterwards

)

If you're afraid of having done permanent damage, do send them in to Gradolabs again... better wait a while then ruining those headphones

PS: the GS1000 uses the same cloth over the driver opening, so in theory is also prone to develop Grattle(tm), but as the pads are thicker, they sit less on your ears and hair so they probably will get it less often

 

[San Raal]

Thanks for the advice all. When I next experience the dreaded grattle - No doubt soon, I will try those methods and feedback on the results.

 

[San Raal]

Thanks all for the help!

After a fair few tries with limited success I have decided to return the headphones back to Grado for repair a second time

I have a pair of SR325i's to keep me going whilst the RS-1's are fixed so its not all that bad!

Cheers

San

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you hear the diaphragm rattling when sucking, then you are sucking too strong and are in danger of damaging them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Televator /img/forum/go_quote.gif never close your lips all around the driver opening when sucking just tout your lips on about a quadrant of the driver and suck (so you create a good airflow)... This way I managed to suck out hairs each and every time

Pictures?

 

[vcoheda]

i've never experienced this and i own an RS1 (for a very long time), RS2, and SR325.

lucky, i guess.

 

[Solan]

How do you open the headphones up to check if you made a crinkle when you sucked? Kinda if you heard a clicking noise when you did it, sort of, if you know what I mean ... (the victim is the right cup of my 325i).

 

[Binary]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solan /img/forum/go_quote.gif How do you open the headphones up to check if you made a crinkle when you sucked? Kinda if you heard a clicking noise when you did it, sort of, if you know what I mean ... (the victim is the right cup of my 325i).

Here, under 'Fixing the Rattle Noise in the Diaphragm'


I chickened out when I got the 'grattle', but hey, they were still under warranty

Everyone should heed the warnings here--I hoped it was just a hair in mine, though it turned out not to be, and in the (sucking) process I made it much much worse. So it is very possible to damage it, even if it is just a hair.


Quote:

Originally Posted by San Raal /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, the grattle seems to come and go which may mean that Im not having much luck getting whatever is in there out, 5 minutes after gently sucking the buzzing will eventually come back (at about 300Hz or so)

Quote:

Originally Posted by San Raal /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks all for the help! After a fair few tries with limited success I have decided to return the headphones back to Grado for repair a second time

Yeah it sounds like you've been temporarily fixing the diaphragm or something--but it ultimately needed to be replaced, unless you tried to DIY. When you say second time, both times were b/c of the grattle?


Edit

I just realized Solan bumped a thread from November.

 

[Gradofan2]

Don't risk damaging your Grados - just send them back to Grado, they'll take care of the "Grado Grattle" without risking damage to your phones.

It's a much safer/better solution.

 

[Solan]

I might try visiting them while in the US, then ...