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Grado modders go Magnum
Jan 20, 2012 at 5:28 PM Post #918 of 4,994
As request by Triggerfish .
Here are some pictures of the modifying process I previously described for extending the pins on the Sony Headband to fit standard Grado cups.
 
Sorry, I am not sure what size heatshrink this is but it is one size larger than 3/32.
  1. Cut four pieces approximately twice the length of the Sony pins
  2. Slide on x4
  3. Heat x4
  4. Enjoy
  5. Low profile Limba cups courtesy of thelostMidrange
 



 
 
 
Jan 21, 2012 at 5:07 PM Post #921 of 4,994
For me the key is to avoid heat as much as possible and avoid letting your iron touch the tab or any part of the driver.
I use the solder on the pads.
Dab them with flux.
Tin the cable ends, let cool, and apply some flux to the ends.
Clean your tip, apply a dab of solder
line up the cable ends with the solder on the pads and just touch your iron tip to the joint for less than half a second.
The above should minimize the abuse on the drivers.
however desoldering to swap cables/cups is where you won't avoid heating the pads. The best way I have found is to just cut the cable and snip as much of the residual cable as possible off of the pads.
 
Jan 21, 2012 at 8:38 PM Post #922 of 4,994
My bad lostMIDrange I just realized what you're talking about. I just got my magnums today and saw what you're talking about. I would think that amount of solder though is too little and too close to the voice coil wire that it would risk damaging the driver with the tip of the iron unless you have magic hands. 
 
Jan 21, 2012 at 9:50 PM Post #923 of 4,994
I got a headband in the mail today from headphonelounge. I think it took a bit less than two weeks but can't remember exactly when I ordered them. I never realized how bad the stock Grado headband was until I saw it next to an aftermarket one today.
 

 
Jan 22, 2012 at 5:32 AM Post #926 of 4,994


Quote:
t-crisis said:
Isn't that the same thing? Or am I confused. With Grados the square wax pad area has the tiny blobs of solder on it.
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Err I would avoid soldering to that if I could, I solder the cable to the square metal tab connected to that wire area, I'm just very meticulous about avoiding heating up that voice coil. I swear that thing would evaporate on you if you looked at it the wrong way from how thin it is
 
If you can pull it off, it'll still work just fine.
 
For stock Grados I prefer to suck up all the solder and use fresh solder, but you have to have decent heat and quick and articulate hands to do that, I recommend just re-using it the stock solder for most people. That's just me though.
 
 
Jan 22, 2012 at 11:35 AM Post #927 of 4,994


Quote:
thelostmidrange said:
ANYONE INTERESTED IN A V4 TRADE? i CAN OFFER 2 SETS IN BLACK FOR 1 SET IN GREY........YES THAT'S RIGHT 2 FOR 1......... I THINK THE GREY ONES LOOK COOLER.....PM ME THANKS MUCH
Click to expand...

 
PM has been sent.  
beyersmile.png

 
 
 
Jan 22, 2012 at 11:42 AM Post #928 of 4,994


Quote:
chris_himself said:
Err I would avoid soldering to that if I could, I solder the cable to the square metal tab connected to that wire area, I'm just very meticulous about avoiding heating up that voice coil. I swear that thing would evaporate on you if you looked at it the wrong way from how thin it is
 
If you can pull it off, it'll still work just fine.
 
For stock Grados I prefer to suck up all the solder and use fresh solder, but you have to have decent heat and quick and articulate hands to do that, I recommend just re-using it the stock solder for most people. That's just me though.
 
Click to expand...


I'm in 100% agreement on the response applied.  In my opinion, I do the same method by applying some of my own solder to the pad to make enough of a surface area to get the wires to hold into the fresh solder.  The existing "dot" of solder is not nearly enough and is too close to the "critical zone" on the edge (where the wires leading to voice coil are micro thin) that I don't care to go there.  
 
Also, I've realized that my hotter irons, which were not tinned properly have been the core reason where I've "torched" a driver to the point of needing to get replacements.  However, for general soldering (e.g. - cables, drivers, etc.) the 15 watt iron is more than adequate for the work.  When it comes to the connector, I've found that the 15 watt iron is not enough to get the area heated properly - especially when it comes to soldering the "sleeve" portion of the jack.  In that case, I quickly pull out the 40 watt iron to hit that connection quickly and bond the solder and wire correctly to the "U" shaped metal.
 
Again, these are just my experiences.
 
 
 
 
Jan 22, 2012 at 1:56 PM Post #929 of 4,994
This was my thinking as well. to stay clear of the factory supplied 'blob' if possible and use the open square pad area. Just wanted to confirm. And yes I am aware of the need to use the right size iron and get in quick with a hot touch and get out. thx.
 
Jan 23, 2012 at 8:41 AM Post #930 of 4,994


Quote:
thelostmidrange said:
This was my thinking as well. to stay clear of the factory supplied 'blob' if possible and use the open square pad area. Just wanted to confirm. And yes I am aware of the need to use the right size iron and get in quick with a hot touch and get out. thx.
Click to expand...

Quote:
wje said:
I'm in 100% agreement on the response applied.  In my opinion, I do the same method by applying some of my own solder to the pad to make enough of a surface area to get the wires to hold into the fresh solder.  The existing "dot" of solder is not nearly enough and is too close to the "critical zone" on the edge (where the wires leading to voice coil are micro thin) that I don't care to go there.  
 
Also, I've realized that my hotter irons, which were not tinned properly have been the core reason where I've "torched" a driver to the point of needing to get replacements.  However, for general soldering (e.g. - cables, drivers, etc.) the 15 watt iron is more than adequate for the work.  When it comes to the connector, I've found that the 15 watt iron is not enough to get the area heated properly - especially when it comes to soldering the "sleeve" portion of the jack.  In that case, I quickly pull out the 40 watt iron to hit that connection quickly and bond the solder and wire correctly to the "U" shaped metal.
 
Again, these are just my experiences.
 
 
 
Click to expand...



I usually apply the tip at the corner of the pad to heat it up to operating tempurature, then I just poke the solder at the bare tab to build up a nice pool, I do this for both pads and then I let them cool for a bit. Then after 10 or so seconds I just heat up the solder until it's liquid again and stick my leads in. A couple tugs to verify structural integrity, zip ties on the cable ends, and back in the cups they go! Using this method I avoid frying the voice coil wire. When I was a noob I lifted the solder pad, disconnected the thin voice coil wire, and then basically just blindly soldered straight to that area. I got lucky but I'm sure a couple people must have cooked their wires (it literally can evaporate) so I just wanted to let you guys know how I do it.
 
If you're using stranded wire, it almost never works for me unless I use flux haha. Then after that it's basically solder wick for me!
 
We were using 15w Hakko hobby soldering irons for like the longest time, now we switched to a nice Hakko FX-888 :)
 
The 15w Hakko or Weller brand irons are probably way more than you need, I mean I used to wire 100's of dollars worth of guitar pickups back in the day with a crappy 8 dollar radio shack one.
 
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