PinkFloyd
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2009
- Posts
- 9,511
- Likes
- 31
One of these guys here at the moment to get a new on / off switch fitted so I thought it would be a great opportunity to have a look under the bonnet of this much talked about amp.
Well, getting into it was a bit of a bugger as GRADO fitted tamper proof hex screws with little "nipples" protruding out of them so you can't unscrew the bloody things unless you've got the right tool and I, for one, have never come across such a tool. I resorted to dremeling the nipples down and then unscrewing them with a hex bit once the nipples were out of the way. (have now fitted standard philips screws in their place)
Tight security indeed and even tighter under the bonnet....... the bloomin amp section is totally potted! What the hell......... GRADO obviously don't want people finding out what's inside this amp, either that or there must be some be some acoustic benefit in totally drowning what seems to be an inch wide PCB in potting compound.
Has anybody ever gone so far as to de pot and find out exactly what's under all the gunk? I was honestly expecting to find something a bit more, how do you say, "interesting" under the hood and was quite taken aback when the guts were revealed (or were not revealed as the case may be) very prosaic and very mysterious to say the least........
Yikes...... this was a shock:
Well, getting into it was a bit of a bugger as GRADO fitted tamper proof hex screws with little "nipples" protruding out of them so you can't unscrew the bloody things unless you've got the right tool and I, for one, have never come across such a tool. I resorted to dremeling the nipples down and then unscrewing them with a hex bit once the nipples were out of the way. (have now fitted standard philips screws in their place)
Tight security indeed and even tighter under the bonnet....... the bloomin amp section is totally potted! What the hell......... GRADO obviously don't want people finding out what's inside this amp, either that or there must be some be some acoustic benefit in totally drowning what seems to be an inch wide PCB in potting compound.
Has anybody ever gone so far as to de pot and find out exactly what's under all the gunk? I was honestly expecting to find something a bit more, how do you say, "interesting" under the hood and was quite taken aback when the guts were revealed (or were not revealed as the case may be) very prosaic and very mysterious to say the least........
Yikes...... this was a shock:
