[jmb777]

Ive recently acquired some Grado RS-1's however they clearly have something disloged in the right ear cup, there is a huge rattle from low frequencies and when simply shaking the headphones while their turned off. 
Has anyone got any idea prior knowledge of such problems?
 
i was thinking if it was just something needing to be removed or glued down i could do it myself but has anyone ever been able to open RS-1 cups without smashing them? can i remove the driver from the front or is it best to just send them to be repaired or replaced? their way out of warranty by the way. 
 
i know this isn't simply the infamous Grattle, it sounds like a much larger rattle than that.
 
thanks in advance

 

[Badd99]

ew, sorry to hear about that one. I know that most people do not mess around to open them up at all....most cableing companies send them off to Grado to have them open it up and send it back. It looks like your probably going to have to send them off and have them fixed over there. Sorry to hear!

 

[ivanrocks321]

Same here, I would send it back to grado to fix. Might try calling and asking about warranty they most likely want a receipt from an authorized dealer and serial number. If not I think they charge about $100 for repair plus extra for driver damage. 

 

[jmb777]

Thanks for the replies,
 
problem is i'm situated in the UK and so shipping and everything would push the final cost of these headphones beyond what i was prepared for.
still, i believe they where damaged in transit and they were insured so i may be able to get money back through that hopefully. 
 
Do you think i could get another set of cups and replace those in the process of repairing the rattle? as no doubt if i attempt it they will probably break. i seen many people do it with prestige series phones but not many with the RS1's

 

[Bilavideo]

There is no reason you should have anything rattling around inside your Grados.  There's nothing to really break off.  On the front side, you have the diaphragm, voice coil and magnet.  The magnet isn't going anywhere.  It's stuck to the magnet plate by sheer magnetic force.  The voice coil can shift but if it came out from the gap around the magnet, your drivers would no longer work.  The diaphragms are extremely flimsy and easily susceptible to wrinkles and crinkles, producing the infamous "Grado grattle."  If the Mylar came loose, you'd have a buzzing sound, but it wouldn't rattle unless a huge chunk of it were just hanging off the basket, which would be a real curiosity.  It's not impossible to have a loose spot in the surround, where part of the diaphragm vibrates and buzzes when you get some thumpy bass, but it's not a problem that would cause a rattle while the headphones are unplugged.
 
The back of the headphone has almost nothing to rattle.  The backplate is unlikely to come loose.  It's usually lodged in pretty tight and you'd either have no performance or notice a serious problem in basic performance if it did.  It would take a screwdriver or something similar to pry it out.  The only objects inside the back of the headphone that could come loose are the wires and the glob of resinous glue used to damp the magnet plate.  If the wires came undone, you wouldn't have any performance at all.  It's possible your resinous goo has detatched but that would also be a curiosity.  I wonder if there's a plastic brace, used as stress relief.
 
You might want to check the grill cloth to see if there is any sign of stress or a hole that could have permitted some foreign object, however small, to have penetrated its fibers.  When lower Grados are modded, the cloth is sometimes removed, which would remove the protective shield (though doing so also makes it easier to remove anything that falls into the cage).  If the grill cloth is in place, it's more likely something fell in through the rear grill.  You may want to keep at it, to determine on which side of the driver the rattle is coming from.  If it's a rear grill issue, you may be able to play the BB-in-the-hole game and remove it through luck and pluck.

 

[jmb777]

 
Quote:

There is no reason you should have anything rattling around inside your Grados.  There's nothing to really break off.  On the front side, you have the diaphragm, voice coil and magnet.  The magnet isn't going anywhere.  It's stuck to the magnet plate by sheer magnetic force.  The voice coil can shift but if it came out from the gap around the magnet, your drivers would no longer work.  The diaphragms are extremely flimsy and easily susceptible to wrinkles and crinkles, producing the infamous "Grado grattle."  If the Mylar came loose, you'd have a buzzing sound, but it wouldn't rattle unless a huge chunk of it were just hanging off the basket, which would be a real curiosity.  It's not impossible to have a loose spot in the surround, where part of the diaphragm vibrates and buzzes when you get some thumpy bass, but it's not a problem that would cause a rattle while the headphones are unplugged.
 
The back of the headphone has almost nothing to rattle.  The backplate is unlikely to come loose.  It's usually lodged in pretty tight and you'd either have no performance or notice a serious problem in basic performance if it did.  It would take a screwdriver or something similar to pry it out.  The only objects inside the back of the headphone that could come loose are the wires and the glob of resinous glue used to damp the magnet plate.  If the wires came undone, you wouldn't have any performance at all.  It's possible your resinous goo has detatched but that would also be a curiosity.  I wonder if there's a plastic brace, used as stress relief.
 
You might want to check the grill cloth to see if there is any sign of stress or a hole that could have permitted some foreign object, however small, to have penetrated its fibers.  When lower Grados are modded, the cloth is sometimes removed, which would remove the protective shield (though doing so also makes it easier to remove anything that falls into the cage).  If the grill cloth is in place, it's more likely something fell in through the rear grill.  You may want to keep at it, to determine on which side of the driver the rattle is coming from.  If it's a rear grill issue, you may be able to play the BB-in-the-hole game and remove it through luck and pluck.

I've been inspecting it further, i believe the sound comes from the front of the cup, the right headphone itself doesn't seem to be working right, the volume is very low compared to the left. The right is still playing just very muffled and with a huge rattle due to the 'debris' but it there is still a rattle when they are off, so something is dislodged. 
 
This makes me feel for the worst that it is unrepairable and a new driver is required. 

 

[Bilavideo]

 

I've been inspecting it further, i believe the sound comes from the front of the cup, the right headphone itself doesn't seem to be working right, the volume is very low compared to the left. The right is still playing just very muffled and with a huge rattle due to the 'debris' but it there is still a rattle when they are off, so something is dislodged. 
 
This makes me feel for the worst that it is unrepairable and a new driver is required. 

Are these new?  Are they under warranty?
 
New question: Are you ready to "suck it?"  I'm speaking of a little mouth-to-mouth you can try after pulling the cushion off.  You place your mouth over the grill cloth and lightly inhale until you hear a click.  If the driver is muffled, you may have a crinkle in the diaphragm, something referred to as the "Grado grattle."
 
The other possibility is that your voice coil is starting to come loose.  Nothing holds it in except the gap distance between the outer edge of the magnet and the inner edge of the magnet plate.  Voice coils have been known to slip out.  This is serious enough of an issue that your next message may be to tell us that your headphones no longer work on one side.  If your problem isn't a wrinkle or crinkle in the diaphragm, chances are good that it's the voice coil coming dislodged.  It's an issue where you may just have to grit your teeth and send the cans to Grado.

 

[jmb777]

They're second hand unfortunately so no warranty. 
 
The sucking trick didn't work very well, heard the click and the problem persists. 
If the insurance on the postage doesn't pay out it seems i will have to ship them of to grado and brunt the cost, no other way around it i feel. 
 
thanks for your help on this, much appreciated. 

 

[ArmAndHammer]

My question is, did this start after you got them...like some time after, or were they messed up as soon as you got them? If this is the case, I would take it up with whoever you bought the headphones from.

 

[jmb777]

 
Quote:

My question is, did this start after you got them...like some time after, or were they messed up as soon as you got them? If this is the case, I would take it up with whoever you bought the headphones from.

I am doing just that, i bought them from ebay and they were described as functionally perfect and so it makes me think it was a problem during postage for which they were insured, I'm sure i can get my money back from somewhere so its not all bad. 
Problem is a second hand pair is probably my only chance to get my hands on RS1's for a while so i would prefer to repair them than just send them back. May be the case that i have to drop down to some brand new 325i instead. 

 

[ArmAndHammer]

That's good that you might be able to recoop some of the money it might end up costing you to repair your Grados. It's a shame that you have to even try. Good luck with everything and I'll be watching this thread...it seems that I am having some issues with my Grados too, different, but some of the solutions may be the same. 

 

[jmb777]

Thanks man, 
i'll see what happens over the next few days, if i actually find out what is wrong with them i'll be sure to report here.
Not to sure i'll have them for much longer, they may just go back to the seller with any luck. 

 

[Bilavideo]

 

Thanks man, 
i'll see what happens over the next few days, if i actually find out what is wrong with them i'll be sure to report here.
Not to sure i'll have them for much longer, they may just go back to the seller with any luck. 

Unless the seller sold them "as is," Ebay gives you a certain number of days to reverse the sale (I think it's seven).  You shouldn't wait.  What you have described is far from "functionally perfect."  To me, that sounds like the kind of description that overrides the implied "as is" condition of most private sales.

 

[purrin]

Sounds like the Grado rattle of death. The drivers are fried. I would I know because I've have two Grado drivers turn out like this. You can confirm with a DMM - should measure 32 ohms. However it could still be 32 ohms and still be fried.

 

[nikongod]

different things cause the rattle.
 
Significant DC offset will melt the voice coils off of the cones and obviously ruin the drivers. For some reason the voice coils dont "open" when this happens. You should check your amp(s) for DC offset and your power on/off habits. Its seldom a good idea to leave headphones plugged in when turning amps on and off.