[ThurstonX]

  Yeah I'm leaning towards the black too, it's a close call though cause the copper looks really cool at certain angles.
It is however a lot harder to work with than the black as its fairly flimsy compared. So I'm thinking of possibly changing the copper one over to black tomorrow.

 
I'm looking at both images full size, and the copper is pretty cool.  What is that material?  Reminds me of something used on a costume in the original Star Trek series (i.e., it was "space age" in the '60s).  It's harder to see the black material.  What did you use for that?  I think the reason I like the black is that it makes the grills pop out more visually.

 

[ThurstonX]

I just ordered the stuff to do my first mod on my newly acquired HE-500s. And so it begins...

So my stuff arrived and I've got the grills cut out. I'm still not sure which colour dust guard I like best though, so I did a different one on either side to compare.



What do you guys think?

 
Do you know what gauge mesh that is?  I found a supplier, but it's tough to tell the size of the openings.  If you don't know the gauge, could you measure the size of the openings?  Thanks in advance!

 

[psychoro]

The mesh is just hexagonal aluminium mesh, not sure what gauge it is but the gaps are about 6mm across so about a 1/4 inch and the actual aluminium is about 1mm. The fabric is just organza that I picked up off ebay.

 

[ThurstonX]

Did some rudimentary measurements.  The diameter of the grills (exposed, from inside of plastic retaining ring) is ~80mm.  Counting the openings in your pix, then dividing, I get about 6.5mm.  Maybe it's actually 6mm, since I keep finding that size opening at various sites.
 
These seem to be the least expensive, and probably the cheapest in terms of quality of material.  Since they can't be cheaper than the letter holder mesh I got from Walmart, I reckon they'll do.  The openings are certainly larger.
 
I also found this site, which has aluminum, steel, and stainless (steel, I suppose).  The steel perforated sheet is the only one that lists honeycomb openings, but I'm sure they can provide that for aluminum.  I wonder if aluminum would be better, since it's non-magnetic.  Of course, this stuff is more expensive.

 

[ThurstonX]

The mesh is just hexagonal aluminium mesh, not sure what gauge it is but the gaps are about 6mm across so about a 1/4 inch and the actual aluminium is about 1mm. The fabric is just organza that I picked up off ebay.

 
Thanks for confirming.  I've got organza on my grills.  Good stuff.

 

[psychoro]

That looks like the same kinda stuff, and yeah I thought aluminium might be better. I don't know how much of a difference it makes but it can't hurt. Also I had a feeling it might have been a post you made where I'd read about using organza haha.

 

[ThurstonX]

That looks like the same kinda stuff, and yeah I thought aluminium might be better. I don't know how much of a difference it makes but it can't hurt. Also I had a feeling it might have been a post you made where I'd read about using organza haha.

 
Yeah, pretty sure I never read the term "organza" before I posted about it.  Never heard of it until I found it in a fabric store.  Wonder what those ladies working there thought about me buying some 

 
Ended up with this.  Easier to paint.  Not much more than 4 x those PC fan grills, and can get more than four grills from that sheet.  Past experience tells me extra is good.

 

[psychoro]

Ahh yeah I'd seen that stuff on eBay from the same company, they do have the same stuff painted black if you're interested. It may be powder coated actually, I can't quite remember...

 

[ThurstonX]

Ahh yeah I'd seen that stuff on eBay from the same company, they do have the same stuff painted black if you're interested. It may be powder coated actually, I can't quite remember...

 
Silver was cheaper and should be easier to paint, cuz I still got a can of red spray paint ready to go 

 ... not to mention some flat black.
With that much grilling, I can have three: red, silver & black.

 

[q2klepto]

Changing to a less restrictive grill - does it lower the bass impact/response at all?  I guess im a bit of a basshead and from what i hear the HE400s are one of the more bassy open backed, although it doesnt compare to my closed back UE6000s (not that i expect it to). I'm currently EQing the bass a bit (3-5db bump in the 55-100hz range) for some songs. 
 
Or does this just improve the "airy-ness" and treble? 

 

[Armaegis]

Regrilling had no effect on the bass in my experience, at least nothing relevant compared to the change in the rest of the spectrum.

 

[tl13m]

I did it with a pair of plastic grill 

 which is PCCooler 120mm Fan Dust Filter, it is fit perfectly, no need for ring or glue.
 

 

 

[psychoro]

I did it with a pair of plastic grill :bigsmile_face:  which is [COLOR=0000FF]PCCooler 120mm Fan Dust Filter[/COLOR], it is fit perfectly, no need for ring or glue.

That looks awesome with the Japanese logo in the middle! I was contemplating doing this with the grills off my PC, but then it'd get full of dust... And I think they're steel anyways.

 

[ThurstonX]

I just did new grills using the car grill hex mesh.  I haven't put any fabric (organza) on for dust protection.  The first things I noticed were and increase in soundstage width and more treble energy.  With the AKG Q701 pads and the grill I made earlier (openings nowhere near as wide as this hex mesh), the sound was a bit less wide open, and the sense of air I'm getting now was not really there.  It wasn't unpleasant in the slightest.  Maybe a little more intimate and focused, though I expect the latter impression is just my brain adjusting.  Haven't had much time with the new grills.
 
I was quite surprised by the change, but I'd never listened with no grills at all.  Time to cut a couple more pairs, paint one red

, and slap some organza on the other to see if that changes the sound.

 

[q2klepto]

  I did it with a pair of plastic grill 

 which is PCCooler 120mm Fan Dust Filter, it is fit perfectly, no need for ring or glue.
 

 

 
Oh awesome - think itll work with something like this? http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX28858 Are the HE-400 cups actually 120mm?