[vvaffles]

Hey, my sr80 drivers are kinda screwed up, they work, but they produce no low frequency what so ever, i opened up the cup and tried it with a different cable but no luck. is there a way to open up the drivers themselves? they are already out of warrenty, so theres no point sending it back, and im more curious as to why this happened then getting them working again.
 
Thanks

 

[Bilavideo]

 

Hey, my sr80 drivers are kinda screwed up, they work, but they produce no low frequency what so ever, i opened up the cup and tried it with a different cable but no luck. is there a way to open up the drivers themselves? they are already out of warrenty, so theres no point sending it back, and im more curious as to why this happened then getting them working again.
 
Thanks

If they produce no low frequency, it's because you're not getting output from the whole diaphragm.  Before you take your Grados apart, you may want to check to see if you have the familiar "Grado grattle."  The diaphragms are made from very thin mylar, which can get wrinkled.  Grados are more vulnerable to this because they don't put much, if any, filtration between the drivers and your ear.  All you have, in terms of filtering is a nylon screen on the front and some felt on the back of the driver.  Hairs can fall in (causing a buzz).  In addition, the diaphragm can get bent.  If the headphones have been exposed to either a heavy wind or water, you are likely to have a wrinkle in one or both drivers.  Likewise, if the headphones have been subjected to very loud volumes - which can include insane amounts of bass - you can again have a bend or wrinkle in the diaphragm.
 
Here is the easiest way to cure the problem:  Suck it.
 
Remove the cushion and approach the cup as if it were the mouth of a very pretty woman you would like to resuscitate.  But instead of blowing into her, you're going to gently inhale, sucking with enough pressure to pull the diaphragm up until you hear a light "click."  The click will be your diaphragm popping into shape.  Do this with both sides.  If you still have an issue, come back and report.  There are several of us here who can walk you through the process of taking your Grados apart and repairing them.
 
Just as an aside, I'd like to thank every "very pretty woman" who has ever practiced resuscitation with me.  You know who you are and I just gotta say, it was fun practicing "Grado repair" with you.

 

[swbf2cheater]

hammer would work, im not at all fond of grado so thats my pick for the method to opening them hehe
 
no seriously though, they could be dirty or the wire faulty :[

 

[lozanoa11]

Quote:

hammer would work, im not at all fond of grado so thats my pick for the method to opening them hehe
 
no seriously though, they could be dirty or the wire faulty :[

If you can't fix it with a hammer you have an electrical problem...
 
No but for real, the driver may just be bad. Sounds like a good reason to upgrade!

 

[vvaffles]

try the sucking technique, it didnt work out. its like the entire sound spectrum for bass response is gone. the high is working perfectly fine, but there are no lows at all, and im not just talking about the bass drums and guitars, even in vocals, the low freqs are gone
 
i also thought it could be a faulty wire, i oped up the cups and solider a custom wire onto it, still the same, so the wires seem to be in working order
 
what to do, what to do.

 

[Bilavideo]

Are there changes to the volume?

 

[Ice Nine]

I had the exact same thing happen to a pair of SR225's.  I had tested them upon receiveing them used with some fairly heavy bass tracks and they were exposed to a very high amount of heat and humidity when I was trying to open the cups.  Had bass before I tried opening, had no bass but everything else after I got them open and reassembled.  For $40 Grado installed a pair of drivers and a new cable and sent them back to me.  This pair was out of warranty.  Since Grado installed a cable with a 1/8 plug I sometimes use these as portables.  Didn't notice any channel imbalances or anything after the repair.

 

[vvaffles]

when i max out the volume on my mp3 the kick drum sound like farting noises, and also im located in canada so repairs+shipping+duties might cost more then 40, but thanks for the tip. and im also more intrested in figuring out whats wrong then getting them to work.
 
any ideas?

 

[Beagle]

 
Quote:

Just as an aside, I'd like to thank every "very pretty woman" who has ever practiced resuscitation with me.  You know who you are and I just gotta say, it was fun practicing "Grado repair" with you.

Just wondering, were you successful in popping their diaphragms back into shape?

 
To add to what bilavideo has so wonderfully put forth, when you pull the diaphragms upward with suction, then release, you should hear a clean "pop" sound when it goes in and out. If the sound has a crinkle to it, it might be damaged. I used to bring the diaphragms back up using this method, then use a hairdryer very carefully to "cure" them, to slightly shrink them back to spec.
 
Oh hell, just send them off for repair. Since you are in Canada, check this http://www.audio-ideas.com/articles/grado-sr125.html

 

[vvaffles]

i tried the technique again, but the pop has a crinkle in it, how do u use the hair dryer to put them into place?

 

[Beagle]

If the pop has a crinkle in it you have to send them back, if its got a crinkly thing happening, you can't use the hairdryer unless you have popped the driver back into place. It's only to finalize everything. Send them to Michel.

 

[nikongod]

Every grado driver I have sucked (37. I'l try not to suck any on the way to the parking lot) {seriously, 3} has crinkled. I think its just the plastic deforming under too much vacuum.
 
Have you tried deliberately disconnecting one of the drivers? Thats right, unsolder that bitch!
 
If there is no sound from the connected driver your ground wire is screwed up.
 
If there is sound measure the resistance across the plug and the resistance directly across the solder pads on the driver. If the 2 are significantly (more than 1 or 2 ohms... if its a problem it will be obvious) different your ground wire is screwed up.
 
If you still want to take a Grado driver apart here is how. You dont need to, more than 90% of the time what you describe is caused by a funky ground connection (typically in the plug)
 
If you do and screw up.... your on your own. These instructions are written from a foggy memory. If you think you know of a better way your probably right! Ooh, yea, this pretty much destroys the headphones so its really just nice if you want to put the grado drivers into something else.
 
Necessary equipment:
Safety equipment (eye protection, ear protection)
Hand tools (soldering iron, heat gun, dremmel tool with cut off wheel or saw wheel (alternately a hand saw may be used, although it requires much more pashunts.) screwdriver)
 
1: Remove cups. Use heat gun if necessary.
2: Unsolder wires from drivers.
3: Look at the back of the driver. you see that PCB the wires were attached to. Good! Avoid it like the plague for the rest of this. If you cut too close to it you may damage the driver wires. Please dont do that.
4: Look at the face of the driver. There are several concentric circles. The outer rim where the pad mounts, then a seam and then the driver cloth (may not be perfectly centered) The circle we are aiming for in the next step is the first one in from the outside: the seam. Its about 2-3mm in... thats it.
5: Put on eye and ear protection.
6: Take the dremmel tool (or saw) and VERY carefully cut several slits up the wall of the tube. I usually cut 4. They should be exactly as deep as you determined in step 4. If you cut too deep and go into the driver I will laugh at you. HaHa
7: Take the heat gun and GENTLY heat the quarters of the tube. Once you get them nice and warm the should pry off fairly easily.
 
Here is a picture of a Grado SR60 driver (from the back, its better from the back anyways) at this step. Sorry, I dont have one from the front with the driver by its self. something about not showing its face.
 

 
9:If you want to go to the bare naked driver so you can touch and feel it with nothing between the two of you (despite what you may have been told in speaker-ed class, it really is better with nothing between you and that throbbing driver) put the driver down on its face. Around its edge you will see several concentric circles. again you are going to cut the FIRST one only. I guess you made it this far without destroying your drivers, but this is the more critical step. Its really important to get this one right.
 
10: Make a few gentle cuts in that outer rim  I like to go for 6 or 8, it makes the next step easier. Again, just like before. NOT TOO DEEP!
 
11: Once you have a bunch of good cuts in the outer rim there take your screwdriver and stick it in the crack between the outer rim and the driver. Give it a few whacks in each spot. Don't worry if the cover (the part near your ear) breaks, it tends to. Your better off without that miserable piece of s*** anyways.
 
12: If you did everything right you should be able to lift the driver out of the front grill. I would avoid application of heat at this point. The driver membranes are thinner than paper and melt alarmingly easily. It may require just a touch of the english to get the last bits of broken plastic off of the front of the driver but you should now have something that looks like this.
 

 
Ooh so very pretty. Enjoy your naked grado drivers. I can think of several things to stick them in.
 
Just a reminder: Your on your own if you try this if you bust your headphones please dont tell me about it. OTOH, if you have success with this LMK, its always nice to hear about successful DIY projects.

 

[vvaffles]

thanks a lot nikongod, i got these headphones for free so i promise i wont make a voodoo doll of you if/when i break it 

 

[Bilavideo]

 
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Just wondering, were you successful in popping their diaphragms back into shape? 

 

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In high school, I had to take a driver's ed/first aid class, which involved learning CPR.  We practiced blowing into a dummy whose mouth had been swabbed in alcohol.  I kept wonder, as I did this weird exercise not unlike blowing up an air mattress, what it would be like if incorporated into a kiss.
 
So yes, I did it on a female who, in making out with me, wasn't expecting to get the lungs of love.  To my surprise, she liked it so much her parents forbade her to ever see me again.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

thanks a lot nikongod, i got these headphones for free so i promise i wont make a voodoo doll of you if/when i break it 

No Worries. I still think its a cable issue.
Quote:

 

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In high school, I had to take a driver's ed/first aid class, which involved learning CPR.  We practiced blowing into a dummy whose mouth had been swabbed in alcohol.  I kept wonder, as I did this weird exercise not unlike blowing up an air mattress, what it would be like if incorporated into a kiss.
 
So yes, I did it on a female who, in making out with me, wasn't expecting to get the lungs of love.  To my surprise, she liked it so much her parents forbade her to ever see me again.

Win. 100% Win.