[Erling]

Hi,
 
Owner of 325is serial 4386 here, living in Sweden. I use my 325is with Centrance DacPort but with great sound also from my old NAD amp. Like most owners I love these for the sound and I never even think of upgrading (unlike the DacPort which i like a lot but maybe find a bit clinical sometimes).
 
Unfortunately one of the drivers seem to have cracked. I'm surprised that this was even possible because I don't play terribly loud, but it has. I wrote to Grado and got a very helpful reply and recommendation for a firm in Sweden, called EM-Nordic. Now, a couple of questions: 1) when i replace one driver, should I also replace the other one? I.e. how matched do they have to be? 2) will they sound the same after replacement? 3) does it matter who does the job and does anyone have other names in Europe for Grado service? 4) should I upgrade the cable at the same time - many of you seem to have done that with great results. If I want them to be just a little darker and settled, without losing their trademark punch and liveliness, what cable would you recommend?
 
Many questions but this being the department of Grado studies I think I should take the opportunity!

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

Hi,
 
Owner of 325is serial 4386 here, living in Sweden. I use my 325is with Centrance DacPort but with great sound also from my old NAD amp. Like most owners I love these for the sound and I never even think of upgrading (unlike the DacPort which i like a lot but maybe find a bit clinical sometimes).
 
Unfortunately one of the drivers seem to have cracked. I'm surprised that this was even possible because I don't play terribly loud, but it has. I wrote to Grado and got a very helpful reply and recommendation for a firm in Sweden, called EM-Nordic. Now, a couple of questions: 1) when i replace one driver, should I also replace the other one? I.e. how matched do they have to be? 2) will they sound the same after replacement? 3) does it matter who does the job and does anyone have other names in Europe for Grado service? 4) should I upgrade the cable at the same time - many of you seem to have done that with great results. If I want them to be just a little darker and settled, without losing their trademark punch and liveliness, what cable would you recommend?
 
Many questions but this being the department of Grado studies I think I should take the opportunity!

 
Heya,
 
Shouldn't matter if you replace one driver if they're using 325i drivers. There is a problem here though, it's kind of difficult to know when you have SR60i and SR325i drivers side by side. Might wanna research into this. The sound will be stock, assuming they used the same drivers. Shouldn't matter who does the job so long as they are an authorized Grado affiliate I would imagine (for warranty purposes). You can upgrade the cable if you want to throw money at something, sure. I would have it recabled for the sole purpose of having the cable detachable and balanced and less long. If you want to darken that treble, you have 100% odds of that happening with a little equalization tweaking, and next to none with a cable swap. Mind how much snake oil you rub on your hands.
 
Very best,

 

[Erling]

Thanks MalVeauX, for the reply. I'll make sure the drivers are correct, good that you mentioned that. And I might save my money for recabling for something better!

Cheers,

 

[Armaegis]

Depending on the cost of a replacement driver, you might consider a pair of Magnum or Turbulent X drivers instead which are supposed to be upgrades.
 
I don't know of any other official Grado service centers, but you can poke around the DIY forum or even the regional forum to try and find people in your area who might know more or who'd be willing to do it for you. 
 
I don't recommend any cable upgrade aside from aesthetics and durability/functionality.