[Masticore]

Well, today I got my Grado Sr 80 after waiting several weeks for my retailer getting them back in stock. After a long day at the library studying I was really looking forward to pick em up at my local post office. When I finally get home at 19:00 I pack them upp, connect them to my dac + extension cord and starts playing some flacs from my laptop. So after 3 houres wearing the phones and doing nothing else then being at the computer, studing, walking around in dorm, and not even once applying force to the headphones, the armature, the part with the rod that hold the driver housing, just falls apart!!! After just 3 houres they break, and I haven´t done nothing but normal usage!

The damage is exactly the same as this:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/gra...broken-180057/

Ok, I guess I got a dud or whatever its called, but it still pisses my that my new toy won´t even hold for a evening, and that I now have to wait for a replacement / replacement part. SHAME ON YOU GRADO!

I diden´t really mean the shame on you part, because it can really happen anything, not mather what quality check, guess I just had bad luck.

Has this happend anyone else? And have you fixed it succesfully, or is a replacement the only way to go?

 

[mr56k]

Sorry to hear that. I have purchased Grado SR225's and SR60's and thought they were built really well. Have a feeling these are just a dud like you said. Hopefully they get them swapped out for you in a timely manner. Good luck!

 

[ciphercomplete]

I had to sell my Grados. A fine fine pair of cans I wish I could have kept them but the build quality is such that I felt I would have destroyed them after a while so I had to sell before that happened. I have a old pair of $20 radio shack/Koss pro 35s that are more sturdy. My main concern was how the driver housing can turn around in endless circles putting unnecessary strain on the cable.

My pair of SR 80 also had a lot of glue under the white net above the driver. A little sloppy and cheap if you ask me.

 

[TSi]

its better knowing u have a dud early than to have to re burn in them... OR having them fail AFTER ur warranty expires

 

[yale.reinstein]

Don't worry about this! Happened to me on vacation... Just go out and get some crazy-super glue. It's not worth sending them back for such a minor design flaw. The truth is, Grado's hurt, and quality of the build isn't that high. The design is classic however, distinct and beautiful.

 

[wnmnkh]

Grados are fragile as hell (not many people do not admit this, but it is true.) Be very careful.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Too bad they broke on the first day like that. Why don't you epoxy them back together? Crazy glue is OK, but you're better off spending a few dollars more on a two-part epoxy. Get the kind where you have to mix two gels together. Follow the instructions for the epoxy and they should be fine.

 

[ciphercomplete]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yale.reinstein /img/forum/go_quote.gif The design is classic however, distinct and beautiful.

Yep, they are the best looking headphones in the world IMHO. I love retro though so maybe thats just me.

 

[hellopanda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Masticore /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, today I got my Grado Sr 80 after waiting several weeks for my retailer getting them back in stock. After a long day at the library studying I was really looking forward to pick em up at my local post office. When I finally get home at 19:00 I pack them upp, connect them to my dac + extension cord and starts playing some flacs from my laptop. So after 3 houres wearing the phones and doing nothing else then being at the computer, studing, walking around in dorm, and not even once applying force to the headphones, the armature, the part with the rod that hold the driver housing, just falls apart!!! After just 3 houres they break, and I haven´t done nothing but normal usage! The damage is exactly the same as this: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/gra...broken-180057/ Ok, I guess I got a dud or whatever its called, but it still pisses my that my new toy won´t even hold for a evening, and that I now have to wait for a replacement / replacement part. SHAME ON YOU GRADO! I diden´t really mean the shame on you part, because it can really happen anything, not mather what quality check, guess I just had bad luck. Has this happend anyone else? And have you fixed it succesfully, or is a replacement the only way to go?

Happens to me as well after my third week. I just get some crazy-glue to put them together without sending them to the service centre coz I think they're probably gonna also do something like that. Anyway, it doesn't affect the SQ so as long as it stays which is very likely with crazy-glue..... it should be fine.

 

[Elluzion]

why would grado even let something like this happen. it is sad that they are so fragile...

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elluzion /img/forum/go_quote.gif why would grado even let something like this happen. it is sad that they are so fragile...

I totally disagree with this.

very few in a HUGE lot has a failure. bummer. so you get it fixed under warenty, and go on your way. my SR-60 are 10 years old, and my 325's are in a 125-headband that is about 4 or 5. my sr-60 (bought used) came to me shipped in a12X14ish bubble mailer envelope.

senheiser is not immune from headband issues... my first set of hd-580 broke the day i bought them. Its not worth whining about because they got replaced.

Ultrasone had headband issues for a little while, nothing new.

I was at a meet and picked up an HE-90 once and one of the drivers/cups fell out of the yoke holding it. Thats what you get for buying something made by hand, one at a time.

i saw an R10 with a peculiar issue with one of the swivels for the yokes... basically dropped down 1/2".

Denons D5000/2000 headbands used to fall apart all the time (they may have fixed it.) if you are handy with the loc-tite you can fix it permanently, but you have to wait for them to fall apart, which they only did at the worst time possible..

this is a non-issue. someone had a problem with their headphone, let it go.

 

[aaron313]

Thank you for the sanity, nikongod. S*** happens when you're dealing with plastic components. There is one case, however, where you can blame fragility on a poor design: Bose Triports. I would say that a significant fraction of all owners have had either the left, right or both (me) sides of the headband crack. The design is simply pathetic, because the headband starts to crack after several months with regular use. The problem was somewhat fixed with electrical tape, but there is no excuse when so many customers have the same problem.

 

[F107plus5]

I was actually surprised to hear about this particular Grado/Alessandro problem. I thought I had read just about everything ever published about Alessandros, and I had managed to miss it!

As far as toughness; my Grandkids managed to get my MS-1 harness caught in their computer chair a couple years ago, and it got to spinning at some point, and big chunks of the insulation were ripped out. No other damage but the insulation. I'm just now beginning to get some intermittent loss of signal, so I guess I gotta break down and make a real repair.

But these guys are tough little buggers.

My MS2i are just as tough, I just don't let the kids play with them!

.....well; I GUESS they're just as tough.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elluzion /img/forum/go_quote.gif why would grado even let something like this happen. it is sad that they are so fragile...

If the cup-holder is properly molded, it isnt too fragile. This seems like that there was just airbubble or something in the molding process or something else was fudged up, making it snap from that point. But yes, I think Grado should start using Grado RS1 cup holders on all of their headphones, they are sturdy.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif But yes, I think Grado should start using Grado RS1 cup holders on all of their headphones, they are sturdy.

im willing to bet that it costs grado about as much to make a rs-1 headband as to make every part of the sr-60 save the drivers....

my impressions of the grado heaedband is that they fail very quickly from an obvious mfr defect, or they hold up exceptionally well.