[GREQ]

I'm only running from an ipod which I only use outdoors, so it's not exactly an ideal hifi listening experience. 
Even so, I've tested them indoors and I can't hear a difference; although my source equipment isn't exactly at a high standard. If anything there is slightly less bass, but to me it's negligible compared to the effect of the felt damping I've used (which I think tightens up the bass, but reduces bass volume slightly). 
 

 

[Albedo]

Good thing about the 325 is the alu cups, nail, hammer and a screwdriver it popped open real easy. Ripped off the cloth and buttons, torched the remaining glue with a lighter and cleaned somewhat the soot, might be an idea later on to spray the grill black.

Punched four holes and applied bitumen, after putting it all together again first thing I noticed was that the vocalist had leaned a bit forward to the microphone, great.. except for the double bass drums, too muddy for my taste and the solo (Death - Spirit Crusher - remastered 2011) pierced with it's sibilance more than ever.

The bitumen had definitively deadened the plastic housing, but applying more?

Yes.. over two holes that's not been punched was my first hunch. A bit of a surprise that it not only took care of the muddy bass, it also brought back the attack and tamed the sibilance. Strangely it balanced out just right, in fact as of now there's a symmetry in the venting, four holes, two that's been punched.. above as below. If one can imagine splitting it from the scalp down and turning the face 90°...
 

 
To sum it up.. more balanced, more precise and just the right amount of oomph.

Ooh.. nice... so why so serious?
 
Edit: Typo.

 

[WhiteCrow]

it looks like you set them on fire....

 

[GREQ]

Does anyone know of a good way of significantly reducing treble on these headphones without a detrimental affect on the entire sound quality? (without EQ of course)

 

[WhiteCrow]

getting the sr325is
:/

 

[dsavitsk]

Does anyone know of a good way of significantly reducing treble on these headphones without a detrimental affect on the entire sound quality? (without EQ of course)

Put a 10 to 15 ohm resistor in line with them (one for each side.) It will reduce the overdamping and lessen the harsh treble.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

Put a 10 to 15 ohm resistor in line with them (one for each side.) It will reduce the overdamping and lessen the harsh treble.

Wonderful idea, I've started doing this on IEM with colored treble to make them a little more analytical

 

[Bronco628]

Alright.  Way to go all out Albedo!!!!!

 

[Albedo]

One thing I left out was the plastic-ring, as I wrongly thought the effect of modding it would be negligible.. the serious face early on grew into a discontent as I heard more albums. Dominici - O3: A Trilogy, Part Three the synth somewhat drowned in the phat mix of the double kick drums, but the oomph was good on albums mixed like Testament - The Formation of Damnation. There was only one thing to do...
 
Quote: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/534420/from-sr125i-to-sr325i-or-rs2i#post_7208714

3. Get rid of the plastic ring, down by the grill, as well a the plastic button that's stuck smack dab in the middle of your rear screen. These pieces of plastic add resonance of the worst kind. Getting rid of them will tame unnecessarily high-mid spikes, the kind that annoy the dickens out of you when you crank up the volume.

 
I've already used bitumen excessively as adhesive felt is more suited for wood, only problem with bitumen is the weight. Later on I have to open up the headband and stuff it with some foam, as of now I can tell that the blood circulation on top of my head is not optimal.
 
Removing the plastic ring down by the grill transformed my cans into some surprisingly shrill sounding alu 325is (US made BTW), smearing out finer details.. it snapped for me and I ripped the cans off and took a break and a cigarette.
 
Going back to the rings, four notches.. well, the ring broke easy into four pieces and each of them got the same treatment producing the right size of the support. Beforehand the plastic housing of the transducer had nowhere to stop when I put it all together and created an everlasting problem.. of annoyance as there never was any coherence what-so-ever between left and right.. again an unbalance.
 
Two eights of the ring and of course more bitumen took care of the unbalance and most of the shrill..
 

 
The result is I'm now hearing where the drummer hits the cymbals and how hard the skin of the drums are, the growls of Chuck Billy has a nice rasp, the solos are liquid and the timbre bla bla bla...
 
Analyzing is not fun, it's not life and that's how I'm hearing the music now, the drive and energy is, yes ehh.. in Norwegian "snert" of the whip, the transients are just right and fast as hell. Right amount, realistic and bla bla... hmm.... yes, even the bass is where it should be.. down there.
 
Some shrillness remains, but dampening it would make it all collapse as it's as much a fault of the mix as my cans. I think I'm happy with this for now.. 
 
..checking Dominici... the double kick drums in this mix is insane (and somewhat boomy/ in your face), not my frickin' problem! 
 
Edit: I might in the future worry about an alternative to the grills or maybe removing them, as I clearly hear the flutter echo created by my palms an inch away from the grills.
 
Edit II: Darn diddely frickin' doo.. had a look at the picture above and you've guessed right, more bitumen.. on the visible alu-ring beneath the grill is the next task, but now back to listening to those old albums that's suddenly all fresh! 

 

[crepuscular457]

So...First post. This thread has inspired me to grow a pair and rip open my sr80's. Nothing major done. Tried ripping off the button but ended up breaking the plastic mesh. so i replaced that with a more open mesh from a desk paper holder. i was considering doing the punch hole mod with 2 holes on each side, but i'm not sure if thats the right thing to do yet. i want a little more bass but i dont want to destroy the mids and highs. suggestions?

 

[Albedo]

Increased airflow = more resonance -> http://www.head-fi.org/t/119314/post-your-grado-mods/1200#post_6853434 thought I was a bit suprised that with the 325 alu I had only to block two un-poped holes and regain balance, though this is with a tube amp, found later some info. that might explain why Alessandro are less shrill -> http://www.head-fi.org/t/118030/where-to-buy-ps-1-s-in-germany/15#post_1385127

 

[crepuscular457]

well i guess i could plug them up if i dont like the holes. gonna have to wait tho. finishing up a cmoy build so all my free time is goin into that. if i get around to it i'll post my results.

 

[Chris_Himself]

My contribution to the bass hole thing is, anything past two seems like it would be a bit much on the higher end models. I'm surprised it's unanimously approved as a go-to mod for beginners. It's great on the lower end cans that are missing that punch, but I wouldn't attempt that on my SR-225 which has almost too much at times haha. Gotta get that airiness of the 325i (goldie) in my collection soon!
 
I'm considering consolidating my setup for some Goldies with a cute Little Dot amp to run between my DAC  and cans. But that takes all the fun out of modding! 
 
Has anybody tried that non-swivel headband yet? I'd imagine it would save me from the headache of my cables getting twisted at the expense of not having the pads contour perfectly to your head, which isn't that big of a deal since my Grados basically only need to be against my head in any sort of orientation to sound good

 

[crepuscular457]

i auditioned a pair of 325is's and if i ever have enough to buy a pair i'd be too afraid to open them up. and even if i wasnt i wouldnt want to. i loved the way they sounded. they had more than enough bass for me.

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

i auditioned a pair of 325is's and if i ever have enough to buy a pair i'd be too afraid to open them up. and even if i wasnt i wouldnt want to. i loved the way they sounded. they had more than enough bass for me.

I mean I'd be down to recable 325is' and it's pretty easy but you're kind of disassembling the very upgrades you paid to have in the first place by throwing out that fine 8-conductor piece.
 
I think the SR-225 is a great modders can despite the $200 price tag, takes well to woodies (from the general consensus here), drivers have great punch to them and the treble is less sparkly but still maintains the Grado warmth in the midrange. Thru woodies, cables, pad rolling, this thread has produced some amazing one-of-a-kind cans on all sorts of budgets.
 
 
Bilavideo's original thread was the reason I started posting up again after taking a break from head-fi to pursue other hobbies, haha you guys all have some impressive cans!