[Hifisnubben]

Some impressions after the "honeymoon period" ( = builders pride ) had subsieded for my rebuilt SR80i.

Changed the pads to my old flat ones since i felt those where the most comfortable for my ears.

Before i used to listen to my grado during short "bursts". They where fun but not something i would use daily. After the mod i find them more even. Though my soundmemory is short for obious reasons i cannot specify excactly was has changed only that find them more pleasurable during long periods with all kinds of genres. More than i used to. wether the reason being new cable and plug or the cups themselves i cannot say.

Summary of cost if someone is interrested:

Cups i got for 55$ and the headband for 23$. Cable was 10$ for 1,5m and plug 8-9$. Splitter was free for me but cost about 12$ if my memory serves me right. Misc components maybe 1-2$. Shipping in total was 20$ or so. The SR80i i bought used for a third of the cost years ago.

Worth it ? Yes. Not only was the built itself lots of fun, i strongly believe that my grado did improve sonicly.

 

[Desi]

Here are my modded grado!
The mods are as followed..
- GS1000i drivers
- Custom Leather Headband
- RS1 style cups
- Grado balanced cable

For the cable i had to cut in the middle an extention grado cable.
I had some issues with cups. I asked and i was told by the EA guy that these are exactly like the original RS cups. Unfortunately that was not true as the internal diameter was 1mm smaller so the drivers could not sit proper result is that i had to work on it to make it fit!
Also the internal depth of the chamber was 3mm shorter than the oroginal RS cups and this effect the sound somehow (eapecially the sound stage and the low end frequencies).
Other than that I'm really satisfied with the overall result!

 

[capnjack]

Still waiting for Nhoord reds and a cable, so these will have to do 'til they turn up.
While I was putting these together I uncovered a couple of the vents around the driver (nice improvement in bass) and I found some of the black plastercine/putty that I used on my T50rp to dampen the back of the driver (works a treat)

 

[edgarlim1999]

Hi,

My friend has recently made my Grado balanced. Please take a look.

Edgar

 

[DavidA]

@edgarlim1999 , you have a very good friend who would take apart the RS2e, it was by far the most PITA driver I've ever removed. What amp are you using that you got the balanced cable for? I found it easier to install SMC jacks so I can change the cable since sometimes I like having a short (1.5m) and other times I need a longer (2.5-3.0m):

 

[edgarlim1999]

@edgarlim1999 , you have a very good friend who would take apart the RS2e, it was by far the most PITA driver I've ever removed. What amp are you using that you got the balanced cable for? I found it easier to install SMC jacks so I can change the cable since sometimes I like having a short (1.5m) and other times I need a longer (2.5-3.0m):

Hey,

I'm not sure which amp to buy currently because I have been testing amps out at a local shop. Balanced Grado in my opinion sounds a bit better so I thought of making my own RS2e balanced. Maybe you can give me some tips on which amps are better? I would like solid states though.

Thanks

 

[DavidA]

I've only tried a few balanced amps: Jot, Liquid Carbon, Liquid Glass, Liquid Gold, DarkStar, EC Balancing Act, MHA-100, Rag and a few others that i can't remember but I didn't do any listening with any Grado or clones and only with HD800, HD800S, HE560, LCD-2f, LCD-3f, HEX, HE1K, HD650, HD700, TH-900, TH-600, SRH-1840, T1 and a few others. Only with the Jot and Rag did I notice that the balanced output had better imaging and instrument separation while on the other amps I never noticed a difference between the SE output or balanced output. To me if the amp is well designed on both the SE and balanced outputs it doesn't affect the sound IMO. One reason I like Grado headphones and the clones built with drivers from Nhoord, Elleven Acoustica and Symphones is they are efficient and don't need an amp but one of the amps that I think paired exceptionally well with my RS2e was the Liquid Carbon and this was from the SE output, other SS amps that I liked paired with the RS2e were Teac HA-501, Project Polaris and Hugo, these are all neutral to slightly warm amps. I think the MassDrop/Cavalli amp might be one of the best reasonably priced amps with balanced output but since there are to few reviews since they don't get shipped until Dec.

Did you also make a adapter to go from balanced to SE so you can still use your RS2e with a SE amp? I built a few of these adapters for some friends since some amps only have SE output.

 

[edgarlim1999]

I've only tried a few balanced amps: Jot, Liquid Carbon, Liquid Glass, Liquid Gold, DarkStar, EC Balancing Act, MHA-100, Rag and a few others that i can't remember but I didn't do any listening with any Grado or clones and only with HD800, HD800S, HE560, LCD-2f, LCD-3f, HEX, HE1K, HD650, HD700, TH-900, TH-600, SRH-1840, T1 and a few others. Only with the Jot and Rag did I notice that the balanced output had better imaging and instrument separation while on the other amps I never noticed a difference between the SE output or balanced output. To me if the amp is well designed on both the SE and balanced outputs it doesn't affect the sound IMO. One reason I like Grado headphones and the clones built with drivers from Nhoord, Elleven Acoustica and Symphones is they are efficient and don't need an amp but one of the amps that I think paired exceptionally well with my RS2e was the Liquid Carbon and this was from the SE output, other SS amps that I liked paired with the RS2e were Teac HA-501, Project Polaris and Hugo, these are all neutral to slightly warm amps. I think the MassDrop/Cavalli amp might be one of the best reasonably priced amps with balanced output but since there are to few reviews since they don't get shipped until Dec.

Did you also make a adapter to go from balanced to SE so you can still use your RS2e with a SE amp? I built a few of these adapters for some friends since some amps only have SE output.

Hey,

I have the adapter just in case I need SE. I have 2.5 AK Balanced too for my AK70.

Edgar

 

[edgarlim1999]

Hey,

I have the adapter just in case I need SE. I have 2.5 AK Balanced too for my AK70.

Edgar

Here is the adapter

 

[jeffhawke]

I've only tried a few balanced amps: Jot, Liquid Carbon, Liquid Glass, Liquid Gold, DarkStar, EC Balancing Act, MHA-100, Rag and a few others that i can't remember but I didn't do any listening with any Grado or clones and only with HD800, HD800S, HE560, LCD-2f, LCD-3f, HEX, HE1K, HD650, HD700, TH-900, TH-600, SRH-1840, T1 and a few others. Only with the Jot and Rag did I notice that the balanced output had better imaging and instrument separation while on the other amps I never noticed a difference between the SE output or balanced output. To me if the amp is well designed on both the SE and balanced outputs it doesn't affect the sound IMO. One reason I like Grado headphones and the clones built with drivers from Nhoord, Elleven Acoustica and Symphones is they are efficient and don't need an amp but one of the amps that I think paired exceptionally well with my RS2e was the Liquid Carbon and this was from the SE output, other SS amps that I liked paired with the RS2e were Teac HA-501, Project Polaris and Hugo, these are all neutral to slightly warm amps. I think the MassDrop/Cavalli amp might be one of the best reasonably priced amps with balanced output but since there are to few reviews since they don't get shipped until Dec.

Did you also make a adapter to go from balanced to SE so you can still use your RS2e with a SE amp? I built a few of these adapters for some friends since some amps only have SE output.

I also believe that a well designed and implemented SE amp leaves nothing to be desired. Btw, any experience with any audio-gd products? I'm kinda intrigued by the new (and very attractively priced) R2R 11. Tks

 

[wormsdriver]

Hey guys, I'm looking for a pair of standard grado rod blocks, does anybody have some they are not using??? Let me know, I need a pair!

 

[DavidA]

I also believe that a well designed and implemented SE amp leaves nothing to be desired. Btw, any experience with any audio-gd products? I'm kinda intrigued by the new (and very attractively priced) R2R 11. Tks

I've only heard the old Master 9 and Master 11, they were really nice and revealing DACs from what I can remember about them, its been about 3 years since I've heard them.

Anyone looking for a OEM 8 conductor cable with 1/4" termination, just removed from a SR325e, send a PM,

 

[edgarlim1999]

I'm surprised! Running Grado RS2e on balanced on my AK70 sounds fantastic! Lesser noise heard overall! I really dig it now. However, that's just my honest opinion. :/

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Got two new builds!

First build: got my hands on a vintage, unused pair of SR125 pinks from 1995 (with the original purchase receipt :O), so obviously I had to extract the drivers and mod them. White limba inner sleeves (courtesy of the great @fleasbaby ), original cups/gimbals/rod blocks, but replaced the plastic grill with steel mesh, headband pad courtesy of Rholupat. Cable is my design, 26 AWG OCC copper cable, Oyaide 3.5mm rhodium plug.



Second build: sent my Alessandro MS2e's to @fleasbaby who kindly provided the white limba inner sleeves and beautiful Burmese blackwood inlay on the ear cups. Otherwise, everything else is stock. Was hoping to tame the highs of the MS2e's while maintaining their sparkle, seems to have worked to perfection!

 

[fleasbaby]

Got two new builds!

First build: got my hands on a vintage, unused pair of SR125 pinks from 1995 (with the original purchase receipt :O), so obviously I had to extract the drivers and mod them. White limba inner sleeves (courtesy of the great @fleasbaby ), original cups/gimbals/rod blocks, but replaced the plastic grill with steel mesh, headband pad courtesy of Rholupat. Cable is my design, 26 AWG OCC copper cable, Oyaide 3.5mm rhodium plug.



Second build: sent my Alessandro MS2e's to @fleasbaby who kindly provided the white limba inner sleeves and beautiful Burmese blackwood inlay on the ear cups. Otherwise, everything else is stock. Was hoping to tame the highs of the MS2e's while maintaining their sparkle, seems to have worked to perfection!

Great work assembling them! I especially like the stealth mod on the SR125. Looks like a normal pair of vintage SR125 outside, but wooden sleeves inside. Glad you like the finished product and glad they achieved the desired results.