post your grado mods....

[fleasbaby]

Thanks. We figured it takes some breaks between coating layers. But again, pieces you did look very good!

Thanks

I'm wrapping up a pair in Boxwood Alder. I'll share pics when I am done.

 

[fleasbaby]

So these are the Boxwood Alders:



Really interesting wood. Reminds me of Eastern Red Cedar, but without the scent...

 

[iFi audio]

Really interesting wood. Reminds me of Eastern Red Cedar, but without the scent...

It might be a bit odd to see Grados finished with bright wood, but in a positive way! Most likely we got used to regular wood a bit too much

 

[przem]

So these are the Boxwood Alders:



Really interesting wood. Reminds me of Eastern Red Cedar, but without the scent...

WOW! These look fantastic, beautiful wood and superb craftsmanship as usual!

 

[fleasbaby]

WOW! These look fantastic, beautiful wood and superb craftsmanship as usual!

Thanks Przem, that means a lot coming from you .

 

[iFi audio]

Thanks Przem, that means a lot coming from you .

On a side note, does Wabi Sabi means something in particular? Sorry, we had to ask!

 

[fleasbaby]

On a side note, does Wabi Sabi means something in particular? Sorry, we had to ask!

LMAO...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

Its a design aesthetic I really like. I have been think8ng about rebranding to something more personal, based on my name...we'll see...

 

[iFi audio]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wabi-sabi

OK, now it makes a lot of sense! Thanks!

 

[ilmothedude]

My Grado mod, SR225e model. Wood cups and aluminum rodblocks are from shipibo.audio . Gimbals are still stock plastic ones, as they're good enough and I didn't want extra weight. Rodblocks instead are worthwile upgrade as they can be tightened so rods won't rotate that easily. I installed mmcx connectors because I wanted to use something nicer than Grado cable. I converted Grado cable to mmcx so I can still use it, as it's very good cable sonically. Wiring inside cups is made with Grado cable wires. Cable in the photos is Ourart from Penon , which is at least on par with Grado cable sonically, and possibly better.

Originally I just intended to do simple mmxc mod, but I used a bit too much heat opening the cups so plastic cups melted slightly . So I ended up replacing cups and rodblocks alongside. But result is so outstanding sonically and aesthetically that everything's worth it. It's amazing that many years I avoided Grado as I had read that Grados are generally very bright or too bright! But now Grado is my favourite open back headphone!

 

[iFi audio]

Not sure if it's due to light on these pictures, but the effect looks hot!

 

[ilmothedude]

Not sure if it's due to light on these pictures, but the effect looks hot!

It's not all the light, these are pretty hot looking Grados! And sounds soooooo goood!

 

[iFi audio]

It's not all the light, these are pretty hot looking Grados! And sounds soooooo goood!

OK, hot lookers they are!

 

[ilmothedude]

By the way, very interesting thing I noticed right after I completed my mmcx woodcup mod. I was satisfied that now I could use different cable than stiff Grado cable. I used cable of my Shure srh1440, it's a lot more flexible and nice cable, probably very good cable also, but of course 4 conductor whereas Grado cable is 8 conductor. So I wouldn't have thought cable would make such difference in sound, and I kept using Shure cable. I still had a strange feeling that low end was more rich before mod, but I thought that since it has been a couple of weeks I last time had heard my Grados, my memory just plays tricks with me, or maybe woodcups have this different tone. I switched to Grado 8 conductor cable, which I had converted into mmcx cable, and I noticed right away how low end richness was there again, Grados sounded again the way I remembered them to sound! 8 conductor cable is there for a reason! New Ourart cable I use is also 8 conductor cable, and it sounds very good.

I know that headphone cables and their effect to sound quality is quite controversial subject, but with my Grado sr225e I'm sure that effect is there and real. I'm actually very surprised how I noticed that with a couple of weeks gap between listenings. I guess it's generally thought that cable differences are due plasebo effect: mind expects, ears hear it. But my experience went just other way around: mind didn't expect but my ears still heard it. Always trust your own ears.

Of course there's no really actual difference between mind and ears, as everything is processed inside brain anyway, but expections, reality and expection induced reality are different things and should be kept apart (at least regarding audio stuff). Cheers!

A bit more artistic appereance of beauty of woodcups and Ourart cable!

 

[Max585t]

@ilmothedude what mmcx cinnector did you use? I've been thinking about converting my sr325e s to mmcx but I can't seem to find a trustworthy pair.

 

[ilmothedude]

@ilmothedude what mmcx cinnector did you use? I've been thinking about converting my sr325e s to mmcx but I can't seem to find a trustworthy pair.

I used these, but I don't know how trustworthy those are. One connector had contact issues, which I luckily managed to fix by tinkering it a bit, that one went in my Hifiman RE400 iem and it has worked well ever since. On my Grados left side connector is slightly looser (wiggling sideways), but that might also be due how I mounted that one. It was a bit tricky as wood was actually too thick for screw part to reach to other side. It turned out quite good neverthless, but I only figured 'the better' way to do it by the second connector, so the first one I mounted isn't quite as neatly done. However both are reliable as signal contacting go. By the way, on sr225e cups the cable hole is in fact larger than connector itself, so direct bolt attachment isn't possible. I don't know if it's the same on sr325e.

Of course it's quite simple to work a way around this: glue piece of plastic inside cup, make hole and attach the connector. Result would be in fact nicer outside the cup. Of course you can do this with pcb mountable connector too, simply gluing the connector directly to cup.