post your grado mods....
Dec 6, 2012 at 11:52 AM Post #2,581 of 8,992
Hi Folks,

the actual headband of my SR80i's has come loose from the left side of my cans (the part that holds the actually can in place and has the L on it, y'know that bit) but does just slide back on as it's not cracked or snapped or anything.


Would there be any issue with just supergluing this back on? I've already pierced my drivers etc and do plan on changing the pads and maybe the cables at some point, but just wanted to check this silly little thing first.

Best get back to trying to suck the hair out of these things too!

They are super glued at the factory...
 
Dec 6, 2012 at 5:06 PM Post #2,583 of 8,992
Lol that was scary. I was poking out those filt holes and guess what happened. 
 
Well they are still alive, Altough both sides sound a little bit different but that might be just a psychological side effect. 
Or it could be because the punctured holes are not all at exactly the same place.
It fixed the harsh treble and added some nice bass :)
 
btw i'm talking about my alessandro ms one. Anyone have some do's and dont's? :)
 
Edit:
Damn man, the sound has improved ALOT! I guess it might me less grado ish. But my headphones sound alot smoother, less grainy treble. What's more to do? :)
Note that I also like the ticker sound of the ps500. It's a shame it's treble is recessed.
 
Dec 8, 2012 at 10:21 AM Post #2,587 of 8,992
I have not really started modding my sr60/225 (think they might be "i" versions) yet apart from pad mods. I recently bought some sr325 cups and am just waiting for them to get here. Does anyone have any experience with sr60/225 with aluminum cups? I can not decide which one to stick them on and can not find much information on it with search....ideally i would like the 225s woodied but i can only start that project in a few months. Can any of you guys predict how the aluminum will sound like on the 60s and 225s?
 
Dec 11, 2012 at 2:46 PM Post #2,590 of 8,992
Thanks fleasbaby!
 
Those are my SR-60 (non "i") that I bought used (and broken in) from a fellow, locally, off craigslist.
 
They sound very much the same as they did stock. I have noticed a LITTLE more clarity, but that was after I did the recable with Canare miniquad wire. They are still the same depth as the stock plastic cups were, so not much has changed. I also did a four hole vent to the driver which gave it a bit more bass. Nothing overwhelming, but made gave it some more presence. I liked the stock bass response, but it was just a little bit to recessed, as I listen to a lot of trance.
 
 
I made them over the coarse of about 18 hours, including dry time for the areosol applied Varathane lacquer (24 year old can!).
 
I used some extra 1" thick oak board that I had left over from my Sennheiser headphone stand, readily available at Home Depot. The headband/gimbal blocks are made of the same oak.
 
Using an 11pc (item # 69070 - $7.99) hole saw kit I bought at Harbor Freight, I borrowed my dad's drill press to cut out the shells, since my 12v cordless drill wasn't up to the task. The drill press made it speedy as well! I was planning to use the 2" hole saw from the kit to do the inside diameter, but it was to large, and I ended up using a 1 7/8" forstner bit. For the outside of the shell I used the 2 1/2" hole saw from the harbor freight kit. For the notch in the shell (for the wires), I used a 13/16" coarse file and went slow, and sanded everything with 400 grit sand paper to prep it for the Varathane.
 
he nubs that normally stick into the plastic cups to keep them on press out when pushing from the outside. Those were removed and I mounted them in the plastic cup yokes and centered them. Using my cordless drill and a 7/64" drill bit, I used the original nub hole as a guide and drilled the holes in the sides of the shells so that everything would line up perfectly.
 
Once that was said and done I sprayed it down with the Varathane and let it dry overnight. The next day I set my oven to the lowest temperature (170 degrees) and let them bake for about 15 minutes. The varathane came out soft until they cooled and then it turned rock hard.
 
For the screen, I used a strainer with stainless screen I found at a local grocery store and cut the screens out in circles. Using the circular remains from cutting the inside hole, I formed the screen around it, and pushed the screen into the cup with the screen wrapped around the wood, and hot glued the screen in place with minimal amounts of glue, just enough to keep it in place.
 
The shells were then press fitted around the plastic driver cup, but I had to do 1.5 layers of black electrical tape around the driver cup to make it fit, and this also reduces any possible rattling between the driver cup and the shell.
 
 
It's actually less complicated than it reads, quite simple if you have some basic handyman tools. Any more questions feel free to PM me!
 
Dec 11, 2012 at 5:22 PM Post #2,591 of 8,992
Fascinating...a partial liberation of the drivers then, not full...nicely done. I can understand how that would be more of an aesthetic improvement than an sonic one...I am starting to feel inspired. I know my father-in-law has a drill press and a love of woodwork. I might be able to at least finagle some time with the press if I play my cards right, maybe even get a little instruction time...
 
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 2:36 PM Post #2,593 of 8,992
Hey guys,
got my MS1s today shipped from the states and before letting them go through the burn in, based on what I read before about the sound I decided to do a very simple mod,
three big holes in the pad using a lip stick cover ! just sharpened the edge of the cover and put three holes in there.

need to go through this thread later for new ideas, although I hope I like the sound after the burn in, currently it sounds a bit weak because I come from IE8s (IEM), so need a bit of time to get my ear response back!

check out the images:




let me know what do you think please :)
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 3:02 PM Post #2,594 of 8,992
Those holes look prety cool! How does that improve the sound? I want to do it too if it'll make a difference.
 
And you own a Zune HD! Those are some sweet machines. The most beautifull mp3 player on the world! Great UI, absolutely great. I sold mine because I wanted a step up in sq. But damn I miss that sweet user interface. 
 
Edit: Nooooo now I want a zune HD again :frowning2:
 
Dec 12, 2012 at 3:39 PM Post #2,595 of 8,992
It actually makes it just a tiny bit brighter on highs and a bit clearer on vocals, I actually did it because of the vocals, the mid-range sounded a bit muddy to me out of the box,
I tried them on without pads and liked it so I put the holes.

one thing, if you put more small holes it could be more comfortable on your ears, with these big holes I have to put the pad in a certain position to rest on my ears without noticing the holes, it's not a problem after that though.
So try them on without pads first and see if you like that.

btw I understand you to miss your Zune HD, I'm loving it so bad, can't see anything to take it's place any time soon. can I ask what you got for sound improvement over Zune?
 

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