post your grado mods....
May 6, 2013 at 5:04 PM Post #3,003 of 8,992
The paint on the wording is quite cheap and comes rather easily. So when it eventually and surely does come off, just buy a silver marker pen and draw it back on. (or gold depending on what you like)
 
May 7, 2013 at 12:27 AM Post #3,004 of 8,992
Had some free time to fix my earlier fail attempt to make the lower half of my all aluminum assembly... turned out better this time. Took a bit of time to get the drivers out of my MS1s to install but it didn't turn out too bad.
DSC_0343.JPG

 
May 10, 2013 at 1:43 PM Post #3,006 of 8,992
Quote:
I am very curious as to how you built this set for the $$$ of a SR225i? Please elaborate...especially the cups

 
Be glad to.  I did say you could build this without the high-value items that have a minimal effect on the sound.

Magnum X Drivers -- $ 130
Donor used SR60i --   $ 40 (not working) -- use gimbals, pads, headband, plastic cups and cable
metal screens -  $ 2.00

If you have to change the cable, BTG audio should be able to hook you up for something around 30-40-ish (nothing fancy, Neutrik plug, stock splitter) , or you could braid and build one yourself for half that.

So there, $ 200 or so without a fancy cable.

- The wood cups did not impact the sound quality that much INMHO. 
- The Viablue plug works just as fine as any lower priced Neutrik or Switchcraft. 
- The Grado cable from the 225i up has 8 conductors and is actually great. Grado claims they are Chinese made, UHP long crystal copper.  Most of the world production of this copper material comes from only two sources in Taiwan and Japan, so the chances are if you buy cheaper cable that has the same specs--they probably came from the same source. If you believe silver is an upgrade, you could probably make your own for around the the $ 30-40 range.    
-  What's odd is that the headphones felt 'better' to wear after the headband upgrade. I actually enjoy wearing Jin's Manta headband more than the ones on my 325i -- they are 'grippier'.

In hindsight, I would have just gone ahead and built this for the $ 200 I estimated but they wouldn't look good at all :)
 
 
May 13, 2013 at 1:46 PM Post #3,007 of 8,992
I went a bit more overboard with my mod..actually..all that will be left are the drivers and the headband..
Soundwise I can't tell much as of yet, since  I don't have the proper version (3d) printed yet.
I need to make a set of custom foams, any idea where I can order the right type of foam? (They will be laser cut)
 
Immedeatly after receiving these I made some major changes in the design.
Hinged parts will be added, holes were added (no drilling) and I changed the routing of the cable.
 
Full pictures after I have enough time/money to have a new (and hopefully final) set made. :)
 
Right now they sport a set of fully liberated drivers, 5-pole tiny XLR plugs and a (DIY) braided cable.

 

 
May 13, 2013 at 1:54 PM Post #3,009 of 8,992
Quote:
wow, is this the first 3d printed headphone mod? Fun project!

 
It's my first at least. :)
There are a couple out there that I saw. One was for a click-fit made fully of 3d-printed parts.
 
I wanted to use the grado drivers, since I love my SR60's. Plus I wanted them to have the proper feel to it.
So I adopted my initial design for a set of clear acrylic headphones to a set that was 3d-printable.
So far I have no regrets, they sound great (from what I can tell).
 
I'm still designing some parts. I made a leather headband, but since the design came out more square than I anticipated I feel I have to match that..
 
May 18, 2013 at 5:10 PM Post #3,011 of 8,992
Got my Magnum v5s  and mahogany cups from Martin in. A little less "Grado sound" as I know it anyway. They seem very "flat" to my ears in a good way. I definitely hear different. Not sure if I can say better or worse, just a different signature. Detail is like my 325is. Ill take them to work for a side by side comparison. Bass is not as strong as the Grados - I don't think, but a very clean sound. I would be curious to see a frequency response on these - they sound like what I would imagine perfectly flat would sound like.
 
One question, I mounted the drivers in the wood cups with Dynamat putty. Would it be better to have something not designed to absorb vibration between the drivers and the wood cups? or does it matter?
 

 
May 18, 2013 at 5:58 PM Post #3,012 of 8,992
Quote:
Got my Magnum v5s  and mahogany cups from Martin in. A little less "Grado sound" as I know it anyway. They seem very "flat" to my ears in a good way. I definitely hear different. Not sure if I can say better or worse, just a different signature. Detail is like my 325is. Ill take them to work for a side by side comparison. Bass is not as strong as the Grados - I don't think, but a very clean sound. I would be curious to see a frequency response on these - they sound like what I would imagine perfectly flat would sound like.
 
One question, I mounted the drivers in the wood cups with Dynamat putty. Would it be better to have something not designed to absorb vibration between the drivers and the wood cups? or does it matter?
 

I can't comment on what material to use, but I just received wooden cups from Vibrolabs and they sent foam tape along with the cups to wrap around the liberated drivers before pressing them into the cups, but I would imagine the foam would also absorb  sound. Also I noticed the plastic cup on the SR80i seemed to produce slightly more of a bass impact, and the wooden cups seem set the precussion instruments very slightly behind the rest of sound, while all the rest still has that Grado sound signature.
 
May 18, 2013 at 6:23 PM Post #3,013 of 8,992
Quote:
One question, I mounted the drivers in the wood cups with Dynamat putty. Would it be better to have something not designed to absorb vibration between the drivers and the wood cups? or does it matter?
 

It matters. How much damping is something you could try and play with. "High" damping will obviously diminish vibrations into the cups and, ideally, less ringing, better decay, tighter bass. In theory, of course. You should play with it and try to fit the sound you like best.
 
May 19, 2013 at 5:42 AM Post #3,014 of 8,992
The ideal case (for me, because I want to hear what my wooden cups sound like, in other words to have the mechanical vibrations of the driver transferred to the cups) is when the driver fits snugly into the wood of the cup itself.
 
If I don't have that, I would try to achieve a very snug fit with different rigid tape/paper-like materials, at best a stripe of damp wood (with properly calculated length / width / thickness) wrapped, pressed and dried around the driver.
 
May 19, 2013 at 7:14 AM Post #3,015 of 8,992
Quote:
I went a bit more overboard with my mod..actually..all that will be left are the drivers and the headband..
Soundwise I can't tell much as of yet, since  I don't have the proper version (3d) printed yet.
I need to make a set of custom foams, any idea where I can order the right type of foam? (They will be laser cut)
 
Immedeatly after receiving these I made some major changes in the design.
Hinged parts will be added, holes were added (no drilling) and I changed the routing of the cable.
 
Full pictures after I have enough time/money to have a new (and hopefully final) set made. :)
 
Right now they sport a set of fully liberated drivers, 5-pole tiny XLR plugs and a (DIY) braided cable.

 

 
Quote:
Had some free time to fix my earlier fail attempt to make the lower half of my all aluminum assembly... turned out better this time. Took a bit of time to get the drivers out of my MS1s to install but it didn't turn out too bad.
DSC_0343.JPG

Sorry for stating the obvious, but you guys are playing with amazing stuff. Looking forward to see more progress. 
 

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