[doobooloo]

I just got a pair of Grado SR-225s, and I'm in the process of breaking them in.

I noticed something, however... Somehow, the left channel does not have the same amount of volume as the right channel. I initially thought it was my source, so I switched source and... same problem. Then I blamed my ears, so I switched L and R and... it wasn't my ears.

tried switching the pads... no luck.

These things are supposed to be matched to 0.05db...

anyone have any ideas whey they may behave like this? please don't tell me they're defective... I wanted to use them over winter!

oh well. anyway, if anybody is having similar problems with their grados, any help/suggestion would be greatly appreciated! thanks!

 

[wallijonn]

time for the burn in process.

when i first got my AD10s I had the same problem. it went away after 4 hours of burn in.

hope yours does the same. start at a small volume for an hour, then medium volume for an hour and then less-than high volume for an hour. then go back to medium volume for the rest of the 21 hours. that should do it. good luck.

 

[jude]

Do you have a pink noise track you can play (I use pink noise for a lot of things). Anyway, if you have pink noise that plays over both channels, then you can play it, and then (using the same ears) alternate drivers -- if one's louder, it should be easy to hear if you switch quickly enough.

 

[KurtW]

"These things are supposed to be matched to 0.05db"

You aren't the first person to notice that this isn't true. However since they claim this (which I think personally is a bunch of BS) you certainly have a right to complain. I have the SR60 and SR80 and haven't noticed any mismatch problems, but then again I never would expect 0.05%. The pair of SR225's that I heard didn't have that problem either. They were just too bright.

 

[jlo mein]

On my grado sr60s the left driver has always been slightly louder than the right driver (for a year now). I burned them in originally for a long time so it didn't help.

It is very annoying sometimes, but i've learned to live with it as im too lazy to do anything about it

.

 

[doobooloo]

i've burned them in for about 8~9 hours now and... the difference is much less than before but still there. hopefully it will go away...

but. i'm curious... if when i first get it there is a clear difference between the two channels... how does Grado measure the 0.05db (of course, assuming that they actually are matched like that)...

do they computer-simulate burn-in so that at first they are not coherent but after burn in they are matched to 0.05? haha. man grado is more high tech than i thought.

haha sorry i'm in a bit sarcastic mood... but!

i was fiddling around with the ear-killing pads for a while... and after like 10 different mods with socks and other pads... i managed to kill off the harsh high ends while making bass that sacrily resembles the porta-pro. hmm... (not using socks now... i realized socks REALLY kill the soundstage and muffle the sound horribly)... so. i spend $200, get unmatched drivers and porta-pro quality sound. haha. but i love this pad mod. much more comfy, sound is more enjoyable (less up-front, more resembling the sennheiser haha)... did i just defeat the purpose of getting a grado? hmm... i think not, i seriously love grado styling. all headphones should be made this way... simple, yet elegant.

anyhow. enough of weirdtalk... time to finish off my legal studies paper and go to sleep... nyah nyah...

 

[doobooloo]

darn it... it's been >20 hours of burn in so far.

what i can still notice: the bass is always stronger from the right channel. mids and highs seem to be more coherent than bass...

grado must have matched 0.05db @ 1KHz or something and nothing else? is it possible that the mids are coherent but bass is not?

 

[wallijonn]

just for the hell of it - swap the pads (right pad on left headphone, left pad on right headphone).

The Grado harshness can be mitigated by making sure that the driver does not touch your ear lobe. Adding a "spacer" on the very rear of the pad keeps the pad from collapsing and getting closer to the ear. All you need is about 1/64" to 1/8" (from your ear lobe) for the Grado harsh highs to disappear.

I know that you do not want to do this - but if the tie wrap that secures the wiring within the earcup should touch the diaphram, or if the wire is touching the diaphram, the sound may change. And then there is the amount of glue used to secure the units. One cup may have too much, or the actual driver has too much glue. This could be why one channel has less bass. Grado does test each driver to be within 0.5 dB, but once they are installed inside the earcup other factors may colour the sound.

If you bought these from goodcans or headroom you should be able to return them for an exchange, provided that 14 days have not passed since they were delivered. You will need an RMA (return authorisation).

 

[doobooloo]

i tried swapping the pads... no difference.

so grado tests the drivers BEFORE they go in the can, although their driver-inserting process may change the sound? hmm... 0.05db --> difference clearly audible isn't too good.

i don't really see any extra glue or wire that may be touching the diaphragm... i'm not sure if that is the problem.

oh well. i'm just gonna let it burn in for a few more days and see what happens

hopefully it will get better...

 

[sacd lover]

I am going to suggest you contact grado. I have 5 grados currently, and have had 3 others, and I have never noticed a driver mismatch like you describe.