SR60-Mod part II

[mosshorn]

DoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoitDoit
 
Quote:

Must...resist....buying...new...wooden...cups...for...my...Grados........

 

 

[wje]

A little birdie whispered into my ear ...
 
"That we might see aluminum headphone cups with wooden liners in the very near future"
 
Or, at least, I don't think I was dreaming on that one.  

 

[bcasey25raptor]

when i did the comfy mod i saw a massive sound improvement but at the same time comfort of these headphones suffered. but it was definitely worth it.

 

[wje]

Quote:

when i did the comfy mod i saw a massive sound improvement but at the same time comfort of these headphones suffered. but it was definitely worth it.

I bounce between liking the quarter-mod on the comfy pads and just using the bowl pads.  At times, the modified comfy pads can tend to press a bit thin due to the foam removal - and, with me, I feel some ear pressure from the headphones pressing on my ears.  However, at $10 - $15 for a pair of these, it's a very cheap mod to perform.  If one doesn't like it, they can move back to the full comfy pad.
 

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

I bounce between liking the quarter-mod on the comfy pads and just using the bowl pads.  At times, the modified comfy pads can tend to press a bit thin due to the foam removal - and, with me, I feel some ear pressure from the headphones pressing on my ears.  However, at $10 - $15 for a pair of these, it's a very cheap mod to perform.  If one doesn't like it, they can move back to the full comfy pad.
 

im thinking of getting bowl pads when i get a job but they are $26 here in canada.
 

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

im thinking of getting bowl pads when i get a job but they are $26 here in canada.
 

not worth it, at least for me. sennheiser HD414 pads did better in comfort for me, quartermoded and they're almost the same as the bowls. I use those with my MS1 most of the time.
 
 

 

[KneelJung]

Quote:

This opens up my next question. Now that it's clear for me that I won't be messing around with the drivers cloth, how do you guys go about choosing your wood? Sound properties, looks, a mix of both... reading a bit about woods on musical instruments, the tonewood seems to change quite a bit concerning where on the instrument you're going to use it.

 
Quote:

I thought about this a lot when choosing wood for my cups. In the end, in my mind, it comes down to the fact that any significant changes in sound are coming about because you are using any wood. Obviously in many situations, wood will out perform plastic accoustically.
 
When push came to shove, for me it was about getting good looking woods that have a good density. I couldn't be happier with how my Leopardwood and Paduak cups turned out. Now I just need to find the time to make some Bubinga cups from the nice piece I have sitting around.....
 

I think the choice of wood is an important factor. Here is an article with John Grado discussing the RS1 and saying they went through a number of species before settling on the Mahogany. Although he keeps the type of Mahogany a secret. I definitely agree with you though, that the resonant qualities of wood are going to be an improvement over plastic. All sorts of factors come into play like the density of the wood, how hard or soft it is. What sort of internal dampening qualities a particular species has versus something with a high velocity of sound. Then I imagine how your cup is constructed and configured is going to play a part as well. I started a whole thread, "Woodied Grado Review and Impressions Thread...trying to get this discussion going. I just noticed wje put a nice long post in there today so I'll have to go give that a looksee.
 
In the mean time I received a pair of iGrado's in the mail today to split with Big Bill. I will be resurrecting my 60's soon. I thought I'd give them a listenn first though, and see how they stack up against the "perfect one."
 

 

[markkr]

I just dissected my 325is cable, removed the stupid "Y" and braided the wire from the new heat-shrink "Y" up to the headphone cups. I'm very satisfied with this mod, picture to follow tomorrow.

 

[kongmw]

Quote:

I just dissected my 325is cable, removed the stupid "Y" and braided the wire from the new heat-shrink "Y" up to the headphone cups. I'm very satisfied with this mod, picture to follow tomorrow.

I tried to remove the stupid Y on my sr60's cable yesterday and cut the insulation on one of the blue wires 

 
had to do away with the Y entirely and split the cable. 
 
How did you do your heat-shrink Y? I haven't found a very visually pleasing solution to that yet....hmmmmmmm

 

[markkr]

I used a piece of black 3-1 heatshrink...nothing special.
 
Quote:

I tried to remove the stupid Y on my sr60's cable yesterday and cut the insulation on one of the blue wires 

 
had to do away with the Y entirely and split the cable. 
 
How did you do your heat-shrink Y? I haven't found a very visually pleasing solution to that yet....hmmmmmmm

 

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

Although he keeps the type of Mahogany a secret.

This obviously calls for DNA testing...

 

[Kojaku]

Do it... Do it NOW
 


 

If a college student with no money can do it, you can too

On a completely ridiculous side note: Make it 5 days that my cups have been in Spain...doing nothing.

Kojaku

 

[Kojaku]

Also, as far as pad mods go, I find that my trimmed bowls with dress sock lining are fantastic both acoustically and ergonomically. I trimmed down my bowls to reduce transducer distance, which of course brought up the quantity of bass, but I needed to reel in the tightness, so I padded the now "donuts" with a cotton dress sock. I rolled it to create about a half inch of distance from the transducer, a happy medium. The padding also works a bit like the electric tape mod by preventing bass leakage via the sides of the pads. Finally, the extra radius provided by the sock padding makes the pads circumaural, thus enclosing the bass and bringing a bit more tightness. The standard hole cut in the bowls already provides more than enough room for those sparkly highs to keep shining. A fantastic mod that's pretty much reversible, cept the trimming. The mod may be a bit dark for those with 125is and below, as the 225i is really quite sparkly up top. Below are some pics...thought I believe posted about these at the end of the old thread...

Kojaku

 

[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

Also, as far as pad mods go, I find that my trimmed bowls with dress sock lining are fantastic both acoustically and ergonomically. I trimmed down my bowls to reduce transducer distance, which of course brought up the quantity of bass, but I needed to reel in the tightness, so I padded the now "donuts" with a cotton dress sock. I rolled it to create about a half inch of distance from the transducer, a happy medium. The padding also works a bit like the electric tape mod by preventing bass leakage via the sides of the pads. Finally, the extra radius provided by the sock padding makes the pads circumaural, thus enclosing the bass and bringing a bit more tightness. The standard hole cut in the bowls already provides more than enough room for those sparkly highs to keep shining. A fantastic mod that's pretty much reversible, cept the trimming. The mod may be a bit dark for those with 125is and below, as the 225i is really quite sparkly up top. Below are some pics...thought I believe posted about these at the end of the old thread...

Kojaku

I'm going to go try this with my HD414 pads
 

 

[sysfail]

Haha, I want to buy new wooden shells because of how awesome they look, but I already have a pair on mine. The only reason to buy another one is just so it looks cooler but there will probably be no improvement in sound quality lol. I'm poor right now so I have to keep it under control.