[radio-head]

well actually he said he would send me another package later.
but the reason why i sent it to him in the first place, was so that he could mod them for me.
 

 

[radio-head]

but i also told him anything extra was unnecessary.
but i also thought i could get a woodied grado back.

 

[schwallman]

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

well actually he said he would send me another package later.
but the reason why i sent it to him in the first place, was so that he could mod them for me.
 

Agh, I knew that was coming. Had the same wool pulled over my eyes. Just be glad you got something back. My advise, find someone else. Then you can sit back and watch others go through the misery he put you through.

 

[schwallman]

Dude, you sent him a pair of headphones with wood cups on them and he sent you back a set with the stock plastics cups? Why are you making excuses for him. You got screwed.
Quote:

but i also told him anything extra was unnecessary.
but i also thought i could get a woodied grado back.

 

 

[xaval]

You have your cans back. That's the good news. You're good to go on your trip with a great pair of cans.
 
I don't qualify Bill as great at explaining things - I never got an explanation why on earth he could not deliver my stuff in the 6 month wait period. He sorted me out in the end. I'm sure he'll do the same to you.
My guess is, something weird happened to your woodies and he simply could not produce a better pair in this short time between the come back and now.

 

[n-phect]

whos bill  

 
is grado a big company or a small company?

 

[Questhate]

Did I mess up my drivers?
 
Sooo.... after practicing for an hour or so, I figured it would be a good time to do my first soldering job on the Grados. 
 
The first one that I de-soldered, when I pulled out the wire, it ended up pulling out all of the solder with it. Now it's only the plastic part left where the solder used to be. I've attached pictures below.
 
The second driver, the wire pulled out easily and the solder bubbles are still there.
 
I just tried touching the cable to the contact points to see if it works and the second driver works, but the first driver doesn't. Did i inadvertantly pull out something more than the wire that wasn't supposed to come off? 
 
I'm freaking out! 
 
-Marvin

 

[KneelJung]

OK I cant believe I've never done this, but I just looked at the goings on as best I could behind the grill of the HF2. My observations were there is a big blob on the driver magnet and one hole punched (that I knew) Anyway there was a big blob on the MS Pro driver magnet too. I think Grado calls it destressing. I've seen wje refer to at as adding mass to the driver or magnet. My 225 just has some sort of powdery paint like substance applied. So what does Grado use? Is it essentially dynamat?
 
And I know Symphones tweaks the driver or does some sort of destressing too. So what's the whole blob mod thing about?

 

[wje]

Quote:

Did I mess up my drivers?
 
 

 
Marvin,
 
Chances are, yes.  It looks like all the solder for one of the terminals has been completely removed - thus, the reason for you not being able to make a solid contact.  You could solder the negative wire back in place where the solid solder is now and then slowly move the positive wire around the potential contact points - where there are some slight traces of solder than remain.  Try that activity and let us know how it works out.
 
If it comes down to it, I'll be glad to look at the driver and work on it for you.  Gratis!
 
 

 

[wje]

Quote:

I think Grado calls it destressing. I've seen wje refer to at as adding mass to the driver or magnet.

I've heard the term "adding mass" lots of times when doing this action to the back of magnets.  However, I thought that Grado's term for "destressing" meant some sort of chemical application that they applied to the driver material itself.  Am I correct in this 2nd assumption, or not?
 
 

 

[Kojaku]

OK I cant believe I've never done this, but I just looked at the goings on as best I could behind the grill of the HF2. My observations were there is a big blob on the driver magnet and one hole punched (that I knew) Anyway there was a big blob on the MS Pro driver magnet too. I think Grado calls it destressing. I've seen wje refer to at as adding mass to the driver or magnet. My 225 just has some sort of powdery paint like substance applied. So what does Grado use? Is it essentially dynamat?
 
And I know Symphones tweaks the driver or does some sort of destressing too. So what's the whole blob mod thing about?

It's actually called dampening. It's supposedly helps the driver better control it's stopping and starting motions due to the extra mass resisting excess motion after the desired amount has been achieved (i.e. A single note of music).

Kojaku

 

[Kojaku]

 
Marvin,
 
Chances are, yes.  It looks like all the solder for one of the terminals has been completely removed - thus, the reason for you not being able to make a solid contact.  You could solder the negative wire back in place where the solid solder is now and then slowly move the positive wire around the potential contact points - where there are some slight traces of solder than remain.  Try that activity and let us know how it works out.
 
If it comes down to it, I'll be glad to look at the driver and work on it for you.  Gratis!
 
 

I've heard the term "adding mass" lots of times when doing this action to the back of magnets.  However, I thought that Grado's term for "destressing" meant some sort of chemical application that they applied to the driver material itself.  Am I correct in this 2nd assumption, or not?
 
 

Whoa. I was thinking of sucking up the first set of solder joints and applying my own when I resolder the wires back in. This makes it sound like that is a bad idea, as I'd lose track of the contact points(?)

Kojaku

 

[sml1226]

You see that gap between the white and the solder? There's no voice coil wire there. that I can see, maybe it's too fine to see, but if it's not there, you have a dead driver. If it's hanging there loose, you may be able to connect the VC wire to the headphone cable.

 

[wje]

Quote:

Whoa. I was thinking of sucking up the first set of solder joints and applying my own when I resolder the wires back in. This makes it sound like that is a bad idea, as I'd lose track of the contact points(?)

Kojaku

No.  Follow a few simple steps and I think you'll be OK.  The idea would be to keep some solder in place on the PCB material (small rectangular piece) connected to the driver.  Here's how I do it:
 

• Using a little bit of flux, use a Q-tip to apply the material to the solder you're about to loosen the connection on.
• Then, with some copper braid designed to "pull up" solder, heat the braid while holding it onto the soldered connection.
• Some of the solder should be absorbed by the braid.
• Slowly, tug on the wire for your headphone connection - it should come loose from the softened solder.

 
Using an iron that hasn't been tinned and has some corrosion on the tip will be harder to work with - sort of like using a dull knife for cutting.  The tool has to be properly prepped to do the right work for you.  If the tip of your iron is corroded, you'll end up holding it on the soldered joint longer to hopefully loosen things up ... then, there's so much heat that has built up, your connection can get toasted.
 

 

[Questhate]

Quote:

 
Marvin,
 
Chances are, yes.  It looks like all the solder for one of the terminals has been completely removed - thus, the reason for you not being able to make a solid contact.  You could solder the negative wire back in place where the solid solder is now and then slowly move the positive wire around the potential contact points - where there are some slight traces of solder than remain.  Try that activity and let us know how it works out.
 
If it comes down to it, I'll be glad to look at the driver and work on it for you.  Gratis!
 
 

 
Thanks Wayne. I know it's not easy to be the bearer of bad news.
 
I tried what you suggested to no avail. I added more solder and tried moving them around, and then just tried re-soldering them both and no luck so far.
 
I think I was so paranoid about overheating it because of all the horror stories that I didn't make sure the solder was melted all the way before I pulled. Lesson learned for next time (although the other driver went flawlessly). That was my set of 60s, so I'm naturally scared to actually try the 225s now. Maybe I'll give it a rest and try to mess around a bit more in a while.