[fleasbaby]

Hi All...
 
Last time I repost this....just want to be sure I catch everyone who might be interested in this. I got several treats in the mail over the last few days...my Shapeways cups for the V6, my next pair of V6 drivers and something else I thought you might be interested in hearing about:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/793136/grado-modders-go-ypsilon-elleven-acoustica-drivers-and-builds-thread
 
I am just waiting patiently on some cables now to make a couple more builds. In the meantime I'll be happily listening to my SR80 pinks in African Blackwood. My cup runneth over.
 
 
Happy New Year.
 
 
DIY or Die.

 

[7keys]

Here's a mod that some might find interesting. I would like to make one of these for watching movies.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET9TWgel7ec

 

[mourip]

Can anyone tell me if Grado will sell parts? I have a buddy with a set of RS1e drivers. He used the headband assembly for some Spirit Labs drivers and wants to sell the Grado drivers. I am considering buying them but will need a headband.
 
I have been emailing Grado back and forth all day but cannot seem to get a straight answer.
 
Are they usually good about answering questions or did I just get someone new?
 
Thanks!

 

[fleasbaby]

  Can anyone tell me if Grado will sell parts? I have a buddy with a set of RS1e drivers. He used the headband assembly for some Spirit Labs drivers and wants to sell the Grado drivers. I am considering buying them but will need a headband.
 
I have been emailing Grado back and forth all day but cannot seem to get a straight answer.
 
Are they usually good about answering questions or did I just get someone new?
 
Thanks!

...they don't sell parts. If you ask for a replacement gimbal, or something like that, they'll usually help you out....but they more often than not won't sell you a headband, drivers or cable or anything like that. Do you have the cups and cable? If so, just tell them exact;y what's going on. Sometimes you strike it lucky with them...
 
Otherwise, your best bet is to post a wanted ad in the classifieds, or explore the alternatives. 
 
The Sony MDR7506 headband is a good fit for Grado cups with minimal modification. 

 

[mourip]

 
...they don't sell parts. If you ask for a replacement gimbal, or something like that, they'll usually help you out....but they more often than not won't sell you a headband, drivers or cable or anything like that. Do you have the cups and cable? If so, just tell them exact;y what's going on. Sometimes you strike it lucky with them...
 
Otherwise, your best bet is to post a wanted ad in the classifieds, or explore the alternatives. 
 
The Sony MDR7506 headband is a good fit for Grado cups with minimal modification. 

Thanks. That's what it seemed like. We went back and forth in email and they never really answered my question. They must be tough on modders and copy-cats? I guess that I can understand that. Spirit Labs in Italy sells drivers with their own enclosures. I wonder where they get the drivers?
 
Best,
 
Paul

 

[chontler]

 Spirit Labs in Italy sells drivers with their own enclosures. I wonder where they get the drivers?

I seem to recall you either buy the kit and stuff our own drivers in, or you can send yours to them and they'll do the build for you. They've mentioned supplying turbulent drivers before but I thought they'd stopped production.
I'd be tempted myself with one of their kits, but their branding on the cups is way too much for my liking - and maybe a bit unfair - I can totally get it if Grado are a bit pissed with such mods.  Some days all they seem good for is the metal bit in the headband... 

 

[fleasbaby]

  Thanks. That's what it seemed like. We went back and forth in email and they never really answered my question. They must be tough on modders and copy-cats? I guess that I can understand that. Spirit Labs in Italy sells drivers with their own enclosures. I wonder where they get the drivers?
 
Best,
 
Paul

There are a couple of folks you can buy aftermarket drivers from. The best are Symphones.com and ellevenacoustica.com. I think its basically to stop folks building their own Grados. The design is so modular (hence lunatics like myself who love disassembling and modifying them), if they didn't put their foot down somewhere, things would get out of hand.....as it is, they have a really cheap repair service, so if you bust your pair, you can just send them in for a nominal fee and get them back fixed up.

 

[mourip]

 
There are a couple of folks you can buy aftermarket drivers from. The best are Symphones.com and ellevenacoustica.com. I think its basically to stop folks building their own Grados. The design is so modular (hence lunatics like myself who love disassembling and modifying them), if they didn't put their foot down somewhere, things would get out of hand.....as it is, they have a really cheap repair service, so if you bust your pair, you can just send them in for a nominal fee and get them back fixed up.

 
As I write I am listening to a pair of Spirit Labs MMXVI cans. I had borrowed them from a buddy and actually prefer them to the GS100e's that he also lent to me. I think that they are on to something with all of the resonance control and mass loading of the substantial enclosures. These are very controlled, clear and have a lot of the characteristics of my K1000s that I sold a while back. A bit heavy and a bit bass heavy but the bass is really tight. I ordered a pair today complete with headband.

 

[fleasbaby]

   
As I write I am listening to a pair of Spirit Labs MMXVI cans. I had borrowed them from a buddy and actually prefer them to the GS100e's that he also lent to me. I think that they are on to something with all of the resonance control and mass loading of the substantial enclosures. These are very controlled, clear and have a lot of the characteristics of my K1000s that I sold a while back. A bit heavy and a bit bass heavy but the bass is really tight. I ordered a pair today complete with headband.

Nice...I have another HF buddy that has built a pair using the cups and sleeves, but a pair of Eleven Acoustica's drivers. He likes them as well. Not sure he did all the damping though...

 

[fleasbaby]

*Originally posted this in the "Grado Mods" thread, but realized this might be a more appropriate home...*
 
Spent the weekend with my pair of Nakamichi SP 7 drivers...when I first liberated them a month ago, I put them straight into a pair of open Grado cups, and they sounded off. Good, but off. the soundstage was very narrow.
 
On Sunday I looked at them stock, and realized they are an almost closed design usually, so I made what are essentially large buttons from Black Limba that I put on the grills. They come up and extend over the lip of the cup, making the venting a very thin (1 mm) gap.
 
Performance improved a lot. I then switched to TTVJ flat pads and they sound pretty damn good.
 

 
I think there was an assumption/educated guess that this driver was the one Joseph Grado used in the HP series. If he did, it can't have been this one untweaked/retuned. It has great potential, and sounds very good in a semi-vented cup, but in a pair of open cups they definitely aren't as at home as they should be. He must have used a variant or done some tweaking/tuning himself before using them. @devouringone3 I would do terrible things to find out just what he did...

. I guess we'll never know.
 
Regardless, I really like how they sound in the appropriate enclosure.

 

[SHAMuuu]

  *Originally posted this in the "Grado Mods" thread, but realized this might be a more appropriate home...*
 
Spent the weekend with my pair of Nakamichi SP 7 drivers...when I first liberated them a month ago, I put them straight into a pair of open Grado cups, and they sounded off. Good, but off. the soundstage was very narrow.
 
On Sunday I looked at them stock, and realized they are an almost closed design usually, so I made what are essentially large buttons from Black Limba that I put on the grills. They come up and extend over the lip of the cup, making the venting a very thin (1 mm) gap.
 
Performance improved a lot. I then switched to TTVJ flat pads and they sound pretty damn good.
 

 
I think there was an assumption/educated guess that this driver was the one Joseph Grado used in the HP series. If he did, it can't have been this one untweaked/retuned. It has great potential, and sounds very good in a semi-vented cup, but in a pair of open cups they definitely aren't as at home as they should be. He must have used a variant or done some tweaking/tuning himself before using them.
 
Regardless, I really like how they sound in the appropriate enclosure.

That looks very interesting. Thanks for sharing

 

[devouringone3]

He must have used a variant or done some tweaking/tuning himself before using them. @devouringone3 I would do terrible things to find out just what he did...

. I guess we'll never know.  
Regardless, I really like how they sound in the appropriate enclosure.

​Diaphragm compliance from tweaking its geometry and possibly wire coiling because impedance went from 35 to 40 ohms (he aimed for better, less distorted bass).

Rhydon would agree with you in thinking he must have had some special curing/coating going on for the front face of the diaphragm, which I believe might not have been the case until he started offering his upgrade service in ~2010-2014. Joseph never mentioned anything likely in old magazines, litterature or phone conversations with him.

 

[ricvic321]

  Hi All...
 
Last time I repost this....just want to be sure I catch everyone who might be interested in this. I got several treats in the mail over the last few days...my Shapeways cups for the V6, my next pair of V6 drivers and something else I thought you might be interested in hearing about:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/793136/grado-modders-go-ypsilon-elleven-acoustica-drivers-and-builds-thread
 
I am just waiting patiently on some cables now to make a couple more builds. In the meantime I'll be happily listening to my SR80 pinks in African Blackwood. My cup runneth over.
 
 
Happy New Year.
 
 
DIY or Die.

You may have mentioned this previously, but I'm new to the thread and too impatient to go back over 39 pages of posts in search of the info... did you make those blackwood cups yourself?  I have access to some african blackwood and believe it to be excellent for the purpose, but apparently it is a pain to work with.  Did you find it troublesome?  Of course you may have more experience, whereas I'll be doing this for the first time.  

 

[fleasbaby]

You may have mentioned this previously, but I'm new to the thread and too impatient to go back over 39 pages of posts in search of the info... did you make those blackwood cups yourself?  I have access to some african blackwood and believe it to be excellent for the purpose, but apparently it is a pain to work with.  Did you find it troublesome?  Of course you may have more experience, whereas I'll be doing this for the first time.  

My mentor for the lathe made my original Blackwoods, but I recently made a pair of GS1000 clones from Blackwood:



Make sure your blades are sharp, and re-sharpen regularly if you have cheaper blades that don't hold an edge as long as the pricier high speed steel chisels do.

Be careful if you wood is wet as well. Often these rarer, harder woods are still a little wet because it takes so long to get them properly dried. If it's not fully dried, if you turn the wood, then take a break and come back the next day, it will have potentially cracked or shifted, throwing off the symmetry. You counteract this, if you stop for the day, bury the piece is sawdust in a plastic bag loosely knotted closed. Also leave a little leeway so you can turn a little more the next day to get everything re-aligned.

 

[ricvic321]

My mentor for the lathe made my original Blackwoods, but I recently made a pair of GS1000 clones from Blackwood:



Make sure your blades are sharp, and re-sharpen regularly if you have cheaper blades that don't hold an edge as long as the pricier high speed steel chisels do.

Be careful if you wood is wet as well. Often these rarer, harder woods are still a little wet because it takes so long to get them properly dried. If it's not fully dried, if you turn the wood, then take a break and come back the next day, it will have potentially cracked or shifted, throwing off the symmetry. You counteract this, if you stop for the day, bury the piece is sawdust in a plastic bag loosely knotted closed. Also leave a little leeway so you can turn a little more the next day to get everything re-aligned.

 
 
Thanks for the tips!  And those cups are GORGEOUS!  I'm literally drooling.