[fatcat28037]

The 325i headband is leather, always has been, still is.

 

[Meliboeus]

Thanks for sorting things out, i found the posts which made me doubtful, the headband design has indeed changed, but it has always been leather ( if you look the photos on grado official webite you can see that 325i used to have a narrower headband than the rs series, now it's all the same ), however that's not important....i think i'll be joining the club in a few months time...I'm planning to buy a new tube amp by a small italian designer which is intended to drive low impedance cans, according to the manufacturer it outputs up to 1W per channel, which should be enough to make the grados sing....then i'll evaluate the purchase of a pair of 325s...

 

[fatcat28037]

There is a 325i in the FS forum for $210.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f10/ft-grado-325i-396713/

 

[mike6502]

The other day I rediscovered a KOSS sportapro I'd received as a gift years ago (they use the same driver as the KSC35 and portapro). I dismissed them at the time, but when I gave them a new listen, I realized that these little guys can pump out some serious bass, and they sound even better after the Kramer mod. Pretty damn good for a $30 pair of headphones

Then, I started really comparing them directly to the 325i. To my shock and dismay, for certain songs, the added bass of the sportapro gave it a better overall sound. Granted, it always sounds muddied compared to the 325i, and I'd probably always opt for the 325is over them, but the latter can truly leave one wanting more bass sometimes.

These concerns were put to rest just a little while ago when I discovered the tape mod and tried it with my 325is. Wow. Added bass, perhaps some more mids, and no degradation to the crystal clear highs.

I'm thinking I'll make this a permanent change. Of course, everyone has different taste, but I'm a little surprised there isn't more talk about the mod. Has anyone else here tried it and feel the same way?

 

[moogoob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike6502 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The other day I rediscovered a KOSS sportapro I'd received as a gift years ago (they use the same driver as the KSC35 and portapro). I dismissed them at the time, but when I gave them a new listen, I realized that these little guys can pump out some serious bass, and they sound even better after the Kramer mod. Pretty damn good for a $30 pair of headphones Then, I started really comparing them directly to the 325i. To my shock and dismay, for certain songs, the added bass of the sportapro gave it a better overall sound. Granted, it always sounds muddied compared to the 325i, and I'd probably always opt for the 325is over them, but the latter can truly leave one wanting more bass sometimes. These concerns were put to rest just a little while ago when I discovered the tape mod and tried it with my 325is. Wow. Added bass, perhaps some more mids, and no degradation to the crystal clear highs. I'm thinking I'll make this a permanent change. Of course, everyone has different taste, but I'm a little surprised there isn't more talk about the mod. Has anyone else here tried it and feel the same way?

I thought it added too much bass, so I removed it. Though as you say some songs (Tool's entire Lateralus album for one) do sound better with a bit more in the bottom-end, I find my Headroom Micro's crossfeed makes the signal warm enough for me in those cases.

 

[geremy]

I plan on ordering these today, is it true that there is no paint underneath the buttons? I really hate how the buttons look.

 

[geremy]

Ok, they are being delivered tomorrow. Anyone know about button removal and paint underneath? PLS ADVISE!

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geremy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, they are being delivered tomorrow. Anyone know about button removal and paint underneath? PLS ADVISE!

I had some pics of mine when I did a mod but I lost them(the pics). I can't recall what mine looked like after I removed the buttons. I removed the paint to expose the stainless steel so I didn't care. If you did do damage to the paint after removing the buttons you could repaint the screen but you'd need to take the cups apart to do it properly.

 

[mike6502]

Don't forget that the buttons are just glued on, so I would find it very odd if there is no paint under them. Wouldn't that require them putting the button on first and then attempting to paint around it? That seems far-fetched.

 

[moogoob]

I kept my buttons, peeling gold and all.

/need to buy a cheap gold pen

 

[geremy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike6502 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't forget that the buttons are just glued on, so I would find it very odd if there is no paint under them. Wouldn't that require them putting the button on first and then attempting to paint around it? That seems far-fetched.

That seemed pretty far fetched to me as well, which is why I asked...so the buttons are just hot glued on? And if I twist them, I won't have to worry about glue shards falling back into the driver because the hot glue should (theoretically) stay in one (or a couple) pieces?

Thanks all!

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geremy /img/forum/go_quote.gif That seemed pretty far fetched to me as well, which is why I asked...so the buttons are just hot glued on? And if I twist them, I won't have to worry about glue shards falling back into the driver because the hot glue should (theoretically) stay in one (or a couple) pieces? Thanks all!

I agree with that. Just be sure to heat the glue enough so that the paint doesn't get pulled away. The paint should be stronger than the glue but just in case. Even if a small piece of glue fell through, odds are it would be OK and might even come back out...since it was small enough to fall through.

Good luck!

 

[geremy]

Thank you very much for the help. I have received them and begun listening to them. I am a disappointed. They sound very thin...there is no body to the sound, and the bass & drums doesn't seem to convey any sense of power (I'm listening to Led Zeppelin primarily). I hope this is because they are so new. I ran about 3 hours of pink noise through them (which I know is nowhere near enough), but I just can't imagine a massive improvement due to burn-in.

On the plus side the soundstage is much larger than I was expecting (have only listened to SR60s previously) and they have ridiculous clarity. Also, they are much more comfortable than I was expecting. I was expecting heavy and harsh in comfort. Right now I would forget they were on if it wasn't for the 'y' cord.

I have number 9192, btw. Maybe I will get used to it, or they will improve. If not, most likely they will be returned for ATH-AD900s. It is strange, because I have ATH-A700s. According to the frequency response graphs from headroom, the ATs are significantly weaker in the bass and midrange, but it's the total opposite to my ears...

 

[mike6502]

geremy,
I was a bit disappointed with my SR-325is when I first got them. I'm not sure what happened, but they sound completely different now. I compared them with my other long-time cans - Sony MDR-7506s - and couldn't tell a huge difference at the time. Now the difference is night and day. I've always been a skeptic of burn-in, but now I'm not so sure.

One thing that I find really helps improve the bass is the so-called "tape mod." Just wrap some electric tape around the outside rim of the bowls - instant bass-boost and easily reversible.

 

[geremy]

I'll give the tape mod a shot! Thanks.