The Official Grado 325i Owners Club.
Jul 11, 2010 at 9:48 PM Post #1,966 of 3,634
 
How does the 325 sound with the salad bowl (jumbo) pads?
Y'all just putting the jumbo pads on a stock 325?  No distancer or other mods to compensate?


The problem in using the jumbos is that you need more airflow to make it work.  The jumbos increase the ear/driver distance and widen the aperture, opening up the HF, but unless you can compensate for the greater need for airflow, the bass will get sucked out.  You can do this electronically, with a strong amp.  My M^3, which came equipped with a variable bass boost, did it just fine.  You can also make an architectural mod that will increase the airflow: Vent one or more of the holes that ring around the driver back (There are 10 altogether).  The HF2 vents one hole.  The PS1000 vents four.  It makes a tremendous difference.  I did this with an SR60 (venting all 10 holes).  While I chose to then damp the magnet plate, inner walls and button back, the added airflow brought in a lot of bass.  
 
I know what it's like to slap on a pair of jumbos and feel all the bass drop out of the cans, but with my vented SR60s, jumbos are the preferred pair of pads (I need the larger soundstage to compensate for all of the added bass).  It's like listening to a great pair of bowls but with the comfort and HF extension of jumbos.  I have absolutely no issues with the midrange.  Having owned a pair of GS1000s, I'm quite familiar with the missing midrange issue.  That's not the case here.
 
Jul 19, 2010 at 7:50 AM Post #1,967 of 3,634
I searched the thread, but couldn't find an answer; I was looking at the possibility of putting wood cups on my 325i, but there are a few different versions out there; Nickchen, JMoney, headphile, etc. Anybody have experience with these on a 325i, and care to share the results, how did the sound signature change, etc..
 
Jul 19, 2010 at 3:54 PM Post #1,968 of 3,634
I tried wood on my 325is's,but it seemed to take away  what i liked about them.I have now gone back to original,less buttons.My 80i's ,on the other hand,sound much better with them.Both my pairs were made by nickchen and fitted very well and looked beautiful. I sold my spare pair on head-fi with a very small loss,give them a try,you might prefer them.   Good luck...
 
Jul 20, 2010 at 4:45 AM Post #1,971 of 3,634
I put mine in a shallow dish of hot water and they just fell off.Can't say i can hear a difference,but i do prefer the look of them.You can always stick them back with some hotmelt glue if you don't.
 
Jul 20, 2010 at 5:10 AM Post #1,972 of 3,634
Seems like I have my self in deep now. I tried to take them off, got one off with a twist and pull, but removing the glue is a pain, not to mention that some of the glue fell inside. So it looks like I am going to be opening them now to do it properly and remove the glue from the inside as well. :)
 
Jul 20, 2010 at 8:39 AM Post #1,974 of 3,634
So 4 hours and burnt fingers later, I have removed the buttons from my Grados. I will say it's not worth it tbh, but the experience is. It made me want to do more with them, like recabling them and adding a mono 2.5mm sub-mini phone jack to each earcup. 
 
Jul 20, 2010 at 8:50 AM Post #1,975 of 3,634


Quote:
So 4 hours and burnt fingers later, I have removed the buttons from my Grados. I will say it's not worth it tbh, but the experience is. It made me want to do more with them, like recabling them and adding a mono 2.5mm sub-mini phone jack to each earcup. 


I salute your bravery! I'm not putting a soldering iron anywhere near my 325 after damaging the driver on my 60 after replacing a broken cable! I'm still contemplating  wood cups, but since getting a K340, my funds will first need to go to a better amp!
 
Jul 20, 2010 at 11:16 PM Post #1,976 of 3,634


Quote:
I salute your bravery! I'm not putting a soldering iron anywhere near my 325 after damaging the driver on my 60 after replacing a broken cable! I'm still contemplating  wood cups, but since getting a K340, my funds will first need to go to a better amp!


Ouch, damaging a driver is never fun. But I was extremely careful around the drivers to ensure no damage was done to them.
I am really considering doing the cable mod, but I am not sure which cable I would want to use. I think I would use Black Dragon, but I am not sure how I would do the Y connect on the headphones, or which mono 2.5 male & female connectors. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :D
 
Jul 21, 2010 at 10:57 AM Post #1,978 of 3,634


Quote:
Hi there!
 
New member of the club :wink:
 
Can anyone tell me where the SN is? (i don't have the original box)
It's in the phones?
Also, can anyone recomend an amp/dac with good sinergy?
I have the D4, but it seems that something is missing..
Thanks.


If you remove the pads, you will find the serial# scratched into the plastic, unless you have a pre-325i, which aren't numbered.
 
Jul 26, 2010 at 6:52 AM Post #1,980 of 3,634
New Grado 325is here :)
 
Sold my SR325i which I'm listed as owning in first post of the thread, but trying the 325is now.
 
Initial impressions? If you plan on playing 128Kbit mp3 through these - don't bother. I've just tried. Seriously, do not even bother playing anything less than 192Kbit CBR mp3 through these (I use 320Kbit CBR for my personal collection). They bring the high-frequencies to the fore, and that always seems to be where mp3 compression does most damage (cymbals for example). If you have low-quality mp3s, stick to something like the SR60i/SR80i which are more forgiving, but still offer the Grado sound, just without all the 'sharpness' you get from the 325/i/is models.
 
Not sure about comfort yet, as I've only had them on for 10 minutes. However, I sold my old Alessandro MS2 (essentially the Grado 325i) because of comfort issues, and I'm really determined to keep these, even if I have to experiment with different pad combinations to make them comfortable.
 
First impressions though? A REALLY involving (probably fatiguing) presentation, which I absolutely love, but I'd see others won't - so ideally, borrow a pair from someone before buying :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top