[RedFangBangBang]

Hi,
 
Just bought a pair of Grado SR80i's and have paired them with the Fiio E7.  I mainly listen to rock and sometimes acoustic.  I have to admit the sound is perfect and for my budget I recommend this set up to anyone with similar resources.
 
Check it out:
 

 

[antberg]

good to know!

 

[Magick Man]

You can get the Pyle clone of the E7 for $55 in the US: Linky. And you can get the SR80i for $90, "like new-open box", from Amazon as well. That's $145 for a great combo, it's madness!

 

[musiclover666]

I have a modded pair of SR80i and a Fiio E-10 and it rocks in my opinion.

 

[RedFangBangBang]

How have you modded them?

 

[musiclover666]

The first this I did was take the cups apart via a hair drier. I tried steaming them apart, but there was too much glue for the steam to penetrate. Once apart I removed all remnants of glue. Next I punched out the stock plastic screen and removed all leftover bits and sanded any rough edges clean. I replaced the stock screen with metal screen I found at the dollar store, I also spray painted the screen red, simply because I like the black/red colour combination. I then punched 2 holes in the felt on the back of the driver. Then I put a glob of "Poster Tack" on the back of the magnet plate as well as lined the inside of the cups with a thin layer of "Poster Tack".
 
Overall I feel these mods have smoothed out the stock rough edges sound wise. The forward Grado sound signature is retained, it's just a little more refined now. Since I did the initial mods I have kept punching 2 holes at a time. To date I have punched all ten holes. The Grados seem much punchier now, or maybe it's placebo and I want to here a difference. Either way I like the end result and wouldn't hesitate to perform the same kind of surgery on another pair.
 
If you do decide to perform any mods, take your time and go slow. Rushing the process will only increase you chances of slipping up and possibly making an irreversible mistake, thus turning your kick ass pair of Grados into an expensive paper weight.
 
There are a lot of threads relating to Grado modding, in particular the huge SR 60 mod thread, which can be applied to your 80i.
 
If you have any further questions please feel free to post them and I will do my best to answer or someone else with more experience will chime in.
 
Cheers,
Dan