[stratocaster]

Quote:

if there's a genuine service/'business' opportunity here, it might be lining some grado pads with leather. While the tutorial is very thorough, strato makes it look easier than it is. Or at least it's a task for those with plenty of patience......... Also suspect that particular pad is a significant part of the stratokosster sound. Plain exposed grado foam pads don't seem to work well for me.

 
There is no service/business intention here, on my side at least. I was sharing this because I really love the sound the Stratos produce. A plastic Strato would be very easy AND cheap to manufacture. For anybody. There is no need to pay hundreds of dollars for headphones that are clearly deficient in sound quality, just because we do not really do much about being ripped of by audio companies. That's what I have done for too long, paing too much money for too little quality. And I won't do that any more.
As for the pads, you are absolutely right to state that the leather-lined L-cushs are crucial to achieve the full StratoKOSSter sound. I do not agree, however, that they are difficult to make. If you knew about the lack of craftsmanship on my side, you would agree with me. If I can do it, everybody can do it
As for other pads, like plain Grado foam L-cushs or TTVJ flats, they do not sound as nicely. Purrin tested them too, and he agrees.

 

[WiR3D]

why not just do a group buy? could make some extra cash for not too much work.
 
get a bunch of people to pay upfront, and then you get the parts, and make the pads, and put them together, and ship. boom. Some extra cash for the holidays.
 
And none of us would complain if you added a 50% markup for your time.

 

[stratocaster]

Headphones and modding are my hobby, this should be fun and it should remain that way. Building and selling would be work and ruin everything.
I was sharing the info and sent in the Stratos for measurements to provide info, subjective listening impressions and objective data. I am not the kind of person that takes pleasure in bragging about something without a reason.
The info provided will enable anybody to build their own StratoKOSSters. I am sure there will be some freeriders soon, who will offer fancy looking wood shells etc. to make some dough. You decide if you want to be ripped or not.
If I wanted to start a business and make some bucks, we could have provided the measurements and withhold the modding info. But that's not my approach. I believe in sharing and helping audio enthusiasts take pleasure in headphones without being ripped.
Furthermore, those who build a headphone will learn a lot about headphones, drivers, frequency response, CSD plots etc. while doing so. I guess this is an investment that really pays out in the end.
 
By the way, I edited the 1st post on page one with some more coherent and comprehensive modding info.
 
Happy modding and enjoy listening to your headphones, whatever they may be.

 

[ambchang]

stratocaster, hats off to you.
 
I only have four pairs of headphones, and all four of them are modded/in the process of being modded.
 
This StratoKOSSter should be the next one on my list, thanks to you sharing your information.

 

[stratocaster]

No problem, amb, I am happy to share. I think you won't be disappointed if you build a pair of StratoKOSSters.

 

[rhythmdevils]

LOL.  Brilliant mods, and brilliant press release.  The scale on the graph

 
From one obsessed headphone modder to another, RESPECT!!!!

 

[jgray91]

How would the cup material affect the overall sound? Judging from the various grado mods, it either is night and day or all that are hyperbolic. I'm guessing the latter, but I'm still thinking that there's at least a distinguished difference.

 

[jerg]

I'm very interested in a possible group-buy as well, count me in if it's gonna happen.
 
Edit: nvm looks like it won't happen

 

[rhythmdevils]

Keep in mind that the drivers are housed in plastic already. 

 

[jgray91]

Hmm good point.

 

[stratocaster]

@rhythmdevils: Thanks, I appreciate it. I have been following your posts in various threads in the last year, very nice modding work, informative and intelligent posts. It is those people like you newbies can always rely on to be a valuable source of audio and modding knowledge.
 
I guess cup material is not as crucial as the interaction of inner cup volume, damping, distance of driver from the ear and leather earpads.
You can easily see the improvements on the frequency response curve from 100 to 300hz after purrin applied his changes, increasing  cup volume and using foam instead of cotton damping.
The choice of wood, aluminum or plastic as a housing might have some slight effects, but IMHO not dramatic ones.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

the cups being are lined with foam (1)  and the driver not rigidly mounted in the cup (keeps the foam pad) (2)
 
pretty much takes the cup material out of the equation. This headphone could work just as well with plastic grado cups. as a wood cup lined with foam will likely act the same as a plastic cup lined with foam. The cup material seems to matter much more in the traditional grado/open design.......... In contrast, because this phone is closed, it would make sense that the overall volume would be one of the more important variables that likely has a wide range affect......... And of course the pads are important in both designs (grado/stratokosster)

 

[purrin]

The cups made by strat were very solid. Much more solid than the Grado wood cups, which are designed to resonant and actually take the bite (distribute) the resonances and ringing effects of the RS1/RS2 drivers. As you noted, the internal of the SKOSSter cups were lined with high-density foam. In addition, I stuffed medium density foam into the cups in place of cotton. This helped to alleviate the reverb effect of the cups, since cotton as a sound absorbing material does not do much.
 
The cups and damping appear to do two things. They dampen the driver so its more linear (pushes down the lower an mid treble), and provides an internal volume to extend the bass. The KSC-75 driver seems to really need the help. Bass rolloff was more evident with the driver inside of the cup. Resting the driver on top of the cup seemed to do the trick.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

but moving the driver out might be a factor because of the new resulting 'distance-to-ear', and not the increased volume of the cup. or it could be both things are happening.

 

[purrin]

Yes. Moving the driver closer to the ear helps push down the treble or lift up the bass + low mids.