[WiR3D]

oh boy now placement becomes important, or an easy way to tune it to personal preference

 

[stratocaster]

I guess one simply has to find the sweet spot by bringing cup volume (which may vary due to different [custom] cups you use), damping scheme and position of the driver (which has an effect on the inner cup volume AND the distance of the driver to the ear) into balance.
If you consider how easy it is to pop the driver in and out without having to deal with screws, that is an easy task. And, from my experience, the sweet spot can be found quite easily. You just have to trust your ears to find this sweet spot. Then again, this sweet spot may vary due to people's individual sound preferences.
 
As a general rule it should be reasonable to simply copy the damping and driver position changes that purrin applied, which gave the best measuring results.
 
I will try to find time over the weekend to assemble a plastic Strato and take photos of the process to make it easier for people to copy. Then I can also comment ... [Sorry that I can't do that. Just checked and I have only one outer plastic grado shell left] ... if the plastic set sounds inferior or not. My guess would be that that will not be the case. I might have to use some kind of Dynamat to line the thin plastic shell walls to deal with resonances, though.

 

[thelostMIDrange]

i was under the impression there was already some material applied to the walls of even the wood cups? Looked like it in the pics. or is it just foam on the back wall?

 

[stratocaster]

I have the wood cup walls and bottom covered with Paxmate Plus acoustic foam. There is no Dynamat in the woodies.
With the plastic Stratos I would suggest using Dynamat on the plastic walls and covering that layer with a layer of acoustic foam to reduce resonance originating from the plastic shells.

 

[Melvins]

so I am confused, can I buy these from someone? I'm not that proficient at modding and have no way of making woodies for myself .
 
Thanks!

 

[purrin]

I'm sure a few enterprising Head-Fi'ers will eventually get to producing a few cups.

 

[jgray91]

Why not ask the guys in the grado modding scene? They seem to produce them at a fairly reasonable rate, and some of them should have spares/leftovers they could be willing to part with.

 

[purrin]

Well, I should be gettinga 2.5D CNC router this summer. I could crank a few out. The pads are really the secret though.

 

[stratocaster]

Quote:

Why not ask the guys in the grado modding scene? They seem to produce them at a fairly reasonable rate, and some of them should have spares/leftovers they could be willing to part with.

 
Actually I come from the Grado modding crowd. I have modded lots of Grados and then got hold of Magnum drivers, which I think are top drivers, so I began working on that combo.
I just had some spare parts, wood shells to be precise, lying around. I originally thought I would have no further use for them, since I had decided to give up modding GradoMagnums.
Then I had these leather-lined L-cushs, which I had originally made for my Magnums, but actually the combo of Magnums and leather pads was CRAP. So again I thought I just might have to throw the leather pads into the garbage can.
Then I built a wooden KOSS, open at the beginning, then I went closed and just tried the leather pads on them. When I first heard that combo my ears instantaneosly told me BINGO!
There must be fellow GradoMagnum modders out there, having spare parts lying around. So I posted a link on the 'Grado Modders Go Magnum' thread, which I had started, to draw fellow modders' attention to the possibility of building a fantastic set of headphones with the parts they should have lying around. At least it is easy and cheap for anybody in CONUS to get hold of a used plastic Grado very cheap. Then just go ahead and build yourself a StratoKOSSter.
 
@purrin: Yes, I agree, the pads are the key. They sound crap on Grados and Magnums, but they really make the StratoKOSSters shine. Funny, but every Jack has his Jill.  AND, thanks for the press release, I just cracked up with laughter when I read it.

 

[jgray91]

Quote:

Quote:

Why not ask the guys in the grado modding scene? They seem to produce them at a fairly reasonable rate, and some of them should have spares/leftovers they could be willing to part with.

 
Actually I come from the Grado modding crowd. I have modded lots of Grados and then got hold of Magnum drivers, which I think are top drivers, so I began working on that combo.
I just had some spare parts, wood shells to be precise, lying around. I originally thought I would have no further use for them, since I had decided to give up modding GradoMagnums.
Then I had these leather-lined L-cushs, which I had originally made for my Magnums, but actually the combo of Magnums and leather pads was CRAP. So again I thought I just might have to throw the leather pads into the garbage can.
Then I built a wooden KOSS, open at the beginning, then I went closed and just tried the leather pads on them. When I first heard that combo my ears instantaneosly told me BINGO!
There must be fellow GradoMagnum modders out there, having spare parts lying around. So I posted a link on the 'Grado Modders Go Magnum' thread, which I had started, to draw fellow modders' attention to the possibility of building a fantastic set of headphones with the parts they should have lying around. At least it is easy and cheap for anybody in CONUS to get hold of a used plastic Grado very cheap. Then just go ahead and build yourself a StratoKOSSter.
 
@purrin: Yes, I agree, the pads are the key. They sound crap on Grados and Magnums, but they really make the StratoKOSSters shine. Funny, but every Jack has his Jill.  AND, thanks for the press release, I just cracked up with laughter when I read it.

That's great news to those guys, since they already have the materials, barring the cheap and easily purchased KCS75. And for those in the US.
 
Next time, this thread's title would read: Magnum modders go Koss. 

 

[ruinevil]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/611129/ksc75-in-igrado-body#post_8401621 <-- my variant from the week before.

 

[stratocaster]

Did you remove the plastic mesh in front of the driver? If so, I do not doubt that this enhanced the highs. I also suspect that this mod would basically leave you with a similar sound signature as of the stock KSC-75 clip-ons.
If you want more bass extension and more neutrality, you will have to put the drivers into closed shells.

 

[ruinevil]

The mesh? That was untouched. The iGrado has a plastic/metal grille, as does KSC-75, so I removed the KSC's grille. That is essentially a Kramer mod, so I did expect it to increase the highs. I also bought new earpads, so the highs aren't that bad now. I might stick some foam in the back, though I'm not a big fan of how it sounds when I close the phones with my hands.

 

[stratocaster]

I meant the grille, sorry. As for the sound of the KSC drivers in a closed shell, you would definitely have to use  larger shells than the iGrado ones ( SR60 shells for example), plus you would have to use leather/pleather pads and internal damping. Sound quality with a closed KSC driver is jumping up with the right pads.

 

[DeliciousTea]

Thought I'd share my prototype StratoKOSSter/Thunderpants-inspired (blatantly ripped-off) mod to inspire others now that I know this thread isn't completely dead. 

 
The ThunderKOSSter!  Or Stratopants.

 

 

 
The design is essentially a scaled-down Thunderpants v1 with KSC75 drivers and foam damping.  Pads are made according to stratocaster's awesome picture tutorial (though I still managed to screw up some parts). Cup volume is significantly smaller than SR-60 cups at only 1/2" deep but drivers are elevated to the top of the cups, which probably pushes the sound-signature closer to StratoKOSSter V1 than purrin's version.
 
I notice improvements consistent with purrin's charts:  highs seem less fatiguing, mids are more forward, and bass seems leaner and cleaner with better extension.  The pads definitely make the greatest difference in changing the sound signature, with a good seal improving bass greatly.
 
All credit for internal and external design goes to stratocaster, purrin, and smeggy.