Thanks guys. It has been a busy day. My 20-year-old daughter had a little girl this morning. I didn't get a chance to set out for Pinellas Park until the late afternoon. Fortunately, my supplier stayed late and we had quite a time talking about wood. I got a couple of nice boards to work with, so I'm stoked. Tomorrow, I may just get my first crack at building shells in cocobolo.
MajorCockUp, I don't know whether to extend condolences or congratulations. If you got better sound till you put it all back together, don't put it all back together. A plastic headphone is a system. The parts work together. Change something in that system and you introduce an imbalance. Yet, you know you don't want to be stuck in harmonious mediocrity. If an improvement here forces an improvement there, keep the ball rolling and don't let it stop. I, myself, noticed that improved bass brought out the deficiencies of the plastic Grado. That's why I found myself having to damp the magnet back and at least damp the back of the plastic button on the rear grill. But truth be told, that whole button and plastic mesh assembly has to go. I once cut mine out with a knife (It was the only way to get it all out) - which added needed clarity and removed a lot of plastic-induced spiking. But a bigger and better improvement was to remove the plastic second-stage rear chamber altogether. Since the pins in the prongs connect along a pair of holes created by the joint between front and rear chambers, I ended up having to superglue my cushions to my forks. It wasn't pretty (My plastic front chambers were held on by nothing more than their hooking onto or into the cushions) but the clarity was unprecedented.
In time, you will find fault with the bowls, and not simply because of comfort. Live long enough and you'll find fault with the jumbos. Progress is a process of you demanding more - and finding a way to get it. Good luck!
