VERY easy 325i mod. (and maybe also for other Grados)
Aug 4, 2006 at 9:23 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 33

Kees

Headphoneus Supremus
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Hi all.
This is a very simple mod for your 325i.
Reversible within 1 second flat.
Total cost: about $2.
I got the idea from a mod on my turntable. It has a heavy metal platter. The mod is that you put a heavy, tight elastic band around the rim to dampen vibrations in the metal.
Well, I guess you already get a feeling where this is going.

I got myself some plumbing materials and got to work.
I think the pictures speak for them selves.


A pvc joint used to join two lengths of 50mm pvc.


Inside on both ends is a rubber ring.
I want just the ring


The ring diameter is 48 mm, inside.


Fit the ring around the driver house. It takes some doing, the ring fits very tightly.


The visual end result: you hardly notice the ring sitting on the rim of the driver house.

The effect I hear on sound: All sloppiness seems gone, especially from the bass department. The sound is slightly more punchy, detailed and dynamic in the lower regions than it already was. Deepest bass has a little more body. It is most noticable on percussion. I noticed the effect on the kick-drum in Joan Armatrading’s “Me, myself, I”. This drum can sound very sloppy and loose. It is more tight now.
Maybe there are other differences that I have missed so far. But I thought it was already enough to let you all know about it so you can try for yourself.
I also tried this with 48mm rubber o-rings. They work perfectly, the only thing being that they pop off easily.
I don’t know if this will work on other Grados too, but I think it is very well possible.
Have fun trying this, and let me know what you think of it.

Kees.

EDIT:
Added these photos later. The originals got lost in the outage in 2007. These were taken after the second mod I did with these phones (search for other thread)

 
Aug 4, 2006 at 10:44 PM Post #4 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Kees
Hi all.
This is a very simple mod for your 325i.
Kees.



good work, will try shortly myself..
 
Feb 21, 2007 at 6:34 AM Post #6 of 33
i know this is a old thread.. but i just did this to my 325i's and it made a huge difference in the bass! i also noticed more details in the mids and the high's

man! this rocks!
 
Feb 21, 2007 at 7:33 AM Post #7 of 33
Headphone dampeners?
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Feb 21, 2007 at 7:44 AM Post #8 of 33
Move over, Hal-O Tube Dampeners! The Big Boys are coming to town!
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Feb 21, 2007 at 2:27 PM Post #9 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by blinx /img/forum/go_quote.gif
i know this is a old thread.. but i just did this to my 325i's and it made a huge difference in the bass! i also noticed more details in the mids and the high's

man! this rocks!



It does me good to see someone enjoys this mod.
biggrin.gif


If you want even more drastic improvements (a bit less easy, but completely reversible so no risk) look here.
rs1smile.gif
 
Mar 22, 2007 at 5:24 AM Post #10 of 33
WOW!

I had to make a trip to Home Depot for other reasons, and decided to try this out. Unfortunately there were no PVC joints with rubber rings... but I found something else to fit the bill:

A pair of "flush valve shank washers":

DSCN1701.JPG


This version of the mod is certainly NOT inconspicuous, visually. But, I think it actually is a visually pleasing effect. The beveled edges of the rubber washers perfectly matches the beveling of the gold-anodized 325i metal, so it looks almost natural... almost like the GS-1000, except with a pointed, angular rubber edge.

DSCN1717.JPG

DSCN1713.JPG


And I have to echo what everybody's been saying: the rubber dampeners really tighten up the sound, especially the lower bass. Switching back and forth, I notice a slightly greater quantity of lower bass. Plus, the best part is that I can hear some low frequency resonance & decay on notes that was apparently swallowed up by vibration before, I guess. On some test tracks, the difference is so subtle to be imperceptible, but on Radiohead's "There There"—a track with tons of organic percussion—the difference is clear, though small. But for a $4 mod, it was well worth it.

Thank you for this great mod idea Kees! With taped bowls AND rubber dampeners, my SR-325i just keeps getting better and better.
gs1000.gif
 
Oct 6, 2007 at 11:46 PM Post #11 of 33
Old thread, but wanted to chime in some thanks to Kees for the original idea and Cake for the "flush valve shank washers". Couldn't find the original PVC joints with the rubber rings here at Home Depot either so I went with the ones mentioned by Cake. A little heavier than I'm used to though so I'm definitely gonna have to mod the headband somehow.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 5:26 AM Post #12 of 33
Hi guys,

I got my Grado Sr325i 2 days ago and now I am burning them in. Can't wait to reach the 300 hr mark. Anyways,.. I saw this mod even before I bought it and your descriptions sound sooo SEXY! Unfortunately I live in Taiwan and there aren't any home depot around and I could not find any PVC joint in the local hardware store. Sorry for the my ignorace what is the flush valve shank washer for? If anyone is kind enough to explain this to me maybe I can try to speak to the local hardware store clerks and I might have a better luck with that! Thanx!


Charlie
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 6:10 AM Post #13 of 33
The washer Cake mentioned is for a toilet's flush valve. It makes sure water doesn't leak though from the tank into the bowl of the toilet.
 
Oct 7, 2007 at 10:34 AM Post #15 of 33
HI,
Another small add-on.
I found that the cups of the 325i (with extra weight from the mod) were a bit heavy and tended to sag.
So I made another (very easy of course) mod to remedy that.
Pics tell it all:

I used hooks used for hanging pictures on nylonn wires.
attachment.php


I just sawed off the hooks and put the remaining tube plus thumb screw over the rods of the headphones (I removed the rod and glued it back on, but you can try to remove the top)

After that it looks like this:
attachment.php


attachment.php


Overview:
(The screw on the right cup is swiveled inwards, but you can just turn them around of course)
attachment.php


By the way: this does not prevent the cups from swiveling!
 

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