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Grado Modifications/Upgrades/DIY

macaltec

macaltec

Metal Master
Did a quick search and didnt see anything. Admittedly I didnt put much effort into it either.

I am thinking about making some modifications to a set of Grado SR80e headphones. Some seem harmless and simple enough. Curious if anyone here has done similar on any set of Grados?

I am very curious about the wooden cups. They look cool, do they really offer any change/improvement in sound? They sure do look nice.
 
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macaltec said:
I did do the quarter mod to the pads I have. It did make a noticeable difference.
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The 80 models, the ear pad is flat. The 125 & up, it's like a bowl shape and different hardness of foam. Fits your ears differently too. There are knockoff Grado foam pads for half the price that I'm using and they sound just the same! If you want me to, I can find a pair for you on Ebay.
 
I use the Senn yellow ear pads. Fit is comfortable and sound is better than the originals
 
Had to open up the Grado Sr60s yesterday to repair the cable housing near the drivers. While I had them open I did the vent mod, supposedly this mod provides more bass. It did open up the bass; it seems more punchy now.
 
I did the vent mods and the damping of the cavity along with the quarter mod. I went to a local audio shop today and auditioned new Grados from the SR80e to the SR325e. I didnt hear enough difference to warrant buying anything more than I have in my modded SR80e's. It wasnt until I tried the PS1000 that I heard an immediate difference. I am still curious about the RS1e and 2e.
 
macaltec said:
Did a quick search and didnt see anything. Admittedly I didnt put much effort into it either.

I am thinking about making some modifications to a set of Grado SR80e headphones. Some seem harmless and simple enough. Curious if anyone here has done similar on any set of Grados?

I am very curious about the wooden cups. They look cool, do they really offer any change/improvement in sound? They sure do look nice.
Click to expand...
John Grado is a close personal friend of mine. I have heard him address cable upgrading and earpads swaps etc. His answer is always the same. Grado cans are designed to work best as they are. That is why the cables do not detach. These mods will not change the sound for the better. Imo if you desire a better sound move up the line to a higher performing set
 
@Jbl Joe Thats cool that you know John. I like his headphones just didnt hear enough difference in them to spend money on moving up the line.

Good or bad, I do like the changes that the mods brought about in my SR80e's.
 
I only vented two holes on each driver on mine. I also placed felt pads on the back of the drivers and behind the button, but I didn't like the sound after that so I reversed it. I've wondered if there is a sweet spot for upgrading to a new pair of Grados from my SR60s. I've heard the SR 225e is one. Problem is, there are no brick and mortar stores around here to audition them any more. When I originally purchased them 12 years ago I auditioned the 60s, 80s, and the 125s. I actually liked the 60s better than the 80s and the 125s didn't sound that much better than the 60s to justify the price.
 
My old original 80's came with the bowl pads that now come on the 125 and 250's. When I replaced them with the pads that are now standard on the 60 and 80's I was not satisfied. IMHO the bowl pads are good affordable upgrade. Better sound and more comfortable also.
 
Jbl Joe said:
John Grado is a close personal friend of mine. I have heard him address cable upgrading and earpads swaps etc. His answer is always the same. Grado cans are designed to work best as they are. That is why the cables do not detach. These mods will not change the sound for the better. Imo if you desire a better sound move up the line to a higher performing set
Click to expand...

I'd only disagree with him on the L Cushions. But I'm talking purely comfort, not sound. They're just too hard to be comfortable. Quote explanation from other thread:

reydelaplaya said:
My first set of headphones, beyond those that came included with my walkman radio/cassette and cd players back in the 80s/90s or the earbuds that came with my iphones, were something I'd researched and held out for for quite a while - Grado RS1, and by the time I could get them, it was the 'e' version that was out. Took a while to finally commit to the purchase having never actually heard them before - I was going on reputation and online reviews alone. Grado direct couldn't ship here, but Crutchfield had them hand delivered by UPS in three days and didn't even charge for shipping.

Crazy thing was, after a few hours of use, I hated them! LOL Man did they hurt. Those hard foam on-ear 'pads' totally ruined what was otherwise great sound because they were digging in enough to leave indentations at the tops of my ears.

And so they sat in their box; virtually unused because I'd never give them more than 20-30 minutes before refusing to wear them any longer and deal with that pain - a month'd go by and I'd try them again, always coming to the same conclusion. So they sat for over a year and a half barely touched...

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Then one day while looking on amazon for replacement earpads for a set of Yamaha orthos I picked up, I saw a shopping suggestion about replacement aftermarket Grado earpads and followed the link, and man I'm glad I did. It was for a set of larger bowl style over-the-ear earpads, the G-Cushion like what Grado uses on their high end models (never even dawned on me that was an option prior to that moment). Figured it was worth a shot since the physics of moving the clamping force off of my ears with these larger pads made sense for better comfort - maybe they'd finally be comfortable enough to enjoy them. Short story even shorter - those pads made all the difference and totally rescued these RS1e from their box. They're a real treat to listen to now. Looks like amazon's out of the pads I ordered from earzonk, but I did see other aftermarket bowls offered in their suggestions - if you have a set of Grados and hate the smaller L-Cushion that came stock on them, I would absolutely recommend trying this G-Cushion style pads instead.

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In the bottom photo you can see the difference in the pads. the original L Cushion is that top left one, and the aftermarket G Cushions are mounted. I see where people say these aftermarkets aren't of the same quality as the G Cushions by Grado. Be that as it may, for 20 bucks a few years ago, they rescued a otherwise nice pair of headphones. Maybe next time around (when we get back to normal?) I'll order the original G Cushion directly from Grado, but in the meantime, at least I finally get to enjoy using these even if cheap/incorrect pads.

I'd totally recommend this 'upgrade' if you have a similar experience.
 
Jbl Joe said:
John Grado is a close personal friend of mine. I have heard him address cable upgrading and earpads swaps etc. His answer is always the same. Grado cans are designed to work best as they are. That is why the cables do not detach. These mods will not change the sound for the better. Imo if you desire a better sound move up the line to a higher performing set
Click to expand...

I find it very annoying that the cables don’t detach. The cables of my Grado RS2i are stiff due to age. Also , the build quality is very poor. The cheapest Grado has the same headband construction as the 1000€+ models.

Also , Who wants a 6 feet long cable that thick and heavy ?

I replaced the painful donut pads for the Grado Comfy pads. Those are pretty nice. And i wrapped some kind of a elastic black o ring around the ear cups so that they don’t keep spinning around.

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