Grado Headphone Ear Cushions

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by rontokyo, Sep 13, 2003.

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  1. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Finally got my RS-1s and SR125s back from Grado [blown driver and cable short respectively--more about the repair experience on another thread later on]. The 125s came back with new ear cushions--slightly larger in size and *much* more comfortable. They also position the ear 1/16"-1/8" further away from the driver as compared to the old cushions. As the older style cushions have been discontinued, I tried the new ones on the RS-1 cans to compare the sonic differences. The result: overall loss of bass [not necessarily a bad thing as I've always felt the RS-1s are a bit bass heavy], loss of midrange detailing, too-thin highs and overall loss of warmth. In short, the headphones lose much of what made them so special in the first place. And nobody at Grado noticed this before committing themselves to these new cushions? Thoughts from other Grado users?

    On second thought, I may be being *very* unfair to Grado. It's possible that there is a different cushion designed specifically for the RS-1s--though a search of the net re: Grado mods turned up no such evidence and the Grado site offers zero in the way of info re: the change in cushions. I'll email them now and post an update after I hear from them.
     
  2. fjhuerta

    fjhuerta New Member

    Location:
    México City
    wheee!

    We had this discussion years ago over at www.headwize.com and www.head-fi.org. Which are the correct pads for Grados? Donuts? Flat RS pads? Original pads?

    Search both sites I mentioned. You'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about different Grado pads and their acoustical properties. Personally, I own the Flat RS pads, the Original pads and the Donuts. I like the donuts best, since they have the punchiest, most dynamic sound.
     
  3. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Thanks for the links, Javier. Found several threads dealing the Grado pads issue, replacements and mods. Interesting reading. I'm now investigating headphone amps on those sites--*that* ought to keep me busy for the next several weeks.

    So all I wrote earlier not withstanding, I've been listening with the new donut pads for the last couple of hours. They really *are* more comfortable. And I seem to be getting used to the sound. God, maybe after a few weeks I'll even come to *prefer* these new pads over the flat ones.
     
  4. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    I sent my 125's in for service to Grado about two years ago and also asked for new earpads. Thank God I sent them in sans pads because if they had thrown out the original flat pads, I probably would have been in the market for Sennheisers ;). The sound was changed completely with the bowl shaped pads they sent the headphones back with, and not for the better (makes them sound thin and trebley). Those bowl shaped ones got put in a cabinet not long after I got them and still sit there, while I still use my old, totally shot pads (that I even had to put a rubber band around the outside of the left pad to hold it together) that originally came with the headphones when I bought them new in June 1996. I guess you can tell I don't like the sound with those bowl shaped pads ;).
     
  5. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Martin, here's a link to a discussion of the Grado cushion situation on the "head-fi" [headphone] site that Javier turned me onto in an earlier post above. On page two of that thread someone posted a link to the Sennheiser site where replacement pads that fit the Grado cans ala the original "flat" pads can be purchased. I ordered six pair a few hours ago.
     
  6. Jason Brown

    Jason Brown Forum Resident

    Location:
    SLC, UT
    Cool links, guys. I don't do the cans much because they're far too grating treble-wise. Those Senn pads look like they might just be the answer.
     
  7. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Well, Jason, if the many comments on that site are to be believed, the Sennheiser pads [with the "hole" mod] may just do the trick. Sure beats using the worn-out flat-as-pancakes pads that poor Martin's been using for the last several years!
     
  8. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    Thanks Ron. They're not actually worn flat too badly, but having to put a rubber band on one of the pads to keep it from coming off is a shame. I'll think about the Sennheiser pads, but I'd have to figure out how to dye them black and what dye to use that won't make them get hard or crusty from the dye and won't turn my ears black. I'm still leary that they won't sound exactly like the original flat Grado pads. I'm not sure about them. I wish Grado would make the flat pads available again. Obviously there's some demand for them.
     
  9. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    I hear your concerns. But they're cheap [$4.00 pair IIRC] so you've got little to lose.
     
  10. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Boy, did I screw up trying to edit my previous post. Well, ignore *this* one!
     
  11. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    You know what I did instead earlier tonight - I sharpened up a big carving knife and did some surgery on those bowl-shaped pads I had sitting around :). I sliced them down to about the height of the flat pads, maybe just slightly taller. If you take a bowl earpad and look down by the inner rim, you'll see that bit of an edge before the bowl starts to form. I tried to eyeball that area when starting to slice with the knife, but that's easier said than done in one shot for me, so I ended up spending some time trying to shave and smooth them a bit with the knife til I got to around the spot I felt was correct. I also didn't want the surface too ragged. I noticed I did a somewhat better job with the second pad than the first, so I may even get another pair or two of bowl pads from Grado to carve since I now have a little practice and I may be better at this if I try again some more. The sound is not exactly like the flat pads, but it's good. More listening will be necessary, but first impressions are good and I was pretty happy listening with my new "modded bowls" ;). Best of all, this didn't cost me anything, and if I didn't like the results or ruined them, I wouldn't have wasted anything that I liked so I really had nothing to lose.
     
  12. fjhuerta

    fjhuerta New Member

    Location:
    México City
    I did my own "donut pads", too.
     
  13. rontokyo

    rontokyo Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Tokyo, Japan
    Cutting the donuts "down to size" is one of the mods I read about on the Head-fi site. Makes sense, as all you're doing is bringing the drivers a little closer to your ears ala the "flat" cushions. BTW, I did try turning the donuts around [backwards] to get a closer fit, but whereas the sound seemed improved they become very uncomfortable after a while. As regards the Sennheiser pads, as I'm out of the country it'll take a while for me get them forwarded to me. But when I do I'll let you all know how they work. Think I'll bypass the dye job and stick with the yellow, though.
     
  14. Beagle

    Beagle Senior Member

    Location:
    Ottawa
    I did some similar surgery on a pair of bowl pads, but the only problem is that the outside of the original bowl pads have a sort of sealant substance on the outer surfaces, which keeps the pads in proper shape and form. When I cut them down, the soft inside foam is exposed and they begin to deteriorate and the sound changes or becomes more inconsistent. Fortunately, I have two pairs of the original flat pads in excellent shape.
     
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