Q: I have an annoying rattle emanating from my Grado SR80i whenever I try to hear it. At higher volume levels there are buzzing/fluttering noises that come from one or both sides of the headphones. How do I get rid of the noises?
A: Grado rattle is a known issue and quite common. At best it is irritating. At worst it is unlistenable. The rattle is typically caused by one of three things:
Most commonly its a hair on the driver. Take the pads off and take a look. You can gently blow the hair off, or use tweezers. Non magnetic tweezers are best if you don't want to risk accidentally puncturing drivers. I have a pair if plastic tweezers I keep around for working in close proximity to driver magnets.
Second, it may be because of a deformed driver diaphgram. Grados are notorious for rippled diaphragms, which dimple and distort with alarming frequency. Folks say its because Grados are so easy to drive, but personally I think it is because the quality of the materials they use are suboptimal. You can gently try to suck the driver back into shape. It usually works, for a while, so you have to keep doing it again and again.
Third, it may be because the driver does not fit well in the enclosure. This is because cheaper Grado parts are made with poor tolerances. You could always lay down a bead of glue or epoxy circumferentially at the join, which sometimes fixes the issue.
But once a Grado starts rattling, it is probable that its days are numbered.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting! Comments on this blog are moderated.