Topic: StratoGrado Measurements (Read 8106 times)

Marvey · « **Reply #20 on:** September 29, 2012, 09:00:50 PM »

@strat:

On attempts to remove the upper bass dip:

Took measurements with different materials in the cup and also moving the drivers out. No change (hence no measurements posted.) I suspect the dip is the result of the port. (I know that speaker bass porting does have a similar effect, a resonance peak at the port F coupled with a dip somewhere higher up. Maybe this effect is more pronounced in headphones?) I will cover the port or maybe partially stuff it with felt or foam.

Sorry for taking so long. Been too hot, been sick, busy with work, and have about 10 other headphones in the queue.

stratocaster · « **Reply #21 on:** September 30, 2012, 07:18:31 AM »

Thanks Marv, take all the time you need. I, and I am sure all the others here, are very grateful for the work you are doing and conscious of the huge amount of time you are investing.

As for the port, blocking it will have a big impact on the bass, thinning it out. I had acceptable results though, when I used a very small piece of open-cell foam to partly block the port and thus limiting the air flow.

The port was necessary when I used the felt + damping paper behind the driver. This resulted in the best bass response.
I have a second set, which has only the damping paper aka coffee filter glued to the back of the driver. Then you do not need the port. This set has a shallow profile though, yours has more inner cup volume. So, I am not sure if using just the damping paper in your set will have the same results as in mine.

At the moment I have this paper glued to the back of the driver, cup interior damping with high-density open-cell foam. I also use discs of stock SR80 pads between driver and ear (held in place by the leather pads) to tame the highs. I am VERY PLEASED with this set. It certainly bests the StratoKOSSters.

stratocaster · « **Reply #22 on:** October 03, 2012, 04:20:42 AM »

The dip around 500Hz is, tests seem to underline this, a result of the port. If you find the time to measure these with the ports closed, I am expecting a change in the lower mids and bass. The dip should be alleviated, but bass extension might suffer. Changes in the mids and highs are not likely to happen. Sound signature will surely change.

purk · « **Reply #23 on:** October 03, 2012, 06:55:51 AM »

Purrin,

Have you ever measured b/w the RS-1 and RS-1i? If so, what is the better one of the two. I have a vintage RS-1 with a broken driver and wonder if I should repair or upgrade to RS1i. Thanks.

stratocaster · « **Reply #24 on:** October 03, 2012, 05:48:48 PM »

And I almost forgot: It is absolutely essential that the distance between driver and ear is as small as possible. This will result in the best low-mid and bass performance. I am using very thin and soft leather at the moment (whereas your Stratopads have thin but less soft leather) and I make sure that the headband is bent in a way that ensures a very tight fit, pushing the driver against the ear with just a disc of soft foam in between. That way the lower mids move up a few db and the bass becomes even fuller.

At present I am working on some StratoMagnums. These sound VERY promising.

Marvey · « **Reply #25 on:** October 03, 2012, 07:02:36 PM »

Quote from: purk on October 03, 2012, 06:55:51 AM

Purrin,

Have you ever measured b/w the RS-1 and RS-1i? If so, what is the better one of the two. I have a vintage RS-1 with a broken driver and wonder if I should repair or upgrade to RS1i. Thanks.

The two RS-1 measurements I have (I think only one is indicated on this site) were semi-vintage from circa year 2000. They measured consistently (hence why I only posted one measurement). I don't have RS1i measurements.

I know I had a pair of "very" vintage RS-1s in the late 90s which were a bit bassy and not trebly at all. They do not sound like the current or semi-vintage RS-1s. The ones I had may have possibly had the pink drivers.

I'm not sure if you can even repair vintage or semi-vintage RS1s. If you sent them back to Grado, they would probably just give you the new RS1i drivers.

purk · « **Reply #26 on:** October 04, 2012, 05:48:48 AM »

Quote from: purrin on October 03, 2012, 07:02:36 PM

Quote from: purk on October 03, 2012, 06:55:51 AM
Purrin,

Have you ever measured b/w the RS-1 and RS-1i? If so, what is the better one of the two. I have a vintage RS-1 with a broken driver and wonder if I should repair or upgrade to RS1i. Thanks.

The two RS-1 measurements I have (I think only one is indicated on this site) were semi-vintage from circa year 2000. They measured consistently (hence why I only posted one measurement). I don't have RS1i measurements.

I know I had a pair of "very" vintage RS-1s in the late 90s which were a bit bassy and not trebly at all. They do not sound like the current or semi-vintage RS-1s. The ones I had may have possibly had the pink drivers.

I'm not sure if you can even repair vintage or semi-vintage RS1s. If you sent them back to Grado, they would probably just give you the new RS1i drivers.

The one that I have contains a pink driver. Grado informed that the cost to upgrading to RS1i is only $100 and it will involve installing new drivers as well as upgrading to the RS1i's cable.

Marvey · « **Reply #27 on:** October 06, 2012, 06:35:15 PM »

The pink driver is a good one. The RS1i do sound different.

Back to StratoGrados:

Blocking the port with various materials does push down the bass so the region between 20Hz to 300Hz becomes flat. However relative to this region, the broad 1kHz bump is still there. This is a bit of conundrum. If we can fix the 1kHz bump by experimenting with internal absorption materials, the treble would be slightly elevated in relation to the lowered bass/mids.

Below is the FR for the port lightly stuffed with TP and the drivers moved closed to the ear (flush with the cup).

I should be sending these back to you, unless you want more tests.

stratocaster · « **Reply #28 on:** October 07, 2012, 06:59:20 AM »

Thanks for trying and measuring the tweak, Marv!

The graph visualizes why I preferred the sound of the vented StratoGrados. The bass is better, the mids and highs less edgy, thus resulting in a more balanced signature. The problem that I see is the dip around 500Hz, clearly a result of the port. When closing the port, you can address this issue, but then the bass is gone. When listening to the vented set, this dip around 500Hz does not seem to bother me sonically, though.

Will try to experiment on this dip and come up with a more even response.

Marv, there is no need to send the StratoGrados and StratoSenns back. I have additional sets to experiment with. If I come up with a more promising tweak, I would be more than happy to be able to ask you to try that out on them.

You have already helped me tremendously by measuring the Stratos. That way you have helped me learn that I can trust my ears. And that is what I do.

Marvey · « **Reply #29 on:** October 09, 2012, 05:16:52 PM »

Thanks and much appreciated. My wife is using the StratoGrado on her Mac. I need to buy some pads from you for the two other pairs.

Author Topic: StratoGrado Measurements (Read 8106 times)

Marvey

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

stratocaster

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

stratocaster

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

purk

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

stratocaster

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

Marvey

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

purk

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

Marvey

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

stratocaster

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

Marvey

Re: StratoGrado Measurements

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

Author Topic: StratoGrado Measurements (Read 8106 times)