My Daily Driver
The base is a Grado SR80 — the old one, before the i, e, or x updates. Sources on reddit say it dates back to 1993 but I cant be too sure about that.
The headphone now weighs just 118 grams. That makes a big difference when you’re moving around the workshop. The shallow cup design trims off about 20 grams from the newer versions.
I’ve gone through a lot of headphones over the years for use at work, studio ones, wireless ones, IEMs and earbuds. This pair, though, has stayed. It hangs on a peg beside the rulers and dust brushes, just another tool waiting for the day to begin.
Most days I’m hardly at the computer except to print a shipping label or send a quick email. The rest of the time I’m moving between machines, sewing, skiving, pressing, cutting, and sometimes rearranging the studio for photos.
As much as I’d like the sound to be technically perfect, what really matters to me is that the headphones are comfortable, light, and stay out of the way. Malaysia’s humidity makes that tougher than it sounds. Over-ears heat up the moment the air conditioning stops, so for now on-ears are my go-to. The open-backs let me hear the sounds of the machines as I'm using them and I can still catch the knock at the door when deliveries or FedEx show up.
Cable
I’m especially proud of this cable. My first hand-braided attempt, and it turned out pretty well. Four strands of 28 AWG silver-plated OCC copper, a big thanks to everyone in the DIY cable thread on Head-Fi for the tips.
It’s a meter long, 102cm to be exact, making my own meant that I could dial in the exact length that works. The stock cable always snagged on corners or my knees when I bent down to service machines, and the Y-split constantly caught the table edge.
Finished with my favorite plug, a Japanese Oyaide gold-plated model which is minimal, solid, with that grippy knurled barrel. Despite all the removable cable mods out there, I soldered it straight to the drivers to keep things light and simple.
Drivers
The right driver was dead when I got the pair off eBay. So I swapped both for a set of spare Turbulent X drivers — B-stock from 2019, made by Rhydon at Symphones.
Headband
Gave the steel spring band a gentle stretch to get the fit just right. Now it sits light on my ears and steady for hours without ever feeling tight. Swapped the L and R cups so the headband sits a little farther back on my head which makes more sense since I’m usually looking down at the desk while working, not straight ahead at a screen. The normal setup tends to creep forward over time, so this way it stays put.
Pads
S-cush pads. I always end up coming back to these. The best version I’ve tried were the Sennheiser 414 pads, dyed black with Dylon fabric dye. I’ll probably grab another pair of those somewhere down the line.
Sources
Two iPods, a 5th Gen iPod Video repaired with a new headphone jack and hold switch. Its still running the original hard drive and battery pretty well. That one’s for full albums only, no singles. And a 1st Gen iPod Mini, rebuilt with a 16GB CompactFlash card, just for audiobooks.
Podcasts sync through iTunes, and audio from YouTube gets pulled with Stacher.
The obvious upgrade to the current setup would be to go wireless. Most modern headphones and IEMs have great transparency modes now, but earbuds have never felt right in my ears. And once they’re paired to my phone, it’s game over—messages, emails, YouTube Shorts, Instagram reels, Safari, Reddit… my muscle memory takes over before I even realize it. The last thing I need is to sew my fingers together because I got distracted by a notification.
I did look at a few other options that might check all the boxes, maybe even improve things, mostly on the wireless side:
Source: mod the iPod with Bluetooth / get a new DAP with Bluetooth / install a minimal launcher on my phone to lock out everything else.
Headphones: try a pair of wireless, on-ear open-backs. The Grado GW100 or Koss Porta Pro® Wireless both look promising.
But for now, I’m sticking with this setup. It just works for me:)