Sony EX90 Modding thread!

[noypi]

I ve tried the clingwrap mod.. and WOW!!!! cant believe that they're waaaaaaayyyyyyyyy better than the electric tape/ masking tape/ scotch tape,... dont know why but with the cling wrap.. the drums dont detoriate!!! they re good!! real good!! am really really happy with the Ex90 and they re really really dark especiall when you have base boosts!!!

[Veggie_Musician]

Glad you happy - yeah these sonys are a steal at less than $100 - wish sony didnt use the EX as people will think of the dreaded EX71s etc

[kramer5150]

I'm going to give this a try tonight I never really liked the subdued midrange of the EX90, so a little treble recession relative to the mids would be a good thing in my book.

thanks... I'll post a follow up later.

[noypi]

i recently tried commuting with my ex90's.. and they re really good now in terms of isolation.. they really do well now for portable use.. the next thing in the mods now is to put holes in the clingwrap since the dark sound really is fatiguing.. ahihihi.. has anyone tried putting earplug foamies on the vents yet..??

[Veggie_Musician]

A pin hole in the Clingfilm really does brighten the sound Up.... bigger the hole brighter the sound.

I have foam in 2 of the 3 vents to help with isloation!

[betula]

hey,

well, this idea is a bit strange to me.. why didn't sony do something similar to have this sounding? Why is there 3 holes in place of only one..?

nevertheless i tried the mod on my ex90. the bass is really really better, same as isolation. so it solves the problem. but im worrying a bit about the main driver unit. is a little pin hole enough for its survival, after listening to music for hours?

anyway, thx for the idea.

[Veggie_Musician]

It should be fine - as long as theres a bit of air flow to ease any pressure off the main driver while putting in or out...

I really dont know why Sony didnt put one very small hole in the driver unit rather than one.... but its same as tape modding the EX71 - why didnt sony not make any holes in first place??

Why didnt Sony make their MP3 players UMS?

[russdog]

Would it work to simply plug up 2 of the 3 vent holes with something (a drop of candle wax, nail polish, whatever)? Or am I missing the point of what you're doing?

[Veggie_Musician]

Yes it would work but it sounds rather drastic - Hot candel wax could seep thru paper and damage drivers. It needs a bit more than 2 vents blocked - all 3 vents should be blocked with only a pinhole vent so that drivers can "breathe".

[Veggie_Musician]

Originally Posted by kramer5150

I'm going to give this a try tonight I never really liked the subdued midrange of the EX90, so a little treble recession relative to the mids would be a good thing in my book.

thanks... I'll post a follow up later.

Did you have a go Kramer?

[redwires]

I tried to do this mod, but I had trouble getting the cling film to stay on properly. Do you guys have any tips?

THanks

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by redwires

I tried to do this mod, but I had trouble getting the cling film to stay on properly. Do you guys have any tips?

THanks

x2.. I cant get the cling wrap to stick either

I was thinking about coating the 2 kidney-bean shaped vents with 5 minute epoxy... Not a LOT of epoxy, just a super thin layer to transform the paper mesh into a solid wall. I'm willing to bet if you hold it "face down" while the epoxy dries it will not soak through to the driver.

**edit**
I did the mod using masking tape. Just stack up 4 layers and cut a small crescent-moon shape and stick it on.

Holy thundering basshead batman!!

Wow, theres some serious bass with this mod. It does darken them significantly and also increases isolation and sensitivity too.

It also seems to close in the soundstage. The bass is less "airy" and more thumping.

Note I havent added the pin-hole to the tape so I also noted a little crunching sound. This kind of frieked me out so I'm going back and adding the hole to the tape.

[redwires]

I've also tried electrical tape and scotch tape, but they both made the phones sound bad.

The electrical tape killed the drums and the scotch tape made the highs very harsh.

I've also tried the foamy double-sided tape. They sounded best to me but the tape was too thick.

[Veggie_Musician]

I really think the type of material used for seal is important and can make a big differance in sound - I just didnt like the sound of tape!

To make clingfilm go on easy... Cut a strip 15mm wide and 5cm long - start besides tip mounting post and in one quick circular movement stretch round the whole serface and sides of the drivers!

kramer5150 Putting pin hole does brighten sound up a lot again - the bigger hole the brighter it will become. So you can tune it to how you like it

The way my EX90s are tuned up at the moment, they have bit more treble then my UM2s and a tad less bass. Past setups... they had a lot more bass than the UM2s but with less treble!

I have a dark headphone with UM2s do decided on something brighter for something different!

[betula]

Hi,

could you tell me a few words about the difference between modded ex90 and westone um2? is the um2's isolation better? sound? does an upgrade worth?

thx