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ATH-AD2000 phatpad mod and SQ

post #1 of 19
3/15/08 at 12:52am
Thread Starter 
Am I imagining things or phatpad mod really cuts details off? I didn't use that much of a foam and did compensate for increased ear to driver distance by bumping up volume, but they still sound distant and muffled. Switched to stock and everything back to normal.
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post #2 of 19
3/15/08 at 12:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT View Post
Am I imagining things or phatpad mod really cuts details off? I didn't use that much of a foam and did compensate for increased from ear distance by bumping up volume, but they still sound distant and muffled. Switched to stock and everything back to normal.
Zut alors!!! This was the very mod recommended to me in the thread below!!! Well, back to the drawing board on this one I guess...

o
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post #3 of 19
3/15/08 at 1:11am
I never tried it because elephas said in one thread that stock config sounds best. Plus I don't have comfort issues anyway
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post #4 of 19
3/15/08 at 2:53am
I didn't use foam inserts but instead a thin rubber tube around the outer edge of the ear pads, and I haven't noticed any loss in detail. If you don't need it then I would keep it stock, but for me this mod was a must, because my ears would get irritated after an hour or so of listening.
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post #5 of 19
3/15/08 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by musicmind View Post
I didn't use foam inserts but instead a thin rubber tube around the outer edge of the ear pads, and I haven't noticed any loss in detail. If you don't need it then I would keep it stock, but for me this mod was a must, because my ears did would get irritated after an hour or so of listening.
I can see three possible reasons:
- Rubber tube has different from foam effect on the sound
- I am actually imagining things
- You did not listen critically enough doing before/after mod comparison

And here's my AD2000 comfort recipe:
Put some small pillow on your knee, turn headphones upside down, grab headband at points where plastic portion meets metal rods, your palms should go from inside with thumbs facing downs, using knee as a support start slowly unbending, do not make any abrupt movements, it gets flat, then starts arching in opposite direction. Stop at this point and check the fit. Repeat if necessary. I ended up with one inch spacing between pads and that increased comfort tremendously. No extra padding, just less clamping force.

Pad positioning is important too, to prevent ears from hitting drivers, shift phones a bit forward, so the pad sits on the back and the top of the outer ear, not fully surround it.

Did I mention that I am in love with these phones now?
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post #6 of 19
3/15/08 at 4:47pm
Hi Andrew

I've actually never had an issue with the fit or any clamping at all, it fits perfectly and is much more comfortable than the HD650.
My only niggle with the AD2000 was the thinness/softness of the pads and the "phat-pad" tube mod sorted that out by adding some stiffness.

All 3 of your explanations may well be true. I would think rubber tubing has different acoustic properties to foam, so that may be a cause. Before the mod, I was wearing the headphone a little forward like you said, so the pad would rest on the outer ear, but I didn't enjoy this as a long term solution.
To the best of my recollection, I didn't notice any loss of detail after the mod, but it was a long time ago

It is a pity that AT have these little issues with some of their headphones, which could probably be sorted out at the testing stage of their production.

Cheers
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post #7 of 19
3/15/08 at 4:51pm
I tried using some extra padding in my W5000 pads too, and found that the sound became more compressed.
Kind of strange, since the driver is farther away from your ear, you would expect the soundstage to expand.
Different thickness might yield different results, though.

I went back to the stock, sounds better to me that way, and extra padding did not noticeably increase comfort for me.
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post #8 of 19
3/15/08 at 7:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT View Post
I can see three possible reasons:
- Rubber tube has different from foam effect on the sound
- I am actually imagining things
- You did not listen critically enough doing before/after mod comparison

And here's my AD2000 comfort recipe:
Put some small pillow on your knee, turn headphones upside down, grab headband at points where plastic portion meets metal rods, your palms should go from inside with thumbs facing downs, using knee as a support start slowly unbending, do not make any abrupt movements, it gets flat, then starts arching in opposite direction. Stop at this point and check the fit. Repeat if necessary. I ended up with one inch spacing between pads and that increased comfort tremendously. No extra padding, just less clamping force.

Pad positioning is important too, to prevent ears from hitting drivers, shift phones a bit forward, so the pad sits on the back and the top of the outer ear, not fully surround it.

Did I mention that I am in love with these phones now?
Thanks for these tips, Andrew. I'm going to give them a go. And they are superb phones. I'm spending more time with them than with my Edition 9s, and that's saying something. Hmmm...

best,

o
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post #9 of 19
3/15/08 at 10:02pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by orkney View Post
Thanks for these tips, Andrew. I'm going to give them a go. And they are superb phones. I'm spending more time with them than with my Edition 9s, and that's saying something. Hmmm...

best,

o
Please post if it worked for you. For me that was a world of difference. Amazing how the perception of the sound changes when headphones are getting really comfortable. Soundstage grew up, details are so clear and crisp like never before. Or may be it is not just perception and looser fit does all that, it did for me with Denon D2000 before, why not with those.
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post #10 of 19
3/16/08 at 12:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT View Post
Am I imagining things or phatpad mod really cuts details off? I didn't use that much of a foam and did compensate for increased ear to driver distance by bumping up volume, but they still sound distant and muffled. Switched to stock and everything back to normal.
Interesting. I've been experimenting relentlessly since I've got them. I've used 3 2 kinds of tubing and 4 kinds of pads which were thinner. For me, the tubes kept the drivers the furthest away but increased clamping force while losing too much bass. I'm trying to find pads which are a good balance between stock and tube range. Basically, increasing the driver distance increased details and soundstage while losing bass. These are just my personal observations.
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post #11 of 19
3/16/08 at 3:44am
If anything I found the phatpads on the AD2000 (and W5000) improved detail - it did so by increasing the gap between the driver and ear (which otherwise touched each other) and thus providing added air, separation and depth to the musical presentation.
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post #12 of 19
3/16/08 at 3:56am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xenithon View Post
If anything I found the phatpads on the AD2000 (and W5000) improved detail - it did so by increasing the gap between the driver and ear (which otherwise touched each other) and thus providing added air, separation and depth to the musical presentation.
What material did you use? With foam I found the opposite to be the case, but with relaxed heaband clamp and stock pads with no extra padding, details and instruments separation are indeed quite better.
Anyway, I see very little reason to stuff anything inside after headband mod as they are more comfortable than HD650 now.
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post #13 of 19
3/16/08 at 4:26am
I actually wouldn't want less clamping. It might slip off my head
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post #14 of 19
2/12/09 at 2:07pm
I'll do Andrew-headband-mod this Sunday night when I get it.

Hope this will be complete easily. I'm counting on you Andrew.

Thanks for the tips
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post #15 of 19
2/12/09 at 2:35pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Narisha View Post
I'll do Andrew-headband-mod this Sunday night when I get it.

Hope this will be complete easily. I'm counting on you Andrew.

Thanks for the tips
Remember cool-off tip. Emerge headband into ice tray, let it sit there for 10 or so minutes (it should get cold to the touch), after that headband is extremely pliable until it warms back up.
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