hi all,

first of all i would like to clarify that helping me do this favour voids your beyerdynamic warranty in NO WAY.

i have been modding my dt880 to accept a new cable, and i have suddenly noticed something. if you were to open up either of the dt880s enclosures , you would see the 'driver'. i say 'driver' because the driver is actually covered by a piece of balck felt and thus not visible. however, surrounding the driver is a paper membrane. it is this paper membrane i am interested in.

i have noticed that mine has the texture of filter paper (or coffee filter paper) and is NOT perfectly smooth. to elaborate on the latter observation, it looks kind of how a piece of thick expensive paper would look like if it was wetted, then left to dry. very very slightly 'crinkled' in appearance. as in not perfectly flat.

i am wondering whether this appearance of the paper membrane is how my dt880 came originally, or due to stresses encountered during my modding.


the favor i am asking all you dt880 owners is to check your paper membrane and feedback to me how YOURS looks like. is it smooth? not 'crinkled'? what is it's texture?


here's a guide to opening up your dt880's enclosure:

1. slip off the velour pad, you should see a plastic ring surrounding a black foam circle set into the enclosure

2. carefully pry the plastic ring out by inserting a very very small FLAT headed screwdriver into the 'gap' and levering it. this 'gap' is located at the 'top' of the enclosure, where the headband meets the enclosure.

3. observe carefully your paper membrane, and post your findings in this thread!

to replace everything, just follow the steps listed above in reverse. the plastic ring 'snaps' back into place.

thanks!

you mean the flat coffee filter paper? it should be fairly flat. if it is not, chances are that they did not use enough glue. if it is glued all the way around, I wouldn't worry about it.

the paper is there to allow bass waves to flow out - otherwise it would sound bloated (and therefore the midrange sounds recessed). as it is, there is paper on the top and another paper ring on the bottom of the driver housing. the top paper covering overlaps the metal screen by about 1/4 to 1/3. There is also an even thinner paper cover under the 1/8" felt pad (covers the whole metal screen).

you can not buy the driver housing without the white driver. you will have to buy the whole driver. $50.

The paper membrane on my drivers is pretty flat, just very slightly «crinkled». But I guess even if it is, there's no appreciable impact on the sound.

wallijonn, thank you so very much. you (and gerG) have literally been the brains (and guiding force) behind this entire project, guiding me whenever i was confused and filling me in on the theory behind various things.

jazZ.. that photo.. you're an angel, i love you! :muack:

Adhoc, I sent a pm (finally). The spun cloth should be flat, but as long as it is not leaking around the edges, it is not a big problem. There are actually 2 layers on the DT880, and it is a very stiff material.

fwiw, the windows have very little to do with bass tuning, although they affect it in a bad way. They are there for, surprise, soundstage and sense of space! Think Martin Logan, and you will get the idea.

Here is a reduced res pic of phoneguts:




gerG

gerG,


gee, then why do I find the DT931s lacking in soundstage (in comparison to the DT880) when they both use the same type of paper? Must be the driver. obviously.

gerG, after you changed the cable, how does it affect the sound compare with stock cable?

Also, what kind of cable are you using?

Uncledan, that is a Canare star-quad. For 2 sided entry I like Wally's choice of Mogami (sp?) twin lead better. Easier to work with. As far as change in the sound, well, it didn't hurt. For me cable changes make such subtle changes that it really isn't a motivator. Getting rid of that nuisance coiled cord sure was, though!

Wally, because the cloth is not how they tune the effect. Not the driver either. The reflective surface and how the reflections are focussed seem to be the main factor. Cool stuff!



gerG

i'm still working on the headphone.

i'm trying to find a way to use the original strain relief with canare l-4e6s (the same as gerGs).

and i'm also replacing the crossover cable with one of my own.

gerG,

could i have more details on the way you attached the canare strain relief?

My strain relief is not very well attached. I drilled out the hole slightly to clear the narrow section, then slid the spring through from the inside. The conical end traps it in place, and a zip tie keeps the cable from getting yanked through. I would have tied things down better, but I knew that I would be back in there. I have something new in mind.


gerG

do any of you 880 owners find that the 880 has less bass that the hd 600? i'm just curious because of canmans review.