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Hifiman HE400/HE500 Re-Grilling Mod [56k dial-up users beware] - Page 6

post #76 of 113
10/3/12 at 7:55am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

I actually had the older (and new) HE400s with zero grilling at all for a few hours at a time doing critical listening. It was only because I had to travel with them a bit sometimes that warranted some fabric lining with the grills I made. Nowadays the HE400s stay at home so the fabric is not that necessary any more but the mesh stays on still just for a little bit of an insurance.

Actually I ended up removing the foam mod as I found that the it did not tame all of the treble and instead accentuated a few problematic peaks, and ironically the treble is smoother (though brighter) without the foam.

Ironically I'm sure your aware you can boost n cut across frequencies across the audio spectrum by dampning but trying to notch out just one band in the audio spectrum with dampning material is hard without effecting some other unintended band of frequencies.

Yeah that treble you might have to just eq the problematic feqs out by an equalizer.
Edited by I95North - 10/3/12 at 8:04am
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post #77 of 113
12/17/12 at 4:37pm

I just tried listening to the HE-500 without grilles and now I cant get the grilles back on--that is, the holding clips. I did finally get one on after about half an hour of trying, but no way will the other one go on. As soon as I get one side clipped in the other pops out. Even when I think I've got them all in it all just pops out again. I've tried holding the whole grill on with the palm of my hand to get the last clip in but nope, it just pops out. I thought this was a straightforward mod. What am I doing wrong? 

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post #78 of 113
12/17/12 at 5:42pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pp312 View Post

I just tried listening to the HE-500 without grilles and now I cant get the grilles back on--that is, the holding clips. I did finally get one on after about half an hour of trying, but no way will the other one go on. As soon as I get one side clipped in the other pops out. Even when I think I've got them all in it all just pops out again. I've tried holding the whole grill on with the palm of my hand to get the last clip in but nope, it just pops out. I thought this was a straightforward mod. What am I doing wrong? 

It's extremely easy to reinstall the holding ring if you get the hang of it. Just aim and get the first tab in (I usually do the left-top one first), then  use a little pressure and squeeze in the OPPOSITE (so in this case the right bottom tab) tab, from there, since two diagonal tabs have been installed, the two remaining ones are no problem at all.

 

The key is not to try to insert adjacent tabs, but to do diagonal ones.

 

If a particular tab is hard to insert into its slot, hold the cup in between both your hands, and use an upwards thumb motion using both your thumbs to drive the tab in.


Edited by jerg - 12/17/12 at 5:43pm
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post #79 of 113
12/17/12 at 6:28pm

Thanks, Jerg. The problem was that it was some time before I even noticed that there are slots for the tabs to fit into; I thought they just clipped under the rim. Even then I could barely make them out even with a strong light and magnifying glass (I'm 66). In any case I hope the mod isn't significant as I won't be putting myself through that again. It seems hi fi is a game for young guys, not just from the sound but the sight point of view as well.   confused_face.gif

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post #80 of 113
12/17/12 at 6:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pp312 View Post

Thanks, Jerg. The problem was that it was some time before I even noticed that there are slots for the tabs to fit into; I thought they just clipped under the rim. Even then I could barely make them out even with a strong light and magnifying glass (I'm 66). In any case I hope the mod isn't significant as I won't be putting myself through that again. It seems hi fi is a game for young guys, not just from the sound but the sight point of view as well.   confused_face.gif

 

Well, I mean, you don't have to make it so hard for yourself. Something to do if you are having trouble discerning the tiny slots where the tabs insert, is to locate them and cut out 4 tiny strips of masking tape and tag on the cup where those slots are. This way it should mitigate what troubles you are having.

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post #81 of 113
12/18/12 at 1:42am

Or....I could get an eye test and a new pair of glasses.

 

Hey, that's it! Sometimes I amaze myself. tongue.gif

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post #82 of 113
1/1/13 at 9:40am

Removed.

 

Stupid question lol


Edited by Okamoto - 1/1/13 at 10:52am
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post #83 of 113
1/1/13 at 9:54am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Okamoto View Post

Why did you cut 2 pieces from the steel mesh?

 

Do you have to put both grills onto the headphones?

 

I'm sorry if i've done a stupid question. It's just that i got a little confused in that part.

Well, 2 because 1 for each side.

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post #84 of 113
1/1/13 at 10:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

Well, 2 because 1 for each side.


Lol Can't believe i forgot that.

 

I thought you were demonstrating only one side. Guess i read it wrong.

 

 

Anyway, sorry for the stupid question.


Edited by Okamoto - 1/1/13 at 10:48am
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post #85 of 113
1/1/13 at 10:51am

One more question(i hope this one isn't as duur as my last).

 

Just to see if i got it right. You have basically cut a piece of steel mesh and a piece of tull net and stick them together, right?

 

Sorry if i've made another stupid question. Sometimes i read it all wrong since english is not my native language.


Edited by Okamoto - 1/1/13 at 10:57am
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post #86 of 113
1/1/13 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Okamoto View Post

One more question(i hope this one isn't as duur as my last).

 

Just to see if i got it right. You have basically cut a piece of steel mesh and a piece of tull net and stick them together, right?

 

Sorry if i've made another stupid question. Sometimes i read it all wrong since english is not my native language.

IMO the fabric (e.g. tulle netting) is optional, since it detracts from the SQ improvement. It's a trade-off, do you want some dust protection or a slightly cleaner sound?

 

If you opt for dust protection then yeah, stretch out the fabric, apply some superglue around the rim of the cut mesh, and adhere them together and trim the edges.

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post #87 of 113
1/1/13 at 11:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

IMO the fabric (e.g. tulle netting) is optional, since it detracts from the SQ improvement. It's a trade-off, do you want some dust protection or a slightly cleaner sound?

 

If you opt for dust protection then yeah, stretch out the fabric, apply some superglue around the rim of the cut mesh, and adhere them together and trim the edges.


Yeah, i'll definitely need a dust protection. My room gathers dust very easily.

 

 

Is there a significantly improvement in SQ over the stock grills even with the fabric?

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post #88 of 113
1/1/13 at 11:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Okamoto View Post


Yeah, i'll definitely need a dust protection. My room gathers dust very easily.

 

 

Is there a significantly improvement in SQ over the stock grills even with the fabric?

Not as much. The fabric seems to be the main thing damping the upper frequencies. Though stock grills use a very densely woven fabric so perhaps substituting it with a more open fabric type like tulle will be decent still.

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post #89 of 113
1/1/13 at 11:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

Not as much. The fabric seems to be the main thing damping the upper frequencies. Though stock grills use a very densely woven fabric so perhaps substituting it with a more open fabric type like tulle will be decent still.

 

Hmm... can the dust damage the hp's drivers in any way?

 

And is there a way to clean it? Could i use a brush or something?

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post #90 of 113
1/20/13 at 10:17am

Hello,

 

I joined your community today because I purchased a HE-500 2 months ago; I ran a few measurements on my headphone and a lowned HD800 which can be seen here; I have to say that I'm a speaker diyer, so I'm not able to measure headphones in a perfect right way but at least comparisons are OK

http://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/casques-haute-fidelite/hifiman-he-500-t30029358-30.html

here is my measurement with and without external grill:

grill off: gain of .3 to .5dB up to 2kHz and loss off same amplitude in the high-treble range (gold=grill on, white=grill off)

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/94/he500withgoldwithoutwhi.png/

I tested also a .79 inch adhesive round felt pad right in the middle of the grill: it enhances the high-treble range without any spl difference in lowest frequencies:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/705/he500zoombluefeltpad2cm.png/

I tested also a bigger felt pad but it reduced a bit the low-treble and enhanced the high-treble range way too much (stock, .79 pad, 1.1 pad)

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/40/he500blue2cmpadgold27cm.png/

 

EDIT: direct links to imageshak doesn't work as for other forums ???


Edited by agnostic1er - 1/26/13 at 12:34pm
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