Somic EFi-82 MT: Believe the Hype - Page 10

Experimented a little with augmenting the existing damping on the inside of the cups.  I don't have any dynamat type stuff but I had this thin, dense foam lying around... I think it was packing material for something important, can't really remember where it came from.  Seems appropriate for cheap headphones.  It's .10" thick.  I cut it to fit and used double side tape to stick it in place like so:

The effect... eh, I'm no audiophile and not attempting to be even the slightest bit scientific about this so take this with a grain of salt.  The low bass notes seem to have a little more oomph.  The rest still sounds good... to me at least.  The foam eats up a bit of the airspace in there and I'm not sure how that is expected to effect the frequency response but I think I like it with the foam and will leave it in for now.

Well I don't know what happened but this morning I had another listen and thought it sounded like crap.  Yanked out the foam I added and it's back to normal.  I assume I was just tired and crazy last night.  

My efi's came in today. I ordered through Alibaba and all went well. Packaging was pretty ridiculous though.

Brief first impression just getting home from work was positive. As usual, stock Somic pads are unsatisfactory, this time being small enough to almost make these supra-aural. The Shure pads are helpful, but still a touch too small. I may order the HM5 pads .tomorrow since they should be both deeper and softer

i must admit that i love them alot more than my pro-900 (which msrp is 600$ street price around 300$)

they even seem to benefit more from my e17 than the ultrasone. I tried alot of genre of music and everytime i get back to the somics, there's an absolute confusion on why they are price that low (except for the physical feel... real cheap here)

i haven't call another pair yet, i'm still waiting on my 990 pro and my fotex t50rp that i'll mod on arrival. if they do sound better to me than theses cans ... well that will be the best bang for the buck i ever spend!!!

thanks again CoC, i wasn't expecting that much.

oh the m-50 were sold, couldn't listen to them after the efi82mt, they had no more use

Quote:

Originally Posted by cute 

Finally got my Somic upgrades where I want them. HM5 pads, Cardas 4 X 24 wires, micro paracord sleeving, Imperial Red, and custom Macassar Ebony 1/4" plug and Y split! Imperial Red is matched to the red pleather, I had velour pads that fit perfectly, and also matched the Imperial Red Paracord, but sound was not balanced with them without EQ or further mods. With the Cardas wire, the sound had better bass and highs, matched very well with the Somic drivers. Also, changed from single entry to double entry, that made a huge difference. The original cable was very fine, the Cardas wire is 24 gauge! No more mods needed here, the Somic's sound fantastic!

 

Pictures don't really depict the Imperial Red, the red is actually darker red than shown, picture is too orange!

 

Incredible... I haven't had these cans for 24 hours yet and I already want to send them to you for this mod. Would you be willing to offer this mod as a service? I know at least one person who would be very interested.

And thanks in part to the previous page, I'm considering buying a second pair to mod into open-backed.

Just wondering.

I've got a new pair of Somic EFI 82MTs for sale if anyone is keen.
Desperately need the money.

Thanks

Where can I get HM5 pads?  Amazon has the Shure pads but not the HM5.  And can anyone compare the two?  The HM5 look beefier and look like they fit well... right?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhyla 

Where can I get HM5 pads?  Amazon has the Shure pads but not the HM5.  And can anyone compare the two?  The HM5 look beefier and look like they fit well... right?

MP4nation.com they sell them $8/ piece, so you need to buy 2 of them.

The plastic "grill" with the SOMiC label on it... is there any reason why it can't be cut out with a small tool? Would that not open up the back significantly or is there still enough stuff behind the driver to function as a closed phone even without that back grill?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBEG 

The plastic "grill" with the SOMiC label on it... is there any reason why it can't be cut out with a small tool? Would that not open up the back significantly or is there still enough stuff behind the driver to function as a closed phone even without that back grill?

I think so.  A belt sander would probably be the right tool for the job if you wanted to grind the outside grill down.  Otherwise you're going to be dremelling on the inside for a very long time... I'm interested to hear the result though.

Already PM'd.

Guys,  I just got a pair of Hifiman HE-400 velour pads in the mail today......$16 shipped, you gotta try these on the Somic's!  The soundstage has really expanded, and the sound has balanced out perfectly neutral.  I can not believe what a beautiful sound I am getting, but consider I also modded wire/cable.  The velour pads fit around ear, are much cooler and more comfortable than the 840 pads, HM5 pads, M50 pads, and stock pads.  I'm hooked.....bought these for the MH463's that I have on order, but I will surely be ordering a couple more pair of the velours.  The fit a little loose, but they stay on.  I have some O rings I am going to try later to see if they will fit a little more secure.  Can't believe I am getting bigger soundstage, better imaging, and more detail......thought I maxxed out on that with the HM5 and 840 pads.  Definately more details in the highs, and better layering all round, bass slightly tighter good quality and quantity!

sounds great ... i'm interested in this update ... pls keep me posted.
 

Finnaly recieved mine today, sounds pretty good already with stock pads, will try to find the 840 pads here in Holland.

I've bought few headphones in the last month or so and i always compare them to these cheap somic and honestly, i still prefer the efi82mt over the pro 900, the dt990 , the fostex t50rp and obviously the m-50.

How does the 463 model compare to the efi82? wider soundstage?

how hard would it be to transplant the efi82mt drivers into .... let say confortable dt990?

or any headphone shell that would be on par with the equipment inside the cup