[jscornerstone]

So I did the rubber mod but me being very bored one day and loving the way the soundstage mod looked, I decided to try it out myself. I looked EVERYWHERE and I mean that literally for detailed instructions on how to do this but all I found were very weak instructions and some pictures. So gathering the best information from them and doing it I figured I would provide clear detailed instructions on how to do this mod. The end product looks very cool. Anyways onto the instructions:

1.Pull the ear cup padding off. It takes a little force, but don't worry they won't break:

2.You will need a pretty small phillips head screwdriver and a small flathead screwdriver:

3.Now that the padding is off, use your small flathead to pry off the outer mesh of the sound driver. There are a couple of spots to do this, but I felt the top sliver was the easiest. Just put the end of the screwdriver in there lightly and pry it out. Don't try to pry the whole thing out, it's only the center piece of the cup. EDIT: I could actually get the top groove by putting my fingernail into it and prying it off. I might suggest this way easier and safer if you have any sort of fingernail. If not, just carefully use the flathead screwdriver.

4.Here is the piece that will come out:

5.Now you need to take out the 3 very small screws. Use your phillips screwdriver for this step. In the photo is the location of them. 2 are submerged at the bottom and one is parallel and is at the top.

6.Now comes the sound driver out. Similar to the outer mesh step, you need to put the flathead inside one of those grooves. Now instead of prying it out from the interior, pry it and towards the outside and you will see it pop out. Now you need to grab it while it's semi out and put the screwdriver flathead into there and pry it all off. BE CAREFUL not to pull too hard because wires are attached to this cup and the headphones.

7.Now the outside grill needs to come off. Using your flathead screwdriver on the inside of the cup you will see prongs around the outer edge. There are about 10 or so of them and you need to bend them inwardly. Be careful because several of them are glued to the housing. Just use your screwdriver to cut through the glue and bend them inwardly. Also be careful with them because they are fragile and break easy.

8.Next comes the trickiest part. Take a soldering iron and carve out the interior of the cup. Be careful not to cut out the screw holes because you still need them. I marked where you need to cut out in black marker so you could see it better. The screw holes have 2 in a tower and 2 are flush I think so be careful not to cut them out. The first two photos of where you need to cut and 2 of the screw holes. There are 4 holes that look like screw holes you don't wanna cut out.

9.Then I let them rest for about 10-15 minutes just so nothing burned. Then you just put everything back together in reverse order. The inner cover mesh just clips in similar to the ear pads but there are like 4 clips it should be under. Everything else is easy to put back together. And once your done, you have these very cool looking headphones.

And here are photos of the before and after look.

I hope I could clear up some issues on how to do this. I know I was puzzled because no one gave clear instructions so I took the step to do that. It shouldn't take you much longer than an hour to do this if you are careful. Just be careful not to break any clips or wiring and you will be fine. If you do break the wiring you can just solder it back in, no big deal. Another thing I found out. After soldering the insides out they do smell like hot iron. So I am going to let them rest a day or two before I use them again and in a good air vented room. Thanks again!

 

[KCChiefsfan]

Are you the guy that did the video for the 555 foam mod? If so, thanks.

I've got a few questions for this particular mod. I assume it widens the sound stage, but were there any negative consequences of doing the mod? Obviously the warranty would be completely void (the foam mod being reversible), but other than that, I'm wondering what the pros and cons would be.

How strong would you say the mesh grill is? Could I substitute tin snips instead of a soldering iron?

Thanks again.


Edit: One more question; Why put the inner mesh grille back in? Doesn't it impede air flow?

 

[jscornerstone]

KCCeifsfan:
I am not the one who did the video for the foam mod. I was looking at that one and I didn't have foam and this one seemed simpler to me believe it or not. The only negetive I found is that it stinks after you solder iron the grill out. It's not terrible and now I don't smell it after I let them sit for a couple of hours. The pros outweigh the cons. The sound stage is huge and even in music now I feel like the person is right next to me singing. I gotta test them on movies but I am sure it improved as well. I just wanted to do this mod because they look so much cooler, plus I heard it helps improve sound. The sound is also now as high pitched as it was and a more normal sound to it which I like. These 555 are amazing. I put the inner mesh back in because no one said to take it out or anything plus it looks better I guess I don't really know. And no I would use soldering iron for this because tin snips are too big and soldering iron works very well, just go slow and don't burn up too much. I am not an audiophile to tell you the truth, but for each mod I did, I liked the way it sounds better each time. First the foam removing mod was so much better and now this I hear improvement.

 

[jscornerstone]

If I didn't mention they look way cooler now. Live life with no regrets.

 

[KCChiefsfan]

The foam mod definitely was an improvement to the sound, and it was a no brainer due to how little risk there was. Having said that, I can't bring myself to melt (or burn, it seems) my headphones. The risk of detaching the driver in the process and then having to solder it back on are also keeping me away.

Either way, for people more daring than me, thanks for the guide. Around here you'll always hear about this mod and that mod, but rarely are they explained in detail, with enough pictures to actually help someone else do the mod for themselves.

 

[jscornerstone]

yeah that is exactly how i was at the start. after i removed that foam piece i was like wow are these so much better. and my phones aren't even burned in yet. ive only had them for a few days. i told myself i can't do this to my headphones and cutting them out. and then when i heard how much better they were and how cool they look and being bored out of my mind i went ahead and did it. i guess i am a modding kind of guy. my entire pc i built from parts, my car has a body kit, different side mirrors, different shifter, dvd player, etc. i just like making things look cooler and better. the guides for this mod were very minimal. some pictures helped but there wasnt any wording at all on how to do it.

 

[jscornerstone]

and to be honest, you won't disconnect the wiring from the thing. thats the thing i was scared of as well and you won't do it unless you pull them really hard or get them stuck some place. but just do this on a desk and you will be just fine. take your time soldering it out and be careful where the iron hits and you will be fine. take it from me. The game of Operation i am the worst at. im also not incredibly clumsy either, just kinda in the middle. if your thinking about doing this mod do it and dont look back. i actually caught my cord on these under my chair and it bent the adapter plug. i called sennheiser and she sent me one out right away for free. i was like awesome.

 

[lawrywild]

lol this is a bad way of doing it.. so..

How I did mine,

Open up headphones like usual.
Remove driver.
Cut plastic grill with pair of nail scissors.
Pull out grill.
Reconstruct headphones.

No need to remove outer grill, no smelly plastic mess, no danger, far quicker, far easier..

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif How strong would you say the mesh grill is?

It's very thin, very soft plastic and very weak. Nail scissors cut through it with minimal effort

 

[KCChiefsfan]

The inner grill is stronger though, right? Will the nail scissors go through it? If so, I'll definitely be doing this mod.

Would you suggest leaving the plastic mesh grill and then cutting it in the middle, or removing it entirely?

 

[jscornerstone]

im not sure what this guy is saying. but here are a few updates for you kccheifsfan.
i just tried company of heroes for the first time after doing this mod and let me tell you, it felt like i was in the war. things felt like i was actually doing them it was so unreal. immediately i was like wow i am glad i did this mod. music seems fuller as well and not as high pitched and treble like all the time. and also the smell of the burnt plastic is completely gone now i tried to smell it and it just smells like the headphones now. there is no way nail scissors will cut the outside plastic grill off, i had to let the soldering iron heat up all the way just to get it to cut through. honestly, if you go slow with the soldering iron and not push all the way through, just use the tip, you wont have tons of plastic on the end of it and it won't smell bad. and after you said to remove the inner paper like piece on top of the sound driver i noticed great performance as well. i wouldnt remove the black mesh piece that is very thin though because it makes it look clean and filters dust from getting in there. i think thats the piece he was talking about with the scissors. the way the guy did his i think is he took off the outside black grill and kept it off and took the white paper sheet out and thats it. theres no way he cut through that outer grill. ive seen his way done in another thread and it looks ugly. trust me just follow my instructions, take your time and you will have it done in no time. its suprisngly simplier than it looks/sounds.

 

[jscornerstone]

ps- the white paper thing that is like the 4th pictured down on my thread is what i was talking about doing after you said it. just peel the end of it like a sticker and it should come out, just pull slow to get all of it like a sticker it breaks up into pieces very easily. just keep peeling and youll be good. here is a pic of what it looks like when its out, and then just put that black mesh piece back on.

now they are tru open ear headphones like they were meant to be. without grills and everything else. ps i had a lot of fun doing this mod. i love modding things like i said and this was a fun project for me. i wish i could do this for a living. do you guys know of any other mods i could do to these phones? ive seen the one guy went all out and put wood on the outer grill and painted them black which i thought was a unique mod but i dont wanna do that really. any other appearance/sound mods i can do though?

 

[lawrywild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jscornerstone /img/forum/go_quote.gif im not sure what this guy is saying.

I'm telling you/others that you don't need to melt through your headphones with a soldering iron to do this mod. It's about the most stupid way possible to do it. Not only are you gonna have a melted plastic smell, which you talked about already, but you're gonna mess up a soldering tip, possibly drip plastic all over your table, floor or the headphones and it's gonna look like crap inside. In addition, it's far more complicated in that you have to take out the outer metal grill which has hotglued tabs supporting it.

All you have to do is cut through the plastic links between the holes, and then pull it out (nail scissors are what I used since they're pointed you can get them inside the holes). Simple as that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jscornerstone /img/forum/go_quote.gif trust me just follow my instructions, take your time and you will have it done in no time.

:facepalm:

 

[lawrywild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCChiefsfan /img/forum/go_quote.gif The inner grill is stronger though, right? Will the nail scissors go through it? If so, I'll definitely be doing this mod. Would you suggest leaving the plastic mesh grill and then cutting it in the middle, or removing it entirely?

I dunno what you're confused about, but this mod is defined/known as cutting out the plastic grill BEHIND the driver, and nothing else. Yes, I cut it with nail scissors and didn't use a soldering iron to melt it. It's really weak plastic, you'll see if you try. I spent about 2 weeks looking so some kind of tool to cut through, but when I actually opened the headphones to do the mod I realised that I could just snip through with nail scissors (mine were straight nail scissors, not curved).

PS: When you've cut through the plastic and you pull it out, have some patience as there's that material stuck to the back which probably isn't fully cut everywhere so you need to 'rip' it off with some force.

 

[lawrywild]

Here's some pics, showing the 2 plastic grill pieces you get after the mod and how easy they are to cut

edit: and I should use the nail scissors for their intended purposes too by the looks of the photos

 

[ThePandemonium]

I never realized how small the drivers are on some of these headphones.. I always figured that it was roughly the same size of the housing. With the K701 its even smaller than I expected, where it is no bigger than the smaller circular vent on the outside. Where as the Grados are the exact size I thought they would be.