[kjoh]

The earpads are raised like yours. To me they sounded a lot less natural locked in

 
The material is actually just aluminium mesh used for drywall repair. Should be able to find it in a typical hardware store.  Although the stuff I got had pre-applied adhesive. Kind of a pain to get off. But otherwise it works great. 

 

[thrillhaus]

Does anyone know where to acquire the black honeycomb type mesh like the HD650 use? I think they're aesthetically more pleasing than square mesh. I finally found a pair of D7000 cups, so when they arrive, I may turn my D2000 into a convertible.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

How does attenuating the bass from an EQ tighten the bass up?  Are we crossing the line between actual bass decay and bass quantity?  I sincerely hope not.  It's a subject I've been questioning to anybody who says the D2000's bass 'tightens' up with the recabling.  I'd like to trust they actually mean more controlled bass and not just less of it.

 
I guess I wasn't clear. I'm talking both quantity and decay. Attenuating some of the bass helps with the quantity problem, which goes a long way in the perception of how tight the bass is. I'm guessing that's because if the bass's quantity is lowered, it will take a bit less time to decay. 
 
Quote:

The earpads are raised like yours. To me they sounded a lot less natural locked in

 
The material is actually just aluminium mesh used for drywall repair. Should be able to find it in a typical hardware store.  Although the stuff I got had pre-applied adhesive. Kind of a pain to get off. But otherwise it works great. 

Ok, couldn't tell if they were raised or not from the picture! I may have to try that mesh out. It looks pretty awesome!
 
Quote:

Does anyone know where to acquire the black honeycomb type mesh like the HD650 use? I think they're aesthetically more pleasing than square mesh. I finally found a pair of D7000 cups, so when they arrive, I may turn my D2000 into a convertible.

I've been wondering the same thing. I feel like that mesh might be too hard to work with and "mold" to the shape of the Denon cups, though. To be completely honest, I think it would be really cool to have custom cups that were almost entirely a sturdy metal mesh.
 

 

[Zombie_X]

I don't know if Canada has the stores named "Home Depot" but if you guys do then that's the place to go.
 
Quote:

Does anyone know where to acquire the black honeycomb type mesh like the HD650 use? I think they're aesthetically more pleasing than square mesh. I finally found a pair of D7000 cups, so when they arrive, I may turn my D2000 into a convertible.

 

 

[kjoh]

Lol we have it in Canada and it's actually where I found the aluminium mesh

 
Unfortunately that was the best thing I could find but its worth another look for the black mesh.  Branches can be a little different with inventory.
 
Quote:

I don't know if Canada has the stores named "Home Depot" but if you guys do then that's the place to go. 
 

 

 

[thrillhaus]

I know you can find mesh at Home Depot, but the home improvement type mesh that kjoh found is different from the industrial design type mesh I have in mind.
 

 
Quote:

I've been wondering the same thing. I feel like that mesh might be too hard to work with and "mold" to the shape of the Denon cups, though. To be completely honest, I think it would be really cool to have custom cups that were almost entirely a sturdy metal mesh.
 

A good idea is a good idea

 

[hans030390]

In my case, removing all of the paper from the back of the driver is a must. That recable just brought out the upper mids and treble too much. While I feel as though the sound in general could tighten up after removing this paper, this was a big step in the right direction. I think they look kind of cool like this anyway! Plus, these drivers have shown that they love to breath! Here's a picture:
 

 

[lee730]

You can't "burn in" a cable. Upgrading a cable is never going to do anything to attenuate excessive treble. From my experience as a guitarist, treble information is the first to go when using an overly long cable, or extremely cheap one. So if anything, it was to be expected that your treble would be enhanced from a cable upgrade. I guess I should have pressed the issue harder when I first mentioned this.
 
Also, I see that some people when "upgrading" their cables, are actually just making them longer, and possibly with marginally better materials. But the length is what is probably attenuating the treble for them. If you're using the headphones on a computer, your best bet is to just EQ the sibilance out. Otherwise, a longer cable I guess?

I don't necessarily believe in the burn in of the cable. But what I do believe in is the drivers undergoing burn in again due to the cable. This happened with my re-cabled IE8s. They suffered major sibilance for 3 days of burn in (use) and after that they settled down yet there was still clearly more treble and this treble was more defined and detailed.

 

[hans030390]

I think if I can tame the sibilance, I might try replacing the paper on the back of the driver with something more breathable (felt?). Or, at least, I'll place something over some of the holes. Or I might just cover some of them up entirely! I think the full driver paper removal has boosted the upper bass/lower mids and decreased the majority of the mids. It gives them a slightly strange sound that will need to be fixed. Just waiting on materials to get shipped to my place!

 

[kjoh]

Watching this thread closely

  If there's a way to bring down the highs just a tad I'd be one happy camper. They sound great as they are but they could benefit from some minor tweaks I think.  For now, eq it is!
 
Quote:

I think if I can tame the sibilance, I might try replacing the paper on the back of the driver with something more breathable (felt?). Or, at least, I'll place something over some of the holes. Or I might just cover some of them up entirely! I think the full driver paper removal has boosted the upper bass/lower mids and decreased the majority of the mids. It gives them a slightly strange sound that will need to be fixed. Just waiting on materials to get shipped to my place!

 

 

[hans030390]

Here is a link I've found. I've already ordered the cheap-o headphones mentioned to try out that foam. The poster there claimed it helped with sibilance and made the mids warmer. Sounds like the perfect combo for me!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/450631/a-trick-to-get-less-treble-and-sibilance-on-markl-modded-denons

 

[hans030390]

Well, you guys won't believe what my headphones look like currently...
 

 
Wait, what? Am I going back to closed or something? Not quite. If you've been keeping up, my recent recable kind of threw off my mod. It brought out the upper mids and treble too much. Removing the rest of the paper from the back of the driver (not the baffle) greatly helped in this, but brought about some other issues. There were now weird peaks in the upper bass and lower mids and just other oddities. Not awful to listen to by any means, but slightly off. I started experimenting with placing my fingers in various positions over the open back (because it's easy to do and compare back-to-back). I noticed that this helped with the weird peaks in the upper bass and lower mids that I was hearing. So, I took Silverstone acoustic foam and covered up a large portion of that open back. The tape is holding it in place, as the foam is facing the driver, and the adhesive part has nothing to stick to. I wanted this to be a temporary test.
 
This particular configuration keeps the bass and punch while cleaning up those weird peaks from before. It didn't exactly clear up the sibilant, bright sound, but those previous oddities were making those issues worse sounding somehow. Either way, the sound is again more cohesive and back on track to where I want to be. All I really need to do now is find a way to tame that bright treble and sibilance! I've been testing this out with some EQ, and WOW do these have potential! I just need to find how to get there (and I know I can). Any ideas in particular I should try out? I'm thinking it'll mostly come down to material in front of the drivers. As to what works best for that, I have no idea!
 
Thankfully, these still don't sound closed. Soundstage is still good, though perhaps a bit smaller and more focused in a good way. Placement and separation seems better. I think that after removing the paper from the back of the drivers, the size of the "vent" (open back) has more of an effect in tuning the bass and other frequencies. 

 

[hans030390]

Yeah, with some EQ, these are sounding so good that you can't just briefly test a song on it. You'll get so wrapped up in the music that there's no way you can't listen to the whole song! Can't wait for my modding materials to come in...

 

[thrillhaus]

With the number of progressions of this mod you're going through, compensating for one thing with another, you could be unknowingly shifting your perception away from its starting point. It could be interesting for you to listen to a stock pair of D2ks again as a reference. You might have forgotten what they sounded like.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

With the number of progressions of this mod you're going through, compensating for one thing with another, you could be unknowingly shifting your perception away from its starting point. It could be interesting for you to listen to a stock pair of D2ks again as a reference. You might have forgotten what they sounded like.

I'd really like to go back and compare! I do have a nice 2.1 stereo setup (EQed to compensate for the bookshelf speakers' known deficiencies) and a custom DIY audio setup in my car. I also have been comparing them with my modded T50RPs. So, yes, while I can't exactly compare them to the stock D2000, I do have other good sources to use as references that have remained constant throughout this process (except the T50RP). That said, I can tell that they've remained fairly constant in their overall sound signature. The biggest change besides the open mod itself was the recable. It was much less subtle than some of the other tweaks and mods I've done. Next up in the biggest change to the sound is the full driver paper removal. Just removing that one spot from the center didn't make a huge difference (enough to make it worthwhile), but removing all driver paper definitely made a difference. It just wasn't as noticeably different as the recable was. It wasn't until I was messing around with placing my fingers over the open back that I realized some of the weird things it had done to the sound.
 
I'm aware that some of my compensations take me one step forward and one or two steps back, but I've been keeping a good mental note of my progress and can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Haha. I've found that this continuous process of modding them (and my T50RPs) has actually helped me fine-tune my listening preferences and become more aware of subtle changes in the sound. I actually think that this recable, full driver paper removal, and smaller "vent" tuning (size of open backed hole) offers a very enticing listening experience. Soundstage is still great, and the background sounds more black. Placement and separation has definitely improved. It's a very cohesive, engrossing sound that sucks you in to the music (small and large details alike!). Once I get that treble tamed...wow. Can't wait!
 
I am fairly sure that with my current mod progress, the sound quality is the best it has been so far. I could be wrong, though. The only way I could know is to have several pairs of D2000s to experiment with! If only I had that much money...I would definitely do it for the sake of perfecting this mod and benefiting the community (not that this mod seems to have picked up THAT much attention). For now, the best thing I can do is a bunch of experimentation! Not all of my findings are good, but someone has to do it, yeah? I'm also not posting updates in hopes that people will jump right in and follow after me. I do hope, though, that people will be interested in my findings and can learn from them. I just want to get people excited about trying out some of these mods, seeing the potential they have, and maybe trying some of their own experiments!
 
Needless to say, I am stunned at the potential these drivers have. They can easily excel in closed and open backed environments with proper tuning. Can't wait to keep modding them! I'm having a blast with this, and that's what matters to me!