[Ceteru]

Update #3:
 
I got my Edition S back, along with the wooden caps (And my headphone stand that I ordered from Craig as well).
 
The stand is perfect. Not much else to say. It's a beautiful smooth wood that fits in aesthetically just about anywhere in my room. 
 
Space-wise, I can fit 2 medium sized cans easily, with the large, long base allowing me to coil the cables there neatly, and 3 cans with some careful positioning. No chance of accidental tipping as long as the base is laid flat.
 
Regarding the wooden caps.. well that's a bit involved.
 
Here's my review on them more or less (taken from my email back to Craig after my testing):
 
 

With the wooden caps on, the sound is affected nearly exactly as I remember from my experimentation all those weeks ago; the headphones sound more open even though they are "closed". 

However, I think this is partially because the seal is not as good as the plastic caps. 

I compared the two, and it was like I feared from viewing the pictures: there is some space between the edges of the wooden caps and the sides of the headphone cups. While this leads to a improvement in sound when the headphones are in "closed" mode, it leaks sound quite a bit more and starts to defeat the purpose of using the caps in the first place. 

I experimented a bit more and found that closing the gap (using tissue paper to pack the seam) helped to trap the sound better, reducing sound leakage without making the "new" sound go away too much.
 
So, while I am relatively pleased with the end result of the wooden caps, I'm not completely so due to their somewhat ineffective seal.
 
Overall, I'd have to rate the caps as they are now 4/5; aesthetically and structurally, they are very good; functionally, while they do block sound so you're not just blasting sound into the room as you do in "open" mode, they're not quite where they need to be IMO. I don't blame you for that, as I can tell it's tricky to get right. 

 
Craig told me that the fit was as close as he could get them, and I believe it; it'd probably take a lot of advanced woodworking equipment to get the EXACT fit. Also, because each cut of wood is slightly different, the other 3 pairs of caps he made may seal better than mine do. If anyone wants to jump on those, they're listed in his store (linked in my previous post).
 
In a nutshell, while the caps do work reasonably well, they aren't really as feasible for portability as the plastic ones are. 
 
However, I'm not quite ready to give up on them, because I can tell there's something there worth experimenting with.
 
As I told Craig, I'm considering finding a way to seal the gap around the edge of the cup. Currently, I'm considering using liquid silicone to line the gap and see if that seals things better when I have the time (I've used it in the past with my yo-yos. It dries to a firm but flexible solid that is less adhesively damaging as rubber cement or glue).
 
I'll have further updates about it once that is attempted.

 

[r2muchstuff]

I have not found the ED S to seal well with the factory caps.  I cannot sit on the couch listening to music with my wife watching TV without complaints.  In a nosier area they would be OK, but not in a quite place.  Basically, I find then better when open anyway, so generally I use them that way.
 
Good luck with the great looking wood caps.  Open sound with good/unique looks could be the winner
 
IMHO,
r2

 

[DavidA]

@Ceteru, how big a gap are you talking about? .5mm?  While i don't have a Edition S yet, I was thinking these might be good for my son since he is looking for a closed set.  He is always "borrowing" my headphones and wants a closed pair so this might be a something I could get for him.
 
Depending on how big the gap is I was thinking a strip of weather sealing foam or some leather might be something to use to create a good seal.

 

[Viber]

  I have not found the ED S to seal well with the factory caps.  I cannot sit on the couch listening to music with my wife watching TV without complaints.  In a nosier area they would be OK, but not in a quite place.  Basically, I find then better when open anyway, so generally I use them that way.
 
Good luck with the great looking wood caps.  Open sound with good/unique looks could be the winner
 
IMHO,
r2

 
If you need the closed option at home only then you can try cutting a new towel so that it will match the caps and then paste the towel pieces onto the caps.
 
Towels are great at blocking noise.

 

[r2muchstuff]

I have other closed phones that seal better, so I just use them.
 
The ED S, for me sounds better when used open, so I just treat them as open phones,  It is not worth the effort for me to modify them when I have better (seal & SQ) closed phones already and I enjoy these without the shields.
 
I am just pointing out that IMHO, these are not the best closed headphones for seal or SQ, but open they are great.
 
JMTC,
r2

 

[Ceteru]

  @Ceteru, how big a gap are you talking about? .5mm?  While i don't have a Edition S yet, I was thinking these might be good for my son since he is looking for a closed set.  He is always "borrowing" my headphones and wants a closed pair so this might be a something I could get for him.
 
Depending on how big the gap is I was thinking a strip of weather sealing foam or some leather might be something to use to create a good seal.

 
Are you talking about with the wooden caps? If so, the gap is really slight on mine, like around ~0.5-1 mm. It's hard to measure, and hard to estimate because of the variance of each piece of a handmade wooden item. The set of wooden caps you get might have a wider or even thinner gap.
 
I thought about trying those, but I have no weather foam or leather (plus I think gluing the leather down would be a bit of a chore). 
 
If you're talking about the standard plastic caps, then there's no gap at all when those are on the Edition S, as they are designed to fit inside the cutout for the grille on the earcups (the wooden caps were designed to fit over top of the grille). These aren't the most sealing set of headphones ever, and in a dead quiet room, if you have them turned up they are somewhat audible from a distance and quite audible up close. In a room with ambient noise, they're really not that bad.
 
I agree with r2much that they're better as open headphones; the closed set is more of a "courtesy mode" for when you want music in a setting where open headphones are not feasible. That said, I don't find them as unlistenable with the caps on as some do. A similarly designed headphone by Monoprice, the M560, really is in some ways unlistenable with its caps on; the sound is so compressed, it feels like you constantly need to pop your ears but you can't. It just sounds...wrong. The Edition S isn't that bad. I could listen to it for a while closed if I had to.
 
That said (again haha), if you are looking specifically for closed headphones, there are better options out there in the same or lesser price range.
 
Currently, I'm keeping the Edition S because it's a light, good-sounding portable set of open cans (with a "courtesy mode"), with several of the features I need for portability: detachable cable, folding cups, lightweight, pretty comfortable.
 
If I were to find something else that sounded better, with the same features.. even if it were closed, I'd be tempted to sell my Edition S. They fill a gap for me right now (pun intended), but aren't the end-all-be-all of cans for me.

 

[DavidA]

@Ceteru, thanks for the well writen relpy, i talked to my son and he said find a closed headphone with good sound quality, he said not to worry about it being dual use since he has my old HE560 and is currently borrowing my T1g1.  Do you have a suggestion for a closed back headphone in the $200-400 range?  My son has heard my Momentum on-ear and over-ear, MDR-1A, MDR-7506, M50x, TH-600, TH-X00, and M-100, he didn't like any of them.

 

[Ceteru]

  @Ceteru, thanks for the well writen relpy, i talked to my son and he said find a closed headphone with good sound quality, he said not to worry about it being dual use since he has my old HE560 and is currently borrowing my T1g1.  Do you have a suggestion for a closed back headphone in the $200-400 range?  My son has heard my Momentum on-ear and over-ear, MDR-1A, MDR-7506, M50x, TH-600, TH-X00, and M-100, he didn't like any of them.

Haha it sounds like your son is rather picky 

 
When he says "good sound quality", the question that springs to mind for me is "well what sound signature are you looking for?" Evidently, he seems to be rather bass-shy, or at least he seems like he wants something on the more neutral side (no TH-X00, no M-100) but not TOO neutral (no MDR-7506). The funny thing is, he likes the T1, which obviously has a good bit of bass.
 
Maybe he would like something still in the Beyer line?

 

[DavidA]

  Haha it sounds like your son is rather picky 

 
When he says "good sound quality", the question that springs to mind for me is "well what sound signature are you looking for?" Evidently, he seems to be rather bass-shy, or at least he seems like he wants something on the more neutral side (no TH-X00, no M-100) but not TOO neutral (no MDR-7506). The funny thing is, he likes the T1, which obviously has a good bit of bass.
 
Maybe he would like something still in the Beyer line?

I haven't heard a DT-770 in ages, forgot what it sounded like but I was looking at the DT-1770 a while ago before I went of a tangent with building a few Grado clones using Elleven Acoustica and Nhoord drivers.  Might be a good time to revisit the Bayer line, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Ceteru]

  I haven't heard a DT-770 in ages, forgot what it sounded like but I was looking at the DT-1770 a while ago before I went of a tangent with building a few Grado clones using Elleven Acoustica and Nhoord drivers.  Might be a good time to revisit the Bayer line, thanks for the suggestion.

No problem!
 
I was thinking something like the DT 880 (not sure which ohm version for him), which is supposed to be more neutral but still have an acceptable bass response. I haven't heard any Beyerdynamics so I can't speak from experience, just from what I've read and heard.

 

[r2muchstuff]

  I haven't heard a DT-770 in ages, forgot what it sounded like but I was looking at the DT-1770 a while ago before I went of a tangent with building a few Grado clones using Elleven Acoustica and Nhoord drivers.  Might be a good time to revisit the Bayer line, thanks for the suggestion.

I have the DT 770 250 ohm & the DT 1770 which is 250 ohm.  The 1770 is a more refined less peaky phone however, it is a lot more expensive.  I use the 1770 at home and take the 770 when car traveling.  The 770 is part of my transportable kit (iPod>ALAC>>CLAS>RX dB or HP-V1) and is very enjoyable.  I also have a Sennheiser HD 598 Cs in the transportable kit.  They are another less expensive option.  I find that they compliment each other in sound signatures.  The 598 Cs is 23 ohm.  Opinions on both the 770 and 598 Cs are split, either you like them or you do not, without much middle ground.
 
The 1770 is worth it's cost if your son is looking for a home system phone, if using portable stuffs the 770 (available in 32 & 80 ohm versions) or 598 Cs is practical for a lot of reasons, especially cost.
 
Another great option is the Oppo PM3.
 
The DT 880 is not fully closed, referred to as semi open  The 600 ohm version is praised by many, but would be more of an at home option.
 
The subject of this thread (ED S) is a great option for portables.  They pair great with FiiO DAPs and Amps.
 
JMTC & IMHO,
r2

 

[DavidA]

@r2muchstuff, thanks for the info on the various Beyer headphones, I was on this thread thinking about the Edition S but since most say its a lot better in the open configuration and only so-so in the closed I was thinking that the wood covers would help with the closed sound but its seems to be more of a need for those who only have one headphone and want to use it in different environments.  My son is the intended person for this and he said to just get something with a good sound in a closed back, so while I love him I'm not super rich were I can get him whatever he wants, the reason for the $200-400 budget and he already has my first HE560 and is currently "borrowing" my T1g1.

 

[Ceteru]

You could also look into other brands, such as Shure; the 840 is well regarded by many as one of the best set of closed cans you can find, and they're actually under $200 on Amazon right now.
 
AKG is another option; they're known for being more on the neutral side (although many of them might not have enough bass for your son).

 

[DavidA]

  You could also look into other brands, such as Shure; the 840 is well regarded by many as one of the best set of closed cans you can find, and they're actually under $200 on Amazon right now.
 
AKG is another option; they're known for being more on the neutral side (although many of them might not have enough bass for your son).

I had a SRH-1540 (borrowed from a friend) and both he and I didn't care for it.  Also have a AKG 553 pro, its been modded with some dynamat in the cups and removable cables, he hasn't tried this yet so I'll let him try it when he gets back on spring break.  He tried my K7XX and another friends Q701 and didn't like either so I don't know if the AKG sound is for him
 
PS: getting a little of topic but appriciate your help, if you have any other suggestions might want to do a PM

 

[Maxx134]

More updates!

Craig finished the caps, and has updated his store with them as a purchasable product. My cans are in the mail and on their way back to me along with a set of caps.

Impressions will come once I get them in and can sit down with them; till then, bask in the beauty:

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

A few more pics are available on his site (https://www.cpcustomwoodworking.com/listing/516058607/hifiman-edition-s-wood-caps).

I told him that I would have to test whether or not the seal on these is as good as the original plastic caps, but aesthetically speaking, they get a 5/5 from me. I did mention that some people might want the caps to be a bit thinner, but of course that's a personal taste thing.

More impressions later!

Could not resist..
Had to get them wood cups..

NOW that I sold my Audeze Sine,
I will fix these puppies up.

Wood cups look sweet.
Just need to look into damping and seal around cup.

Now that wood cup is available,
I will remove the metal grill out of way....
It's OK for me if they not totally sealed,
And I don't need totally open either..