Hello,

Having read New Head-fier comments I must say I am VERY interested. Having had my 8XXs for a few months I am simply using an equalizer (Loki) to overcome the 2 kHz dip. However, I would love to know exactly which of the two stickers you removed - a picture would help - so that I might not be dependent on EQ

Best
Ian
Warsaw

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Remove the 2 circled. I left the one that is not circled. I'd imagine if you take it off as well you would be damn near enough the 800s that it would be hard to distinguish, but personally, I liked the slight tonal change with just the one sticker remaining.

Thank you very much indeed.
I will try this tomorrow and see what happens.

Hello again,
I was too impatient to wait until tomorrow so I started in ernest right this moment. I managed to remove one sticker - the top one - in both left and right headphone and... I think there is a change...
How did you remove the glue? It is some pesky kind

The glue was tough. The metal back is surprisingly sturdy. I actually used mostly my nail but also a pair of metal tweezers to scrape it carefully. Took some patience but didn't damage anything despite the tweezers being quite sharp.TLDR: the metal mesh cone is stronger than it looks especially from inside the cans.

As a sound update, I now strongly prefer the modded 8xx over the 800s.

Tanzomon,

So I actually did the same thing you did. Removed that top sticker then put the headphone back together and listened for change.

I had the benefit of spending time directly comparing my 800s to the 8xx with that first sticker removed. I could hear the changes were in the right direction, but they were quite minor, but that gave me the confidence to take off that large bottom sticker. Then I put it back together again and started comparing. That's when I stopped removing the stickers, because the good sound qualities of the 800s in the 2k region was nearly fixed and when I started realizing that I didn't mind a very minor drop in that region if it meant keeping the upper bass and reduced harshness.

I speculate that if you remove all 3 stickers it would be hard to distinguish between the 800s stock and the 8xx (all stickers removed).

Yes, my sense is that the sound signature did not change / move that much with the removal of the top stickers. But I got scared for a moment and decided to stop this work and continue removing the bottom ones sometime tomorrow. I said to myself that I would listen "anew" and decide if I want to proceed so that I can be quite sure I am moving in the right direction and want to continue.
I must say that I have proceeded with the removal of the stickers in the same way as you described - using my finger nails

Cheers
Ian

I'd be curious to see what a different combination of the stickers would do. (ex remove bottom 2, but leave top; or remove the small top and bottom, but leave the large bottom one on)

I'd be curious too. I have a friend that just ordered one, we may experiment.

While I don't have an 800/800S to compare to I don't mind collaborating with you to try out different combinations. I am currently waiting for a replacement pair from Drop before I can try it out though.

How do you take apart the headphones to get to where the stickers are? Also how did you remove the sticker residue left behind? Goo gone or something else?

I took a gamble and modded it the other night per the post instructions, took off the stickers and carefully scraped the adhesive below with fingernails and alcohol wipes. While I have never heard the 800S, so I cannot compare, I definitely still noticed a change....I am absolutely stunned with the change to the sound. My 8xx went from sounding unbearably muddy without EQ to absolutely beautiful, luscious eargasms. I can't comprehend it, I almost didn't believe it would do anything. But it's true, it made the 8xx sound absolutely amazing. I don't even need EQ after this, and I've always used EQ. Granted, the oratory1990 EQ profile still sounded better than without EQ.

I tested orchestral, gaming OST's, jazz, vocals. All were perfect to my ears, with similar bass impact and clarity like 6xx but more refined. Take this with a grain of a salt, I really felt like I upgraded my 6xx to my endgame sound preference. 8xx is the most comfortable headphone I've worn (but could've use more padding like 6xx headband), but with the sound being this excellent, this had become my daily headphone for music and gaming and excells at both. I love the 8xx so much now, so underrated and happy I took the gamble. I wish and hope they would sell more and let people hear the tuning like this, as it should sound.