$25 Eggo's (Mod)
May 27, 2005 at 1:10 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 22

xluben

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I recently sold my Sony D66 Eggo's because I am short on money. I was sad to see them go because I loved their design and I thought they sounded great for semi-portable headphones. Because I missed them so much, I decided to re-create their design/sound for less money.

I had a pair of Gemini Eggphones (knock-off Eggos) that I got a while back for $10 (shipped) here:

http://www.electronicscity.com/produ...roducts_id=532

They have a VERY similar design to the Sony D22 Eggo's, but they sound quality isn't too good.

Recently I bought a pair of Koss KSC75's for my brother's birthday, and figured I'd get a pair for my myself. They're $15 at Amazon.com (w/free shipping in an order over $25):

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...onics&n=507846

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The both have 40mm drivers, so I figured it would be a simple driver swap. It turned out to be a little more difficult than I had initially expected. I found out you can't actually get the Koss diaphram out of the housing. All you can do it take of the clip and the foam, and you are left with a whole driver assembly.

The Eggphones have a ring to help seat their stock drivers, so the Koss driver assemblies wouldn't fit inside the ring. According to other Head-fi members, close proximity to the ear is vital to the sound of the Koss drivers, so I was worried this would give me low sound quality. I was also worried about 'echoing' inside the driver housing of the Eggphones.

Just to see how they would sound I taped (Scotch Tape) the Koss driver assemblies inside the Eggphones housings, and reassembled. I put them on, and surprisingly they sounded very close to how the KSC75's sounded 'clipped-on'.

I then removed the foam inside the earcup (now there is no foam between the Koss driver and the ear, but there is two layers of plastic with holes), and the clarity went up another notch.

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For now I will just keep the Koss drivers assemblies taped in the Eggphones housings, but if they ever come loose I may try sanding off the ring inside the Eggphones housings or even making a hole for the drivers to sit in, (this was my origional plan, and should result in near stock Koss KSC75 sound), but for now I'm very happy with the result of this mod.

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Now I have a pair of $25 headphones, which in external design are very similar to the Sony D22 Eggo's, and sound much like the Koss KSC 75's.

I think the mod may have 'brightned-up' the Koss sound slightly, and there seems to be a little less bass. There is still quite a bit more bass than the Sony D66 Eggo's, but not quite as much as the normally mounted Koss KSC75's (probably due to the extra space between the driver and the ear).

They sound very good (for the price) with all types of music, but especially if you like music with bass and vocals (Rock and Rap are my two favorites).

To me, they are more 'musical' (fun to listen to) than my Sony D66 Eggos, which had a very flat response. And they have much better sound quality than my modded Sony EX71's, which have a lot of bass (but not as much as stock) with not enough mids (but a little more than stock). The soundstage is at least as good as the Sony Eggo's, and much better than the Sony EX71's.

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I have not heard the Sony D22 Eggo's, but according to members of Head-fi, the sound is much worse than the D66's. So, anyone thinking of getting Eggo's (especially the D22's, if you're trying to save money), I would recommend trying this mod.

I'd also recommend this mod to anyone who has the Koss's (KSC75's or 35's), but doesn't like the earclip style.

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BowerR64 - I know you have all kinds of Eggo's and have (or at least had) Koss KSC75's and 35's, so I was wondering if you might try this out, and see how you think the sound compares to: stock Koss, D22, D66, etc.

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Hope everyone likes my idea/mod,
Thanks for reading!

xluben
 
May 27, 2005 at 1:17 AM Post #2 of 22
Nice mod... you stole my thunder... Im going to mount a KSC75 driver into an MDRV200. I'll probably open up the enclosure so the driver can breathe.
Garrett
 
May 27, 2005 at 1:25 AM Post #3 of 22
Didn't you already try putting them inside the Sony V6's?

I think I remember hearing of someone else putting them inside some other Sony (which were closed), with bad results.

The key may be finding a fairly 'open' enclosure for the Koss drivers. Putting them inside closed headphones just won't work.

The Eggphones have a hollow enclosure with slots cut in the back to increase bass (similar to the Eggo bass mod), and therefore they allow plenty of air to travel in and out. I may try the blutak/cotton mod, but it sounded horrible with the stock Eggphones drivers in place.
 
May 27, 2005 at 1:38 AM Post #4 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by xluben
Didn't you already try putting them inside the Sony V6's?

I think I remember hearing of someone else putting them inside some other Sony (which were closed), with bad results.

The key may be finding a fairly 'open' enclosure for the Koss drivers. Putting them inside closed headphones just won't work.

The Eggphones have a hollow enclosure with slots cut in the back to increase bass (similar to the Eggo bass mod), and therefore they allow plenty of air to travel in and out. I may try the blutak/cotton mod, but it sounded horrible with the stock Eggphones drivers in place.




Yeah thats why Im going to cut out a large portion of the V200 earcup and replace it with perforated metal grille.

Garrett
 
May 27, 2005 at 2:42 AM Post #6 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean
what are so great about these koss?


Great sound reproduction
Balanced frequency response
Forward mids that are not harsh
good treble extension.
Nicely bloated bass, and enough sub-bass extension for all practical purposes.
CHEAP
portable
comfortable
koss lifetime warranty
Scale up well with amplification, but an amp is not absolutely needed
90 degree connector plug
No one will mug you for em.
easy to mod
light
 
May 27, 2005 at 2:50 AM Post #7 of 22
bass like the porta pros?

p.s. where can u get these?



Edit: nevermind i answered my own question, by going to their site. now the only question is do they have strong bass as in senn 212 strong? lol im kidding, dont make that comparison, but do they have bass fit for a bass head?
 
May 27, 2005 at 3:00 AM Post #8 of 22
The main thing they have going for them is that they are CHEAP (and they sound good, too).

They use the same drivers as the Porta Pros, so any difference in sound would be due to quality of fit. They can be found at many online retailers (but not many stores).

$14.48 (w/shipping: US)
$45.33 (w/shipping: South Korea, if you are located there)
http://www.provantage.com/buy-7koss1...9-shopping.htm

or

$14.19 (w/free shipping with an order over $25: US)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...onics&n=507846

They're a great value for the money, and will sound better than any other headphone under $20.

Also, check out the few other threads about the KSC75's (and the whole Koss KSC line). The search function should give you plenty of results.
 
May 27, 2005 at 10:33 PM Post #9 of 22
You might try a light foam on these Koss driver. I got some from Radio Shack and they cut down the bass and improve the mid and high range compared to the original thicker foam.

Your mod has no foam compared to a thin foam, I think it will sound a little bass shy.
 
May 27, 2005 at 10:37 PM Post #10 of 22
KSC35 have the same drivers and would be easier to mount, no?

Cool mod by the way.
wink.gif
 
May 27, 2005 at 11:14 PM Post #11 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by xluben
The main thing they have going for them is that they are CHEAP (and they sound good, too).

They use the same drivers as the Porta Pros, so any difference in sound would be due to quality of fit. They can be found at many online retailers (but not many stores).

$14.48 (w/shipping: US)
$45.33 (w/shipping: South Korea, if you are located there)
http://www.provantage.com/buy-7koss1...9-shopping.htm

or

$14.19 (w/free shipping with an order over $25: US)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...onics&n=507846

They're a great value for the money, and will sound better than any other headphone under $20.

Also, check out the few other threads about the KSC75's (and the whole Koss KSC line). The search function should give you plenty of results.




haha my name is only stating my background, but thanks anyways. i am in canada. i have just ordered a pair of senn 212 pros, maybe ill consider the koss if i need new portable eadphones.
 
May 28, 2005 at 2:56 AM Post #12 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by dvw
You might try a light foam on these Koss driver. I got some from Radio Shack and they cut down the bass and improve the mid and high range compared to the original thicker foam.


The foam that is normally in the Eggphones is slightly thinner than the stock Koss foam, and barely touches the outer edges of my ears when worn. I felt that any gain it bass due to my mind's perception of the sound, meaning: there was less treble/mids with the foam in place so it seemed like more bass.

I like the sound both with and without the Eggphones foam in place. There just seems to be more overall clarity with the foam removed. BUT the foam-less modded Eggphones can get a little fatigueing at high volumes, and the foam smoothes this out a bit.

If I was able to purchase a fairly thin sheet of flat foam (which I could cut to go inside the Eggphone's earcups), it would probably be a good comprimise between clear upper range, and thumping bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox
KSC35 have the same drivers and would be easier to mount, no?


I believe that kramer5150 used KSC35 drivers in his Sony V6 mod. The 35's seem to be nearly identical sounding, and probably a little bit smaller driver assembly which should make them fit better in most 40mm driver housings.

Quote:

Originally Posted by South_Korean
haha my name is only stating my background, but thanks anyways. i am in canada. i have just ordered a pair of senn 212 pros, maybe ill consider the koss if i need new portable eadphones.


Canada, eh? I'm pretty sure Amazon.com will only ship to the US, so if you're interested in the Koss's you'd have to try the other site (they seem to ship everywhere).

Let me know how you like your Sennheiser HD212 Pro's when you get them. I'm sort of a basshead myself, but won't sacrifice mids to get big bass.

You may end up getting something which sounds (and fits) similarily to these modded headphones. I think I would prefere the truly circumaural fit of the Eggphones, and I'm guessing the Koss's may have slightly less bass, but more clarity and definitely more open-ness (soundstage).

Hopefully you are happy with how they sound.
 
May 28, 2005 at 7:08 AM Post #14 of 22
PS. For all Canadians... www.hotmp3gear.com is [possibly the only] an authorized Koss dealer in Canada. They only sell a few models, but may be able to get others. They seem to be able to get pretty decent prices.
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