[Yuk_Fai]

I just got a pair from Superstore in Edmonton, and I'm not that impressed. They have the 'hollow' sound which AudioCats mentioned, although it's more than just hollow -- I'd say they sound 'cloudy' or 'foggy'.

This affects mostly the vocals, although the highs aren't as crisp as I'd like, and the bass is affected in the same way. Soundstage is alright, but I'd need more time to tell. I'm gonna break them in and hope for the best!

Oh, compared to the Grado SR-60s, these lose quite badly. The Koss KSC-75 are also better, as both the Grado and the Koss sound clearer and more crisp. The Koss has a bit less bass kick than the Accura's, but the Grado has more than both.

 

[AudioCats]

A recable will clean up the sound quite a bit. The original cable was probably intended to emphasize bass (Accura drivers are not really bass-heavy by themselves).

Canare starquad will probably work alot better than my cat-5. But better cables will show more of the driver's flaw too. It cuts both ways.

 

[Yuk_Fai]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't imagine myself doing much modding to these cans. I bought these on a lark, just to see what the fuss was about. If they prove to sound decent later on, then I have a pair of semi-comfortable cans I can use in my rotation (although the Darths will probably get 90% of the time when I'm at home

).

 

[AudioCats]

The fuss is at least 90% about the cool look & super low price, I don't really care about the sound, nor the build quality. I will hesitate if they were $15, but at $8 these are no-brainers...
After the recable and burn-in (20 hours), I think these are somewhere around the KSC75 level (the 75 never did impress me, I already sold my 75's. I am counting on the memory here).
I will probably put a set of QP drivers into one of my accura's and tune them with different cables to balance out the sound a little bit. Lets see if they can look cool and sound nice at the same time.

Wish me luck.....

 

[aMp^FL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif The fuss is at least 90% about the cool look & super low price, I don't really care about the sound, nor the build quality. I will hesitate if they were $15, but at $8 these are no-brainers... After the recable and burn-in (20 hours), I think these are somewhere around the KSC75 level (the 75 never did impress me, I already sold my 75's. I am counting on the memory here). I will probably put a set of QP drivers into one of my accura's and tune them with different cables to balance out the sound a little bit. Lets see if they can look cool and sound nice at the same time. Wish me luck.....

sounds good, Gl!

 

[ken36]

Great find. You never get bargains unless you look.

 

[aMp^FL]

i just got a pair at the big lots in cutler ridge, florida. Woot, there was only 2 left.

 

[AudioCats]

QP driver transplant with cat-5 cable (another report for modder/ tinkerers).... (hmm, that sounds weird, doesn't it?

)

The work: getting the accura drivers out is tricky, they are glued into the baffle pretty well. You will need three thin blade flate head screw drivers. First insert the smallest blade into a spot where there is no glue, try to pry the driver off the baffle a little (you will hear a pop sound). You need to do it on a flat surface or you can damage the baffle very easily.

Insert another flat head to keep the gap open, and pry it open a little more, then adde the third one. Seperate the driver off the baffle, little by little.

The glue is pretty strong, so there will be some minor damage on the baffle ring. Clean it up a little bit with a razor blade.

Hot glue the QP driver on to the baffle ring.

The other side. Note there is no metal pretection screen in front of the QP driver's, but it is recessed enough so the fabric screen on the pads should provide enough protection.

Solder the cat-5 wires, put everything back together.

The sound: what do you expect, these now have QP drivers so they sound like.... QP's, well, kind of. The cat-5 cable also made them sound different from the QP 45x/55x though. Bass is stronger than the stock Accura (which shows the accura drivers are not bass heavy by nature). Much more clear and clean sound, the stock Accura sound very muddled in comparison. This combo has a lot more mids than the QP phones, probably more due to the cable change. I now believe once I change the PVC cat-5 to audio grade teflon coated copper these will sound super, good for all around use.
Effiecienty is about as good as the 45x, my Panasonic PCDP can play them nicely. (which also means the average MP3 will not have enough juice to dirve them). Anyway, these will become fun phones.

Have fun modding

 

[AudioCats]

Ear cup swivel mod:
(Note: DO NOT do it if you still have the stock single-entry cable)

Ever wish those big'O ear cups can turn 90 degrees and face down flat? If you recable the phones to a "Y" style dual entry, then you can do this swivel mod. First take off the pads, undo the little baffle screws, and move the baffle out of the way. Undo the swivel screw (the one with a little washer).

Seperate the ear cups and the headband. You will see the limitor pin next to the swivel post.

Pull the pin out with a pair of pliers. You might want to save the pins since this mod is reversable.

Now you just have to put things back together. Easy as pie (but you do have to recable to Y entry first).

Have fun modding

 

[wualta]

For those of you near Grand Rapids, the Big Lots store on 54th and Division has a whole passel of these wonderphones. Some are on the Newly Arrived shelves as you enter the store, and the rest are on pegs with the other electronics. Still only $8.

Everything folks have said is true: Too much midbass to go along with impressive lower bass, recessed mids, tizzy highs, but a fun sound, not a horrible sound. Tizz plus Boom yields T & B, a distant relative of a different T-&-Another-Simple-Something which I can't recall. Oh, it's probably T & Sympathy.

And the look is just as over-the-top as the sound. The amazing thing is that they're not horrible. The highs are clean, and the lows are too. Of course this is right out of the box, no burn-in yet.

There's no backwave coming out of that open grillework-- the drivers must be damped to within an inch of their lives. The Accura is a closed 'phone dressed up to look like an open one. This explains the lack of headstage compared to the A-Ts. EDIT: This statement, while an exaggeration, is yet more accurate than the 'phones themselves. There is some backwave, just not very much. The driver is damped heavily so that backwave has enough trouble just getting out-- not very much is likely to get back in via reflection off your hands.

People who pooh-poohed the Coby CV-130 when compared to the Accuras should consider: Would you rather have a 'phone that's bandwidth-limited but mostly smooth and flat, or the extended but moodswing rollercoaster manic-depressive response curve of the Accura? Some people have tone controls and aren't afraid to use them; they can extend the top and bottom of the Coby, but you can't flatten the response of the Accura with normal tone controls. Regardless, some prefer the Accura, and more power to them. Rock on, brothers.

For an audiophile, the Accura is a cheap thrill and a guilty pleasure all in one big blisterpack.

I'ma try shovin' some backwave-generatin' Orthodynamic drivers in mine.

.

 

[richierich]

You guys are going to get me killed by my wife if I attempt to try and buy these lol

 

[AudioCats]

Yeeeeeehaw....
Now Wualta is into the Accura's, does it mean we will see all kinds of ortho transplants really soon? Can you please install YH-100 drivers and see if they can out bass the donuts?

(warning: if it works , please don't post the result here, it will drive the YH-100's price up another $50)

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by richierich /img/forum/go_quote.gif You guys are going to get me killed by my wife if I attempt to try and buy these lol

For $8? come on dude, you know you want these, join the "team micky-mouse funky phones"....

 

[richierich]

^^

lol yeah but I mistakingly told my wife that I won't buy anymore headphones for a long time. haha. BIG MISTAKE!

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's no backwave coming out of that open grillework-- the drivers must be damped to within an inch of their lives. The Accura is a closed 'phone dressed up to look like an open one. This explains the lack of headstage compared to the A-Ts.

now I notice it, putting my hands on the grill doesn't seem to change the sound a bit. But this is with QP drivers installed, and the QP's do respond to hands covering the holes.

Does it indicate there is something evil hidden in the plain sight in Accura's design? There is nothing in the ear cup, only air.....