[Tyson]

I put the DADS system back in just for grins, and removed most of the cotton. I was a little unhappy with the bass not being as strong as before the mod. Basically I was fiddling around all day with the ratio of cotton and foam, both with and without the DADS system. Here's what I found.

Unlike most headphones, adding more stuffing (cotton) does not result in more bass, but rather less bass. These are pretty strange drivers, in that they react very differently to stuffing the cups than most headphones. 2, I found that I only got the bass impact I wanted with the DADS system in place. I also found that extra cotton with the DADS system resulted in lowering bass impact.

But I also found that if I removed all the cotton completely, the mids were just a touch too recessed (although still more forward than stock, due to the blu-tak still being in there). So I experimented with different ammounts of cotton directly behind the plastic vent of the driver. I found that just the barest whisp of cotton placed directly behind the driver chamber (next to the black foam of the DADS system) brought the mids forward a bit, kept the highs nice and smooth, and didn't cause any bass loss at all.

So, my final rec would be to try it out like this. If you haven't done the mod yet, simply open the cups, coat them with blu-tak, and put about 1/16th of a ball of cotton directly behind the driver chamber. I think they are just about perfectly balanced like this (I like a slightly bass heavy sound). Smooth mids, smooth highs, and strong bass. The only downside is that the bass is not quite as tight and as detailed with the DADS system in place as it is without the DADS system in there. But the overall sound is still far better than it was before modding. And I'll take the extra impact in the bass over the extra detail. Just my personal preference, others will probably feel differently.

Just try different ammounts of cotton behind the driver chamber to adjust the ratio of bass to mids. The less cotton, the more bass and the less mids. The more cotton, the more mids and less bass. Have fun!

 

[devwild]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eight08 wierd.. just did the mod on my a700's - adding more cotton only seem to degrade the amount of bass. i must have tried 5 times with different amounts of filler, all sounded noticably thin on bass (more cotton = less bass). so i ended up with just the blu-tac. and also, the a700's do not come with any sort of foam in the housing.. its all empty back there.

So, real question, was adding the blu-tac worth it on the a700s? How did it change the sound?

 

[eight08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by devwild So, real question, was adding the blu-tac worth it on the a700s? How did it change the sound?

both bass and midbass seems to have tightened up. But honestly, if someone had stolen my cans, did the mod, then put it back, i probably wouldn't have known. so it wasn't a night and day improvement.. at least not to my ears.

(though i did wind up putting the thinnest layer of cotton on the outside of the driver to veil the highs a bit... now that made a difference, took away some of the sibilance)

 

[walkman666]

Good update, Tyson, thanks. Still mulling it over.

- walk

 

[KT88]

personally I prefer the great details and seperation between deffrent voices over the strong bass. Its just amazing, after midding I feel like I have a whole new set of cans.

everybody should try for themselves and choose what ever best suites them.

 

[GChow]

I've stuffed as much cotton as is humanly possible into the earcups, and the bass impact is still not there. But UNFORTUNATELY my wife was bored the other day when I was doing this mod...and before I knew it, she had snipped one of the DADS donut-shaped pieces of foam into about 50 pieces, 15 of which I think she threw away!

Now I would like to get some of the bass back. The DADS foam doesn't seem too unique, so I was thinking of getting some foam (maybe from computer hardware packaging) and cutting/shaping it to fit around the driver. What do you think? I'm thinking differing densities in foam might have an effect on the sound too?

Any thoughts? Or recommendations on types of foam to use? I did a quick google for "acoutstic foam" and got mostly soundproofing stuff...

 

[gregaphonic]

I decided to give the mod a whirl, my notes, maybe they'll help someone:

- For now, I'm using a little less than a quarter ball of cotton behind each port. All foam/DADS is intact. Actually getting a little more tonality out of the deep bass, with less thump. It's lost some of it's punch, Hard to explain, less thud and more tone. Like maybe there's a little more definition in the mid to low bass. The mids are definitely more forward, the reward of the mod for sure. And the highs aren't as piercing as they were, another plus for the mod. Less echo-ey in general. I may cut back the cotton just a little, and see how they are.

- don't overdo the bluetak. The first time i did this, i used too much, and lost almost all of the bass. I ended up using an eyeball sized (sry, couldn't think of anything else) ball that I rolled out with a rolling pin in the kitchen.

Overall, not a bad mod. I like the new-found presence of the mids and the relaxed highs, Good mids, too, lots of new-found detail. Listening to recordings of frogs (don't ask), new details there I've never heard before on these headphones. tres cool.

Now let's fix these nasty vinyl earpads, yuck.

 

[donaldekelly]

bump to get any more impressions

I bought some modded A900s - white tack and just a little cotton behind the driver.

TOO MUCH BASS! (for my taste)

So I am going to add some more cotton.

 

[donaldekelly]

The cotton did the trick

Now the bass is appropriate but still there.

 

[griz]

any ideeas what to use instead of the white / blue tak , i live in a country where putty is unheard off ( i tried 2 hardware stores until now ) . I tried a 3M double adhesive tape but it was too thick ( 2mm , and i own a pair of hd280 ) and i found out that that 2 mm is just too much for the space behind the driver.

 

[gregaphonic]

I think I'm going to rip out the dads next and try just stuffing with cotton. At first, I liked the additional bass, but now it's getting on my nerves.

 

[Kurashima]

I love my A900s. Bass is perfect. I can't complain about highs. The mids though. . . not bad but they could be more forward. So I'm thinking about the Blu-Tak mod. The improvement of highs is bonus. But I have some questions.

1) I don't want to remove the DADS system as I love the bass exactly as it is right now in terms of impact. I'm a bit confused though: Does the blu-tak increase the bass amount necessitating some cotton or is it the same with the DADS still in as it is with stock? If it changes, how much cotton is needed to keep it about the same? I don't want any more for sure, and not much less.

2) I'm sure I can get the pads off. But everyone says putting them back on is a pain. Any helpful suggestions from those who've done this mod? I've only modded Eggos before, which are really easy and I didn't have to take off the pads at all.

3) Least important question last: The highs lose their echo, but do they soften up as well after blu-tak or only after some cotton? They're alright now, but once I have finish this mod I don't want to open up the phones again so I might as well make them a bit softer. This isn't a big deal though.

Thanks in advance, I'll post my experience with this after I get some info here.

 

[donaldekelly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurashima 1)Does the blu-tak increase the bass amount necessitating some cotton or is it the same with the DADS still in as it is with stock? If it changes, how much cotton is needed to keep it about the same? I don't want any more for sure, and not much less. 2) I'm sure I can get the pads off. But everyone says putting them back on is a pain. Any helpful suggestions from those who've done this mod? I've only modded Eggos before, which are really easy and I didn't have to take off the pads at all. 3) Least important question last: The highs lose their echo, but do they soften up as well after blu-tak or only after some cotton? They're alright now, but once I have finish this mod I don't want to open up the phones again so I might as well make them a bit softer. This isn't a big deal though.

I think Tyson said it keeps the bass if you leave the dads in place. I filled mine with cotton to cut the bass way down, so you might want to try just one cotton ball. I am afraid you will have to try and see unless someone else can speak to that issue.

Putting the cover back on is hard - I try to slip in one edge of the headphones into the cover and then hold the parts that are in place with one hand whole pulling up the edge of the pad with the other and putting the next inch or two in place, and then moving my fingers to hold the new area that is in place and doing the next inch or two. It can be done - it just takes patience. Sometimes I use a screwdriver to pull the edge out from under the phones to put it in place. You will have to develop your own system I think.

I think the highs do get softer with the cotton. Mine came with the blu-tack already done - so I can't say what "virgin" a900s sound like and the effect only tack has.

 

[Vinny77]

Love the Spyderco Delica SS.

lol

 

[donaldekelly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vinny77 Love the Spyderco Delica SS. lol

huh? Sorry, I don't understand

Oh - Spyderco Delica Serrated Knife

Is this knife-Fi.org?