ngyu
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2012
- Posts
- 324
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- 38
Hi everyone, just thought I'd share my mod for my Audeze cans.
I've always loved the look and sound of the Audeze LCD series. However, I've always hated one part of their design, which is the stupid adhesive ring that holds the earpad to the headphone. Really? $2000 can, and you use double sided tape... anyway, I recently picked up a pair of LCD 3 (prefazor), and loved the sound, but decided to do something about the earpad mounting.
Two ideas I had, add a lip on the cans for something the pads to grab onto, or 2, make an adapter that slides into the ear pad and hold it in place by magnetism. After taking a look at the design of the LCD, and not wanting to change the screws that go into the zebrano wood, I decided to go with the magnetic clip design.
Started design by first tackling this question: how do I orient this thing since it'll be held by magnets?? Took a look at Tyll's picture (from Innerfidelity) here:
And noticed there are 4 holes (middle shot, showing the diaphragm, next to the slits) that I can use to orient / stop the ring from rotating however it feels like. I'll be using those 4 holes as 'anti-rotation' features. I measured them based on my LCD3, I cannot verify if its the same location on the LCD2.
Since there are magnets on the LCDs already, I figured I just need something metal to be grab on, I don't need additional magnets (extra weight, messes with existing magnetic field etc.)
Then I started drafting it up in CAD...... and a few hours/test prints/iterations after, I came up with this:
Fresh off the printer!
Checking fitment and magnetism strength
How it fits in the earpad (I'll be getting a fresh one soon):
Final design:
Metal inserts are just paper clips, the first few ones the paper clip was too small, so it didn't hold that well (not that it matters when it is clamped to your head), so I went with a bigger paperclip.... and bingo! Bigger is better! I can even pick up the whole wooden ring assembly now (though I wouldn't swing it around).
Final thoughts/questions...
Added weight? Less than 40g total added for both rings.
Air seal? Definitely not as air tight as when it was glued on, but I almost welcome the gap, there doesn't seem to be as much pressure when putting on/taking off the cans as before, therefore less stress on the diaphragm .
Most important one... Sound quality? I THINK I lost a bit of bass due to it now not being as air tight as before. Haven't noticed any funny reflections yet, I tried to keep everything outside of the sound path. No rattling, vibrations etc.
I'll try to upload a video of installation/removal of the pad, and how simple/easy it is now. Not sure if Head-Fi supports it.
Let me know any comments/questions/criticisms/suggestions!
Thanks for reading!
I've always loved the look and sound of the Audeze LCD series. However, I've always hated one part of their design, which is the stupid adhesive ring that holds the earpad to the headphone. Really? $2000 can, and you use double sided tape... anyway, I recently picked up a pair of LCD 3 (prefazor), and loved the sound, but decided to do something about the earpad mounting.
Two ideas I had, add a lip on the cans for something the pads to grab onto, or 2, make an adapter that slides into the ear pad and hold it in place by magnetism. After taking a look at the design of the LCD, and not wanting to change the screws that go into the zebrano wood, I decided to go with the magnetic clip design.
Started design by first tackling this question: how do I orient this thing since it'll be held by magnets?? Took a look at Tyll's picture (from Innerfidelity) here:
And noticed there are 4 holes (middle shot, showing the diaphragm, next to the slits) that I can use to orient / stop the ring from rotating however it feels like. I'll be using those 4 holes as 'anti-rotation' features. I measured them based on my LCD3, I cannot verify if its the same location on the LCD2.
Since there are magnets on the LCDs already, I figured I just need something metal to be grab on, I don't need additional magnets (extra weight, messes with existing magnetic field etc.)
Then I started drafting it up in CAD...... and a few hours/test prints/iterations after, I came up with this:
Fresh off the printer!
Checking fitment and magnetism strength
How it fits in the earpad (I'll be getting a fresh one soon):
Final design:
Metal inserts are just paper clips, the first few ones the paper clip was too small, so it didn't hold that well (not that it matters when it is clamped to your head), so I went with a bigger paperclip.... and bingo! Bigger is better! I can even pick up the whole wooden ring assembly now (though I wouldn't swing it around).
Final thoughts/questions...
Added weight? Less than 40g total added for both rings.
Air seal? Definitely not as air tight as when it was glued on, but I almost welcome the gap, there doesn't seem to be as much pressure when putting on/taking off the cans as before, therefore less stress on the diaphragm .
Most important one... Sound quality? I THINK I lost a bit of bass due to it now not being as air tight as before. Haven't noticed any funny reflections yet, I tried to keep everything outside of the sound path. No rattling, vibrations etc.
I'll try to upload a video of installation/removal of the pad, and how simple/easy it is now. Not sure if Head-Fi supports it.
Let me know any comments/questions/criticisms/suggestions!
Thanks for reading!
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