[ColtMrFire]

In case anybody wanted the replacement pads for the T90, which are hard to find, just go to the Beyer American website, and hit "contact " or "contact us",fill out the form asking for the pads, and a guy named Paul will email you with an order form.

 

[samtheman]

Hi ColtMrFire - any chance you could post a photo or drawing (if you don't want to open your cans again) of the mod you did to the T90s with Dynamat?
 
Very interested in the mod.
 
Manny thanks

 

[ColtMrFire]

 
 
Quote:

  Hi ColtMrFire - any chance you could post a photo or drawing (if you don't want to open your cans again) of the mod you did to the T90s with Dynamat?
 
Very interested in the mod.
 
Manny thanks

 
I did maybe a dozen different configurations of the dynamat, and this configuration gave me the best sound.  As you can see it a circular pattern, with three pieces on the outer edges in a triangular configuration.
 
As I said everything improved...bass, midrange, treble got smoother and much less harsh/sibilant, and imaging/instrument separation is more precise.  Resolution/detail increased allowing me to hear deeper into the music, since the treble intensity was reduced.  The sound is "meatier" to me, more full and even more euphonic.  Basically it became a T90 on streroids.
 
I took my modded T90 to a friends' recently to audition some TOTL gear, including the HD800/800S.  I preferred my T90 by far, and my friend even said he was very impressed with the sound.
 
For reference I use a Schiit Jotunheim amp, and Schiit Modi multibit DAC.  But I found the T90 mod sounded much improved even on a laptop's HP out. 
 
Without trying to delve into hyperbole, this is one of the best upgrades I've ever had, and it cost me nothing (someone mailed me some extra dynamat they had lying around).
 
Everyone has different taste, so it may not please everyone, some may find it too aggressive or not like the change in sound, but for me I'm almost to the point of never wanting to upgrade to another headphone again, even after hearing what is supposed to be the best dynamic driver HP on the market (HD800/800S).  The T90 is an amazing HP, but damping the cups made it even better.
 
You can probably go to your local car audio store and ask them for a small sheet of it for no charge, since they supposedly sell them in large bulk.  Otherwise you can buy it online.

 

[samtheman]

   
I did maybe a dozen different configurations of the dynamat, and this configuration gave me the best sound.  As you can see it a circular pattern, with three pieces on the outer edges in a triangular configuration.
 
As I said everything improved...bass, midrange, treble got smoother and much less harsh/sibilant, and imaging/instrument separation is more precise.  Resolution/detail increased allowing me to hear deeper into the music, since the treble intensity was reduced.  The sound is "meatier" to me, more full and even more euphonic.  Basically it became a T90 on streroids.
 
I took my modded T90 to a friends' recently to audition some TOTL gear, including the HD800/800S.  I preferred my T90 by far, and my friend even said he was very impressed with the sound.
 
For reference I use a Schiit Jotunheim amp, and Schiit Modi multibit DAC.  But I found the T90 mod sounded much improved even on a laptop's HP out. 
 
Without trying to delve into hyperbole, this is one of the best upgrades I've ever had, and it cost me nothing (someone mailed me some extra dynamat they had lying around).
 
Everyone has different taste, so it may not please everyone, some may find it too aggressive or not like the change in sound, but for me I'm almost to the point of never wanting to upgrade to another headphone again, even after hearing what is supposed to be the best dynamic driver HP on the market (HD800/800S).  The T90 is an amazing HP, but damping the cups made it even better.
 
You can probably go to your local car audio store and ask them for a small sheet of it for no charge, since they supposedly sell them in large bulk.  Otherwise you can buy it online.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate the pictures and taking the time to post the details of the Mod. I will be ordering some Dynamat and giving the it a try.

 

[Sona]

What a ******** omg

 

[biosailor]

   
I did maybe a dozen different configurations of the dynamat, and this configuration gave me the best sound.  As you can see it a circular pattern, with three pieces on the outer edges in a triangular configuration.
 
As I said everything improved...bass, midrange, treble got smoother and much less harsh/sibilant, and imaging/instrument separation is more precise.  Resolution/detail increased allowing me to hear deeper into the music, since the treble intensity was reduced.  The sound is "meatier" to me, more full and even more euphonic.  Basically it became a T90 on streroids.
 
I took my modded T90 to a friends' recently to audition some TOTL gear, including the HD800/800S.  I preferred my T90 by far, and my friend even said he was very impressed with the sound.
 
For reference I use a Schiit Jotunheim amp, and Schiit Modi multibit DAC.  But I found the T90 mod sounded much improved even on a laptop's HP out. 
 
Without trying to delve into hyperbole, this is one of the best upgrades I've ever had, and it cost me nothing (someone mailed me some extra dynamat they had lying around).
 
Everyone has different taste, so it may not please everyone, some may find it too aggressive or not like the change in sound, but for me I'm almost to the point of never wanting to upgrade to another headphone again, even after hearing what is supposed to be the best dynamic driver HP on the market (HD800/800S).  The T90 is an amazing HP, but damping the cups made it even better.
 
You can probably go to your local car audio store and ask them for a small sheet of it for no charge, since they supposedly sell them in large bulk.  Otherwise you can buy it online.

The mod looks really great! Very interesting! A dumb question, I hope you forgive me (!): How do you fix the dynamat onto the headphone. Do you glue them onto the surface or do you pin them down?

 

[ColtMrFire]

The mod looks really great! Very interesting! A dumb question, I hope you forgive me (!): How do you fix the dynamat onto the headphone. Do you glue them onto the surface or do you pin them down?

The dynamat itself is adhesive, it will stick by itself. Jusy apply a little pressure. You can remove and restick as many times as you like!

 

[biosailor]

The dynamat itself is adhesive, it will stick by itself. Jusy apply a little pressure. You can remove and restick as many times as you like!

Super, thanks a lot!

 

[ColtMrFire]

It does not totally eliminate the treble issue, but I find it does a great job in reducing it.

 

[Amarphael]

I've taken a shot with this thing, Part of a repair operation i had to to take after i knocked my pair on the floor and the driver popped rtight off it's assembly (fortunately no wire issues... phew) and i had to reglue it back in. So this is my take:
 


 
I have prior experience modding headphones with dynamat, starting from the famous "markl world's best headphone" (Denon D5000) to CAL! to Ultrasone PRO900. You might notice a common denominator with all these cans: A fat bottom! (CAL less so). Well that's why it worked to various degrees, It deadned bass response to increase overall clarity. And it is exactly what it does in the T90, It simply decreases bass heft and that nice body the T90 possess in the mids thus making the sound harder and 'flatter', although might be the treble indeed loses a couple of db's, no sure. There's an increases sense of clarity but paradoxically it is less refined and lacking in body.
 
So heartily NOT recommended, I'm sorry to rain on the parade, I just don't think dynamat is the right tool for the job in this case.

 

[ColtMrFire]

  I've taken a shot with this thing, Part of a repair operation i had to to take after i knocked my pair on the floor and the driver popped rtight off it's assembly (fortunately no wire issues... phew) and i had to reglue it back in. So this is my take:
 


 
I have prior experience modding headphones with dynamat, starting from the famous "markl world's best headphone" (Denon D5000) to CAL! to Ultrasone PRO900. You might notice a common denominator with all these cans: A fat bottom! (CAL less so). Well that's why it worked to various degrees, It deadned bass response to increase overall clarity. And it is exactly what it does in the T90, It simply decreases bass heft and that nice body the T90 possess in the mids thus making the sound harder and 'flatter', although might be the treble indeed loses a couple of db's, no sure. There's an increases sense of clarity but paradoxically it is less refined and lacking in body.
 
So heartily NOT recommended, I'm sorry to rain on the parade, I just don't think dynamat is the right tool for the job in this case.

​Interesting, but not surprising.  Not all mods do it for all people, as my previous warning stated.  Though I did not experience a deadening of bass, but bass increased slightly without losing definition to me.  When I removed the dynamat (I always remove mods after a while to hear the difference my brain has gotten used to), the T90 sounded thin and brighter with LESS body (relatively speaking), pretty unappealing and I had no desire to go back.  The dynamat seems to darken the signature slightly (as I also found on the HD650 dynamat mod) so it is not as bright, a plus in my book.
 
It's also VERY important to realize one's chain is going to affect the headphones.  Especially the amp and DAC.  Different equipment is going to alter headphones in different ways, and modding them is going to probably bring out more differences.  It's also worth mentioning I have modded my entire system for vibration isolation (CD player, DAC, power conditioner), which already altered the sound in an extremely positive way, so it's another difference my system has.  Another thing I stupidly forgot to mention was that I removed the ear foam so the driver is exposed, and placed a smaller circular piece of foam over the driver, again altering the sound in a positive way IMO.  This combined with the mod combined with my chain combined with the fact that everyone's ear canals are different may be a different sound than one hears in their own experiment.  I did not totally like the dynamat mod on the HD650, but lots of people raved about it.
 
I let someone else hear my mod and he had positive things to say.  Anyone curious about it should give it a go (and maybe audition it for a few days before coming to any conclusions, unless you can't stand the mod), as there are worse ways to spend a few bucks, and you can always remove it.  Thanks for sharing.

 

[ColtMrFire]

May I also suggest anyone interested try different configurations of the dynamat.  The sound changes noticeably depending on how much, how little and in which positions the dynamat is applied.  I tried over a dozen and what I ended up with suited my own ears.  Start out with just a small amount in a position you choose, note the changes, then continue to experiment with different amounts in different configurations... this is probably the wisest way to attempt any mod, as it allows you to notice changes, without locking yourself into a final sound.  Less dynamat may be needed, or even more, and putting it in different spots can make a difference. 

 

[Amarphael]

Dynamat is a damping material so by definition it deadens vibrations. I suspect it's probably part of the acoustic philosophy of Tesla drivers- No damping applied so the housing would add some harmonics of it's own
 
There's no way a headphone would sound with fuller body WITH dynamat applied, It contrary to it's function- To cancel surrounding vibrations. In the T90, IMO, these play a role in the final sound character, which is expressed in a slight textured warmth to the sound. With the dynamat it's gone. No headphone i have treated with dynamat had more bass afterwards .Better controlled, yes, but not bass-ier per se.  
 
Btw, My chain leans heavily towards the neutral school, No added warmth from upstream.

 

[ColtMrFire]

  Dynamat is a damping material so by definition it deadens vibrations. I suspect it's probably part of the acoustic philosophy of Tesla drivers- No damping applied so the housing would add some harmonics of it's own
 
There's no way a headphone would sound with fuller body WITH dynamat applied, It contrary to it's function- To cancel surrounding vibrations. In the T90, IMO, these play a role in the final sound character, which is expressed in a slight textured warmth to the sound. With the dynamat it's gone. No headphone i have treated with dynamat had more bass afterwards .Better controlled, yes, but not bass-ier per se.  
 
Btw, My chain leans heavily towards the neutral school, No added warmth from upstream.

 
Hmmm, "slight textured warmth to the sound".  Yes I still hear that, and with slightly added clarity and slightly less treble harshness.  Which is even more pronounced with my equipment mods, which can be found here for anyone interested:  http://www.head-fi.org/t/693686/great-bargain-isolation-discovery/30#post_12947705
 
As many people know, most headphone manufacturers intend for their headphone material to sound a certain way, yet the mod community continues altering them to positive effect (with dynamat being used extensively), and HP companies keep releasing alternative versions of headphones (HD800S, T1 gen2, that new Beyer Amiron, which is supposed to address the flaws of the T90).  So these kinds of mods are fairly commonplace.  Of course one man's "deadening" could sound entirely different to someone else.  Bass still has texture, and I am hearing even more nuance to it, again, in tune with my equipment mods.  YMMV, IMO, etc etc... let's not get into a pissing match about who's wrong or right (there's no such thing in audio).  My point is, what you're hearing may be different from what I'm hearing, or it may be the same and I just prefer it where you don't.  Nothing wrong with that!  Some hate the T90 with a passion outright, some love it.  Who's right?  Nobody.  The mod didn't work for you, it's fun to experiment though.
 
If this proves anything, it is good for people to temper their expectations as a general rule.

 

[Amarphael]

   
  Of course one man's "deadening" could sound entirely different to someone else. 

 
I don't believe that to be true actually, nor the "IMO, YMMV, etc. to everything audio related" approach in large. Of course there are diffrences with personal HRTF, subjective signature preference and equipment's sonic traits. But still some things are ought to be fundemantally objective like opening a port in an acoustic chamber is by definition done to increase bass body by augmenting the net bass response with the backwave output, then adding an absoprtive materail like dynamat is ought to do the opposite, to decrease non-fundamental harmonics which are additive to the initial bass response.  Please note that, to to best of my knowledge, all headphones modded with dynamat are of the closed back (Or "semi-closed" Denons), bass-heavy variety, which is supposedly consistent with the material's original use in car enclosures. The new beyer housesound is indeed made to address the more popular tuning of " the warmer the better" and it will be interesting to see if they have introduced some damping scheme with the Amiron. I bet it won't be based on dynamat thpugh.  
 
Anyway, I'm willing to other T90 owners some dynamat to conclude for themselves. If anyone's interested please contact by PM. Be warned, this thing does leave marks, unless you leave in a fridge (No offense meant to all very-northern-hemisphere residents )