[Trae]

Like the title says, I'm going to be putting AD2000 drivers in my AD900 headphones. Why, you may ask? Because I purchased the drivers for $94 directly from Audio Technica, and I don't want to dish out $600 for a pair of headphones.
 
Here's some pics right now of my problem. Any ideas on what I can wedge between the driver and the ring holding the driver in place?  Got it. I just got some of my soldering wire (two pieces), wrapped it around the groove in the driver so it makes a ring, and clamped it in place. If anybody is going to replicate this, make sure that if you use solder, you have tape around the place where the PCB is. When the solder ring touches the PCB, it shorts the connection.
 
 

Spoiler: Pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
UPDATE: 2/17/12
 
I modified the grill on the AD2000 driver. When the bass hit at around 40Hz and below, the membrane had a tendency of hitting the grill. So, I took it off and pushed it outwards. There's also some pics of the ring I made to make the driver thicker. 

Spoiler: Pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the thickness of my earpads with the cotton underneath, the driver grill doesn't even touch my ears, and the piece I put on there just improves the comfort. 
 
Oh, and for you guys that want to replicate this mod, the three screws holding the driver in place are those triangular screws that are a bit** to get out. I stripped mine trying to take the drivers out. What I did was I took the screws from my Pro700MKII and substituted them. Works perfectly.
 
If you guys are interested in the pre-existing mods that I did to my headphones, check out my Audio Technica AD900 Bass Mod thread.  
 
UPDATE 3/5/2013
 
 

Spoiler: Pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EDIT: Read this post for more information on the grill modification. 

 

[Trae]

Impressions: 3/1/12
 
At the time of posting, I only have one driver installed, so the right driver is the AD900 and the left driver is the AD2000. 
 
The difference between the two drivers isn't all that much. I'll just make a quick list of the differences:
 
Bass: AD2000 goes deeper, better control, cleaner sounding, the AD900 has slightly more impact (around 1.5dB or so)in some frequencies, but it doesn't sound as clean and controlled as the AD2000. At around 50Hz-70Hz, the AD900 driver has higher spl levels, but at 40Hz-20Hz, AD2000 is more present. The bass sounds filtered compared to the AD2000, and it has a weird type of reverberation that's hollow sounding compared to the cleaner, more proper AD2000.
 
UPDATE: I modified the grill on the AD2000 driver, allowing it to fluctuate more freely, and the bass doesn't hit the grill, and it sounds cleaner in the frequencies that had a tendency of making the membrane hit the grill.
 
Mids: The mids on the AD2000 are actually a bit more laid back and accurate. The AD900's mids are pretty up front (not like uping the dB in the midrange frequencies, but like it's placed closer to your ears) and aggressive, but it can sometimes have a blare in some of the songs I listen to (around 300-500Hz). The AD2000 has the same blare, but it's better controlled and less invasive. 
 
Treble: About the same between the two, with the AD900 being a touch brighter. The AD2000 sounds more extended and refined. When I listen to a song with a lot of bass and treble, the frequencies are separated better on the AD2000 than the AD900. 
 
Soundstage: Basically the same. The AD2000 has more depth and has better placement compared to the AD900. 
 
So really, the AD2000 is just a more refined sounding AD900. I'm willing to bet it's because of the larger magnet behind the membrane and the superior voice coil. It's definitely worth the $94 I paid for them. 
 
Problem with the AD2000: The grill is very close to the diaphragm membrane, so when a loud bass note hits, it's rattling on the inside of the grill. The rattling only happens when the headphones aren't on my head. The earpads I put on here really give you a good seal, so the driver is relying on that air-tight seal in order to create back-pressure that disallows the diaphragm membrane from vibrating against the grill. So, in the future, I'm probably going to swap the grill out with the AD900's grill. Right now I don't want to fool with it because it only happens on loud volumes and when the headphones aren't on my head. 
 
^ UPDATE: Check OP. 
 
I'm having some problems uploading more pics, so I'll update this sometime tomorrow. Now, onto the left side!  Updated OP. 

 

[ourfpshero]

could this be done to an ad500 ? could make a 150$ ad2000 !

 

[Trae]

Possibly. Both of them have a 53mm driver. You'll have to figure out how to put them in place like I did, though. 
 
Anyways, the other driver is defective, so I'm going to have to get it replaced. This won't see updating until I get another driver. 

 

[stevenswall]

Is it possibly to manually tilt the AD900 driver? It looks like you've managed to get a driver separate from the internal suspension assembly. How do you get it to sit in place? (I presume it's glue holding it in place... Could I soften or carve that out somehow and tilt it, then glue it back in?)

 

[Simcon]

I'm definitely going to follow this project and see how it develops, will you have a possibility to compare your getto AD2000 to a real one? Would be interesting to see what differences there will be .

 

[Trae]

Update. Check the two posts again, and I've uploaded some more pictures for you guys. Now, I just have to wait until tomorrow so I can get a reply from AT's parts division about my defective driver. If they ship out another one on Monday, I'm probably not going to get it until Wednesday, so that's probably the day I'm going to complete this mod. 
 

Is it possibly to manually tilt the AD900 driver? It looks like you've managed to get a driver separate from the internal suspension assembly. How do you get it to sit in place? (I presume it's glue holding it in place... Could I soften or carve that out somehow and tilt it, then glue it back in?)
 

I don't think so because the enclosure itself it tilted (back side is risen while the front is recessed), while the driver remains flat. How the driver sits into place is there is a little lip inside the headphone enclosure that the driver sits on, so it doesn't pass through the hole. You could possibly tilt the driver by putting something on top of that lip and then resting the driver on that, but you would most likely create gaps for the sound to leak out. So, if you want tilted drivers, then you may want to look at the AD700, but you're going to have to devise something to wedge in between the backside of the driver and the ring screwing it into place because, as the pics show, this driver is pretty thin. 

 

[Trae]

Quote:

I'm definitely going to follow this project and see how it develops, will you have a possibility to compare your getto AD2000 to a real one? Would be interesting to see what differences there will be

.

Well, if someone would like me to demo them for a day or two, then it's possible. I'm going to the Winson-Salem/Triad meet on either April 20th or the 27th, so maybe someone can bring in a 2000 to compare. 

 

[Trae]

Small update on my driver problem. I have to mail out the defective unit for it to be replaced, so the completion of this mod will be postponed until Friday or Saturday or Monday. Usually they just mail the drivers to me (they mailed me 2 AD900 drivers without question in the past). Maybe they don't trust me or something...idk. 

 

[PXSS]

Quote:

Small update on my driver problem. I have to mail out the defective unit for it to be replaced, so the completion of this mod will be postponed until Friday or Saturday or Monday. Usually they just mail the drivers to me (they mailed me 2 AD900 drivers without question in the past). Maybe they don't trust me or something...idk. 

Maybe they saw this thread 

 

[Trae]

Possibly. I told them that the AD2000 driver was defective, and they wanted me to bring in the whole headphone for service. I told them that my headphones didn't need servicing, that the driver itself only needed to be replaced, and about what I was doing to my AD900s. After that, they said that I could mail out the driver to be replaced. I would have mailed it out today, but Prez day decided to pop without my consent 

 So, Monday is probably going to be the day I finish this, if the driver I get back is functional.
 
I remember having this problem with AT's parts division before. I sent in my AD900s (before this mod) because the left channel blew and the right channel was making a popping sound. They only replaced the left channel. I had to contact them again, and they mailed me an AD900 driver. Then, the left side started making popping sounds again. So, I contacted them, and they mailed out another driver for me. Despite the hit-miss nature of these drivers (maybe they're refurbs ore something), AT really has some good support when it comes to this stuff, so I'd rather wait out an extra week knowing that I'm getting a functional driver instead of going through that again. So, stay tuned 

 

[tattare]

Have you asked AT about headband parts?  It would be interesting to see if you can order all the parts to build your own like the sennheisers.

 

[Trae]

No, but they should be able to replace the headband. 

 

[Trae]

Update. My driver should be coming in tomorrow. 

 

[Trae]

The driver they sent me is defective, so it's going to be a while until I get this straight.