[putente]

Quote:

 
That's the part I'm not quite sure about yet. I think it's enhanced. The other changes were more noticeable, but I'm waiting for a second pair so I can compare the changes directly and help me fine tune them. Next thing is to find out if they can be recabled 

 
 
Yes, recabling them would make these possibly the "perfect" IEM (or as close to that as it gets)! I already see myself ordering another pair to to try that foam mod (and I haven't even got the pair I ordered last week)... 

 

[ClieOS]

I went ahead and removed the filter of the MH1C. With a needle I gently pulled out the white filter. Behind the filter there's a long piece of foam attached.
I cut of the white filter and a little part of the black foam and placed the remaining foam back in the nozzle. 

This modification brings the mids a bit more forward and gives vocals a tonality closer to the RE262. Soundstage is increased and also more treble presence. Bass impact is affected as well.  I like the MH1C it even better this way. Without any foam in the nozzle the treble can sound a bit harsh.  So the MH1C can this way be tuned towards, maybe, a more preferred sound (individual take, of course) by using different amount of foam or using different types of foam/density.  

Thanks for the report.

 

[Jupiterknight]

Thanks for introducing the MH1/C.

 

[putente]

Quote:

Thanks for introducing the MH1/C.

 
 
Indeed! We all should definitely give some kind of Head-Fi award to ClieOS for this find! It wasn't his first, and hopefully not his last... 

 

[NuckinFutz]

I went ahead and removed the filter of the MH1C. With a needle I gently pulled out the white filter. Behind the filter there's a long piece of foam attached.
I cut of the white filter and a little part of the black foam and placed the remaining foam back in the nozzle. 

This modification brings the mids a bit more forward and gives vocals a tonality closer to the RE262. Soundstage is increased and also more treble presence. Bass impact is affected as well.  I like the MH1C it even better this way. Without any foam in the nozzle the treble can sound a bit harsh.  So the MH1C can this way be tuned towards, maybe, a more preferred sound (individual take, of course) by using different amount of foam or using different types of foam/density.  

Do they also become louder with the mod and louder still without the foam altogether?

Pretty sure this is why they are harder to drive than most, due to the filter tuning - much in the same way the Phonak's tune the sound to a bass bias a you go grey>black>green, which also causes an attenuation.

 

[Jupiterknight]

Quote:

Do they also become louder with the mod and louder still without the foam altogether?
Pretty sure this is why they are harder to drive than most, due to the filter tuning - much in the same way the Phonak's tune the sound to a bass bias a you go grey>black>green, which also causes an attenuation.

 
They do become louder with the modification and of course even louder without any foam.
There's actually quite a lot of foam in the nozzle, relatively speaking.
 
All part of Sony's tuning/attenuation to achieve the stock MH1 sound. Which is excellent on its own, but the MH1 is cheap enough to play around with and try to achieve an improvement that many suit personal preferences better.

 

[NuckinFutz]

They do become louder with the modification and of course even louder without any foam.
There's actually quite a lot of foam in the nozzle, relatively speaking.

All part of Sony's tuning/attenuation to achieve the stock MH1 sound. Which is excellent on its own, but the MH1 is cheap enough to play around with and try to achieve an improvement that many suit personal preferences better.

Thanks, exactly what I thought and explains why the specs don't equate to the output levels. Still, got them fed with enough power now and that all that counts to enjoy their sweet sound at the (probably) stupid levels I listen to music at.

 

[Jupiterknight]

Quote:

Thanks, exactly what I thought and explains why the specs don't equate to the output levels. Still, got them fed with enough power now and that all that counts to enjoy their sweet sound at the (probably) stupid levels I listen to music at.

 
 I think that you're right about that the specs. doesn't match the volume output, it is almost up there with the RE262.

 

[yalper]

I tried different type of foam for EX300 3 weeks ago. It improved soundstage and depth, made sound more 3d.  Mid and treble quality vastly improved
It was an experiment for me, want to try the same for MH1C soon. 

 

[atomikn00b]

Quote:

 
They do become louder with the modification and of course even louder without any foam.
There's actually quite a lot of foam in the nozzle, relatively speaking.
 
All part of Sony's tuning/attenuation to achieve the stock MH1 sound. Which is excellent on its own, but the MH1 is cheap enough to play around with and try to achieve an improvement that many suit personal preferences better.

what were the changes in the bass/subbass from the mod?

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Please guys... if you find there's not enough treble on the MH1C just EQ it up. The sound tuning with the filter and foam on these phones is impeccable and it just saddens me to see someone mutilate them like this. Without the filter and foam the treble will be a spikey mess, sibilance will shoot through the roof. If you want more treble just EQ it up. And don't tell me you're actually running out of volume on these? Can't imagine what you guys would do to make an Ety MC5 play loud enough then...

Lemme repost my impressions here for reference:

Dear Sead,

Just bought a pair of MH1C and I must say. Frequency response wise these are the most impeccably engineered pair of phones I've ever heard. Even besting the Etymotic MC5 and ER-4P. Here's the FR curve I came up for them plugged in my ear with small tips:


I did not refer to the graph you provided when making the FR curve. I play a loudness-compensated sine sweep using Sinegen through the phones in my ears and adjust levels in a parametric EQ until I hear a flat frequency response. The result inverted is the FR curve shown here.

These only have one shallow plateau in the FR to my ears. Even the etys with its much vaunted accuracy tuning had a big 10dB spike between 7 and 8kHz whatever tips I use. With these I just put on the small stock tips and BAM.

Here you can find a list of ear-tested FR for lots of other cheap IEMs. Nothing comes close to your jewels.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/633102/budget-iems-review-3rd-budget-review-philips-she3580-posted
I didn't believe it would be possible to design IEMs that can play my music without parametric EQ with high quality, your design just shattered my preconception.

 

[kova4a]

Quote:

Please guys... if you find there's not enough treble on the MH1C just EQ it up. The sound tuning with the filter and foam on these phones is impeccable and it just saddens me to see someone mutilate them like this. Without the filter and foam the treble will be a spikey mess, sibilance will shoot through the roof. If you want more treble just EQ it up. And don't tell me you're actually running out of volume on these? Can't imagine what you guys would do to make an Ety MC5 play loud enough then...
Lemme repost my impressions here for reference:

I wouldn't call it impeccable - the bass is a little too boosted and the treble is a little too smooth. Also apparently the issues with condensation and cold weather were the reasons for adding that filter, so the final sound might not be exactly what the engineers had in mind in the beginning. Also, you miss one major point - most people will be using the mh1c with phones and DAPs that lack parametric eq and let alone the comprehensive eq options of our desktop rigs

 

[Joe Bloggs]

I wouldn't call it impeccable - the bass is a little too boosted and the treble is a little too smooth. Also apparently the issues with condensation and cold weather were the reasons for adding that filter, so the final sound might not be exactly what the engineers had in mind in the beginning. Also, you miss one major point - most people will be using the mh1c with phones and DAPs that lack parametric eq and let alone the comprehensive eq options of our desktop rigs

Where did you read about this condensation thing? Link?

No need for parametric eq with these, just bass and treble tone controls would be enough, let alone the 10-band EQs usually available on mobile players.

 

[kova4a]

Quote:

Where did you read about this condensation thing? Link?
No need for parametric eq with these, just bass and treble tone controls would be enough, let alone the 10-band EQs usually available on mobile players.

Well, ClieOS mentioned it a couple of times and that's why he said that if you want to mod the mh1c it can go without the foam but not without the filter, especially if the weather is cold. Apparently there was issues with that during the manufacturing stages and they had to find a way to deal with it and so the filter came into play. And no, not all DAPs have eq bands, so people like me who use DAPs like colorfly c3 ot the hisound rocoo/studio DAPs only have presets. I think of it more like me fine tuning the mh1c to my liking - IMO the sony engineers kinda went safe with the sound signature of the mh1 and that's why the bass is a little bit boosted and the highs are too smooth, so more people can enjoy it.

 

[ClieOS]

HTC RC-E190, Samsung EHS64# and Sony MH750 added.
 

---

 

Bass 23.    HTC RC-E190 (link)
Very warm, decently big bass with a very smooth treble, similar performance to a-JAYS two. What it does better than a-JAYS two is better air and detail, but what it doesn’t compare as well is its blander mid range.
Pro: Build quality.
Con: Design.
 

Balanced 20.    Samsung EHS64# (link)
Warm and lively with a very mild U-shaped sound. Big hitting bass, decent spaced mid that isn’t too sweet or forward, crisp treble that is just a tiny bit grainy. Decent soundstage. Not too bad sounding for a stock earphone free with smartphone.
Pro: None
Con: Could use a better cable.
 

Warm+Sweet 41.    Sony MH750 (link)
Same tuning as MH1, sharing an almost identical FR curve that is warm and sweet, though MH750 does sound a tiny bit darker. The overall refinement, air, soundstage, layer, position and resolution are however not as good on the MH750. A step down of the same sound basically. Soundstage is a little below average. Like EHS64#, not too shabby as free stock earphone for smartphone.
Pro: None.
Con: Cable could be better.