[mudihan]

So I plan to diy an pair of open phones using a Koss A250 frame. I am considering drivers under $150/pair. I know that DT880-600ohm and HD650 drivers cost around $65 each, but I have never tried these phones.  I had a pair of Yamaha YH-1 and liked the sound when I put the drivers in a MB Quart QP95 type of frame. Unfortunately, I broke one of the Yamaha drivers. (I do know that, should I use any ortho drivers, I need to separate the back wave from the front within the A250 frame.) 
 
Can anyone who has heard any of the two out of the three models compare the quality and characters of the phones' respective drivers? Also, any other driver recommendations? Thank you!

 

[mudihan]

Any comments? 

 

[Neighbour]

I have the DT880@600 and the T40RPMK2 for comparison.
 
The Auditor driver is in terms of transient response, natural timing response and texture superior without the typical self compression and dynamic limitations on a lot of dynamic and planar drivers.
Koss made the low budget frame for the ESP, but the frame itself resonate, needs stabilisation and different ear cushions  The ESP would also perform in a better way,

 

[mudihan]

Quote:

I have the DT880@600 and the T40RPMK2 for comparison.
 
The Auditor driver is in terms of transient response, natural timing response and texture superior without the typical self compression and dynamic limitations on a lot of dynamic and planar drivers.
Koss made the low budget frame for the ESP, but the frame itself resonate, needs stabilisation and different ear cushions  The ESP would also perform in a better way,

Thanks. Yeah, I didn't pick the A250 frame for its quality. It's just what I have on hand. But it does gives me enough real estate to mod. 

 

[kramer5150]

The A250 is not really the best can to use as a mod host.  In addition to the fore mentioned points, the spring lock mechanics on the ends of the headband are fragile and can break easily.
 
That being said I thoroughly enjoy my set.  They sound incredible in my grado-centric rig.  And of all my cans that would be the last one I would want to mod.  I'd butcher my RS1 and HF1 before tearing into the A250.  The A250 resides right in the middle of the RS1 - K701 in my lineup.
 
A better can to mod would be something like the JVC HARX900

 

[mudihan]

Quote:

The A250 is not really the best can to use as a mod host.  In addition to the fore mentioned points, the spring lock mechanics on the ends of the headband are fragile and can break easily.
 
That being said I thoroughly enjoy my set.  They sound incredible in my grado-centric rig.  And of all my cans that would be the last one I would want to mod.  I'd butcher my RS1 and HF1 before tearing into the A250.  The A250 resides right in the middle of the RS1 - K701 in my lineup.
 
A better can to mod would be something like the JVC HARX900

I have two sets of A250s (I was the original poster who discovered the $34 dollar sale on Ebay many years ago). But only three 3 functional drivers. I did send them to Koss (lifetime warranty), but they came back with Pro4AA drivers (I think), which are terrible . So I have to put the extra frame to use. 
 
The spring locks have been fine on my two sets, and I do like the wide open space inside the cups. Also, I am looking for big open phones (A250, HD650-ish). 

 

[DefQon]

Maybe try the T50RP ortho drivers? Fits within your budget easily. They are easy to experiment and get decent sound out of but not high end sound without special techniques that require knowledge and measurements. 

 

[mudihan]

Quote:

Maybe try the T50RP ortho drivers? Fits within your budget easily. They are easy to experiment and get decent sound out of but not high end sound without special techniques that require knowledge and measurements. 

I did already, with extensive experiments. But no, those ortho drivers do not like open frames.