Thank you!
I did send a PM to BenF with the pix.
Yaxi look indeed very similar. It would also fit to the sound comparision.
If only there would be any clear sign (except for the unusual inner oval shape and bigger distance to the ear in the back)
zolkies mod is right here at page 1.
I know this was an old quote. I'm currently using a set of Dekoni THX00 pads on a used TH900 I just bought while waiting for my official Fostex replacement pads to come in. The TH900's came with some generic LCD looking Chinese pads- very thick and very unsatisfactory for the sound of the 900. Horrible piercing treble. I've been playing with different pads from my stash and none had seemed to work well with them till I tried the Dekoni THX00 Sheepskin. Both with and without the attenuation rings, the piercing treble is well-controlled and there is great sounding bass. I think the bass is a bit hotter without the attenuation rings but the whole sound is more distinct with less bass bleedover with the rings in. I'm looking forward to comparing once I get the correct stock pads.
I'm playing my sibilance torture test track Thomas Dolby's Hyperactive and the treble is well-controlled but present. I'm glad this wasn't my first rodeo with Fostex and the TH900 or I probably would have immediately put them back up for sale with the thick pleather pads. Luckily, I know how the 900 can sound, so I knew what I was aiming for.
Has anybody compared the Dekoni Hybrid pads to either the stock ones or the Dekoni Sheepskin pads?
I use the Sheepskin pads, but I can hear a less dominant bass which you can also see in the measurements from Dekoni.
Well, I got the AHG Fenestrated Leather pads for the TH900 (alleged on other forums to be the wholesale Omni/Ori pads and there was *much less* bass than my THX00 Dekoni Sheepskin Leather pads. I'm not sure why this is the case. I even tried the Dekoni Attenuation Rings for the THX00 and still got much less bass and spiky treble. The AHG Pads have a wider opening more of an oval so they should resemble more the stock pads. They are thicker than the Dekoni THX00 and maybe the extra pad material on the Dekoni that match the opening on the standard THX00 pads which is has a rectangle that covers part of the driver make the bass concentrated when it comes out. I'm not sure.
I do have the Lawton pads pictured above. Didn't like them. Then I modded them and still didn't like them. None of the Lawton mods worked out for me (beware, other people have opposite experience, so may be a personal match thing). Same story with Dekoni pads, Eikos pads, and a lot of other pads.
At the moment I can recommend 2 "best" solutions that I tried and worked (and measured well) for me:
- modding the original TH900 ear pads with carbon foam as described in this thread. Destructive mod and the pads won't last for long (since they are protein leather).
- Get Stax 007 (thicker) or 009 (slightly better but more shallow) ear pads and do this mod on them. They will last for many years, so while expensive, on the long run they are the cheapest and easiest solution. Also the best sounding one.
- Get Stax 007 (thicker) or 009 (slightly better but more shallow) ear pads and do this mod on them. They will last for many years, so while expensive, on the long run they are the cheapest and easiest solution. Also the best sounding one.
@zolkis: Thank you so much for sharing your experience and instruction of how to mod the TH900!
After some ordering procedure to get the recommended tools and material to Germany, this weekend I finally managed to give it a try.
Your step by step guide worked like a charm and now I have my first set of modded pads.
Since I have more than one pair of TH900s I was able to afterwards do an extensive AB testing session.
What can I say. All genres are sounding way better now. The difference is way bigger then the different cables that I use or balanced vs. unbalanced.
It basically turned the (half)closed TH900 into open ones. And the stage, openness and details improved a lot. The musicality luckily didn't suffer, but maybe even got a bit better. I am missing nothing in comparision to the original stock pads!
For my first try I used worn out old TH900 pads. Now I will buy a new pair and do the same. In the picture below you can see, that I went into mass production already
At some later point in time I will try modding the my Lawton shepskin angled pads and the Dekoni Elite Velour with the active charcoal foam. They are otherwise useless anyways since your mod is way better.
Let me add two tips to the pictures above in case you also want to try:.
1. Carefully vacuum the cut active coal pieces before you reassemble. Otherwise, there are still a lot of tiny leftover black pieces in the foam from cutting that will fall out later. They might even get on the membrane, since some are small enough to pass the grill. I guess just shaking them out might also do.
2. I found, that trimming the active coal foam works the best with nail scissors
Where to get the mod material for zolkies mod in the EU?
Since I have been asked, where to get the ingredients in Germany (which would most likely then also work for the rest of the EU) there you go: Circle Cutter
The cutters are easy to get from any Amazon location. I took the cheapest one and it did the job. Foam:
I went to Amazon UK to order the active coal foam. The german account data also works for the UK and you pay just a little more for shipping https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005AK9FQ0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I took 25mm, since it lets me model one pad in one piece. The cutter doesn't go through this in one piece, but the rest (2-4mm) you can cut with the nail scissors. Felt:
The felt I bought from this company: Meaningful Crafts. This is the material and company zolkies recommended. They just changed the company name. https://meaningfulcrafts.com
Design Felt 2mm - 20x30 cm - 819 White (#MV4171.819)
They do EU-wide shipping (maybe even worldwide)
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