[nicholars]

Call me a "cheapskate" here if you like, but I was thinking, would it be possible to do the driver damping mod, just using a generic material and cutting it out myself? I appreciate that the Lawton mod is already cut out for you, I assume the pieces are precisely cut to the right sizes and also not sure what his "advanced space age material" is, also I am sure it is the easiest and possibly best way to do this, but I was thinking for very little cost, I could probably get a sheet of acoustic damping material and do it myself? Or is this a bad idea?

 

[theangelboy]

Call me a "cheapskate" here if you like, but I was thinking, would it be possible to do the driver damping mod, just using a generic material and cutting it out myself? I appreciate that the Lawton mod is already cut out for you, I assume the pieces are precisely cut to the right sizes and also not sure what his "advanced space age material" is, also I am sure it is the easiest and possibly best way to do this, but I was thinking for very little cost, I could probably get a sheet of acoustic damping material and do it myself? Or is this a bad idea?

Wanting to save money makes sense. I get it. But I don't know if you can find a material that will function in all the same ways as the Lawton stuff for a reasonable price. It's thin, ultra dense, flexible, and has a textured outer finish to reduce reflections as much as possible. The adhesive backing also holds firmly but comes off cleanly (so it can be adjusted if you mess up). It's not like any other dampening material that I'm familiar with.

Dynamat, for instance, is dense but very reflective and is gummy and hard to cut accurately in my experience. Now I'm the first to admit that I'm not an expert in this stuff so someone with the knowledge probably knows of something that's better suited but I, personally, don't know of any materials that fit the bill. But the biggest reason to get the Lawton stuff is you know it won't make it sound worse. I have yet to find someone who says that. But with some other material... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the end of the day I'm pretty lazy when it comes to mods. If someone already put in the work and testing to figure out if it sounds good, I will do it that way 9/10 times to save myself the effort, even if it costs more. The reason I'm saying this is so it's clear where my opinion is coming from. But if everyone was like me, people like Lawton probably wouldn't exist, so don't be afraid to chart your own course.

Thats just my 2¢.

 

[nicholars]

Yes I would probably get the Lawton kit, but with shipping and taxes to the Uk it is not so cheap, although if it would be extremely difficult to do this without the kit, then obviously the kit would be the better option. I saw someone using medical tape on the TH900 and apparently that was good for the TH900, not sure if this would have the same effect on the X00.

As you said with the Lawton you know it is already tested and should be an improvement, with other materials this is not guaranteed. Overall yes the Lawton kit is quite expensive for what it is, but if it really improves the sound quality then that would probably be worth it, also not sure that doing it myself would be as simple as it sounds and also no idea what material to use for it.

 

[Pahani]

Call me a "cheapskate" here if you like, but I was thinking, would it be possible to do the driver damping mod, just using a generic material and cutting it out myself? I appreciate that the Lawton mod is already cut out for you, I assume the pieces are precisely cut to the right sizes and also not sure what his "advanced space age material" is, also I am sure it is the easiest and possibly best way to do this, but I was thinking for very little cost, I could probably get a sheet of acoustic damping material and do it myself? Or is this a bad idea?

Wanting to save money makes sense. I get it. But I don't know if you can find a material that will function in all the same ways as the Lawton stuff for a reasonable price. It's thin, ultra dense, flexible, and has a textured outer finish to reduce reflections as much as possible. The adhesive backing also holds firmly but comes off cleanly (so it can be adjusted if you mess up). It's not like any other dampening material that I'm familiar with.

Dynamat, for instance, is dense but very reflective and is gummy and hard to cut accurately in my experience. Now I'm the first to admit that I'm not an expert in this stuff so someone with the knowledge probably knows of something that's better suited but I, personally, don't know of any materials that fit the bill. But the biggest reason to get the Lawton stuff is you know it won't make it sound worse. I have yet to find someone who says that. But with some other material... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

At the end of the day I'm pretty lazy when it comes to mods. If someone already put in the work and testing to figure out if it sounds good, I will do it that way 9/10 times to save myself the effort, even if it costs more. The reason I'm saying this is so it's clear where my opinion is coming from. But if everyone was like me, people like Lawton probably wouldn't exist, so don't be afraid to chart your own course.

Thats just my 2¢.

Having done the Lawton mod, but just going from memory.....I agree, Dynamat is the closest I could come to it from my (very limited) experience; but at the same time, no, it isn't that. I'd have no idea where you could find the same material.

 

[theangelboy]

Yes I would probably get the Lawton kit, but with shipping and taxes to the Uk it is not so cheap, although if it would be extremely difficult to do this without the kit, then obviously the kit would be the better option. I saw someone using medical tape on the TH900 and apparently that was good for the TH900, not sure if this would have the same effect on the X00.

As you said with the Lawton you know it is already tested and should be an improvement, with other materials this is not guaranteed. Overall yes the Lawton kit is quite expensive for what it is, but if it really improves the sound quality then that would probably be worth it, also not sure that doing it myself would be as simple as it sounds and also no idea what material to use for it.

After searching around this was the closest stuff I could find, visually, to the Lawton stuff, although it's still different. This Vriba Block has a smooth outer surface from what I could tell for instance, but I think the general material is similar. Now the trick will be finding a small piece of something like this in the UK. Good luck!

 

[nicholars]

What about this stuff?

https://www.efoam.co.uk/Pyrosorb-cl...MIhY73tdPN4AIV77vtCh3eJwXkEAQYBCABEgLvSPD_BwE

 

[nicholars]

Also most people say not to use the cup damping, because it decreases bass. But what about if I used the cup damping, then increased the bass using EQ, would this not result in better quality bass, with the same quantity of bass as before?

Does the bass sound better quality but less quantity, or does the bass sound worse with the damping? To be honest my main issue with these headphones is certainly not the bass, it could be slightly tighter at times, but overall its very good.

The areas I would like to improve are exactly the areas that are reported to be improved with the damping, separation, clarity etc. I would also like a bigger soundstage, but overall I do not find the stock pads uncomfortable so I would probably just keep the stock pads and do the driver damping for now. I might try the Brainwavz angled sheepskin pads or possibly the Dekoni pads, as they are relatively cheap and available on amazon.

 

[theangelboy]

What about this stuff?

https://www.efoam.co.uk/Pyrosorb-cl...MIhY73tdPN4AIV77vtCh3eJwXkEAQYBCABEgLvSPD_BwE

That looks pretty different. The Lawton stuff definitely isn't foam. It's more like a super dense plastic or vinyl.

As for the bass and cup dampening, I didn't even order the cup dampening. You can just order the driver dampening for less money ($29 vs. $45). The driver dampening does tighten up the bass a bit. And my experience with closed headphones and cup dampening it usually just cuts the bass volume and doesn't necessarily improve the quality or tightness of it, although I have never played with cup dampening on the X00.

 

[nicholars]

Ah this is very good info, you just sold me on the driver damping only then for less, I did not realise that was an option, for that lower price I will happily just pay for the pre cut parts that are already confirmed to improve the sound etc. Nice one thanks.

 

[theangelboy]

Ah this is very good info, you just sold me on the driver damping only then for less, I did not realise that was an option, for that lower price I will happily just pay for the pre cut parts that are already confirmed to improve the sound etc. Nice one thanks.

Awesome! Glad I could help. I definitely want to hear your impressions once you get it.

 

[buke9]

Well got my TR-X00’s in today. Probably been 3 years since I heard the TH-X00’s and these still move air. Don’t remember them being this bright but heard them from a tube amp so that may have something to do with it but still not overly bright. Just amazed at how easy they are to drive can’t remember when the Mojo was in the yellows for volume. The pads could be a bit softer I think the foam is just a bit hard or the material is too tight. Would be nice if they were more like the Ether-C or Audeze pads. Probably won’t do anything on these for a bit but pads might be the first thing to try.

 

[Purplezorz]

With changing pads, I see a lot of people saying "I swapped for xx pads because they have the closest sound to stock pads". The stock pads are not exactly the most comfortable pads I have ever used, but I do not have problems with the comfort, the only reason I would want to swap pads would be 25% comfort, 75% sound quality.

But I keep reading that most pads sound brighter and worse than the stock pads. So is there any point in me changing pads for sound quality? Or should I do the lawton driver mod and keep the stock pads? The only pads I have read mostly positive are the ZMF Ori or Eikon, both of these are too expensive for a pair of pads. The Dekoni sheepskin and hybrid look quite good but are they an improvement in sound quality from the stock pads or just more comfortable?

Just get the Dekoni Hybrid pads and use a bit of EQ to acquire the sound you want.

The Hybrid pads are excellent IMO. They fix the seal, sweat and weight distribution issues that come with the stock pads. As you mentioned, the stock pads are nice, it wasn't until I tried the aftermarket pads I realised that they were an excellent addition to the headphone and that you can do so much better than stock. Someone mentioned that the can had lots of build issues...but to address the concern of it falling of your head at slight movements, get these pads.
I've removed and re-attached the removable cables at least a hundred times already and they're still completely fine.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, the sound changes are minimal. Which is why if you want to do something like change the soundstage, you're going to want to look at another can.

For all other sound signature changes, literally just EQ it to how you want. For ambient electronic bass music (Jazzatron - Love You Both | Congi - LOTP | Escapism Refuge - No Signal), I
added 1db of sub bass (because you can never get enough >=D),
took the bass down by -3db (because I turn it up loud and it can start distorting with heavy bass)
and the midbass by -2db (helps to smooth the transition between the bass and mids together with the reduction in the bass).
Everything 250-8K is -1db (1-2K sometimes -2db if the tracks are harsh in that region).

When I listen to other genres, I don't really use EQ because they don't have excess bass and I can just enjoy the Purplehearts for what they are - fun AF!

 

[Purplezorz]

Ok that was posted a day late :S

 

[nicholars]

I already know about EQ, I try to use it as little as possible, on the X00 I have already EQ it how I want, TBH I would recommend using a better EQ than what you are using, there are a lot of better options available, for example 31 band EQ or parametric EQ.

I have ordered the Lawton driver only mod and I am very interested to see what difference it makes, if I can get a moderate improvement in clarity, seperation etc. I would be completely happy with the X00. I might try some new pads but I will see what they are like with the stock pads and the driver mod first. I do not have a big problem with the comfort on the stock pads, but yes they could be more comfortable, however I would not want to degrade the sound in any way, so I will see how the driver mod goes first.

 

[nicholars]

Also looking at your EQ, it is completely preference and you can do what you want, but why have you made the midrange more recessed? I just leave that whole area flat and the only EQ I use is approx 3db shelf EQ about 8-10Khz, because I find the treble a bit bright / harsh otherwise.. With a small EQ on the treble I find the X00 very good, but they could be a bit "technically" better, hopefully the driver mod will improve that.