Zombie_X
Headphoneus Supremus
Hi all,
For the longest time I have sought out how to properly dampen the inside of my T1. It sounds really darned good when not dampened but always had a slight bump in treble at certain frequencies that gave the headphones a resonance with the cup it's in. The back of the inside of the T1's cup has no damping at all, and the sound from the drivers reflects back at the driver and to your ear. This makes the sound somewhat edgy with a bump in the treble and an odd resonance in the mids. The bass also suffers a bit and sound a bit off at points.
I spent a lot of time tying to fix this issue. I tried adhesive speaker foam that didn't work that well at all. The sound became a bit brighter with the adhesive foam. So that was a no go. I next tried acoustic stuffing and that helped a lot but it made them sound more lifeless. It toned down the bass and subdued the treble. Not good at all, but the mids did sound better.
Finally I found some adhesive felt. Go too thick and the sound is muddy, go too thin and nothing happens at all. You have to find the right thickness and I found that 1/8" to 1/4" thickness to work best. The felt kills all the resonances, tightens the bass and gives it more power (presence) and the sound is a bit smoother. It did everything right!
WHAT IS NEEDED:
HOW TO OPEN AND DAMPEN YOUR T1:
1) Gently pull off the ear pads till they are both completely off.
2) Once the pads are off, you will see a black ring around the outer edge of each driver. This is placed to hold the drivers in place. You need to use your jewelry flat head screwdriver to pop them out. There are little gaps around each ring, so gently pry them off from those gaps.
3) Now that the rings are out you can open up the headphone and expose it's insides. The inner backside of the cup is bare so that's where the felt will go.
4) Now you have to cut the felt into the proper shape. For mine I used the circular felt pads from Super Sliders and trimmed 1/4" off the diameter of the pads. I thin cut the pads in half. Once cut in half I cut a half circle out of each of them, also making sure that the remaining ring is 1/2" wide.
5) You can now remove the adhesive backing off the pads and adhere them to the inside of the headphone. It's perfectly fine if the felt is a bit off center, just as long as you leave enough room to escape from the driver and cup.
6) Optional Step: you can cut small strips of felt and line the side walls of the T1 to further reduce resonance, but you will over dampen the headphone is too much is used. Make sure to leave the small vents on the inside uncovered.
7) Reassemble your headphones and enjoy the improved sound of your T1's!
For the longest time I have sought out how to properly dampen the inside of my T1. It sounds really darned good when not dampened but always had a slight bump in treble at certain frequencies that gave the headphones a resonance with the cup it's in. The back of the inside of the T1's cup has no damping at all, and the sound from the drivers reflects back at the driver and to your ear. This makes the sound somewhat edgy with a bump in the treble and an odd resonance in the mids. The bass also suffers a bit and sound a bit off at points.
I spent a lot of time tying to fix this issue. I tried adhesive speaker foam that didn't work that well at all. The sound became a bit brighter with the adhesive foam. So that was a no go. I next tried acoustic stuffing and that helped a lot but it made them sound more lifeless. It toned down the bass and subdued the treble. Not good at all, but the mids did sound better.
Finally I found some adhesive felt. Go too thick and the sound is muddy, go too thin and nothing happens at all. You have to find the right thickness and I found that 1/8" to 1/4" thickness to work best. The felt kills all the resonances, tightens the bass and gives it more power (presence) and the sound is a bit smoother. It did everything right!
WHAT IS NEEDED:
- Flathead Jewelry Screwdriver
- Self Adhesive Felt (1/8" or 1/4" Thickness) (Super Sliders brand works great)
- X-Acto Blade or Craft Scissors
HOW TO OPEN AND DAMPEN YOUR T1:
1) Gently pull off the ear pads till they are both completely off.
2) Once the pads are off, you will see a black ring around the outer edge of each driver. This is placed to hold the drivers in place. You need to use your jewelry flat head screwdriver to pop them out. There are little gaps around each ring, so gently pry them off from those gaps.
3) Now that the rings are out you can open up the headphone and expose it's insides. The inner backside of the cup is bare so that's where the felt will go.
4) Now you have to cut the felt into the proper shape. For mine I used the circular felt pads from Super Sliders and trimmed 1/4" off the diameter of the pads. I thin cut the pads in half. Once cut in half I cut a half circle out of each of them, also making sure that the remaining ring is 1/2" wide.
5) You can now remove the adhesive backing off the pads and adhere them to the inside of the headphone. It's perfectly fine if the felt is a bit off center, just as long as you leave enough room to escape from the driver and cup.
6) Optional Step: you can cut small strips of felt and line the side walls of the T1 to further reduce resonance, but you will over dampen the headphone is too much is used. Make sure to leave the small vents on the inside uncovered.
7) Reassemble your headphones and enjoy the improved sound of your T1's!
