[Nazo]

Probably most here know of the graphs for frequency response and etc. One thing I'm wondering though is if anyone has ever done any graphs for any of them after modification. Specifically, I'm wondering just what effects the Markl-mod and recabling have had on my Denons from a more, shall we say, "scientific" standpoint. I'm curious especially how this might have affected the distortion curve as this was probably its weakest point compared to, say, the SR60s and I'll bet that Markl-mod has a huge effect there, but it seems to me like it has affected the response curve as well (which was already pretty nice for such cheap headphones I think -- surprisingly smooth and linear for something that now costs in the ~$80 range.) Mostly it's just a matter of curiosity, but also I think it might help in the future if I ever need to get anything else as I'm finding that the sound of these headphones really suits me (I swear I'm probably going to buy another pair someday down the road and just modify them too so I have a backup, lol. Unfortunately I'm not exactly rolling in the money right now which is I have the 1001 instead of, say, the 2000 or higher.)

Oh, and I do realize that the results may differ slightly depending on just how the mod was done (especially since the stock cables aren't the best in the world I'm fairly certain different choices in cables would have some small effect.) However, even something that isn't exactly right is still more useful than the original graph.

Here are the pre-modded graphs for comparison if anyone can find post-modded graphs:

If anyone has anything on this I'd appreciate it. It may not be important or even the best way to tell, but it still would be nice to know (plus the curiosity is driving me crazy, lol.)

PS. I wasn't really sure if this counts more as sound science or headphone discussion considering that it refers to the science of one specific set, lol. If a moderator feels this choice was in error, please feel free to move the thread where it belongs and I'll remember in the future which fits better.

 

[tpc41]

you should contact headroom and ask them if you can mail them your headphones so they can take the measurements. I don't think too many people are capable of generating this data at home.

 

[Nazo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpc41 /img/forum/go_quote.gif you should contact headroom and ask them if you can mail them your headphones so they can take the measurements. I don't think too many people are capable of generating this data at home.

O.o Give up my headphones for that long? If I had a backup maybe I'd think about it (though I must admit I'd have paranoia issues even with them, lol -- I love my headphones now) but right now these are beyond a doubt the best things I have for listening to music and even my speakers just don't suit me as well. These just sound more "natural" to me than everything else I have I guess.

Anyway, I realize not many people are going to have equipment for this at home. Still, I'd hoped maybe one of those places might have gone that extra mile. Plus, while it's hardly "home equipment" it seems like there should be someone somewhere who has such equipment? Oh well, it was just a thought, but maybe no one does.

 

[tpc41]

I have some modded D1001 too and I would be very interested to see the frequency response, but not having them for a month or two is kinda a problem.

I read somewhere that they use a model of a head with microphones mounted in the ears to simulate listening conditions. Im not aware of any more of theses systems but i am sure they are out there somewhere.

 

[Nazo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tpc41 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have some modded D1001 too and I would be very interested to see the frequency response, but not having them for a month or two is kinda a problem.

I know what you mean. I don't want anyone else touching my precious...

(Lol, I don't normally make LotR jokes, but I just realized that I'm being a little overprotective about the concept of my headphones leaving my posession. That said, I'm still not giving them up without a fight and I will NOT throw them in lava thank you very much.) d-:

Quote:

I read somewhere that they use a model of a head with microphones mounted in the ears to simulate listening conditions. Im not aware of any more of theses systems but i am sure they are out there somewhere.

Yeah, they explain it all somewhere on their site. Basically it's a model of a head complete with ears, ear canals, and etc all modeled after a human head (probably originally built from a cast of someone's head by the look of it.) They have little very well calibrated microphones inside the ears and they have the model of their responses so they can adjust the results exactly for that curve. I would presume also that they have a pretty decent room to prevent the room noise/acoustics/etc from interfering with tests with open sets since accuracy is key there. All in all a somewhat complicated setup.

This is definitely not something someone can just knock together at home and actually expect it to work. Still, they bought each of these things from somewhere else and it occured to me that some of the more zealous people around SOMEWHERE might have gotten such a thing themselves. Or maybe even a reviewer with such a thing who's willing to try something other than stock with such tests.

Anyway, I may be hoping for the impossible. Certainly it would be nice to see the results of the modifications, but I understand that this may not be possible. I can still hope though, lol.

 

[b0dhi]

Wow, that harmonic distortion graph looks astonishingly bad.

 

[Nazo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by b0dhi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, that harmonic distortion graph looks astonishingly bad.

Exactly. If you read over Markl's first post about even the D5000s, they have a generally bad build quality that causes a lot of reverberation and more importantly, they can kind of resonate. The Denons don't really truly shine until you mod them to get rid of the worst of this problem. Once you do that though, the distortion graph should decrease exponentially. This is probably what I was most curious about from a more scientific point of view as to just what effect it has. In particular, I'm wondering how it can compare to, say, the SR60s which have an amazing distortion graph for headphones of that price range. Admitedly they have the advantage of being open and I'm sure a closed set can't compete, but I'll bet it compares a lot better than before the mod. Here are the SR60s for comparison:

If I ever get another pair of 1001s I may even try the full mod (or at least the applicable parts of it) instead of the partial mod that the guide for the 1001s would have you do if you follow it exactly (in particular, you don't quite fill the cup and you don't put anything on the parts around the drivers themselves.) It won't matter as much with the 1001s as with the 5000s obviously, but I have plenty of dynamat around and it may still be worth trying.