[FearSC549]

If you don't want any funky-looking pads on your DJ 100 or just want to save money, here's what I did; I put foam(around 1/4" thick) under the pads at 4 corners(12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock). This elevates the pad so that your ear fits in snuggly without any change in sound quality(according to my ears).

 

[tdockweiler]

Thanks for the idea. I should have tried that when I first got them. They didn't bother me too much but the pads did touch my ears. I think I didn't always get a perfect seal.
 
If anyone is interested in modding them, I've tried a few things so far..
 
A month ago I tried some blu-tack inside the cup. I really loaded it up and covered every area, but only one layer. It really improves the bass a LOT (but not in quantity), but it makes the mids even more forward. I'm not sure how or why this is. Some may like it, but they were much more fatiguing. After a month I decided to reverse it or try other things. The bass was worth the forward mids I think. Mids perhaps even more forward than the ATH-AD2000 and MV1 (which I didn't like).
 
This time I removed all the blu-tack and used Akasa Foam. It's very thin and I used it to cover only the round center of the cup inside. On the first attempt I covered the inside circle and "ledges". This seemed to offer similar results to the Blu-Tack, but this time the mids were a tiny bit less forward. Maybe not, but that's what my ears heard. Somehow the soundstage didn't seem as good somehow.
 
I opened it up and removed all the foam on the ledges and just kept the Akasa foam on the inner circle. I made sure to cover everything.
 
The sound seems to be improved and the bass is slightly better. Mids may be a tad more forward, but again I don't know how this could be possible. For me there was a big enough improvement to keep the foam installed. I just know that right now they sound perfect.
 
I might try putting some material around the ledges that's super thin and see if it doesn't screw up the soundstage. Above the ledges there are fabric covered holes and go into the outside of the cup. Don't mess with those holes whatever you do! Another idea is only putting Akasa foam in the circle and only in two areas of the ledges instead of all 3.
 
If anyone tries any of this, take extreme care with those wires!!! I've already killed one pair of DJ100's 6 months ago! I even blew up the driver! All my fault. I had to fork over another $80. Second pair needed 3 days of burn-in when my first needed zero.
 
I've found out that for these mods, the Tron soundtrack is good for testing

 
The thicker Blu-Tack had the biggest improvement of the bass.
 
The best reference track I've found is Utada Hikaru's "Final Distance" on her Deep River CD (not for bass). Japanese pop is just so good on these headphones. The sound quality on some of her songs with these headphones gives me goose bumps. Weird, I know.
 
A weird thing I've noticed is that often I heard a song and think "This doesn't sound too good" and it turns out to just be the song. I keep trying to blame the headphone. I still can't figure out why anyone would think these don't have enough treble. To my ears they have more treble than my DT-880?!
 
I'd like to find a closed headphone under $200 with a better soundstage. Ok, it's not comparable to a very good open headphone in this area, but still quite good for a closed and small headphone.
 
Still listen to these things every day. Kind of addicting. I can't wait to see what an open headphone with this driver sounds like. Not even sure if it's possible. Hopefully someday I can find some type of memory foam pads for these, but that probably will never happen. The V6 pads are comfortable, but I'm sure there is something even better out there.
 
EDIT: Haha, nobody probably cares, but I almost just nearly killed my DJ100 for a second time. I was screwing my DJ100 up (pun intended) and my hand slipped and the screw went flying into the driver and stuck to it due to it's magnet. Nice one! So there I am trying to fish this screw out. If I was smart I would have just gotten my lazy butt up and got the tweezers. So then I turn it on and ZERO sound on one side! I open it up and somehow I ripped out one of the cables. Luckily my soldering iron fixed that in a few seconds. Problem solved. So glad I didn't kill the driver.
 
So what did I do this time? I kept the Akasa foam in the inner circle and added very thin blu-tack to the "ledges". I then took the bottom of a sharpie and completely flattened out the blu-tack  and made a bunch of indentations to make it as thin as possible.
 
I'm glad to say that the mids are now more forward than before but now not as forward as before (with ALL blu-tack) and not enough to cause ear fatigue (for me). The bass with the Akasa foam and the blu-tack is now as good as it gets. I'm testing it now, but it seems like this is what works the best so far. With only the foam in the middle and no blu-tack, the bass just wasn't as good as when I had everything covered with Blu-Tack, but the disadvantage of that was the mids were too forward and the headphone was just too shouty and kind of fatiguing.
 
BTW I've been listening to these for a long time now with the two new updates. The results are just so unbelievably good. I'm shocked really why and how some simple foam and blu-tack could make that much of a difference. It seems to be effecting so many things in the sound signature. On one song I've listened to for years, I've heard some tiny details at the start of the song I've never realized were there until now. Female vocals are just now so much better. Zero change in the treble somehow, but that's OK. I'm thinking of buying another pair and recabling it. I don't want to sacrifice this pair if I screw something up. I think adding a MUCH thinner layer of Blu-tack and making tiny indentations in it are what made the difference. Some songs almost sound totally different and I'm not exaggerating. With the thinner Blu-tack the soundstage no longer seems to suffer either.
 

 

[wicked.ludicrous]

I also have the V6 pads on my Koss DJ100, mainly because I have glasses, and the stock earpads were pressing my ears against my glasses, and it became pretty painful within an hour. But the V6 pads are really comfy and nice. It’s definitely worth the $10 I paid for them. I’m not a big audiophile, but these still sound great in my ears. The only gripe I have with them is that it seems like the vocals are singing from behind a thin curtain or something; it just doesn’t seem that forward. But that’s probably because I don’t have a legitimate amp. All I have is a portable amp, the FIIO E5, which brings out everything. If you don’t want to get an amp, I’d definitely go for a portable one with the Koss DJ100.

 

[MorbidToaster]

With your Rockboxed Clip you could probably EQ them a bit to lift the veil. I had to do that with my TMA-1s via my J3.
 
Quote:

I also have the V6 pads on my Koss DJ100, mainly because I have glasses, and the stock earpads were pressing my ears against my glasses, and it became pretty painful within an hour. But the V6 pads are really comfy and nice. It’s definitely worth the $10 I paid for them. I’m not a big audiophile, but these still sound great in my ears. The only gripe I have with them is that it seems like the vocals are singing from behind a thin curtain or something; it just doesn’t seem that forward. But that’s probably because I don’t have a legitimate amp. All I have is a portable amp, the FIIO E5, which brings out everything. If you don’t want to get an amp, I’d definitely go for a portable one with the Koss DJ100.

 

 

[tdockweiler]

Vocals on the DJ100 are possibly the most forward sounding thing in it's signature. It depends on the recording though. For example some of my Pearl Jam stuff sounds like it has recessed vocals. That's just how some of them are recorded.
I don't mean to be a jerk or automatically assume this, but I honestly don't think a Sansa Clip and an E5 is enough to drive the DJ100 to 100%. I have a Sansa View and an E5 and just don't like that combination. I still think a larger mp3 player like the Zune HD and Ipod touch AND an E5 is the absolute bare minimum to make them sound great. I use the DJ100, Ipod Touch and an E5 when I exercise and they sound quite good, but I still feel that they really need something like a Total Airhead or a fairly powerful portable amp. Many would disagree, but I've listened to them enough straight out of my Ipod Touch to know that they're lacking in so many areas without a good amp.
 
I dislike the DJ100 so much unamped I'm not willing to suggest them without one. It's just a bad idea. They don't quite sound horrible though unamped.
 
I've also found that the DJ100 is quite unforgiving with lower quality files. Not as much as my DT-880, but more so than say the MDR-V6 and headphones in the same price range.
 
 
Quote:

I also have the V6 pads on my Koss DJ100, mainly because I have glasses, and the stock earpads were pressing my ears against my glasses, and it became pretty painful within an hour. But the V6 pads are really comfy and nice. It’s definitely worth the $10 I paid for them. I’m not a big audiophile, but these still sound great in my ears. The only gripe I have with them is that it seems like the vocals are singing from behind a thin curtain or something; it just doesn’t seem that forward. But that’s probably because I don’t have a legitimate amp. All I have is a portable amp, the FIIO E5, which brings out everything. If you don’t want to get an amp, I’d definitely go for a portable one with the Koss DJ100.

 
 

 

[Bradley]

I got the Pro DJ100 after reading a review by Tdockweiler and I'm so glad I did. I love them ! . I use mine with the ipod touch 4g with the Equ, which helps but not precise enough in my opinion. I tried the sony mdr v6 pads which are more comfortable but I prefer the sound of the original pads. Had them a few months now and they are becoming much more comfortable. The comfort was improved by adding a small roll of toilet paper inside and underneath the pads. Sounds stupid but it allows a little more space for your ear to fit, which has improved the comfort and possibly the sound. Went into London yesterday to listen to quite a few different headphones, one or two were equal to or better but they where much more expensive. I use the Pa2v2 amp which improves the sound with my mobile phone and laptop but not so much with the ipod touch 4g. Great headphone highly recommeneded.

 

[tdockweiler]

I wish I still had my default pads to try out. I never thought of stuffing them with something. The default pads pressed against the tips of my ears and for most it might not do this. I only suggest changing pads if they're not comfortable or don't offer a good seal. Often it's easy for them to not totally surround the ear and degrade the bass. I'm perfectly OK with the MR-V6 pads and love them.
 
I've also heard the PA2v2 has good synergy with the DJ100. It's also fairly cheap. I've also had good results with the Schiit Asgard and Total Airhead. The E5 isn't bad, but often it feels as if it makes them brighter and sometimes harsh with badly recorded music. It's rare, but I've experienced this a few times. I've found my E5 is more powerful than the Nuforce Mobile, which I hate and is more expensive.
 
I like them so much after nearly a year I chopped off my Sextett's Canare cable and recabled my DJ100. I 100% DO NOT suggest recabling the DJ100 unless you're willing to risk screwing it up. I made it a dual entry cable and removed the volume control. I also had to cut a tiny piece of plastic off inside to feed the cable to the driver. In the end it was totally worth it. Not a super huge difference at all. The only difference is that the sound was very slightly more clear and perhaps had more detail. It felt like the sound signature was now more smooth. The differences were subtle. I wanted to get rid of the DJ100's coiled cable, but now the DJ100's cable is like a snake! It's HUGE an has a 1/4" plug. At least it's short now. To buy all the parts it'd only cost under $15, but it's kind of a pain. The volume control is tricky to get out also.
 
Can't wait for Koss to make an open version with the same driver. Don't know if it's possible. I've found the Sextett to sound quite similar, but not quite as good or as clear. Sextett feels a tad more neutral though.
 
Quote:

I got the Pro DJ100 after reading a review by Tdockweiler and I'm so glad I did. I love them ! . I use mine with the ipod touch 4g with the Equ, which helps but not precise enough in my opinion. I tried the sony mdr v6 pads which are more comfortable but I prefer the sound of the original pads. Had them a few months now and they are becoming much more comfortable. The comfort was improved by adding a small roll of toilet paper inside and underneath the pads. Sounds stupid but it allows a little more space for your ear to fit, which has improved the comfort and possibly the sound. Went into London yesterday to listen to quite a few different headphones, one or two were equal to or better but they where much more expensive. I use the Pa2v2 amp which improves the sound with my mobile phone and laptop but not so much with the ipod touch 4g. Great headphone highly recommeneded.

 

 

[Neighbour]

Can't wait for Koss to make an open version with the same driver. Don't know if it's possible. I've found the Sextett to sound quite similar, but not quite as good or as clear. Sextett feels a tad more neutral though.

Koss did it already back in the 90 with the latest HV series and these drivers outperform technically without problems the whole current Koss Line, except the ESP. Even the portapro and R driver is based on the first HV micro-lightweight Line, but a full low budget version. Although the Koss Reference Line was the brighter counterpart on the HV micro-lightweight, the sound trough the titanium coating was very thin, treble weighted and Phase 2 cross-feed optimized.
Koss is designing their own drivers and the better ones are in house made. hopefully up to date.

 

[Anaxilus]

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Quote:

Can't wait for Koss to make an open version with the same driver. Don't know if it's possible. I've found the Sextett to sound quite similar, but not quite as good or as clear. Sextett feels a tad more neutral though.

Koss did it already back in the 90 with the latest HV series and these drivers outperform technically without problems the whole current Koss Line, except the ESP. Even the portapro and R driver is based on the first HV micro-lightweight Line, but a full low budget version. Although the Koss Reference Line was the brighter counterpart on the HV micro-lightweight, the sound trough the titanium coating was very thin, treble weighted and Phase 2 cross-feed optimized.
Koss is designing their own drivers and the better ones are in house made. hopefully up to date.

That's a wealth of information that you rarely see regarding Koss.  The fact that I have more Koss products than any other manufacturer surprised me.  Mates well to my hearing it seems.  
 

 

[Bradley]

I tried the sony pads. The thin curtain your talking about in my opinion is the thickness of the cloth material inside the sony pads. The Koss ones have a thin mesh that make the sound much clearer. Try sewing the mesh from the koss pads on to the sony pads. I think I'm going to buy the beyerdynamic dt250 pads and have a play about.

 

[tdockweiler]

Since these are my favorite headphones in the world I figured I'd listen to them more lately. For the past two weeks they haven't been the same and I thought I had killed them or something. Every recable I did changed it's signature too much. I've discovered that somehow the stock cable effects it's mids maybe. I used some Mogami (very neutral) cable and the mids were just not as forward. The sound certainly wasn't as engaging but far more detailed. The Mogami on the DJ100 seemed to do something screwy with the soundstage and I don't know why. It often felt like everything was more distant. Not the typical DJ100 sound but opposite.
 
I've done some crazy things with my DJ100 and I'm surprised it's still alive. I've probably recabled it about 4 times now. Went from Canare, to a Grado Cable to Mogami and now what I'm with now.
 
Lately I've been impressed with Belden 1192A Starquad for interconnects. It's the only wire where I could actually tell a difference. I first used it on my HD-598 and it made them extremely fatiguing, which is not the usual HD-598 sound. It made the mids too forward. On the HD-598 it offered the clearest sound, the most detail and seemed to increase the soundstage. What the heck? Despite making the mids forward, it retained everything else.
 
Since I had an already made Belden cable I attached it to my DJ100. Back to it's old self finally! Very strange. This gave me the idea that maybe the stock Koss cable is what helps the mids. I don't know. Maybe Koss uses Belden wire in bulk. Doubt it! This Belden wire sure sounds good.
 
So if that wasn't enough I did something absolutely crazy recently. Stupidest thing ever. Well, I drilled tons of holes in my DJ100 to make it open. I only did this because I was sure I had killed my DJ100, but I didn't. Well, the results are really impressive. Sounds like my recabled HD-598, but less warm, less treble and a smaller soundstage. This doesn't sound like a closed headphone at all now. I also used those JVC RX300 angled pads. The mids on the DJ100 are definitely more forward than those of the 598. IMO the DJ100 has far more bass than the HD-598. Not bass heavy though. Quite balanced, but a little more aggressive than the HD-598 I think. It's sound signature isn't as smooth for sure, but still quite well balanced.
 
I was comparing them for gaming and they sound similar now. Clarity was pretty close on each (HD-598 has better sound clarity after I upgraded it's cable. It's SUPER clear now..seriously).
 
Strangely after I drilled even more holes the sound clarity improved even further and I'm not sure why, but probably my imagination.
 
I'm really hoping Koss will make an open headphone that's super comfortable using the DJ100 driver or an updated driver. It could be an HD-598 killer with a little work.
Koss doesn't seem to make many open headphones so it probably won't happen, but it sure would be nice!
 
BTW I find it amusing that there is details in my DJ100 and my $99 KRK that my K601 and K702 can't even pick up. Wonder why since the K702 is supposed to be some sort of detail monster right?
 
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Oh god.  Those beautiful cups!  Sigh......
 
The DJ100 does have solid bass impact and slam when called for.  
 
I imagine the 702 like many other things in audio are just so thin it just makes it easier to hear what's already there rather than resolving new information.

 

[tdockweiler]

Haha, yeah they now look pretty bad..too bad I didn't realize my DJ100 wasn't really "bad" until after I did this mod.
This reminds me of all the old "You might be a redneck if...." jokes. I had planned on getting another DJ100 when they go back on sale anyway.
 
I like the results so much that after all this I'm glad I did it. Somehow the bass didn't go out the window. It's weird how if you put your hands across the holes the soundstage decreases while you're listening to it.
 
I think one reason I can't hear some background detail on my K702 is that it often sounds as if it's a mile away and so distant.
 
My HD-650 had more detail at times, but ONLY if I reduced the bass so I could actually hear it

 
 
Quote:

Oh god.  Those beautiful cups!  Sigh......
 
The DJ100 does have solid bass impact and slam when called for.  
 
I imagine the 702 like many other things in audio are just so thin it just makes it easier to hear what's already there rather than resolving new information.

 

 

[FearSC549]

I've tried an open DJ 100 by putting the drivers into my AD300's ear cup (both 40mm) and it sounds really really good. Too bad only did it for 5 minutes because the cables were tangling up since I didn't desolder the cables from the DJ 100's earcup.

 

[tdockweiler]

I'll have to try that sometime. Too bad the AD series pads are so uncomfortable for me though.
I do know that the Dj100 driver will fit inside the SR-80 shell, but then it will just be supra-aural and I don't want that.
You can even put the SR-80 driver inside the DJ100's shell to make a closed grado!
 
Hopefully I can find another open headphone that I can transplant the DJ100 into just for fun. Maybe the AD300 will be worth a try.
 
 
 
 
Quote:

I've tried an open DJ 100 by putting the drivers into my AD300's ear cup (both 40mm) and it sounds really really good. Too bad only did it for 5 minutes because the cables were tangling up since I didn't desolder the cables from the DJ 100's earcup.