tdockweiler
Headphoneus Supremus
I had an open shell for the DJ100 driver the whole time and didn't even realize it!
Last night I transplanted my DJ100 driver into a Sennheiser HD-497 shell. It's fully open and it also has the Maxell DHP-II memory foam pads attached!
Removing the DJ100 drivers was a pain. It took about 10-15 minutes to remove each driver. I had to heat up a flat screwdriver and try and remove all that glue holding the driver in place.
First thing I was worried about is that the soundstage would be too small or something in it's signature would go out the window. Maybe the bass or the mids? It didn't happen!
The thing I noticed first is that the soundstage is now huge. I wish I was kidding. Right now it feels like there's stuff going on all around my head and outside of my actual headphone.
I'm going to compare it with my HD-598, but this is just bizarre how the soundstage could be so huge with such tiny pads. I always figured the larger the pads maybe the larger the soundstage?
Now I think it's a combination of the driver, pads, how open it is and even the wire used!
If the DJ100 wasn't already unforgiving enough with crappy sound files, it's even worse. Some of my extremely bright and harsh recordings are now made much worse. I wonder why this is? It seems now that the DJ100 is a tad bit brighter, but not that much. So far it hasn't changed any of my well mastered files. Still sounds natural.
I'm a bit confused because it seems like the sound clarity shot way up. I wonder what affect being open can have on a driver to do this or if it's just my imagination?
There is this reference track I use often for my headphones and on the K702 there is a detail I like to look for and on headphones with a huge soundstage it's even harder to hear and very distant. On a headphone with a smaller soundstage it's easier to hear as long as the headphone isn't bass heavy. On the open DJ100 it sounds like it's more further away due to the size of the soundstage. On the closed DJ100's soundstage it's much closer. All this is really interesting. Vocals still sound very up-front, but now with the Belden cable and the open mod it's as if the soundstage is more accurate. I experienced this on the HD-598 when using the Belden wire on the HD-598 also. How on earth can a stupid wire give a larger and more accurate soundstage?!
With the belden wire there's a lot more detail no doubt about it. The negative is that it's a tad more fatiguing than stock cable and I think this wire is the reason it's now even more unforgiving of bad source files. Since it's open now I may experiment with more wire. I think I will try some more Canare wire since I love that stuff on my HD-598.
I'm definitely getting another DJ100 when they go back on sale. I'm going to now compare the HD-598 and the open DJ100 for gaming.
EDIT:
Just recabled the DJ100 again to see if there is any changes. Went from the Belden 1192A to the Canare and had a massive drop of detail. Tiny details that were heard on the Belden are now non existent on the Canare. What the heck? Well at least now they're less fatiguing. The mids on the DJ100 with the Canare as still as good. If you want tons of detail and a huge soundstage, use the Belden!
It's nice to know that just as I got ready to test my new cable I had forgotten it was wired for an AKG and I had to solder on a new plug because of junk Rean plug wouldn't screw open! Nice!
Last night I transplanted my DJ100 driver into a Sennheiser HD-497 shell. It's fully open and it also has the Maxell DHP-II memory foam pads attached!
Removing the DJ100 drivers was a pain. It took about 10-15 minutes to remove each driver. I had to heat up a flat screwdriver and try and remove all that glue holding the driver in place.
First thing I was worried about is that the soundstage would be too small or something in it's signature would go out the window. Maybe the bass or the mids? It didn't happen!
The thing I noticed first is that the soundstage is now huge. I wish I was kidding. Right now it feels like there's stuff going on all around my head and outside of my actual headphone.
I'm going to compare it with my HD-598, but this is just bizarre how the soundstage could be so huge with such tiny pads. I always figured the larger the pads maybe the larger the soundstage?
Now I think it's a combination of the driver, pads, how open it is and even the wire used!
If the DJ100 wasn't already unforgiving enough with crappy sound files, it's even worse. Some of my extremely bright and harsh recordings are now made much worse. I wonder why this is? It seems now that the DJ100 is a tad bit brighter, but not that much. So far it hasn't changed any of my well mastered files. Still sounds natural.
I'm a bit confused because it seems like the sound clarity shot way up. I wonder what affect being open can have on a driver to do this or if it's just my imagination?
There is this reference track I use often for my headphones and on the K702 there is a detail I like to look for and on headphones with a huge soundstage it's even harder to hear and very distant. On a headphone with a smaller soundstage it's easier to hear as long as the headphone isn't bass heavy. On the open DJ100 it sounds like it's more further away due to the size of the soundstage. On the closed DJ100's soundstage it's much closer. All this is really interesting. Vocals still sound very up-front, but now with the Belden cable and the open mod it's as if the soundstage is more accurate. I experienced this on the HD-598 when using the Belden wire on the HD-598 also. How on earth can a stupid wire give a larger and more accurate soundstage?!
With the belden wire there's a lot more detail no doubt about it. The negative is that it's a tad more fatiguing than stock cable and I think this wire is the reason it's now even more unforgiving of bad source files. Since it's open now I may experiment with more wire. I think I will try some more Canare wire since I love that stuff on my HD-598.
I'm definitely getting another DJ100 when they go back on sale. I'm going to now compare the HD-598 and the open DJ100 for gaming.
EDIT:
Just recabled the DJ100 again to see if there is any changes. Went from the Belden 1192A to the Canare and had a massive drop of detail. Tiny details that were heard on the Belden are now non existent on the Canare. What the heck? Well at least now they're less fatiguing. The mids on the DJ100 with the Canare as still as good. If you want tons of detail and a huge soundstage, use the Belden!
It's nice to know that just as I got ready to test my new cable I had forgotten it was wired for an AKG and I had to solder on a new plug because of junk Rean plug wouldn't screw open! Nice!
