HD650: From Hate to Love

[doobooloo]

I posted here a week or so ago complaining about how my HD650s just don't match up to my Etys. Well... tonight, half out of desperation and half out curiosity, I took out the foam sheet that goes between the driver and the ear, since it has been mentioned repeatedly here that doing this will sort of magically "lift the veil", bring the high frequencies to life. I was a little skeptical of this, but I tried it anyway today.

Well, guess what. Now I'm in love.

The cans all of a sudden sound really open (it sounded relatively muffled up for some reason before, especially in comparison with my Etys) and the details are just all of a sudden ALIVE! They were there before but I had to really search them out but now they're just so naturally there. Aah... Combine this with the Senn's excellent bass and lack of distortion - and this is definately a winner for me.

Kind of amazing how this little piece foam made all the difference. Now I'm ready to invest in aftermarket cables, now the Senns are just worth every penny.

I'm happy!

 

[meech]

Congrats on your new find!

Although I'm totally satisfied with my 650/Zu Mobius combo, I'll have to try this just out of sheer curiosity.

I have two questions before I do so:

1st Is there any risk of damaging the driver itself in an attempt to remove this foam?

2nd Do the 650s now seem a little bright after the mod?

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

1st Is there any risk of damaging the driver itself in an attempt to remove this foam?

Nope. Once you take off the earpads the foam just falls out. It's not held by anything other than the clamp of the earpad onto the cup. Plus, the driver itself is protected by a plastic "shield"...


Quote:

2nd Do the 650s now seem a little bright after the mod?

Well, definately brighter than before. To me it's more like less dull, and finally just right.

It's not bright but just right for me. It could be bright for you though, as many head-fiers reported their Senns as being bright after the mod. I guess it's all relative. I found the ER-4S to be perfectly neutral and natural and since this mod brings the Senns closer to the frequency response of the Etys, I am very pleased. But many find the ER-4S to be overly bright...

It's funny. I feel like I'm listening to a pair of CD3Ks, except they're now open. Haha.

 

[meech]

Very interesting.

Thanks a lot.

 

[doobooloo]

If you do try this mod, please let us know what you think!

 

[Canman]

I tried the foam removal on a pair of HD-600s awhile back and it made the high end a bit harsh.

Since the HD-650s are smoother in the high end this mod might work better with them. I'll have to give it a shot. Meech, to take the foam out all you have to do is pull off the velour pads. The foam is only held in place by the pads.

 

[acs236]

I took out the foam and replaced it with a very thin nylon (I think) fabric back when I had my 580s and liked the results a lot. I haven't done it with my 650s yet because I can't find my excess fabric! I like the idea of having something in there to at least trap dust.

 

[swalker]

I auditioned a pair of foam-less HD580's at a meet and liked them a lot which eventually led me to buy the HD650's. However I thought the treble was too splashy on the HD580's. For now I think a bit of EQ'ing makes the HD650 sound just fine. Doobooloo, I know you really liked your CD3000's, how do the HD650's stack up against them?

 

[JaZZ]

I liked the HD 600 foamless, but after a source change I preferred it in original state again. Since I have the HD 650 I've tried it several times without the foam pads. It doesn't make it sound harsh, but slightly sleek in the treble, lacking some of the original grip. In some aspects it sounds more lifelike, but also less energetic and less extended to both ends of the frequency spectrum, thus slightly midrangey. But that's with my setup.

I'd recommend to cover the driver with some fine nylon fabric as dust protection as a replacement for the foam pads.

 

[psxguy85]

I will be sure to try this when I get HD650's.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by doobooloo I posted here a week or so ago complaining about how my HD650s just don't match up to my Etys. Well... tonight, half out of desperation and half out curiosity, I took out the foam sheet that goes between the driver and the ear, since it has been mentioned repeatedly here that doing this will sort of magically "lift the veil", bring the high frequencies to life. I was a little skeptical of this, but I tried it anyway today. Well, guess what. Now I'm in love. The cans all of a sudden sound really open (it sounded relatively muffled up for some reason before, especially in comparison with my Etys) and the details are just all of a sudden ALIVE! They were there before but I had to really search them out but now they're just so naturally there. Aah... Combine this with the Senn's excellent bass and lack of distortion - and this is definately a winner for me. Kind of amazing how this little piece foam made all the difference. Now I'm ready to invest in aftermarket cables, now the Senns are just worth every penny. I'm happy!

I'm glad your investment has worked out for you. If you add the Zu or Silver dragon you might even put the foam back in.

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

I took out the foam and replaced it with a very thin nylon (I think) fabric back when I had my 580s and liked the results a lot. I haven't done it with my 650s yet because I can't find my excess fabric! I like the idea of having something in there to at least trap dust.

Does the thin nylon make any sonic difference compared to no foam? Also, where did you get the fabric?


Quote:

Doobooloo, I know you really liked your CD3000's, how do the HD650's stack up against them?

Well before the mod I thought they were two completely different beasts and because I like a lot of detail I thought the CD3Ks were superior. However, with this mod the HD650 gets just as much detail with smoothness and openness and lack of any sort of perceivable distortion that is not present in the CD3K. The CD3K has that ever slight closed-can honkiness at times and a slightly artificial reverb effect caused by the chamber - which actually is a plus for a lot of the music but also a downside sometimes - but the HD650s seem to lack that and the "newfound sparkle" is a lot more natural than the CD3K's. However, the treble on the Senn still doesn't extend so effortlessly as in the CD3K, but I don't know which I prefer. I don't have the CD3Ks with me to do an A/B so all this is from memory, so I can't make any detailed observations but all I can say is I am very pleased with the HD650s and it reminded me a lot of the CD3K last night (morning for you guys) as I was listening to them.


Quote:

I'd recommend to cover the driver with some fine nylon fabric as dust protection as a replacement for the foam pads.

How destructive is dust anyway? I always keep my phones in a closed pouch whenever it's not in use, so it won't be "collecting dust" just sitting out in the open air. What I'm more concerned about is facial oil from my ear rubbing onto the black fiberous (paper?) sheets that surround the driver area... Fortunately though my ears don't touch them (and I always clean my face/ears before listening to them anyway), but someone else's ears very well might be very oily and big enough to rub all the oil onto the absorbent fiber sheets and irreversibly alter the sonic signature (probably minimal though). A sheet of nylon would probably help but if it was too thin/fine then it would probably do little good against this anyway.

If I did end up getting visible amounts of dust I can always carefully blow it away or use some sort of new makeup brush or something (which I would have to buy for this purpose) to carefully attract them off the driver with static electricity. Or just carefully brush them off...


At any rate, I think the dust/oil issues are minor compared to the major sonic benefits of the mod!

 

[DevilDog]

Whoa, I just tried this with mine. It is a much bigger difference than I thought it would be! The biggest improvement is in the highs, (of course) cymbals are very much more extended.
I think it might also move the mids a bit forward. I'm not sure if the bass is lessened,
Overall first impression, I like it. Now I'm torn as to what to do.
I'll have to do some more extensive listening.

At least this is a free tweak.

 

[Zoide]

How do you remove the pads? Does anyone have any pictures? I am afraid I might damage or rip something permanently.

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

I'm not sure if the bass is lessened

I was actually very pleased with the bass as well - it sounded a lot more coherent and tight. I always thought the bass was sort of flabby and loose (relatively, of course) but with this mod the bass just gained a new level of well, "sharpness".


Quote:

How do you remove the pads? Does anyone have any pictures? I am afraid I might damage or rip something permanently.

It's almost impossible to damoage something permanently unless you're using excessive force, which you won't need anyway. The way to do it is put your index and middle fingers on the inside of the pad while holding the outer area with your thumb (while holding the cup with your other hand) and pull it the pad not just straight up but out and up. So, push with your index and middle fingers while you pull it "up". You will hear a click or feel some sort of "pulled-out" movement, at this point move around the pad and repeat the process until the pad comes off.

It's really a painless process that's not damaging to the phones at all. Just be brave.