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HD800 modification thread

Sep 23, 2009 at 12:24 AM Post #61 of 155
Quote:

Originally Posted by P4Z /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I never understood why people pay to have twice as good cable installed instead of halfing their 10 foot cables.


Yeah – but sometimes it gets even better with an aftermarket cable of half the length.
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Beefy /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You've hamstrung me quite well by the forum rules there, haven't you?



But what can I say...... the scientist in me prefers healthy skepticism, and also place the burden of proof on people making outlandish claims.


I wasn't explicitly talking of the forum rules, but the unwritten rule of the headphone forum makes any claim for back-ups and scientific proof fruitless a priori. I don't have any burden of proof, I've just reported my own experience. Make what you want out of it, but avoid personal attacks and ideologic chivvy if possible.
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Sep 23, 2009 at 12:38 AM Post #62 of 155
I am fine with people reporting their personal experiences, despite whether or not I dispute the premise. What I am not fine with is what I perceive to be a recent trend to stating such things as "cables make all the difference" or "isolation feet changed my life" as fact. These assertions can and should be challenged, although I agree civilly, for the benefit of newbies. There are two sides to these debates and I think it is intellectually dishonest not to acknowledge that.

This thread is relatively tame as some of this stuff goes, and I think JaZZ, as a long-standing member deserves some benefit of the doubt. But I will continue to remind people that "facts" can be very subjective at Head-Fi.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 1:09 AM Post #65 of 155
The width of the strip inside the earcup photo'd leaves one point unclear: do you roll/fold the t-shirt piece, or lay it flat? It appears to be folded somewhat in the photo, and I want to have a better idea before wasting time. Plus, after changing the battery in my car I need to spin down so I don't damage something. Man, why do they make car batteries so heavy!!!
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 1:15 AM Post #66 of 155
Quote:

Originally Posted by ServinginEcuador /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The width of the strip inside the earcup photo'd leaves one point unclear: do you roll/fold the t-shirt piece, or lay it flat? It appears to be folded somewhat in the photo, and I want to have a better idea before wasting time. Plus, after changing the battery in my car I need to spin down so I don't damage something. Man, why do they make car batteries so heavy!!!


Hi Doug,

It is not folded. It appears that way because it is a lined T-shirt, which is how I gauged my width. It lays flat against the mesh, which of course will curve slightly because of the shape of the mesh and ear cups. The purpose is to cover the mesh which will prevent some of the sound waves from escaping (and also reflect some) and by doing so achieves everything listed in the first post. A T-shirt is porous so it doesn't completely block all the sound waves. Using a thicker material will not provide optimum results.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 1:21 AM Post #67 of 155
Most of this thread is hilarity. And not the good hilarity. The funny like a car crash is funny because everybody in the car is a clown kind of funny.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 1:52 AM Post #68 of 155
What bothers me the most is how everyone pretends to be an expert in "science." Tell me you hear stuff; that's fine. Rationalizing using elementary school physics is not. Yeah there's a difference in resistance between 10' vs 5' of cable. You know what? There's also a difference between 10' and 9.999999999'. Would you believe me if I told you one was better to my ears? If you don't, then I just say "Listen for yourself. Quit being closed-minded." What is that?
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 1:57 AM Post #69 of 155
This thread was kinda disappointing for me.....for a few reasons....

firstly I commend iPodPJ for attempting and sharing his mod. I personally NEVER mod my headphones anymore, I can't accept spending money on something and needing to take my lack of expertise to improve what I've already paid for. It's the main reason I've stayed away from Grados.

But I commend people who try to share what they consider improvements.

When Markl came up with his D5000 mod I watched the thread and while the mod looked absolutely invasive and quite frightening I watched as his business accumulated and his mod became quite revered. At the time the D5000 was amongst the most expensive headphones being manufactured and so my original inclination was that severely and irreversably modding a 500 dollar headphone is just ridiculous.

iPodPJ's mod, however may "silly" it may sound is totally reversible and those are the kind of mods which I pay a lot more attention to. I never felt the need to improve my HD800, but just because they retail at 1400 bucks doesn't mean they can't and will not be improved............If we can all attempt to improve Denons, Grados.....etc....then why not HD800s? If you feel that the HD800s are lacking in anyway, try this mod and if not be happy that you have a perfect headphone.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 2:00 AM Post #70 of 155
Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Another tweak is shortening the cable to half of the original length: It makes the sound smoother and clearer.
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In that case, I'm gonna shorten mine to 1/3 of the original length. And if that sounds good, I'll remove the cable altogether.

Sorry JaZZ, just playin' wit' cha
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Regarding the T-shirt mod, I'm skeptical. Won't hurt to try it out but after 15 years of hearing about the Sennheiser veil, why should we want to veil our HD800?

I've done this kind of mod before with several other 'phones. It sounds great for the first few days/week but remove the material and discover what you were blocking out. Modding usually indicates that one is getting bored with the headphone's sound. I'm not.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 2:04 AM Post #71 of 155
Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I've done this kind of mod before with several other 'phones. It sounds great for the first few days/week but remove the material and discover what you were blocking out. Modding usually indicates that one is getting bored with the headphone's sound. I'm not.


It doesn't subtract detail, it adds it. (Unless you perceive extra treble and improper imaging to equal more detail, which just isn't the case.)

I'm glad you're open to trying it though.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 2:05 AM Post #72 of 155
Several months ago I compared short cables (cannibalized from various stock cables and terminated with ultrasone screw-in plugs) and stock 15 and 10 ft ultrasone cables, and I agree with what Jazz says that shorter sounds better. I made a 2 foot one out of stock cable and it was very nice, things sounded quite a bit closer, and I don't just mean the mp3 player or desktop amp connected to the hfi-2200 or pro 900 I was using.

As for the actual topic, ipodpj is just modifying it for greater musical enjoyment. Decentralized soundstage, bright treble, and less smoothness aren't psychoacoustically pleasing but are very useful for studio headphones.
 
Sep 23, 2009 at 2:08 AM Post #73 of 155
Quote:

Originally Posted by atothex /img/forum/go_quote.gif
What bothers me the most is how everyone pretends to be an expert in "science." Tell me you hear stuff; that's fine. Rationalizing using elementary school physics is not.


Absolutely.

Unfortunately, the same can be said for the skeptics. Debunking an idea using elementary science doesn't do much good either. For the record, my questioning of audibility versus psychoacoustics and confirmation bias comes from my PhD in human physiology......
 
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