= Hifiman “Fuzzor” Mod = (Driver backwave felt damping modification)

[daerron]

Do you guys think shelf liner works better than using felt adhesive? I've got some shelf liner in home, so might give it a shot too, but removing the felt I can already see is going to be a bit of a pain.

 

[Terja]

Not an easy mod to undertake and it also gets better the more times you do it. I found aiming for 3.5mm for the thin strips made for a better fit and result. The thinner stiffened felt was also easier to work with and cut (oh yeah - it also sounds the best so far). Here is my final result (actually attempt # 3 - lol):
 

 
P.S. I used a utility knife (aka - box cutter) for cutting (after placing the felt on top of some plywood / a cutting board also works).

 

[daerron]

  Not an easy mod to undertake and it also gets better the more times you do it. I found aiming for 3.5mm for the thin strips made for a better fit and result. The thinner stiffened felt was also easier to work with and cut (oh yeah - it also sounds the best so far). Here is my final result (actually attempt # 3 - lol):
 

 
P.S. I used a utility knife (aka - box cutter) for cutting (after placing the felt on top of some plywood / a cutting board also works).

 
Nicely done, looks much better than my effort! Will have to visit the hobby craft shop tomorrow and see if I can get thinner felt. It definitely enhances the sound but perhaps the felt I'm using is too thick. I read in the HE-560 mod thread that using shelf liner reduces the treble, which I guess could be nice for the HE-560, but on the HE-500 doing the grill mod reduces the treble already so I doubt that would be what I'm looking for.

 

[Terja]

Good luck and hope you find the right kind of material! Let us know how it turns out ...

 

[micmacmo]

Cross-posted from one of the T50RP threads.
 
ZGLISZCZ proposes using pre-formed balsa strips. Sounds like an interesting alternative to adhesive felt. 
 
Quote:

  Fazors remind me shape of plane wings, and it work bit similar. I'm sure it can have simple substitute http://www.tasmaproducts.co.uk/catalogue/browse.php?product_Category_ID=8 its balsa but you can try something harder and sand it to right shape. 

 

[LarsHP]

Using rounded wood is a completely different mod, but might be interesting. However, I think the felt mod both sounds extremely good and also makes sense: it reduces diffraction and absorbs treble.
 
Using rounded wood might do someting good, but I can't see the benefit over felt (except if the stock condition of the headphone has too little treble like the Audeze's).

 

[jerg]

Indeed. The mod I outlined is much less of a "waveguide" and more of a "reverb damper". I just so happened to get an inspiration from the way Audeze Fazors looked like.

 

[SoundDragon]

   
Nicely done, looks much better than my effort! Will have to visit the hobby craft shop tomorrow and see if I can get thinner felt. It definitely enhances the sound but perhaps the felt I'm using is too thick. I read in the HE-560 mod thread that using shelf liner reduces the treble, which I guess could be nice for the HE-560, but on the HE-500 doing the grill mod reduces the treble already so I doubt that would be what I'm looking for.

 
 
I have done my 3rd iteration of this mod so far, the first two were with Silverstone sound damping foam left over from a T50rp mod. I can tell you for sure that the thickness of the material makes all the difference between getting the signature natural sounding treble of the HE 500 and taming it too much. Best thing to reduce the thickness of foam, i have found, is to use fiskars scissors. It is sharp enough to cut the pieces precisely also; i can cut to less that half a millimeter with this pair of scissors.
 
My 3rd time around i stopped being lazy and found a Michael's near my house and got the stiffened felt jerg mentioned and my trebles are back to how they should sound out of the HE 500 without the "chaos" in the music that i feel the stock HE 500 has. I could not get the foams thin enough without ruining the adhesive side with the scissors, and it seemed they absorb too much of high frequency, so felt is definitely the way to go.

 

[daerron]

   
I have done my 3rd iteration of this mod so far, the first two were with Silverstone sound damping foam left over from a T50rp mod. I can tell you for sure that the thickness of the material makes all the difference between getting the signature natural sounding treble of the HE 500 and taming it too much. Best thing to reduce the thickness of foam, i have found, is to use fiskars scissors. It is sharp enough to cut the pieces precisely also; i can cut to less that half a millimeter with this pair of scissors.
 
My 3rd time around i stopped being lazy and found a Michael's near my house and got the stiffened felt jerg mentioned and my trebles are back to how they should sound out of the HE 500 without the "chaos" in the music that i feel the stock HE 500 has. I could not get the foams thin enough without ruining the adhesive side with the scissors, and it seemed they absorb too much of high frequency, so felt is definitely the way to go.

I have redone the mod with thinner felt, will post photos later on, but I do get a better idea now of what it is supposed to do. My previous attempt really mucked up the treble, this time things sound more balanced and the sound stage has also returned to normal. Love how easy it is now to pick it out details. The somewhat diffuse signature is mostly gone.

 

[Skooks]

  Using an angled earpad will fix the reflection problem in the lower frequencies and the felt will take the treble. I'm qiute happy with my HE-6 with the felt mod and Audeze micro suede pads.

Question about the Audeze pads... are the micro suede pads the "Vegan" pads? I have looked on the Audeze website under pads and I do not find any pads that are called "Vegan." I do see the micro suede pads.
 
Also, which way is the angle situated?

 

[Benjamin6264]

The microsuede pads are indeed what people refer to as the vegan pads (in that they don't contain leather).

 

[Benjamin6264]

The pads are thicker behind the ears and thinner on the front.

 

[Hansotek]

WOW! I just completed this mod on the HE500 and the effect is incredible!
 
Also, it is way, way easier than I thought.

 

[Terja]

Pics, pics, pics ...
 

 

[Hansotek]

I'll try to post some on Monday. Unfortunately, the HE500 is my main at-work headphone. I finished up my last project early on Friday, so I just got enough time to do it before the weekend. I got in about 30 minutes with them before I had to go meet my wife for dinner. The sound was everything I hoped for. Honestly, it has never been so hard to leave work on a Friday evening. Apparently, I am a dork.