(it is possible to made the cut cleaner than mine with a razor blade..)
How to make a simple filtering space with many pieces of damping sorbothane :
6 RULES: 1 Many small pieces works better than more large one 2 too big mass of sorbothane does not work well
, because too much is worse, (too much damping is a catastrophy, blutak mod for example is damping mod hence +sorb mod maybe to much damping) and 3 the right thickness and duro...mine is 30 duro,1/8 inches for the metallic cup of the HE400, i had not try higher duro because i think the 30 duro work so well for me
4 and not more than 65% of the surface covered by sorbothane and probably around 50% or a little more is way better
....5 cut rule modulo 6 : with a razor blade or an exacto you cut a rectangular pieces in 6 little squares. ( it is not necessary to cut it before sticking it to the headphone, it was more easy for me to cut it after because i want them very close one another)I had originally stick 4 pieces of sorb at the bottom of the hoop, i cut now the four rectangular pieces of sorb in 6 pieces each, hence at one level i have 4 pieces of sorb, at another level i have divided these 4 pieces of sorb in 24 pieces, and i think that
the mass of sorb act at one level as a 24 frequencies filtering mass, at another level act like an agglomerate 4 filtering frequencies mass of sorb... the principle is simple : divide the mass in cutting it in 6...
i am no engineer but the end result was extraordinary...clear sound across the board...that is my experience... The filtering of frequencies is not optimalized if the mass of damping sorb is too much big for the space damped or too homogeneous...In short i think the agglomerate of 48 located masses (6X8 on each cup) absorb better some higher vibration and the 4 little masses in the upper part of the cups and the 4 in the lower part of the cup act like 8 separate units and absorb better some other bass vibration... In short the GOLDEN RULE :cutting in 6 the damping mass of sorbothane transform it in a filtering space for various resonance. Effectively the form of any piece of sorbothane play a major role in vibration absorption.If for example the cuts were not totally completed and if the 6 little pieces are always partly linked together because the cutting was not absolutely complete the lack of clarity of the highs frequencies will be evident in a less detailed soundstage ...
Added 24oct: It seems that the filtering effect of the highs are better realized for me with this design cuts :
the highs are clearer and the bass untouched or less marked by these cuts, a rectangular piece of sorb cutted in 6 little squares....i had translate all i had previously written in this post with my new experience (4 into 6 pieces) this is way better mod that clearly made an improvement of the definition of soundstage, if higher frequencies are more clearly defined, soundstage and localization of instruments are better , hence the filtering effects of dividing strip of sorb in 6 is an astounding improvement............
rule 6 : necessary to square all pieces of sorb,never sticking an integral piece of sorb without cutting in 6 or the sound will be more muffled, it is very audible, the filtering of the sound makes all frequencies more organic,and this will assure you of a more airy sounstage...( Of my 8 pieces of sorb when 2 or 3 has been stick without being cutted in 6 the effect is immediately audible the sound was less airy less clear) Also i think, but i had not try that, it is intuitive speculation, that the cut in diagonals will be better for the filtering effect than the cut in squares:
I am no scientist, it is only my explanation...
It is an experiment in relation with the basic material of your headphone, plastic or metallic, the densities of your headphones, etc,and you must explore by Yourself and experiment, and READ the thread of Edstrelow to know the basic...People dont read these days... i put it outside BECAUSE nobody already know the right from wrong now for this or that headphones in particular, hence i dont want to mess with the delicacy of the grill right now in assembling and desassembling it many times.
IMPORTANT NOTE: i cannot insist enough on that : too much sorb or too big piece will DESTRUCT the sound...i made this mistake in the beginning... i cannot insist enough on that:worsening the sound is very easy...My 6 rules will help you to try and when you will got it right the result will be unmistakable Essentially it is the end result when you have a
clarification on all the spectrum,with an organic very fluid sound,and a detailed soundstage with more depth, nearly out of the ears soundstage, restitution of a more natural midrange,
this would be the end result...good luck to all
P.S.
description of the mod : i have
four rectangular pieces (3/4 inches by 1 inches) at the bottom of the hoop... the spacing is visible on the photos... i had
four other little pieces (each 2 set of 2 little squares pieces of approx 1/2 inches by 1/2 inches approx. distributed between the center of the hoop in the upper half of the cup... the height is very tight there with 1/8 inches thick pieces of sorb( if i had one i would have tried with 1/10 inches there ) .. it is important to cut all these pieces in 6 ,,, the sound is better more soundstage and very silky sound.... Hence i had now 8 pieces on each cup of the headphone in all cutted in 6...Between the 2 groups of 4 pieces on each cup there is a void space of approx 2 inches 1/2 without pieces...
Conclusion
The naked metallic case of the HE400 product vibrations resonance that kill the sound... I had not listen with pure bliss to my he 400 really for next to 2 years because these vibrations plagued the sound... i changed 4 times of amplifier with some good results but nothing was great before i begin to investigate this sorb. mod. this thread of Edstrelow is a great discovery the most important one... the great crowd of headfiers listen now their headphone without knowing that they dont have access to their true potential... it is a pity... it is the reason i put my observation here...
In reality the Sorbothane application is not a modification of the headphone but a true restitution of the headphone potential... Perhaps it will be better to name this sorb. restitution rather than modification, it is in the end not a physical structural modification of the original product but the cancelling of the negative effect of vibration... i apologize for my bad English(it not my first language ) thanks for your kind interest
p.s. i had seen a video about
anax mod for taming senn HD800... i am pretty certain that the application of Sorbothane there will do a more miraculous cure... the reason is simple the material used in the anax mod does not have the filtration capacity of a pieces of sorbothane squared or diagonalized... A material only per se cannot filtrate highs and bass , sorb cannot if not squared, hence the anax mod must cure the peculiar high frequencies problem of this headphone but cannot cure all his vibration problem.. I dont have an HD800 to begin with an experiment, it is only my 2 cents as i say i am only an amateur... Same probably for ALL headphones...
EVIDENTLY ALL HERE PRESENTED LIKE FACTS ARE ONLY MY HUMBLE OPINION AND EXPERIENCE, I CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE if you do not apply my guideline for 2 reasons: with sorbothane very little variation with form, cuts,thickness, duro, made BIG differences , and secondly in audio all is matter in the end of personal taste and past experiences...thanks to all of you...
