[theBigD]

For more late night reading visit the Compass thread 474 pgs and still growing!

 

[nc8000]

Or the orthodynamic one at 704 and growing

 

[IPodPJ]

Well I finally decided to do the full mod on my D5000. I got a size too small hole puncher so it took a little longer than it should have. I made sure everything I installed was done perfectly and spent a lot of time cleaning out the dynamat residue from every hole. It took me 10 hours to do it.

I used to have the ear pads modded but I'm waiting for my Acousta-Stuf Polyfill to arrive. From everything I've read, the Acousta-Stuf is superior to Fiberloft. I had my pads filled with cotton, but they made the bass too prevalent.

Now there is no stuffing in my pads, and frankly, after doing this full mod I don't know if it will even need it. This mod is amazing and I have never heard such clarity from a pair of headphones before. (My girlfriend thinks they are too sibilant but I disagree. I might experiment with some foam around the driver to reduce a tiny amount of treble. I did this in my AKG K702 mod but for different reasons.) I was unsure whether I wanted to put the dynamat xtreme on the ear cup but I'm glad I did. If the R10 sounded this good, I know why people would spend such big bucks on them. The most amazing thing about this mod is how 3 dimensional everything is. It sounds like my entire room is filled with musicians. From bottom to top, the spectrum is perfectly balanced. Well, maybe just a teeny, tiny bit too much sparkle at the top but I haven't decided yet. I never knew my Opera was capable of producing such incredible sound. I can't even imagine what it will sound like when I get my PS Audio DL3 back from Reference Audio Mods on Tuesday.

The only downside from this mod is that the headphones are substantially heavier now. Dynamat weighs a lot! But it doesn't feel bothersome at this point. Maybe if I listen for long sessions it might.

I've worked out an easy and superb mod for the AKG K702/701 and made a thread about it. I wish there was some way to get to the back of the driver so I could experiment with putting Dynamat on it. Unfortunately, there are no screws and the plastic is sealed shut. I don't think there is anyway to open it, at least not without damaging it. Some special tools must be required.

Excellent job Mark and thank you for taking the time to perfect this mod. I'm sure it was a painstaking process. Now I just need to get my D5000 recabled. I would have you do it but I hate the way the Jena wire looks.... unless you can put a cotton sleeve around it?

I have the D7000 on order but I'm wondering now if it is even necessary to get them now. Can you let me know what steps are involved for modding those? How different is it from the D5000 mod? Thanks.

 

[QQQ]

^^The best part was from your girlfriend

 

[IPodPJ]

And why is that? You think they are too sibilant?

She's a bit younger than me so her ears can hear a lot more.

And I agree, the highs should be toned down just a tad. But her ears are not a reference point. She prefers muddy sound.

 

[QQQ]

Yes, the sibilance part...
It's a shame that sibilance and hollow lower-midrange really kill these otherwise great headphones.
For me, personally, sibilance presence is an instant dead-sentence for any headphones.

 

[nc8000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've worked out an easy and superb mod for the AKG K702/701 and made a thread about it. I wish there was some way to get to the back of the driver so I could experiment with putting Dynamat on it. Unfortunately, there are no screws and the plastic is sealed shut. I don't think there is anyway to open it, at least not without damaging it. Some special tools must be required.

There must be a way as several offer recable services for the 701

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by QQQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, the sibilance part... It's a shame that sibilance and hollow lower-midrange really kill these otherwise great headphones. For me, personally, sibilance presence is an instant dead-sentence for any headphones.

With the Markl mod there is no hollow lower midrange, at least not if you don't do the pad mod. Try it.

 

[RushNerd]

Great job IpodPJ! I can't wait to join the Denon mod club. I still have yet to get my D2K's, but somehow I feel as if i'll need to use half the Dynamat that this mod says to, we will see.

The girlfriend part made me lol

 

[IPodPJ]

Thanks Rushnerd. This mod is messy and extremely time consuming. I got a 3/16" hole punch and I should have gotten 1/4". That would have saved me about 2 hours. But still it would have taken 8 hours instead of 10, if you want it to be perfect anyway. And that's not including modding the pads. That will take another hour to do it perfectly. I wouldn't do this mod for someone for less than $500 or $600 and that's more than Markl charges I'm sure. I'm a perfectionist and I spend a lot of time making sure everything is as close to perfect as possible. But the ends justify the means.

I am also working on doing a similar mod to the driver itself by placing a certain kind of foam above the mesh and around the outer edge of the driver. I need to find the perfect foam for the job and cut it to the perfect thickness. This will tame the sibilance, and then the phones will be perfect. I'm also contemplating getting a second pair of earcups that I would cut a small hole in angled towards the front. This would make them open cans, and then I'd put a steel mesh behind it. The reason for the hole to be angled towards the front comes from my experimentation with the AKG K702. When I cupped my hands around the back of the driver I tried reflecting the sound in different directions. When I angled my hands so that the sound bounces off them to a position in front of me, this gave the effect of an even more accurate soundstage farther in front of me.

 

[markl]

Hello IPodPJ,
FWIW, IMHO, the pad mod is part and parcel of the whole thing. If you don't do the mod, you are at the mercy of the stock pads which are so thin, they place the driver right on top of the ear drum, which means those highs that you are on the borderline of finding too much, are screaming right down your ear canal. That creates irritation, and that's bad.

When executed properly, with more stuffing in the rear than in the front, creating a tapered effect, the pad mod achieves two things:

1. By placing the driver slightly away from the ear, the highs are not quite so immediate and penetrating and obnoxious. This leads to less listening fatigue.

2. The pad mod creates a larger, more expansive sense of soundstage vs. stock. IMO, the stock phones have zero depth to the image as everything is shouting into your ear all at once. Sure, it sounds aggressive and raw, but this creates confusion in the brain as to what it should be listening to and where that instrument is placed within the soundstage. The pad mod just puts the driver a bit farther away and at an increased angle. This creates a more seamless image left to right, and a deeper image front to back. Now you can see where those musicians are supposed to be standing.

You've come this far, just go the rest of the way and enjoy. Cheers.

Mark

 

[IPodPJ]

Hi Mark,
Yeah, I am going to do it as soon as my Acousta-Stuf polyfill arrives. The main reason I'm doing it is to increase the angle of the driver, for a more speaker-like presentation. I just don't want it to decrease the mids which are gorgeous right now. I will let you know how my foam ring mod turns out and it will probably be something you will want to try. I've had very positive results increasing treble and bass on my K702, and I'm paying attention to how they use the thin foam ring to decrease treble.

Can you inform me of what I need to do to the D7000 and what lesser steps are involved in it?

My favorite part of your mod is the 3-dimensional nature of the music now and the awesome resolution in the bass. You can still feel the thump coming from the earcups but there is no longer any vibration which caused the bass to lack so much detail.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

My cups came today!

 

[Adamora]

Markl, i need your opinion on what to do about the sibilance of my MD5000, i really want them to shine, up till now my AD700 sounds better in many of my songs, depressing much.

Will a new amplifier/dac fix this? if so whats your recommendation

 

[Denaturat]

Can you please measure the weight of your modded Denons? My D2000, fully dampened with Dynamat, with custom 6 ft cable and a 6.3 mm Neutrik weigh a whopping 555 grams! (that is with the cable) I am even scared to think about wooden cups now...