[iamthecheese]

Quote:

MarkL Mod template:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/352109/markl-mod-made-easy-d2000-possibly-for-d5000-template
 
I have it bookmarked.  Easier to find things in bookmarks than it is to search the forum with the new forum software. 

 
 
Thanks! Just bookmarked It...I know what you mean about searching.
 

 

[Bostonears]

In light of recent discussions in this thread, I thought I'd post my experience personally performing a bunch of mods on my D2000. I did the mods one at a time, then reassembled the headphones and listened carefully between each mod.
 
Some of these mods made very audible changes in the sound of the headphones, but the magnitude of the changes depended on the specific mod. For example, dampening the ear cups produced an instantly audible tightening of the bass. However, I couldn't hear any change applying Dynamat to the drivers' rear magnets. And, the mods were not always for the better. I found that using Dynamat on the front of the driver assembly (perforated piece) caused a horrible spike in treble, apparently due to the metal covering of the Dynamat. After removing the Dynamat there, I replaced it with a different dampening material with a textured surface. That specific mod brought the midrange more forward, which I found desirable, but maybe you would not.
 
The great thing about the mods described in this thread is that Markl not only gave people step-by-step instructions on making his specific mods, he really taught us the process of making mods. So if you don't like the changes produced by a particular mod, you can undo it and try something different. And you can be inspired to come up with new mods. I added a thin piece of closed cell foam inside the headband, which made a huge improvement in comfort for me. (The headband stuffing was quite difficult and time consuming to do. Because there's a high risk of damaging the headband, I won't describe the details of that mod.)
 
Of course with these mods YMMV, and more importantly, YMCV (Your Mileage Can Vary). That is, you can tailor the mods to your personal tastes. The possible changes are limited only by your imagination for what you can apply where. As long as something is reversible, there's no harm done in trying. And even failed attempts help you learn what doesn't work. Find the earcup damping too constraining for the bass? Fine, yank it out and try smaller pieces until you get it just the way you like it. Or try some felt on the front of the drivers, just to hear how it sounds. Do whatever works for you, and don't be afraid to experiment. The materials are cheap, so you don't have much to lose.

 

[iamthecheese]

Quote:

 I found that using Dynamat on the front of the driver assembly (perforated piece) caused a horrible spike in treble, apparently due to the metal covering of the Dynamat. After removing the Dynamat there, I replaced it with a different dampening material with a textured surface. That specific mod brought the midrange more forward, which I found desirable, but maybe you would not.

Just out of curiosity what dampening material did you use? I just got my parts express dampening sheet in the mail which doesn't have the metallic covering.

 

[les_garten]

BostonEars,
    Nice write up as well.  I would like to know the damping material as well.  Is it that stuff over at Parts-Express?
 
Thanx!

 

[Bostonears]

Yep, the dampening I used on the front of the driver plates is this Lightweight Vinyl Sound Damping Sheet from Parts Express: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=268-030. It's thin, it's light, it's easily cut, and its surface doesn't seem to accentuate particular frequencies unnaturally. But it's not quite beefy enough to damp the earcups, where the full blown Dynamat still seems best.

 

[HariBhushan]

looks fairly simple a moderate skilled person can do.
 
I on the other hand, would have no chance of doing this without screwing up something in the inside

 

[iamthecheese]

Quote:

Yep, the dampening I used on the front of the driver plates is this Lightweight Vinyl Sound Damping Sheet from Parts Express: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=268-030. It's thin, it's light, it's easily cut, and its surface doesn't seem to accentuate particular frequencies unnaturally. But it's not quite beefy enough to damp the earcups, where the full blown Dynamat still seems best.

Good to know, I have my cups dynamatted and i stuffed my earpads(jmoney pads incoming) and the bass is still alittle more than I'd like. I guess when my Jmoney's get here I'll use my partsexpress sheet then leave the woody cups and detachable cable mod for last.

 

[markl]

Hey guys, I agree with Bostonears on the damping of the driver front, the regular Dynamat Extreme can be too heavy for the typical listener on some equipment. I have not tried the specific material he mentions, but these days, for phones where we do apply material to driver front, we use a thinner compound than Dynamat with lighter foil shield (at the moment we like the Fatmat product for driver front but that's subject to change).  Neat to see there's still people trying new things out there as well, thanks for sharing Bostonears. We are always trying new materials, maybe look into this one. What we've discovered, though, is that as soon as we find something usable (and a lot of this stuff is awful), the company changes the formula, or gets a new supplier, or phases out our favorite formulation. Also, what they call and ship as "Product X" damping material is not always the exact same product in the box at any given time. Having looked into this, it appears there are many Chinese manufacturers and quality is variable, and US brand names often substitute product from one factory for another when they get better deals, etc. We've got piles of scrap materials not usable enough. The Dynamat Extreme, however, seems to be fairly consistent at least and has not changed since I first wrote this up. It's still a great material to work with, but is the heaviest compound we use now.  In any case, at some point, I really need to update the whole thing with what we've learned over the last couple years, the mod has evolved and is now slightly different for each Denon model as well. One way or another that will happen, just have had no time. I am also sorry but I'm unable to anwer individual questions from DIY-ers. In the reasonably near future, I will write up the whole procedure as I do it today.  In the meantime, I recommend finding a lighter compound than Dynamat for driver face damping. Cheers.

 

[les_garten]

GROOVY!
 
Thanx for the input Mark!

 

[StupidN00bie]

Quick question regarding the markL mod. Should I allow some break in time for the newly modded cans?

 

[tisb0b]

If the drivers haven't already been burnt in, otherwise no 
 
Quote:

Quick question regarding the markL mod. Should I allow some break in time for the newly modded cans?

 

[StupidN00bie]

 
Quote:

If the drivers haven't already been burnt in, otherwise no 
 

 

Good to know.

 

[dofindale]

removed

 

[xkwh867]

I recently purcahse marki mod d5000.
 
first impression of this phone is "very sibilance sound in every mid", "horrible screech in vocal"
 
I owned original d5000 for 2~3 week. So i`m pretty much aware what d5000 sound really is.
 
for that reason, I decided to  de-stuff ear pad.
 
The result was remarkable . I even thought that I finally found my perfect headphone after de-stuff.
 
So the question is "Why stuff earpad?"  I just don`t get it. I think that Change of pad is seriously ruin mid.

 

[DjAmTraX]

Dynamat can add a lot of weight to the cans. What if you apply resin on the inside to seal the wood and rubber gasket so the enclosure is air tight?