[eruditass]

the potentiometer sucks and is noisy. same thing happens with really crappy resistors that have been heated up. they can tend to act somewhat like inductors and eat up quickly changing currents (high freqs)

iirc, if anything, a current divider instead of a voltage divider (parallel instead of series) would be better, i remember it being recommended to get rid of hisses. or maybe that is specifically to not affect impedance

 

[adzadz]

Awesome, thanks. Stilll waiting for mine to arrive but I have my Max Lites already.

I found some 47ohm 1/4 watt 1% metal film resistors, which is cool. But I also found some 39ohm ones which seem ideal however are only 1/8 watt. Will 1/8 watt be too low for this application?

 

[eruditass]

has anyone tried replacing the SMT resistors by the armatures with ~47 ohms and comletely removing the pod?

I am considering this just to keep the cable as lightweight as possible. In addition, from what I remember about impedance matching, at least at higher frequencies, the resistance should be at the end of the cable to reduce reflections.

 

[blippster]

I didn't remove the SMT component, but managed to stuff full-sized through hole 47ohm/0.25W resistors inside the earpieces as well.. Nice clean wire now

 

[billybob_jcv]

I'm going to resurrect this thread from the grave because I'm trying to get up the courage to remove the pod from my IM716s.

I'm currently listening to my IM716s with an amp - an inexpensive Xenos 0ha-rhp (picked it up when Xenos was closing down). They sound pretty good to me from my laptop and low-mid quality mp3 (192-384). I'm a classic rock fan (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Led Zep, etc) and I'm using bass mode on the stock 'phones. HD mode seems a little life-less to me, even when amped. I wouldn't consider myself a real basshead, but I do like some kick in addition to clarity. I also doubt my (well) over 40 year old ears have the same high-frequency hearing ability as some of you young'uns.

I've read all 32 pages of this thread, but a couple of things are still bothering me...

1) Most of the folks in this thread preferred the HD mode before they did the mod. I'm torn between trying 32 Ohms or 47 Ohms - or to do it at all. Any feedback that considers my tastes is appreciated.

2) What really bothers me is why AL (or Ety) bothered to put in the pod at all? I gotta believe they tested at different impedance levels - and for some reason they chose to go to the expense of building a PCB and populating it with SMD components, a switch and a pot. Why? Was it one of those decisions driven by product marketing dweebs who decided that they needed the pod to differentiate the product from the IM616 and the Ety products, regardless of what the audio guys were telling them? The things are white - yet in their stock configuration they aren't driven very well by a stock ipod. I really don't get it - which I suppose could explain why AL discontinued this line and went a completely different way. I know I probably shouldn't care, and I should just consider it an opportunity - but it bugs me...

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybob_jcv /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to resurrect this thread from the grave because I'm trying to get up the courage to remove the pod from my IM716s. I'm currently listening to my IM716s with an amp - an inexpensive Xenos 0ha-rhp (picked it up when Xenos was closing down). They sound pretty good to me from my laptop and low-mid quality mp3 (192-384). I'm a classic rock fan (AC/DC, Aerosmith, Led Zep, etc) and I'm using bass mode on the stock 'phones. HD mode seems a little life-less to me, even when amped. I wouldn't consider myself a real basshead, but I do like some kick in addition to clarity. I also doubt my (well) over 40 year old ears have the same high-frequency hearing ability as some of you young'uns. I've read all 32 pages of this thread, but a couple of things are still bothering me... 1) Most of the folks in this thread preferred the HD mode before they did the mod. I'm torn between trying 32 Ohms or 47 Ohms - or to do it at all. Any feedback that considers my tastes is appreciated. 2) What really bothers me is why AL (or Ety) bothered to put in the pod at all? I gotta believe they tested at different impedance levels - and for some reason they chose to go to the expense of building a PCB and populating it with SMD components, a switch and a pot. Why? Was it one of those decisions driven by product marketing dweebs who decided that they needed the pod to differentiate the product from the IM616 and the Ety products, regardless of what the audio guys were telling them? The things are white - yet in their stock configuration they aren't driven very well by a stock ipod. I really don't get it - which I suppose could explain why AL discontinued this line and went a completely different way. I know I probably shouldn't care, and I should just consider it an opportunity - but it bugs me...

RE: #1 above. See http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/any...0-ohms-315699/ where there are many comments about low or high impedance with IM716. With a good amp they can still make good bass at 69, 80 pr 102 ohms, but not all amps can drive them well at 80-102 ohms and I would stay away from that. The HD switch seems to me like it is about 80 ohms. So, you do not want any of those impedances.

In a nutshell - I have a multi-impedance switched pod that lets me add 0 ohm to the baseline podless 5 ohms, or add 22, 33, 47 ohms, or a combination of switches for 55 ohm, 69 ohm, 80 ohm or 102 ohm. Most of the time I leave it set for 33 ohm with the Pico since I too am a bass-head, but with the Predator they are a little better controlled at 47 ohms vs the Pico at 33. And for listening un-amped I might rarely do 22 ohm where it starts to get a little muddy sounding but I get more volume. When used with my Predator they get a little more detail and definition on 47 ohms with minimal drop in bass which is tighter more controlled.

So, to get to answering your question - You are a bass-head but will have to consider rejecting some amps if you go for only 33 ohm. But it may work with more DAP without an amp with 33 ohm, and it will sound closer to the "bass-mode" switch if you use a 33 ohm.

I would NOT go lower or you will get better sound out of something else, like a Denon C700 which sound better out of the iPod than a 22 ohm IM716 will.

 

[billybob_jcv]

Thanks HeadphoneAddict! My local Fry's was out of almost all the lower value resistors, so my IM716s are safe for a while...

I might temporarily de-pod them, and leave the resistors out all together, then build some P-S type adapters from some extra headphone splitter cables I have in my junk box. That would let me experiment a little bit before committing to a fixed value in the IM716s, and I can probably use the P-S adapters in future experiments. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[wrecked_porsche]

Well, FWIW, I was the one who created that thread and I finally settled with 53 Ohms total (47ohm resistors IIANM). I never liked the Bass mode to begin with, I always preferred the HD mode (well amped in both cases). When I removed the pod and added the resistors, the bass was more than the HD mode, cleaner and tighter. I noticed more details in the music too. I'd say the mod is really worth it. I am using the iM716 with the ibasso D1 and microshar u107.

Like HeadphoneAddict, I'd say that its best that you go for 30++ ohms too. And yeah, its best you play around with the values see what you like best. Me, I went blindly to 53ohms and never looked back.

 

[LeonWho]

I read most of this, but found much argument over this.

I listen to a lot of alternative rock and punk rock, and quite a bit of pop too. I might also occasionally listen to some jazz or soundtrack music.

I like lots of treble and don't care much for bass, though I do enjoy a bit of bass to color my music.

My question is: Should I use 47 ohm resistors or 68 ohm resistors?

Thanks a lot!
Leon

 

[-=Germania=-]

Leon,

Use the 47 ohm with metal film for killer treble and detail with balanced sound. The 68ohm version sounds to me a bit piercy when using metal film and much better with matched carbon film, though not as good as the 47ohm metal film.

Hope that helps.

 

[Madman1943]

I have searched the thread but haven't found an answer to the question if i would just remove the pod and connect them through an Fiio E5 To an I-pod Shuffle 2nd Gen.

Are there going to be any issues?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I don't like the sound with no resistor in place of the pod, I would at least put a 33 ohm in there is you are a basshead who doesn't need as much detail. They sound similar to the Denon C700 at that point (33ohm).

 

[Madman1943]

At that point i start to think that an a ER4P-S Converter is quite a good idea.
Anyone to disagree?

i was wondering, i have seen .1% metal film resistors on the web and wanted to ask if there is any noticeable difference between the 1% and the 0.1% ones?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

A P to S might be fine if your amp is good enough to deliver bass at that impedance. 47 ohm is a better choice for the IM716, and 68 is as high as I would want to go but works with some of my amps.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

As of right now my im716's are listed in the FS forums, but I always wanted to get them modded. Sadly I have nothing in the way of experience to do this myself. Would anyone be interested in doing it for me for about $20?

There is another little issue with my phones as well, my cat partially bit through the cable above the y-split on the right side. The phones work intermittently, but I'd love to have this fixed as well. I don't know if it can be fixed with some soldering, but I have some extra iBuds that I could sacrifice for this purpose.

If anyone is up to the challenge, please PM me and we can work something out.

Thanks, CK