[Kursah]

I have a set of the HM5 pads that I was gonna try on the HE-400 but those are getting sold and I'm on the fence about keeping or returning my Oppo PM-3's due to financial concerns ( ...), so I may try them pads on my good old 700's. The pics of those NVX pads has me really interested, I see they're $25 from the MFG...do you know what they charge for shipping in the US? I may have to call or e-mail em soon and find out. Looks like it takes the 700's to a whole new level.

 

[SpeakerBox]

I don't remember what I paid for shipping on my NVX pads.  I don't think it was much though.  They made a huge difference in the bass response of my 700s though.  Deep and punchy.  Make sure you ease the new pads on very slowly as it is a tight fit.

 

[DangerClose]

Bump to see if there's been any new discoveries for thick pleather pads for RX700.  I like the denseness of Shure 840 pads, but even stretched to heck they don't reach the groove on half of the cup.  

 

[SpeakerBox]

  Bump to see if there's been any new discoveries for thick pleather pads for RX700.  I like the denseness of Shure 840 pads, but even stretched to heck they don't reach the groove on half of the cup.  

 
Still using mine with the NVX pads.  Still sounding great.

 

[Rocko1]

Anyone do a removable cable mod on these?

 

[TheExile]

Detachable cable mod - How To:

Reviving an old thread, hopefully this can aid some help to all of you fellow 700 owners.

Had to take the leap of faith in this one since I just got a pair and unfortunately the cat ate the cable... on the flip side I never did cable mods before but it was a good learning curve. Now addicted to cable mod all my attached cans..

Tools you'll need:
Phillips bit screwdriver
Pliers
Lighter/Creme brulee torch
Wire strippers/xacto knife
Soldering iron+solder
Hot glue/super glue/quick set epoxy
...and yes a dremel...
(Ended up just buying a cheap $10 plug in kit from Harbor.F. you get all the bits and cutting wheel)
Helping hands - got from HF as well

The 3.5mm female jack/pot I got off amazon as a 10 pack. Does the job.

1) Take off the left pad and unscrew the cover (3 screws)

2) Do the inevitable and cut the cable. No turning back now. I snipped mine pretty flush to the bottom of the can. There's enough slack to be forgiving if you need to start over or in my case try to strip off the casing and rip a wire with it.

3) Pull the inner cable out of the rubber stress relief. Now take your pliers and wiggle that thing out. See pics below to see how I ran the excess cable around the screw mount. It's up to you if you want to keep the slack or cut it short.

4) Strip off a solid inch of casing off the cable. Take your time if this is your first time. If you look at the cut end, you'll see the casing is pretty thick all the way to the middle. So it's either you get the cut right or play it safe and not cut all the way. Otherwise you'll end up cutting a wire and taking it with you when you strip it. For the pros, you'll probably have no problem.

5) On the driver plate where the rubber stress relief was, you'll see 3 plastic nubs/tabs that held the cable in place. You'll need to dremel those completely off, down to the base so there's no remnants. This will ensure the pot will sit nice and flush. The hole where the stress relief was is perfect so no need to widen it.

6) Take your lighter/torch and gently burn off the coating on all 3 wires.

7) As seen in the pics below, the backside of the pot is numbered per pin. The longest pin is ground/common (#1). The tip (left signal) is #2 and the ring (right signal) is #3. When you look at the wires, copper/gold is running on both ends of the cans, that's ground. Red wire runs to the right can and green is left.

#1 = Ground (copper/gold)
#2 = Left (green)
#3 = Right (red)

Once soldered, plug a male/male cable into the pot and audio source to check the signal.

8) Glue the pot and cable down to the base. Screw on the locking nut to the pot and tighten her down.

9) The can housing attached to the headset needs to be trimmed where the edge lines up to the pot. At this point I had a bunch of drinks in me and took off more plastic than I needed too. oops. If this edge lip isn't trimmed down, then it'll hit the pot and the can wont be sealed correctly when you put it back together.

10) Plug that sucker in and enjoy

 

[Kursah]

Nicely done!

I actually was looking at my shelved 700's and thinking of pulling them back out for a short run. I need different pads though. I put some of the brainwavs hm5 pads on there...comfy yes, but I should've purchased the angled pads as there's an air gab at the back lower area of the cans between my head/jaw and the cans. I'm debating which angled pads to pick up, the NVX pads or the HM5 pads. Any other options a few years later?

Plus I enjoy my AKG 553 Pro's more overall. But the 700's have more exciting and thumping bass, though they're not nearly as clear in the mids or hi's there still fun as hell to listen to and easy to power. I'll always have my pair, they've truly been excellent performers for the money.

I was also thinking about doing a mod just like you had done above, thanks for taking the time to share your efforts and results with pictures! I hope many find it useful! Not sure if the HARX700 is still a dominant force in the budget can territory like it was 10+ years ago...but it holds a special spot in my collection.

 

[TheExile]

Thanks!

Yeah I'm planning to buy the angled nvx pads from sonic elec. The stock pads work... but there's always something better of course.

From what was originally discussed at the beginning of the thread in that point of time to now, pretty much the same option in pads haha. No change or anything different from what I've seen/read in other threads and boards.

 

[Kursah]

Got the NVX pads yesterday, they weren't scheduled to be here until Tuesday so that was a welcome surprise. Took seconds to install them versus the slower battle when I had installed the Brainwavs HM5 pads years ago. Much more comfortable and definitely sounds better due to a better seal overall, I was even able to adjust the headphones to be a little looser fitting and still maintained a good seal with increased comfort. Overall seems like bass is a little better defined too, must be the angle of the drivers. I do recall I was slightly disappointed with bass going to the HM5 pads, I have to attribute this to the drivers being angled and the stock pads being angled slightly as well. The NVX pads emphasize that angle much more...but it works really well here. Going to spend some time listening to them and continue A|B-ing with my K553 Pro's as those have been my go-to for the past few years, but with the NVX pads things may change. Never thought I'd truly go back to the HA-RX 700's as my daily drivers at home, but I'm seriously considering it now.

The things the AKG's still do far better is bass depth, mid/upper clarity and forwardness (thus allowing me to pick up more details), and last but definitely not least, isolation. Though the AKG are a more premium and fully sealed back can where the JVC's are vented and plastic, it makes sense. I haven't gamed yet but eager to hear how things sound in FC5, SOTS, and a few other games I'm playing. So far, I have to say this was $25 well spent on pads...took me several years to finally decide to do it, glad I did now as it restored my interest in the JVC's and remember why I purchased them in the first place. Cheers!

Edit: To be clear this is where I purchased the pads from too, same price as the MFG but free shipping and much faster processing: https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_66627_NVX-XRE100A.html

 

[SpeakerBox]

I sold mine a while back, and now regret it. They are very good HPs, especially considering the price.

 

[Kursah]

I sold mine a while back, and now regret it. They are very good HPs, especially considering the price.

I sold my spare set that I had sitting new in the box, on the shelf for about 6 years. I kinda regret it though they went to a good home and my original pair is still in good shape overall and with these pads has renewed life on my desk.

What did you end up going with if you don't mind me asking?

 

[SpeakerBox]

What did you end up going with if you don't mind me asking?

I ended up getting a pair of Sony MDR-V6 HPs (these needed a repair and I got them cheap and fixed them myself). They sound really good on the HK330A I have on my night stand, but the JVCs sounded quite good also.

 

[Roderick]

Rx700, and especially rx900 have quite a bit of tonal similarities to dx700/dx1000. They all have similar sound diffuse field thingy(thing blocking drivers). So only way is up... I can't recommend dx700/dx1000 highly enough.

 

[Kursah]

That's a pretty huge jump up cost-wise IMHO. I have been told great things about the DX series, though I must admit my DX3's are more of a laid back, low volume, hotter on the treble kind of can. Not really my thing.

The JVC's with the angled pads have been pretty damn solid though as my recent daily drivers. Though now that they're comfortable, the wife likes them again so I may be losing them yet again. That's fine because my AKG's still fit the bill just fine!

 

[anh165]

My headphones are a modified RX300 and a modified RX700. ( Will upload pics later)

I tried a pair of AKG K92s, which I was very disappointed with. Articulate but very very thin sounding so I sent them back.

Next I tried the RX700 based on the positive comments over the years, fresh out the box I thought the SQ was laidback, which resembles many reviews of the cans. Bass was on the thick side, with recessed midrange and high frequency. Transients and dynamics were decent. There was an effortlessness about it compared to my 'squawky' RX300's.

My listening were all done through my TT with Audio Technica AT440Mlb cart and a cambridge DUO Phono and headphone pre-amp.

I followed the modifications discussed here and tried the following:

1 - Damp out the plastic enclosures with sound deadening, bass was still 'thick n full' but slightly tighter that stock, pace, rhythm & timing were still a bit tame
2 - Blocked out the 3 ports above the 'acoustic lens', I wasn't sure this made any difference??
3 - I blocked/partially blocked the vent holes on the driver magnet, this was where bass output were greatly influenced. Drier and bass did not flood the sound field as much.

Those were the initial modifications, however I still wasn't convinced by the rounded off HF and recessed midrange, so after further reading...

4 - Removed the felt around the acoustic lens and punched holes on the underlayer felt.
5 - Blocked 3 out of 4 vents on each driver magnet

Midrange and high frequencies got a bit of a lift, bass muddleness was reduced a bit further.

6 - Stacked a 15mm N52 magnet on each driver

Attack and decay were affected by this magnet stack mod, tidier, can listen at higher volumes, and bass was slightly punchier. Midrange and HF still sounded shy...

7 - Reversed the ear pads, and cut out the fabric screen. Now I think the inside pads are real leather?

Removing the fabric gave the midrange and HF another much needed lift! More articulation and detail to vocals especially. HF better but still slightly tame.

7.5 - Lined some alcantara wrap around the acoustic lens, I think this helped tame a bit of midrange shoutiness on forward sounding tracks. Standing waves on the hard plastic face perhaps?

8 - My next/final modification is to ditch the 3.5 metre cable, long cabling has higher capacitance and is not helping high frequencies. I have ordered Van Damme microphone cable with a low 46 pF per meter capacitance, and a 1.5 meter length. Hopefully this should address some of the high frequency roll off I am still experiencing.

At the mean time I shortened the stock cable to 1.8M, not 100% sure it helped with HF.