[TopPop]

Also, a quick reminder to anyone doing these mods on a new pair of RX900s: I don't know which side of the burn-in fence you fall on, but I would suggest plugging these in to something that's playing some bass-heavy music on repeat, a little louder than your normal listening level, and throwing them underneath a pile of blankets or clothes for 4-5 days before you judge their final sound.

 

[dclancy]

Thanks TopPop for the mod info. I just tried a foam mod, although I used a much thicker piece of some I had laying around.
It kind of defeated the purpose of buying the 700's for a fun secondary can that can be used for Rock and more aggressive genres. Sure it tamed the bass, but I felt myself missing the messy thump, and agressive highs. Also felt like the soundstage emaciated a couple clicks.
Then again I didn't like the felt ring mod either, for much the same reason. If I want nuetral, I got the cans to do that too.
P.S. TopPop, how about those lousy Bears. Good day to turn off the game and crank some tunes.

 

[jaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dclancy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks TopPop for the mod info. I just tried a foam mod, although I used a much thicker piece of some I had laying around. It kind of defeated the purpose of buying the 700's for a fun secondary can that can be used for Rock and more aggressive genres. Sure it tamed the bass, but I felt myself missing the messy thump, and agressive highs.

Try a few cotton balls.

How thick was the foam? The foam I used was 1/4" with large cells. You can cut the foam with a very sharp knife.

 

[dclancy]

Having opened these things several times now, I feel like I'm on the verge of stripping something. I dig the sound, as I mentioned previous. At first it was a tad harsh bass-wise, but I attribute that to AKG shellshock.
I should mention, although 700's really demand there own thread, the one mod I did think was nice, although I've since reversed it, at least till I feel I gave these thing a some real head time, is the extra cushioning mod.
I took those cotton balls and slip them under the pleather cups. These thing really need replacement pads. The 900's look thicker, but I would like to stick some of those cushy beyer ones on them.
I can see why some may like these mods though, but I stick by my stated preference. These thing are truly fantastic for the price, too bad they don't block out slightly more sound though, or seal it in. I like the fact it comes with a long ass cord that'll reach my receiver, but if I want to watch TV or a movie, I still have to keep the sound relatively low so not to disturb sleeping beauty.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dclancy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having opened these things several times now, I feel like I'm on the verge of stripping something. I dig the sound, as I mentioned previous. At first it was a tad harsh bass-wise, but I attribute that to AKG shellshock. I should mention, although 700's really demand there own thread, the one mod I did think was nice, although I've since reversed it, at least till I feel I gave these thing a some real head time, is the extra cushioning mod. I took those cotton balls and slip them under the pleather cups. These thing really need replacement pads. The 900's look thicker, but I would like to stick some of those cushy beyer ones on them. I can see why some may like these mods though, but I stick by my stated preference. These thing are truly fantastic for the price, too bad they don't block out slightly more sound though, or seal it in. I like the fact it comes with a long ass cord that'll reach my receiver, but if I want to watch TV or a movie, I still have to keep the sound relatively low so not to disturb sleeping beauty.

I have a feeling that the 700s and 900s may have fairly different sound signatures. I haven't heard the 700s, but the bass on the 900s was way too powerful before the mods. It could very well be the case that the 700s are best as-is, and that these mods will only be beneficial to perform on 900s. Well, that's the fun of modding, though, right? Nobody would ever find out that certain mods would work unless we step out and try them on different phones in the first place! Thanks for your impressions, by the way.

Oh, and re: the Bears game. I was at my girlfriend's soccer game at the time, but I heard that the Bears had lost. My girfriend's team won, though. Go, Free Agents!

 

[jaudio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dclancy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I should mention, although 700's really demand there own thread, the one mod I did think was nice, although I've since reversed it, at least till I feel I gave these thing a some real head time, is the extra cushioning mod. I took those cotton balls and slip them under the pleather cups.

You put the felt ring back too?

The cotton balls could have been used inside the cup.

 

[spacemanspliff]

You know, the only really apparent shortcoming is that the 900s just do not extend as far into the upper registry as higher end cans. Other than that, they are just a killer detail can in the mid range until they get a little muddy in the lower mid range and bass. This could be my interconnect and amp too. With better equipment than my modest setup, the sound should be noticeably different.

I will gain some perspective when my Stax get here.

Still a very good sound for the $$.

 

[dclancy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TopPop /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for your impressions, by the way.

Not a prob. Again, not trying to steal from your 900 thread at all, just these cans go hand and hand lately.
And to Jaudio, yes I put the felt back. Keep in mind I tried the mod fairly early in the burn in process. I may snag them off again though and see if my first impressions stand true. I find the more I listen to these, the more genre specific they can be.
The great thing about either can is that they're both cheap enough I wouldn't think twice at least trying TopPop's recommended mods, especially considering the mods alone won't break the bank, and they're simple enough to try and undo.
P.S. Go any Ch. team that can get a W.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dclancy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not a prob. Again, not trying to steal from your 900 thread at all, just these cans go hand and hand lately. And to Jaudio, yes I put the felt back. Keep in mind I tried the mod fairly early in the burn in process. I may snag them off again though and see if my first impressions stand true. I find the more I listen to these, the more genre specific they can be. The great thing about either can is that they're both cheap enough I wouldn't think twice at least trying TopPop's recommended mods, especially considering the mods alone won't break the bank, and they're simple enough to try and undo. P.S. Go any Ch. team that can get a W.

No apologies needed! No reply to this post will ever be considered by me to be stealing, since I created it with the hopes of spreading the word about these headphones, and any findings are greatly appreciated. My opinion of them may not necessarily be the same for everyone else out there!

 

[Jdogg]

I've owned the 700's for a week now and at first they seemed OK. They were good with electronica, pop and hip hop but for rock it was a bit too bassy. The bass was a little too much, the highs were recessed and the mids as well making the overall sound muddy. Today I started experimenting with 2 extra pairs of Audio Technica AD900 pads I have. One was stock and the other pair were stuffed with cotton to make them fatter.

The AD900 pads fit like a glove. With the stock AD900 pads the mids and highs were much better and the bass was toned down.....alot. Now the bass was too anemic. I then put the stuffed AD900 pads on and there was that heavy bass again but the improved mids and highs remained. I Then started to pull out some of the cotton until the bass sounded right. Now the cans are better for rock as well as the other genres I mentioned earlier.

I think because of the thinner layer of material that is attached to the AD900 pads, which covers the drivers, the mids and highs opened up. The sonic characteristics of velour perhaps contribute as well. The stock RX700 pads have a thicker layer of that material that covers the drivers. I don't know; it's just a theory. Now the 700's sound way better to me and I believe for the price they cant be beat.

Now my ATH-M50s sound a little muddy compared to the RX700's. I cant wait to compare them when my new amp comes in.

 

[Doorknob]

Did the foam mod and cut out all of those little holes in both of the drivers. No dynamat yet.

Reading that they weren't as good as A900 cans and had bought these as a secondary cans for the A900. About two weeks of burn in had passed and I plugged this into my FrankenZero via optical. Wow, these things are absolutely incredible. Summary for them is they perform better then the A900. And I haven't mentioned money for the sound ratio on the summary.

Comparing A900 to HA-RX 900, it seemed as if A900's actually cut into the sound a bit too much with its slightly bright highs. And after hearing HA-RX 900, the mids of the A900 felt very recessed, hence not as much fun to listen to music as my HA-RX cans. These are just first impressions and already I prefer my HA-RX over A900's much, much more for music.

Only things that comes up in my mind now in which A900's might be better is that they have comfort. But the HA-RX is pretty comfortable anyways, so if you're not doing very long sessions of listening, there should be no problem.

I'd like to buy a dynamat sheet but if I wanted more weight and/or tighter bass which one would be better? I expect there to really be nearly no SQ differences and just go with the Extreme.

 

[TopPop]

@ Doorknob:

Great insight! Thanks for the impressions! It will help to get more people to give their head-to-head impressions with other, more expensive headphones, to make sure that this doesn't happen to just be a couple of us who are being duped by placebo! I fear the novelty of such an inexpensive headphone sounding so good is tricking my ears, but these cans really may be as good as I think they are...

 

[TopPop]

Oh, and re: Dynamat, I also expect that, if there were to be any difference in sound quality between Original and Extreme, it would be very small. But why pick Extreme based on that conclusion? If you're buying new (i.e. you don't already have some laying around), the Original is cheaper. Although the Extreme might be slightly lighter... not sure.

 

[Doorknob]

Mostly because Markl used that specific one in his mod. Also I wouldn't mind paying a few extra bucks in increase for slightly better comfort (less weight) then the original provides. Besides, these cans are not going anywhere for a while.

I've experimented slightly with the cans (Still no dynamat). The cheap looking plastic grill known as acoustic lenses are probably best left unscrewed. Now I can't really pin point what happens (Remove pads, unscrew lenses, put pads back on) and the differences it made but it seems that the most significant change in doing so actually makes the headphone less dark, give bigger soundstage, and better upper mids.

Remember Kramer mod for the KSC-75? That one required you to cut the foams and drill the plastic grill to give much better flow of air from the driver to the ear. Removing acoustic lenses is pretty much doing the same thing. I also have removed every single holes covered in foam in both drivers with a scalpel. Be warned the drivers are magnetic and I did get the scalpel stuck on the driver few times, but there really seems to be no audible SQ damage. Just something to note.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doorknob /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've experimented slightly with the cans (Still no dynamat). The cheap looking plastic grill known as acoustic lenses are probably best left unscrewed. Now I can't really pin point what happens (Remove pads, unscrew lenses, put pads back on) and the differences it made but it seems that the most significant change in doing so actually makes the headphone less dark, give bigger soundstage, and better upper mids.

Really, now? Interesting. I have to admit that I never tried taking the lens off. I guess the lens made sense to me, in that the idea (I figured) was to balance the frequency response by having many different sized holes (and thus, difference degrees of airflow, and wave propagation). But it also makes sense to simply have greater overall airflow, too. I'll have to try it one of these days, very soon.

I wonder why JVC has incorporated these? They give very little information on what they actually do.