[philodox]

Are you putting this ring of cotton on the outside of the entry hole or the inside? How small is small?

Sounds like similar results that I have achieved by taping up the holes with electrical tape... I am using no cotton at the moment.

 

[SonicDawg]

I am using a ring of about the loop between your index finger and your thumb, and stuff them inside of the entry hole. Basically as you place the drivers back, the cotton would be covering the the entry hole, and somehow simultaneously dampening the bass backwave and limitting the amount of air to go in the housing. I could be mumbling here, but I can attest the improvement on my bass heavy pair

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SonicDawg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Btw, Zorander, what I meant is to not use the plastic grill at all. Simply cut small holes (after you measure them precisely over the screw holes, of course) on some speaker cloth and secure it with screws. You may have to replace the screws to shorter ones, though, since there's some clearance left from the grill.

I just finished doing something along that line (without screwing the fabric to the drivers but instead by securing the pads over them instead, ala Sennheiser-style). "Damn!" is all I can say. The headphone's sounding very much open now, not so held-back as it was. The highs are still sounding a bit 'funny' to me, but I'll see how that changes once I bypass the cross-over (someday surely).

Cheers!

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KT88 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since the electret is blocking part of the cross-over, you'll have to remove it by desoldering the two contact points: [size=large]Warning: Do this step with absolute caution or you'll brake the contacts![/size] I did brake one of the contacts, but lucky for me it was the outer contact which is easy to replace as it coveres 50% of the electret.

Can you elaborate more on what this 'contact' thing is about? I can't make out much from the blurry image. Would it be this thing (in the pic below, centre) that connects the Cross-over board to the electret? If so, where is the second 'contact'? Does the contact serve both as an electrical (to incoming signal) as well as physical (to the cross-over board and effectively the driver chamber) connection?

Cheers!

 

[KT88]

in the image you attached there are 2 contacts to the electret. one for + and one for -.

You'll have to desolder them both before you can take it out.

btw, since I'm going to the army tomorow morning I wont be able to reply for a long time, so sorry if I wont be able to reply to some question

 

[spacemanspliff]

aw man Israel needs troops. go do your duty and come back with some $$ for headphone stuff right?

good luck!

 

[KT88]

thanks

as for money, the israeli army is diffrent than in most other places in the world (I wont elaborate on this matter, as it can take hours) so the payments are very low for the 3 first years (and at the moment I'm not thinking about staying longer than that

)

anywy, 2 more pairs of K340's are on their way to me for modding, so expect pictures in a few weeks

 

[Nigel]

Take care man & thanks for all your advice.

 

[mypasswordis]

I always thought the treble needed more presence and air, so I finally got around to replacing the plastic grilles with speaker cloth. It's like the skies opened up... and the sun is now shining straight into my face and making my skin peel. I think I may know which version I have now, and it's the opposite of

.

It still has more audible bass that extends deeper than the K501 but has less impact; I'm thinking I need to bypass the not-so-crossover PCB, get new/velour pads, and/or put back some cotton to fix that issue. And the modding continues, ever-so-slowly. I've so far removed all cotton, taped up the backs of the enclosures, and now replaced the grilles with speaker cloth, for future reference.

EDIT
I've found all impact to have disappeared. The immensely real tonality the K340 used to have can only be heard and not felt now. I don't feel the rumble and resonance of cellos and basses anymore. I may have to revert back to the plastic grilles, or maybe just drill holes through the mesh to unblock the electret. I didn't know this mod would make so much impact, both positive and negative, on the sound.

I've also noticed that the balance has shifted to leaning towards the left, whereas it was leaning towards the right before the mod. It's getting late, perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me; I'll have to confirm later.

 

[swt61]

There's something else at play here. The grill mods certainly don't lessen the bass impact or change the balance. I'd look back at what else you've done, and see if you can track it down. Cotton mod perhaps?

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif It still has more audible bass that extends deeper than the K501 but has less impact; I'm thinking I need to bypass the not-so-crossover PCB, get new/velour pads, and/or put back some cotton to fix that issue. And the modding continues, ever-so-slowly. I've so far removed all cotton, taped up the backs of the enclosures, and now replaced the grilles with speaker cloth, for future reference. EDIT I've found all impact to have disappeared. The immensely real tonality the K340 used to have can only be heard and not felt now. I don't feel the rumble and resonance of cellos and basses anymore. I may have to revert back to the plastic grilles, or maybe just drill holes through the mesh to unblock the electret. I didn't know this mod would make so much impact, both positive and negative, on the sound. I've also noticed that the balance has shifted to leaning towards the left, whereas it was leaning towards the right before the mod. It's getting late, perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me; I'll have to confirm later.

Ditto on the screen mods. It has a profound effect on the sound, much more so than playing around with the internal dampings.

I previously removed all cotton insides too and came to the same conclusion that the phones lacked impact (as exclaimed similarly by those attending the Sydney meet). There was also a slightly echo-ey midrange and a treble that just sounded wrong. I've since put back the cotton & added a layer of foam behind the drivers, and voila! There is bass impact now, that beautiful midrange K340s are renowned for and a 'correct' treble. I'm going to someday try blu-tak in place of the cottons. Has anyone done this before and what was the effect?

I'm going to recable mine next. Now if only I could figure out, from the first post, how to desolder the electret contacts and where, on the x-over board, to solder the wires...

 

[mypasswordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm going to recable mine next. Now if only I could figure out, from the first post, how to desolder the electret contacts and where, on the x-over board, to solder the wires...

Maybe the fourth page's pics can be of help:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpo...3&postcount=80

Hm, I'll try putting the cotton back in tomorrow. I think I'm going to listen to it more in its current state; it now has an airy sound signature like the K501, and sounds much less like a (semi)closed headphone than ever before, especially since the enclosure does not seem to resonate and I don't hear anything honky. The treble feels less piercing than before, and the sound seems to be centered now, so I think the only problem now is the impact/weight of the sound. Wow, hi-hats, triangles, and the like are so sparkly now.

 

[khbaur330162]

I've been experimenting with tak inside the cups of mine with fairly favorable impressions. Tape up the backs before applying however.

 

[Zorander]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypasswordis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe the fourth page's pics can be of help: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showpo...3&postcount=80 Hm, I'll try putting the cotton back in tomorrow. I think I'm going to listen to it more in its current state; it now has an airy sound signature like the K501, and sounds much less like a (semi)closed headphone than ever before, especially since the enclosure does not seem to resonate and I don't hear anything honky. The treble feels less piercing than before, and the sound seems to be centered now, so I think the only problem now is the impact/weight of the sound. Wow, hi-hats, triangles, and the like are so sparkly now.

Now that I've taken a second look at the picture, I think I know what's to be done. But what is the point of desoldering the electret then? The recable looks do-able even without removing the electret.

As for the sound without the cotton, I've always felt the highs were just 'wrong-sounding' somewhere and the phones tend to become shouty when the music peaks. I was guessing this might be solved by bypassing the cross-over board, but apparently something as simple as putting back the cotton does the trick too! Of course I'm still going to try bypassing the cross-over board (and play around with some blutak in place of the cotton).

This game is so fun.

 

[mypasswordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif This game is so fun.

I can't imagine having headphones that I don't get to tweak to change its sound to my liking, now that I've had the K501 and especially the K340. I've been spoiled, and I don't think I can ever go back.

I like the way you described the treble as "shouty" at times. That's also what I feel about it, without damping. I've put a ring of bluetak around the inside ring of the backs of the plastic enclosures (around where the opening would be if I hadn't taped them up). Some of the bass and weight to the sound has come back, but I need more. I'll play around with it more later, I need to get acquainted with this sound before I change anything else. I think I'm getting close to what I'm looking for.