K501 triple mod - applicable to other open cans
Mar 7, 2009 at 6:28 AM Post #16 of 37
Woah? no pad covering the actual speaker? doesnt that make the treble painful?
 
Mar 7, 2009 at 8:03 AM Post #17 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by Adamora /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Woah? no pad covering the actual speaker? doesnt that make the treble painful?


it comes stock with a very thin cloth that is very transparent, and has no affect on sound, so removing this would do nothing
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Mar 7, 2009 at 8:06 AM Post #18 of 37
im always amazed at how much pads affect the sound. They seem to be the lowest tech part of the headphone, but are so important. for example, if you put K501 pads on a sextett, they sound similar to the K501 (not the same, they just take on very similar traits- the airyness, the bass response, etc) and vice versa with k240 pads on the k501.
 
Mar 9, 2009 at 11:37 PM Post #20 of 37
K240 pads don't fit K501 well and also are too small for some ears.
I've tried more pads recently.
1) SR-80 pads - it's 1/2 grado bass here. I can clearly hear the foam affecting tone.
2) Stuffed K501 pads with some additional foam (through mounting holes) - somewhat better comfort. No big deal.
Currently the "triple mod" if more like "triple half-mod" - "improved" stock pads, a little extra dampening, not-so-tightly blocked holes. I hardly hear bass improvements - just got rid of midbass hump and tightened it all a little.
 
Mar 30, 2009 at 5:02 PM Post #21 of 37
The photo shows the essence of the triple mod:

You can see all the three:
1) Driver dampening (finally, both center and side vents are dampened)
2) Hole sealing (dynamat around driver makes a perfect seal)
3) Pad tweaking (note pink foam stuffed inside) - I'd tweak more, but current state seems to be the final.

Deep bass and clarity, both surpassind those of original K501, yet a bit colder and more neutral tonality - that are the benefits of the triple mod.

Regretfully, after a while the left driver stopped working. Multiple disassemblies weakened the thin coil wire. Well, at least they sounded good in their last day - probably too good to stay alive.
 
Mar 30, 2009 at 5:19 PM Post #22 of 37
Funny I just posted about how seal is crusial in open phones in another thread and now I see this.
Well done.

EDIT: also, not only the pads affect the sound but the material used to seal them off also metter. When I did a similar mod with the porta pro's when I just started I used a cotton wool to seal the gap between the driver and the pads. Lol the term "eye popping bass" was almost letarlly true with the allready bassy cans so I used some dense foam (reeeal dense) instead. The bass became tighter and punchier. I couldn't belive the sound I got with the porta's (there's a thread in first link in my sig). Then years after testing some vorious pads and mods I settled with the px200 pads since they fit so tightly to the Koss drivers and no additional sealing mods are required. Not only the bass is better but also the highs don't sound so thin. The whole frequency range benifits. (the bloody Koss's go as low as 10hz ***!! [but not on regular listeng volumes, of course. On regular they go down to 20hz). Mids are sweeter and more coherent, too.

So, yep, I vouch for the sealing mod.
 
Mar 30, 2009 at 6:36 PM Post #25 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyotero /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Whaa?? It's not dead! It's live and kicking with adrenaline dripping from its ears!!
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Regretfully it most likely is - check the last sentence in my preceding post. I'll look for a way to restore the connection (since it's most likely broken somewhere in the outside), but most likely I'll have to acquire another guinea pig soon.
 
Mar 30, 2009 at 6:48 PM Post #26 of 37
Oh so it is dead.
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Yup, modding is a serious buisness
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Killed a few drivers myself. Some were poked with random screw drivers, some were fried by applying the solder iron for to long.
Hopefully you aren't discouraged by this unfortunate little incident
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Mar 30, 2009 at 7:47 PM Post #27 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyotero /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hopefully you aren't discouraged by this unfortunate little incident
wink.gif



It's not the first time to me, too. Anyway, I spent a good time pulling the most out of that fine set.
 
Apr 2, 2009 at 9:52 PM Post #30 of 37
Quote:

Originally Posted by dhp /img/forum/go_quote.gif
how did you open up the K501s like that?


Remove the little golden "K*501" nameplate, then unscrew every little screw you see.
 

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