[Josheto]

In the Z-review, he mentioned that after the Grado mod was done, he needed to crank up the volume (he was also using a class-A rebel amp while testing them). I'm planning to use these for casual listening, directly from my cell phone. So, I'm now wondering if I need an amp to drive them properly after swapping out the pads.

Take our the stock pads when doing so and you should be good, while the kph30i does scale well , you dont need an amp for it

 

[FYFL]

This mod (above) did not work. Fit was fine. Performance not so much. Went back to trial and error route.

 

[FYFL]

So far. This is the best modded version I came up with. With hybrid pads, various foam variants and silver/silver-plated cable, this cans are killer. I could describe the sound but it won’t do you any good.
This headphone can compete with headphones up to $400. And beats many of them.

 

[waynes world]

So far. This is the best modded version I came up with. With hybrid pads, various foam variants and silver/silver-plated cable, this cans are killer. I could describe the sound but it won’t do you any good.
This headphone can compete with headphones up to $400. And beats many of them.

Awesome! Which elements do you think contribute the most to the sound quality? How much do the pad changes alone contribute? That's pretty much all I would have the skittles to do.

 

[FYFL]

Awesome! Which elements do you think contribute the most to the sound quality? How much do the pad changes alone contribute? That's pretty much all I would have the skittles to do.

In this mod I was trying to achieve few things. Better comfort than “Grado” pads provide. Retain soundstage to some degree that those Grado pads provide. Make them more presentable and leak less sound to the outside.
What I did was use Grado pads as a foundation. Had to be trimmed on sides and cut flash with the driver on the ear side. All that to fit the hybrid pads. Pads are great as far as sound quality goes. From half a dozen pads that I have tried, these are the ones to get. Not sure what they are replacements for as I bought them for this particular project exclusively. These few steps everyone can do with some scissors and patients.If you’re happy with the results, there’s no need to get crazy with farther tuning. For me, bass was a bit muddy and top end a bit recessed. So I enlarged round opening for driver on Grado pad. It helped but then top end became a bit too sibilant. Not a lot but bothersome still. So I glued extra thin hard felt around the driver, covering all exposed plastic. Inside of the driver cup was sprayed with think coat of liquid rubber. Original tuning foam was reused as in stock. Memory foam was used on the outside to get some better bass definition. Bringing presentation a little closer and improving imaging. Right now, I just finished painting all plastic parts and added some other things. I’ll post a pics tommorow.

 

[FYFL]

Here are some pics to help visualize it.

 

[FYFL]

These are the pads. I did remove screen foam on these pads as well.

 

[FYFL]

Few pics.

Wood “diffuser/cover” added. Mostly esthetics. Just tested it. Doesn’t affect the sound in any significant way.

Side view. Also added wooden extensions for cable going into headphone-shell. Makes it more secure that’s about it.

Hammered gun metal paint finish

Inside the cup.

Already mentioned memory foam running on the outside part of the shell. Helps with imaging and cleans up bass a bit

Enjoy.

 

[LordZero]

Is possible to get the koss kph30i in Europe? Seems out of stock everywhere.