[Dawnrazor]

D

Nicely done. Is that solid core wiring on the inside? Looks rather fancy for such a humble headphone.

Good eye yep its 26g Magwire from rat shack 3 spools of 22g, 26g and 30g was like $7 so not out of line but man it sounds great!

Other cans are getting this upgrade

 

[Dawnrazor]

Added some blue brainwaves angled pads. They need foam like the original pads but its amazing how a pad can make the headphone seem soo much more expensive

 

[Slater]

its amazing how a pad can make the headphone seem soo much more expensive

Or how cheap crappy pads can make a headphone really seem like a piece of junk.

The stock pads on the Monoprice are terrible. They used the cheapest hardest most plasticy pleather they could.

Every other pad I tried was an improvement over the stock pad.

I’m currently running Shure 940 (velour) pads on mine. I haven’t had a chance to do any tuning yet. They’re bone stock other than a better cable and the pads.

I got mine when they were selling for $9.95 in 2018. I think it was November or December.

 

[Dawnrazor]

Or how cheap crappy pads can make a headphone really seem like a piece of junk.

The stock pads on the Monoprice are terrible. They used the cheapest hardest most plasticy pleather they could.

Every other pad I tried was an improvement over the stock pad.

I’m currently running Shure 940 (velour) pads on mine. I haven’t had a chance to do any tuning yet. They’re bone stock other than a better cable and the pads.

I got mine when they were selling for $9.95 in 2018. I think it was November or December.

Yes those stock pads are terrible for comfort and quality, but do sound great. I have some shure 1540 I think and another pad to try as well.

I think they are $15 now, but $10 is awesome. Nice score. I can see me getting a few more pairs at that price and modding. Will try taking the pair I have left, the headband, and 2 cups without connectors and try to add the connectors though drilling into rounded plastic seems tough to do and be consistent with my tools and skills...

Do some basic mods if you feel comfy. They can really improve a ton.

Bottle head used to sell a modded pair or a pair and a mod kit for $150. I can totally see that kind of money for what a modded pair can sound like!

 

[Slater]

Yes those stock pads are terrible for comfort and quality, but do sound great. I have some shure 1540 I think and another pad to try as well.

I think they are $15 now, but $10 is awesome. Nice score. I can see me getting a few more pairs at that price and modding. Will try taking the pair I have left, the headband, and 2 cups without connectors and try to add the connectors though drilling into rounded plastic seems tough to do and be consistent with my tools and skills...

Do some basic mods if you feel comfy. They can really improve a ton.

Bottle head used to sell a modded pair or a pair and a mod kit for $150. I can totally see that kind of money for what a modded pair can sound like!

I’m going to bite my lip on what I think about the $150 Bottle head mod.

So re: the cup drilling thing, I forget why you ran the dual plugs. Was it so you could use them balanced?

 

[Dawnrazor]

I’m going to bite my lip on what I think about the $150 Bottle head mod.

So re: the cup drilling thing, I forget why you ran the dual plugs. Was it so you could use them balanced?

Yep! You got it. To go balanced.

FWIW I bet if you didnt know about the 8323 and were blind, my moded ones might have you guessing $150 based on the sound quality. So yes Its terrible to take a $20 product and sell its modded form for $150, but if it sounds like a $150 headphone whats the harm? Said another way, if it said Bottle head on it and sounded like it was worth $150 where is the harm in that?

Every can I have sounds better balanced so I figured why not try it with the 8323....

 

[Armaegis]

In of itself I don't have a problem with a modded headphone going from $20 to $150... but for me personally, if I'm spending that much money then I'm going to want something with better overall build quality which is very rarely achievable with mods.

If you're modding on your own and spending the money just for the fun of it and the learning experience, then yeah by all means. DIY is such a silly game in the first place.

 

[Dawnrazor]

In of itself I don't have a problem with a modded headphone going from $20 to $150... but for me personally, if I'm spending that much money then I'm going to want something with better overall build quality which is very rarely achievable with mods.

If you're modding on your own and spending the money just for the fun of it and the learning experience, then yeah by all means. DIY is such a silly game in the first place.

Thats a great point about the build quality. I am a sound guy myself and am amazed at all the build quality and comfort focus on these forums and in reviews, so that never entered in to things for me.

Yeah its amazing that some internet jockey can make things sound better with a bit of effort and research

 

[Slater]

In of itself I don't have a problem with a modded headphone going from $20 to $150... but for me personally, if I'm spending that much money then I'm going to want something with better overall build quality which is very rarely achievable with mods.

If you're modding on your own and spending the money just for the fun of it and the learning experience, then yeah by all means. DIY is such a silly game in the first place.

That’s my point.

Regardless of whether I think slapping a new set of ear pads and tossing in some dampening fiberfill justifies someone charging $150 for a $20 headphone, but it still has the creaky plastic build of a $20 headphone.

I think $70 would be a much more reasonable price for a modded 8323. And that’s coming from a 2-time business owner, as well as a headphone modding perfectionist.

I believe in making a reasonable profit for T+M, but at the same time I want to be able to sleep at night. That’s just me though.

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

I threw out the earpads that came with the 8323 and havent been able to find a pair to replace them ith yet. What a bad idea that was. But they didnt sound good...

 

[Dawnrazor]

I threw out the earpads that came with the 8323 and havent been able to find a pair to replace them ith yet. What a bad idea that was. But they didnt sound good...

Brainwaves angled pads work well

 

[LaughMoreDaily]

Brainwaves angled pads work well

Sorry, I should have mentioned I dont want to spend a lot. These headphones arent worth much to me. I'll probably just donate them somewhere.

 

[Dawnrazor]

Sorry, I should have mentioned I dont want to spend a lot. These headphones arent worth much to me. I'll probably just donate them somewhere.

Shure pads are cheap