[tacobff]

I'm trying to remove the earpads of it, but I've never done it before.
 
Am I supposed to pinch upon the earpad itself? Or the hard plastic thing beneath it? Also am I supposed to pull outward or inward?
 
Dubstep mod seems a bit confusing as well. Is there a substitute for blutack?

 

[tacobff]

bump

 

[tacobff]

Bump and differences between dubstep and bass mod?

 

[juan1894]

Hi, the mod for the hd439 is really simple. To detach the earcups you have to push up, there is a video on YouTube by sennheiser USA and explain this. Then, you will notice a gray foam, the screws are below this foam (4 screws). Then carefully lift the driver enclosure and in the back you will find a "tape" that covers three holes, for more bass remove it, assemble the headphones, and it's done!

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

Hi, the mod for the hd439 is really simple. To detach the earcups you have to push up, there is a video on YouTube by sennheiser USA and explain this. Then, you will notice a gray foam, the screws are below this foam (4 screws). Then carefully lift the driver enclosure and in the back you will find a "tape" that covers three holes, for more bass remove it, assemble the headphones, and it's done!

does this change the other frequencies?  I've found that simply laying my hands over the outside of the phones completely will even make the bass just a tad more prominent and really fills them out nicely.  However, I still find them more than enough with no mod.  But I'm curious how the tape affects treble and mids...

 

[wje]

Quote:

Hi, the mod for the hd439 is really simple. To detach the earcups you have to push up, there is a video on YouTube by sennheiser USA and explain this. Then, you will notice a gray foam, the screws are below this foam (4 screws). Then carefully lift the driver enclosure and in the back you will find a "tape" that covers three holes, for more bass remove it, assemble the headphones, and it's done!

 
I have the Sennheiser HD-428 headphones.  I've performed the bass mod, with a slight variation.  I removed the tape revealing the 3 holes and my headphones sounded like a pair of Beats on steroids. Seriously, my fillings in my teeth were literally starting to feel pain.  I then went down to the my bench where I do my headphone work, and pulled out a role of micropore tape. It is a medical tape, like transpore tape, but it is a paper-based tape and generally used for more sensitive wounds, where the transpore tape would grip on the skin like super glue.  I used the micropore tape to completely cover two of the holes.  The third hole was covered with tape on only 1/2 of the hole.  The results?  Outstanding bass, but not the tooth filling shaking, migraine causing level of bass.
 
One additional change that I also made was that I lined the driver casing (the black oval plastic piece around the back of the driver) with plasticine clay.  This was done to dampen the headphones a bit and to take care of any odd sounds and rattles that could result due to the increased bass response.
 
To the other question about how the other frequencies change. The mids were a bit better and the upper frequencies remained the same.  To me, these $40 "gems" are more fun than the HD-580s that I've owned at two different times in my headphones' past.  The HD-428 can often be found for about $40, as refurbished headphone on the Web.  However, the refurbished model is just like new.  In fact, I'm nearly certain that Sennheiser might be packaging new HD-428s as refurbished to get around their strict MSRP guidelines.  
 
Just a thought ...

 

[juan1894]

Ok yeah i forget about that. Sorry xP. You have to test covering the holes with tape or remove the tape partially to find the best sound for you.

 

[mrjimyjohn]

Sorry for the bump guys, but I have a question about the grey foam that covers the screws. Obviously I have to peel it off to get to the screws underneath, but will it be sticky enough that I can just throw it back on top when I'm closing them up, or will some sort of glue be required?

 

[pouskidis]

What glue are you talking about? Just use the screwdriver to find the screws underneath the foam, it is quite easy, and then start unscrewing. it will tear as much as it needs to, making 4 small holes uncovering the screws while unscrewing. There is no meaning at all in covering them back with foam afterwards... 

 

[mrjimyjohn]

Alright, thanks. I just figured the foam has to be there for some reason, so I'd rather not remove it. I don't know why I didn't think of just poking through it, haha.

 

[briansun1]

 question with the bass mod. which hole should you uncover if you just want bigger bass but not a change in the quality of sound of the bass. also how would you go about uncovering said holes?(ie cut it out, cut around it, poke a hole in the tape with a pencil) 

 

[Magicman74]

 question with the bass mod. which hole should you uncover if you just want bigger bass but not a change in the quality of sound of the bass. also how would you go about uncovering said holes?(ie cut it out, cut around it, poke a hole in the tape with a pencil) 

on the 439 there are 2 holes, you can see them thru the tape, I'd just do one at first, It will be a BIG jump from stock, If that's not enough do the other, Both off it hits HARD but it's too much. Were talking Beyer level. Just use an exacto knife and cut the tape off in a square around the hole. Use your fingernail to pull the piece off. Simple!!

 

[briansun1]

on the 439 there are 2 holes, you can see them thru the tape, I'd just do one at first, It will be a BIG jump from stock, If that's not enough do the other, Both off it hits HARD but it's too much. Were talking Beyer level. Just use an exacto knife and cut the tape off in a square around the hole. Use your fingernail to pull the piece off. Simple!!

 
would you cut the one closest to the front middle or back (front = front when you put it on)

 

[Navybsn]

Don't think it matters which hole you uncover. I did the middle one on my 428's and its outstanding!

 

[ryant]

So I tried this bass mod and messed around with one and two holes taped. At the end of the day I felt like they sounded good with one hole open though overall i still felt like the HD 439's were a bit congested and one dimensional. So since these have been laying around unused after getting a pair of HE-300's i decided to try something a bit more radical. I spent and hour or so tonight playing with making the 439's open air can's. I did the blue tac mod on the driver cups and faceplate but i felt that the plastic cup that covers the back of the driver was really cheap. So I cut the black rubbery glue that holds the cup over the driver and pulled it off. Here's what it looks like underneath.
 
 

 
Next I gave them a listen with one side stock (sans the blue tac and port hole open) and the other running open air. I used the L/R balance to try my best to A/B them. I personally felt that the open air side was MUCH more spacious sounding. I'm sure it made a pretty major change to the frequency response but i'm not certain it's all for the better. Either way it didn't have the same congested flat sound. It still seemed to have a fair amount of bass as well. I decided to just go for it and did the same mod to the other side. I took the white felt/paper off the driver mount and used tac to try and damped the cheap plastic housing. Here's some pictures.
 

 

 
I sadly popped the cable off the left driver on accident so I will solder it back up at work. I did tape it down to give them a brief listen and to my ears they feel like a whole different animal. I will have to really spend more time with them once they are soldered and back up and running. Anyways, I'm not sure i would suggest this to anyone to try since it really changes the sound but thought someone would possibly be interested in at least seeing what the 439's look like under the hood so to speak .