[Sambones]

Here are some suggestions from my own experiments on other headphones:

1. Procure a pair of circumaural earpads.
2. Cut a piece of carboard to the same size as the baffle on the set those pads were meant for.
3. Cut away enough of the "baffle extension" for it to fit under the Kanen's baffle, around the mounting screws.
4a. Either cut a slit in the carboard "baffle extension" to slip the internal wires through, or...
4b detach the internal wires, run them through the carboard ring, and then resolder them to the driver.
5. after closing up the freshly engorged earcups, tape or glue the former earpads to the headband. Cut them in half if you want more than just the top padded.

I can dig up the pictures I made of the process, but they're somewhere on FB, quite crappy, and don't cover everything.

 

[ourfpshero]

these have been claimed by my oldest daughter.

apparently Taylor Swift sounds better with a little wood..

 

[ourfpshero]

for anyone considering this- the jvc donor headphones are going for 10$ at tjmaxx- they had piles of them today

 

[cam94z28]

I'm not much for modding, but I have a pair of Sony Altus MDR-D777LP's laying around that I don't enjoy the sound of. Drivers are supposed to be really good, but the housings killed the sound for these IMO. I can't find specs. I wonder if these are 40mm. Would be worth the experiment if I could make them work.

 

[Claus-DK]

I got a pair to and have started modding them as they do not really sound that well from the beginning..
 
for starters I have cut a piece of cardboard in the same size as the white plastic ring and mounted the pads so that they hold the two rings toogether, it is an very easy mod, which brings a bit of air in the music, it also makes the bass more firm and less dominant..
Not nearly enough though.
 
So I have transplanted the drivers from a pair of v-JAYS, they were the only phones in my arsenal that had 40 mm drivers, the v-JAYS drivers also delivers a lot of bas but in a much better quality and does not rolloff as much as the kanen drivers in the treble..
 
So now I have a basshead woodie, but I am not a basshead

 
Also it is a bit expensive to use a pair of v-JAYS, eventhough they have good drivers..
 
Does anybody know where one could buy some 40mm drivers, just the drivers ??

 

[cam94z28]

 
Quote:

....
 
Does anybody know where one could buy some 40mm drivers, just the drivers ??

Sennheiser parts finder has elements for various headphones. First one I found, for the HD 25-SP II are $35 each. Not sure if they're 40mm though. EH2200, and EH2270 are only $10 and $12 for the drivers, mounted in earcups. They would have to be taken out of the housings. Again, no way to tell if they're 40mm. Can't find any specs that define actual driver diameter. Good price if you can make them work.
 
http://www.sennheiserusa.com/serviceandsupport_part-finder

 

[Claus-DK]

Thanks, why did I not think of that ??
 
70 $ for drivers to a 18 $ phone seems a bit steep..
 
the other two is more interesting, I think I will search one of those chinese "herewegoteverythingfor½theprice" shops and buy me 5 pair of cheapos and hope I will hit paydirt afterall they have headphone for 2$ and up..
 
Ohh and if you need help transplanting those drivers let me know, it is not difficult at all, but you do need a soldering iron..

 

[cam94z28]

another idea...
 
https://www.servicesplus.sel.sony.com/sony-parts.aspx
 
enter mdr in the prefix, driver for description, click on search. LOTS of results. MDR-v6/7506 (40mm) drivers are $20 each.

 

[walfredo]

Very interesting mod!!  So much so that made me try my first mod.
 
So, forgive my n00b question:  How do you disable the kanen in the first place?  How do open it?
 
Thanks,
Walfredo

 

[Claus-DK]

very easy take of the pads and unscrew the four screws that are there, but be carefull when you put it toogether again, it is wood and it will become more and more loose everytime you take them apart, so do NOT be eager to make them tight be ploite nad use as little force as possible, if it goes haywire, you take them apart put a drop of water in thr hole and when it is absorbed a drop of PVAglue (the white kind for paper and wood), then put it toogether before the glue dries, the wet wood and glue will become as hard as stone and hold the thing toogether and can be taken apart again..
If you a gentle it will not be an issue..
 
I got myself some pads from a real cheap pair and the fabric is really helping turning the bass down, the pleather pads they are born with is not doing these phones a favour..
 
But it is fun and they are cheap and we do learn a lot by modding them, before we move onto more expensive stuff..

 

[walfredo]

 
Thanks, everybody, specially ourfpshero and Claus-DK!!
 
My first mod! It was pretty fun!!
 
My 9-year old daughter loved it and it is now hers.
 
I got a eMatic EH162WD Designer Stereo Headphones, which appears to be almost identical to the Kanen km-880 woodie. As replacement for the drivers, I used the same JVC ha-x570. What I did was to swap the drivers and add cotton dampening to x570 woddie.
 
To help the next n00b, here goes a few pictures of the process:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 
 
I liked the x570 woddie much better than both phones that made it up. The original eMatic had better bass, but the x570 woddie is better HP overall, much more defined and sweeter. The x570 woddie is better than the x570 plastic in any way. The x570 plastic was better defined than the eMatic, though.
 
I ended up dampening with cotton because otherwise the bass of the x570 woddie would go very loose, with lots of reverberation. Alas the dampening did reduce the bass. Overall, however, it made a big improvement.
 
I have two questions and would love to hear you all. Suggestions, recommendations and must-do are all welcome!
 
1. Did I damp it right? What are the options? Is there a way to damp as to increase definition, yet keep a strong bass?
 
2. Which 40mm driver would you recommend for a second woddie? I have one real Kanen coming this time...
 
All the best!!
 
[]s
Walfredo

 

[cam94z28]

looks to me like the ematic headband would be much more comfortable than the hard plastic on the 880. They also seem to be more widely available. Even walmart has them for online ordering. I'm curious to hear your impressions between the ematic and 880's out of the box. I'll be buying one of these to make a first attempt at modding. From your pics the stock ematic drivers don't appear to be too terrible of a quality. Or is the following pic the jvc drivers?
 

 

[walfredo]

Those are the JVC drivers. The original ematic drivers are two pictures above it.
 
The JVC drivers are thiner and do appear to be better quality than the JVC's eMatic drivers (and indeed are.)

 

[cam94z28]

Quote:

Those are the JVC drivers. The original ematic drivers are two pictures above it.
 
The JVC drivers are thiner and do appear to be better quality than the JVC's (and indeed are.)

I think there was a typo there somewhere But, I got what you meant.

 

[JamesMcProgger]

Quote:

I think there was a typo there somewhere But, I got what you meant.

yeah, its f*cking my mind upside down :S
 
so, which are the best drivers to put in the woodie cups?
 
edit: lol i thought curses werent allowed