[Pine]

That was a really interesting post.
NEED PICS 

 

[Mastermind]

Ok, please have a look at the image below. The image explains itself, that tiny white adhesive piece of paper was placed right on the hole in the driver and sealed it, leaving no space for sound to go anywhere else thus creating almost the same sealed box like in case with pc350
 

 
Other than that pc360 look pretty much common inside  like any open earphones, the most important part in modding these headphones is removing paper piece and damping.

Jaawa I doubt they put a better driver inside, since we already have not the cheapest one inside, and there is no need to put any more expensive, and judging from Senn's policy they believe that more bass or quality in gamer headphones does not make more sense than proper positioning and crispness))  

 

[Jaawa]

Quote:

Jaawa I doubt they put a better driver inside, since we already have not the cheapest one inside, and there is no need to put any more expensive, and judging from Senn's policy they believe that more bass or quality in gamer headphones does not make more sense than proper positioning and crispness))  

Yeah, I guess the audiophilegamer demography isn't that big

But one can always dream ...

 

[m00ndancer]

 
Quote:

Yeah, I guess the audiophilegamer demography isn't that big

But one can always dream ...

Slightly off topic:

Agreed, what I can't understand is why Sennheiser don't make a better closed "high-end" headset with a great microphone as the PC350/360 has. Is it to differentiate the better headsets from the lower end, having a higher price on the cans w/o a microphone? The modded PC350 is best alternative that I have tested for my needs. Yes, I know that a lot of people detest them and think they are a pile of cow dung, but for me they are an amazing upgrade from the crap I've tested. Most of them had faults that the modded pc350 hasn't, but I feel that Sennheiser could've made a lot better headset than the 350.
 
 
 
 

 

[Mastermind]

m00ndancer   PC350  headphones are really good in terms of build quality, mike, comfort and many in many other aspects but the problem with the intentional reducing sound quality is not as simple as it may seem. I believe that main reason is  what Jaawa  has just said - there aren't too many audiophilegamers. I'm an FPS gamer  myself  and know lots of guys who could really be called "pro"-gamers and 99% of them do not care about balanced sound. Clear and well-positioned sound bothers them more. So if this series of headsets was really created in cooperation with pro-gamers, may be they were just following  their wishes. Another reason  - playing some other non-FPS games, like WOW usually involves much talking  - with party members etc. and clear voice/good mike here play not the latest role. Third  - technical/economical  reason - developing totally new driver requires extra time and resources, while adjusting the sound of an existing driver is much more simple and more time/money efficient.
 
So taking into account all above said you can see that quality of sound for audiophiles takes not even first places in the list of priorities.  I can understand Senn's way of thinking in this regards, but I belong to that 1% of players who believe the better overall sound quality and balance the better gaming experience is. I don't even mention listening to music - it goes without  saying. 
 
As Arabs say -  If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, Muhammad will come to the mountain)) so thanks to Sennheiser that we have 350/360 series and the rest we'll do ourselves.
 
Hopefully one day they finally meet an audiophile gamer and decide to choose a different approach))

 

[m00ndancer]

Mastermind:
 
Thanks for the input. I've been thinking along the same lines even if I don't really belong to the audiophile crowd (Don't know enough about it really) I do want similar things from a headset.
 
- But this quote from you really hit the head on the nail "but I belong to that 1% of players who believe the better overall sound quality and balance the better gaming experience is." - same thing here

 
The PC350 cost me twice what I payed for my last headset and didn't deliver what I wanted until I did the mod. I got it knowing that I'll mod them after some burn-in. I stumbled upon Head-fi searching for a decent headset with a good microphone. So thanks to the excellent help from forum members here.
 
I'm going to put the Asus Xonar Essence STX on my christmas wishlist.

 

[kevral]

Very very interesting pics of the PC 360 drivers. Many thanks, Mastermind!
I'll probably try to do the same to mine, but will wait for a couple more people to do it first.

 
Also explains why I thought they sounded very similar to my modded 555s...

 

[Aceolus]

I just modded my PC350's yesterday and they sound so much better, thanks for all the help

I just made a guide on how to do the bass mod. If anyone wants to check it out go HERE

 

[Mastermind]

Thanks for feedback, guys! I did some experiments with various damping materials as well, and finished with covering  the inner surface of a can with double-layered felted cloth approximately 1.5-2 mm thick, while removing cotton at all. Tried some other kinds of cloth, cotton, but this one gave best results. Got further bass and frequency response improvement - now bass sounds more tight, yet still headphones sound cool and open.  However after thorough testing I found there is slight increase of high frequency at about 7-8 khz. Actually it's works even better in games than modded 350, adding more clarity, but can be a bit tiresome for prolonged listening to music, which however can be easily compensated by equalizing this frequency range following instructions given in the forum. So I'm hesitating now - whether to continue modding and reduce this peak of leave as is since gaming and music take about 50% of time each)))

 

[jschristian44]

the pc350 has a 595 driver in it?

 

[m00ndancer]

Quote:

the pc350 has a 595 driver in it?

From Sennheiser: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/356849/sennheiser-pc350-or-astro-a40#post_4653191
 
and your 555 if I remember correctly. But there ends the similarities, the 595 is an open headset and pc350 is not.

 

[Mastermind]

jschristian44
 
HD555, HD595, PC350, PC360 have the same driver inside, but they all sound differently due to different internal structure, however slight modding allows improving sound quality for all the above-mentioned headphones, thus we can use the full potential of a high quality driver.  

 

[jschristian44]

interesting.

 

[zeroabg]

just finished modding my 350's and all I can say is wow you are my hero op!

 

[ourfpshero]

Quote:

just finished modding my 350's and all I can say is wow you are my hero op!

lol and thx. i started it but many have improved it. be sure to read whole thread for new ideas on tuning the sound