[lpfan4ever]

I registered just to say thinks to all who've contributed to this thread. I bought some used PC350's after looking at this thread and was thinking they really couldn't be too bad without the mod. Damn I was wrong. I just did one hole in each with a heated nail and this headset doesn't even sound the same now, it's amazing.

 

[Phyltre]

Mastermind, am I seeing something different than what you saw?  I opened up my pc360 G4ME and didn't notice any tiny adhesive paper over the middle of the driver.  This is what I was seeing:
 


Obviously there's that layer around the outside of the driver, but that looks to be for bass.  The opposite side appears unobstructed as well.
 
Quote:

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

 

[Mastermind]

Sure, this is because you opened the can from the front and now viewing the front side of the speaker, a diaphragm, while you are supposed to remove that piece from the back side. i.e. open the can by removing several screws and you will see its back side where magnet is. The piece of adhesive paper is just in the middle of the magnet  - you should remove it in order to allow air go into the can. Also make sure to dampen the inner space of the can after that. 

 

[YevS]

Hi just registered to post about this mod.
 
I'm no expert in sound by any strech of the imagination, but my 350s seem to be bad at Treble. I'm playing gothic 4 right now and most sounds you hear sound like they are coming from behind a wall.
 
I modded the headphones as shown in this thread and the bass has improved, but everything still sounds muddled. Not sure if its the tuning or the soundcard or just the breaking in (got about 20 hours on them). Maybe its the game?
 
Would an amp help? My soundcard is X-FI gamer.

 

[Mastermind]

I doubt there is something wrong with your earphones, trebles there are fine unless your 350s are fake ones. All complaints are related mostly to bass level before mod. Most probably there is a problem with a sound card driver. I'm using x-fi gamer myself and it's pretty good card for my purposes and works fine with 350s. First of all make sure to check  card's control panel and disable cmss-3d, equalizer, and set speakers to "headphones" or "2/2.1" mode. If it does not help try to update sound card driver.
 
And of course, game is not the best way to check earphones quality since it depends on too many factors, just listen to some music you know and see how it sounds.

 

[YevS]

Well, I've gone and disabled all the 3D effects and such and it does sound better, however I still needed to boost the treble so that the bass doesent drown out everything else.
 
I dont think its the driver, I updated that recently. And they cant be fake, I got them from overclockers.
 
Perhaps I put too much cotton wool in them?
 
Thanks for the help

 

[Phyltre]

I'm certainly far from an expert on the subject, but the going rule is that if you can see through the layer of cotton damping to the other side, you did it right.  You don't want a solid wall, you want something akin to a "smoky room" effect.  If you put it more than that, I'd definitely say that could be your problem.
 
I found the 360s greatly benefited from the insertion of light cotton damping.  At first I was concerned there was a placebo effect, but I did some DIY blind testing and the damped side really did sound better to me.  I guessed it right 3 times in a row (which isn't saying much statistically, but good enough for anecdata!)  The music sounded more controlled-studio, with less sibilance.  If you've ever heard the difference between someone doing voice recording in a quiet room with no mic windscreen versus doing it in an anechoic chamber with a fuzzy mic--that's the sound difference I was hearing.  
 
On a related note, I never did find any adhesive paper over the center mass of the driver.
 

 
And just to clarify what I saw, here's a detail shot with the serial number printed on the diaphragm itself highlighted (meaning we're seeing all the way through):
 

 
So that area seems clear of adhesive paper.  There wasn't anything else between the magnet and the outer wall of the headphone, either, except for the logo and the metal grating it's attached to.  So maybe mine was different.
 
Quote:

Perhaps I put too much cotton wool in them?

 

[Mastermind]

YevS Phyltre is right, too much cotton may harm, it is supposed to dampen resonance and reflected waves, not to muffle everything. So taking out excess of cotton would be a good move. 
 
Phyltre   That's really interesting. Mine had adhesive paper right on the hole, it fully covered it. I bet our headphones sounded different by default in this case. Senn reps must be stopped putting this paper after reading my post, lol

I guess we need to wait for someone else with another pair of 360s to see what is considered to be the "right" one. But your version is the way better in this case, as there is no need to remove it and you can concentrate on dampening only. By the way, try to stick a piece of  some kind of felted fabric on the back side,  instead of cotton, I liked sound better than with cotton. Bass become more responsive and overall sound quality was better balanced in my opinion. 

 

[eNoq]

My PC350's are arriving today, and I want to do the mod after I listen to them unmodded.
The only problem I see from reading everything, howdeep do I have to drill?
I couldn't see from pictures how deep it actually has to go.
Thanks in advance!
 
eNoq

 

[zeroabg]

Quote:

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

oh absolutely I studied this whole thread during work before going home and trying it, also I tried it before I got my sound card the Xonar Essence STX. The bass stood out before the sound card but after adding the sound card the sound is just incredible. In my opinion the cotton didn't really change much but with the eq on the sound card you can adjust the bass to exactly your liking. The bass did sound a bit muddy with on board sound but it sounds much better through the sound card and its also much much louder with the card

 
 
The holes just have to be enough to break through into the chamber, I made 4 on each on the underside on the chamber using a heated pin, be careful though and try not to pop off the wires as I did and had to solder the one side back on.
 

 

[eNoq]

I just finished modding, and WOAH! It worked perfectly.
I drilled 3 holes in each can, put some cotton in it and I found the perfect balance.
THANKS OP <3

 

[Porter]

Selling my modded PC350 set, if anyone is interested:  http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/517489/sennheiser-pc350-modded-velour

 

[stiff1000]

Hi
i know this post is from 2009,but i have just joined this forum.
I really like the sound quality of my pxc450's,but I would not understand fully about mods you guys are talking about...
all would love to have is more bass from the 450 and I am sorted.
Dont really use the active noise gaurd because its really rubbish when i last time tried in a train trip. they kinda work better without active noise canelling..
my pads are worn out now, when i get replacement earpads, all i want bass, So please tell me how to get more bass as I dont fully get it here of how you did it.
thank you
diria

 

[Hezer]

 
Quote:

Hi
i know this post is from 2009,but i have just joined this forum.
I really like the sound quality of my pxc450's,but I would not understand fully about mods you guys are talking about...
all would love to have is more bass from the 450 and I am sorted.
Dont really use the active noise gaurd because its really rubbish when i last time tried in a train trip. they kinda work better without active noise canelling..
my pads are worn out now, when i get replacement earpads, all i want bass, So please tell me how to get more bass as I dont fully get it here of how you did it.
thank you
diria

Well, this mod is for PC350, not PXC450 so at least I can't give you a step to step guide on that. You can try to read the whole thread, open your headphones and look into if the driver seems similar. There are lot of pictures you can relate to and most of us can probably provide more if needed. Still I don't recommend doing this on any other than PC350 headphones.

 

[stiff1000]

Quote:

 
Well, this mod is for PC350, not PXC450 so at least I can't give you a step to step guide on that. You can try to read the whole thread, open your headphones and look into if the driver seems similar. There are lot of pictures you can relate to and most of us can probably provide more if needed. Still I don't recommend doing this on any other than PC350 headphones.

Yeah I realised the modd is not for 450's after I submitted reply.
Can anybody recommend headphones for home use, Idealy types block noise, but not active noise cancelling, my current headphones are PXC450, earpads are worn out, I would rather buy new headphone than repair them. the main purpose of use will be listening music at home,watching movies/tv,and playing ps3 game(I dont require HP with mic), audio quality is most important to me with good bass if possible,
My budget is £500 max.
Last year I had brief listen of HD650 and they were amazingly clear audio, but I not sure if they blockout background noise as i live with my family who make alot of noise.
my current pxc 450 do a good enough noise blocking without activating the noise gaurd.
thank you all.
Diria