[DavidA]

It seems to me that the era of overpriced magnetic planars is coming to aqn end
at 300 5 year warranty why would anybody buy the unreliable LCD2?

What is the total cost of doing all the mods to the M1060? Ori pads are not cheap and what about dust/hair protection? I'm also reading in this thread that the M1060 has been about as unreliable as the LCD-2f was last year when many got them during the black Friday sale. If you were one of the lucky ones last year the LCD-2f was on sale for $500, B stock at first but due to the amount of orders many got A stock versions. But for me and many others the LCD series are still too heavy to be used for long periods (over 2 hours) as is the M1060 even if a bit lighter than the LCD series.

Another thing to consider is the HE400i is $250 and the HE560 is currently $500, both are more comfortable IMO due to the weight, QC on them is still questionable but seems to be getting better lately, and you don't need to do any mods (new ear pads) to get them to sound acceptable. I do consider the M1060 to be a great value but I'd like to see what people think of the HE4XX ($170) before I go down the M1060 road.

 

[Brahmsian]

To avoid using the steel covers and to avoid stressing the screws now that fuzzors paper towel and stock thick foam
protruded outside the cavity I first used small pieces of tape to keep everything in place.

Ah, yes, I missed the minus sign in your original post.

What is the total cost of doing all the mods to the M1060? Another thing to consider is the HE400i is $250 and the HE560 is currently $500, both are more comfortable IMO due to the weight, QC on them is still questionable but seems to be getting better lately, and you don't need to do any mods (new ear pads) to get them to sound acceptable. I do consider the M1060 to be a great value but I'd like to see what people think of the HE4XX ($170) before I go down the M1060 road.

Depends on what you mostly listen to. If you listen to a lot edm, dubstep, electro, house, pop, the M1060 is a much better value even factoring in the price of new pads, I mean there's just no comparison. I also prefer the M1060 for rock. And for listening to movies. Again, really blows the 400i v2 out of the water.

 

[PockyG]

What is the total cost of doing all the mods to the M1060? But for me and many others the LCD series are still too heavy to be used for long periods (over 2 hours) as is the M1060 even if a bit lighter than the LCD series.

Personally I missed out on the vegan pads so I had to look for an alternative. @$15, the Velpad is the best alternative I could find for a low price. The overall tone is superb with the fuzzor mod.
Bought some Walmart felt sheets for about $.30 for the fuzzor mod and they work well for me. Used a glue stick to put them on the drivers and they stick well enough without going overboard.

Another thing to consider is the HE400i is $250 and the HE560 is currently $500, both are more comfortable IMO due to the weight, QC on them is still questionable but seems to be getting better lately, and you don't need to do any mods (new ear pads) to get them to sound acceptable. I do consider the M1060 to be a great value but I'd like to see what people think of the HE4XX ($170) before I go down the M1060 road.

The M1060 build quality is suspect but the only problem I had was the swivel cap falling out. Rev 2 seemed to have fixed the wood cup and band issue nicely. Haven't had any connector issues thus far either. I haven't had any issue due to weight on the M1060 but that could vary for each person. The head strap does a good job of distributing the weight.

I think the HE4XX will be a better value at nearly half the price, but after mods, the M1060 will pull ahead in the end with a superior low end when they are head to head.

 

[Brahmsian]

the only problem I had was the swivel cap falling out.

I haven't had a single problem with my M1060 (yet). By the way, I also have to take issue with David's assertion that the 400i is more comfortable. While never uncomfortable or painful, the weight distribution of the stock pads was irritating. The Audeze lambskins took care of it. M1060 comfort is superb. I think DavidA listened to a stock pair.

 

[DavidA]

Depends on what you mostly listen to. If you listen to a lot edm, dubstep, electro, house, pop, the M1060 is a much better value even factoring in the price of new pads, I mean there's just no comparison. I also prefer the M1060 for rock. And for listening to movies. Again, really blows the 400i v2 out of the water.

I think that my impressions are a little different from most since I have the V1 400i which has been modded with sorbothane ($2 for a small sheet of 50 duro 3/16" thick) in the cups and on the back plate, I've also installed attenuation rings (heavy card stock, free) in the ear pads and I compared it with a stock M1060, which sounded boring with no life, it lacked any extension in the highs to the point of being "veiled" IMO and also to the owner of the M1060. But this same M1060 sound really good to the sister of the owner so I think it really is a individual preference and maybe the experiences of listening to other headphones/speakers/IEMs, the individuals hearing and other exposure to music in general.

One factor that I feel influences my impression is the level that I and the owner listen at, 65-75dB, which is lower than most. This is probably why many consider Grado headphones bright, I would consider them very bright if I listened at anything over 70dB but at 50-60dB they are quite good. Agree with you that the genre is a factor since I don't listen to dubstep, house or electro and very little EDM and pop. For movies I use a HD700 since its light, comfortable and has a great positional audio and sound stage and the bass is not bad and very detailed. For jazz, rock and blues the RS2e, Ypsilon R1 or Nhoord Red V2 are about as good as it gets to me, fast, punchy, clean detailed bass, and a little sparkle w/ clean extended highs. HD800, T1g1, HE560 or SR009 for classical, its what I think these headphones were designed for. They are also quite unforgiving of poor / sub par recordings and need to be paired with a decent DAC/amp to get the most out of them.

Personally I missed out on the vegan pads so I had to look for an alternative. @$15, the Velpad is the best alternative I could find for a low price. The overall tone is superb with the fuzzor mod. Bought some Walmart felt sheets for about $.30 for the fuzzor mod and they work well for me. Used a glue stick to put them on the drivers and they stick well enough without going overboard.

The M1060 build quality is suspect but the only problem I had was the swivel cap falling out. Rev 2 seemed to have fixed the wood cup and band issue nicely. Haven't had any connector issues thus far either. I haven't had any issue due to weight on the M1060 but that could vary for each person. The head strap does a good job of distributing the weight.

I think the HE4XX will be a better value at nearly half the price, but after mods, the M1060 will pull ahead in the end with a superior low end when they are head to head.

Seems like the fuzzor mod is what the Fazor is to the LCD series, to channel sound waves through the slits in the driver housing and also to reduce reflections. As I noted earlier the weight is an issue with all of the LCD series and the M1060 is still up there in weight, also the stock pads on the LCD and M1060 get hot very quickly for me. I consider the HD700 and SRH-1840 as my bench marks for comfort which considers weight, clamping force, feel of ear pads, headband weight distribution and how breathable the ear pads / headphones are.

As for the HE4XX, it looks like they used a variation of the HE400i driver which is a shame since I think the older HE400 driver has more potential but at $170 its hard to dismiss them until more get to try them.

 

[DavidA]

I haven't had a single problem with my M1060 (yet). By the way, I also have to take issue with David's assertion that the 400i is more comfortable. While never uncomfortable or painful, the weight distribution of the stock pads was irritating. The Audeze lambskins took care of it. M1060 comfort is superb. I think DavidA listened to a stock pair.

I was going to edit my prior post but figured this might be easier.
I think the shape of ones head makes a difference on how the weight/pressure will be distributed so in my case the HE400i/560 pads fit really well and I get a good seal but you have a good point that for some it might be irritating. I did bend the metal headband to reduce the clamping force since it was giving me a head ache at first.

Audeze lambskins, leather and most pads which don't have either velour or alcantara where it touches the side of my head gets hot quickly for me.

And yes the M1060 I listened to was bone stock, but I haven't totally given up yet, I'm trying to get borrow some Eikon pads, ori pads and Ether pads from a friend to try on the M1060, hopefully within the next few months since the owner of the pads lives in Japan and travels quite a bit for work.

 

[koover]

I couldn't agree more with everyone who's said it definitely depends on the genre of music you listen too and especially how loud you listen. If I were to listen at or below say 75 or 70 db's, I wouldn't even bother. I listen to a wide variety of music but mostly lean towards progressive metal, progressive rock and Djent where they all sound excellent. This type of music "needs" some volume anyway.

As I said a page or 2 back, I'd like to try the fuzzor but the Audeze leathers were placed on the cup with the old adhesive and trying to remove them now, they start to rip the back of the pad. Ain't gonna do it.
I actually took off the papertowel mod and with just the Audeze leathers, it made a world of difference. It doesn't hurt either that I EQ these a bit pumping up the bass about 2 db's between 50-100 and toning down 2 db's @ 5k and 2hz in the treble (settings vary by band). I really like the presentation with the volume, pad swap and a bit of EQ'ing.
It's all preference gentleman.

 

[macky112]

To avoid using the steel covers and to avoid stressing the screws now that fuzzors paper towel and stock thick foam
protruded outside the cavity I first used small pieces of tape to keep everything in place.

Then it dawned on me to use 2 inch Kraft paper tape that is easy to replace in an attempt to experiment.with
additional damping and to simulate port vending. So I put across covering more than hall and living open a
quarter on the top and a quarter on the bottom.

I was absolutely amazed and could not believe the result.

Low level excellent with outstanding bass and focused seductive female vocals

Relatively easy to drive.

Never strained or distorting with the Sony-Pha3 set to max followed by the
ifi DSD at max sensitivity(4watt) and volume control set to 1 o'clock and followed
by the TA 101 (20 Watt) volume set to 12 o'clock unbelievable experience
zero noise between tracks,
bass sound level hitting you in the chest like in live concerts
liquid melting mids
thunderous and sweat cymbals and percussion instruments.
Never losing control
Always feeling ready to go higher, went up to 2 o'clock on Trends
and stopped just not to push my lack and damage the drivers.

I called my best man that owns a radio station and was a famous rock DJ and an old colleague of mine
at the University who is a music Professor, composer, piano and accordion player and recording engineer that
we had worked together in the past to produce a CD with "artistic Greek song" genre music.

We all agreed that this final version can really kick some serious ass.

Whether low, moderate or high sound level,
bit perfect purist with no no DSP or some DSP added to in a set and forget manner
the phones would be a joy to listen to regardless of genre..recording method/style,
or source used such as mp3, WAV, HiRes or YouTube music video clips..

It seems to me that the era of overpriced magnetic planars is coming to aqn end
at 300 5 year warranty why would anybody buy the unreliable LCD2?

Could you please show us a picture from f what the cup side of your m1060 looks like?

 

[kintsaki]

Could you please show us a picture from f what the cup side of your m1060 looks like?

https://www.flickr.com/cameraroll/

 

[kintsaki]

https://www.flickr.com/cameraroll/

picture of my modified cups

 

[nocmnt]

Guys

I've completely covered the backside with paper towel, I have the vegan pads
I've tried the paper towel mod with the 3 inch paper and the clarity just isn't there
Try it with both and let me know your thoughts... to my ears it sounds much better with paper towels covering completely

 

[kintsaki]

What is the total cost of doing all the mods to the M1060? Ori pads are not cheap and what about dust/hair protection? I'm also reading in this thread that the M1060 has been about as unreliable as the LCD-2f was last year when many got them during the black Friday sale. If you were one of the lucky ones last year the LCD-2f was on sale for $500, B stock at first but due to the amount of orders many got A stock versions. But for me and many others the LCD series are still too heavy to be used for long periods (over 2 hours) as is the M1060 even if a bit lighter than the LCD series.

Another thing to consider is the HE400i is $250 and the HE560 is currently $500, both are more comfortable IMO due to the weight, QC on them is still questionable but seems to be getting better lately, and you don't need to do any mods (new ear pads) to get them to sound acceptable. I do consider the M1060 to be a great value but I'd like to see what people think of the HE4XX ($170) before I go down the M1060 road.

So you agree the era of 1000 $ 1 year warranty is over as more and more opportunities for cheaper planars arise.

The cost of my mods is 50$ for ZMF + 5$ for tape felt etc. If velour or vinyl AKG or BEYER pads are used or other standard pads then cost is15$.

I do not have Hifiman experience to report on.

Comfort is a silly issue being discussed in forums, introduced by professional reviewers with questionable knowledge experience and skills to justify their existence.

I never had an issue with any of the phones I owned in the past 45 years. OK some are better than others but nobody would trade performance for comfort.

THe M1060 is quite comfortable, so what if the Hifiman is more comfortable your choice will be based on which one sounds better to your ears and for 100$ price
deltas you will still chose the one that sounds better.

Buying used in Headfi of course you save 20 to 30 percent and if you don't like it you sell it with minimal loss.

So no need to going over and over on comfort and price performance arguments. Just buy, modify, listen and if you don't like sell and move on.
No matter what you read until you listen with your own ears you will not know. The more phones you listen to the more you will be able to see
whose descriptions of products to trust and whose to desregard when tryin to guess if you will like a phone you never heard.
You dont go by statistics (more people prefer x over y, what if you are like the less who prefer y over x)

 

[kintsaki]

Guys

I've completely covered the backside with paper towel, I have the vegan pads
I've tried the paper towel mod with the 3 inch paper and the clarity just isn't there
Try it with both and let me know your thoughts... to my ears it sounds much better with paper towels covering completely

I am of the same opinion. The cavity diameter is 95mm, I used 75mm first and then went up to 89
to live a small breathing path, but I placed it under the thick foam and on top of the foam I adder paper tape that covers half the area. I also used slightly wider fuzzors strips and that is why I achieved stellar performance regardless of volume level, recording media file types and music genres.

 

[DavidA]

So you agree the era of 1000 $ 1 year warranty is over as more and more opportunities for cheaper planars arise.

The cost of my mods is 50$ for ZMF + 5$ for tape felt etc. If velour or vinyl AKG or BEYER pads are used or other standard pads then cost is15$.

I do not have Hifiman experience to report on.

Comfort is a silly issue being discussed in forums, introduced by professional reviewers with questionable knowledge experience and skills to justify their existence.

I never had an issue with any of the phones I owned in the past 45 years. OK some are better than others but nobody would trade performance for comfort.

THe M1060 is quite comfortable, so what if the Hifiman is more comfortable your choice will be based on which one sounds better to your ears and for 100$ price
deltas you will still chose the one that sounds better.

Buying used in Headfi of course you save 20 to 30 percent and if you don't like it you sell it with minimal loss.

So no need to going over and over on comfort and price performance arguments. Just buy, modify, listen and if you don't like sell and move on.
No matter what you read until you listen with your own ears you will not know. The more phones you listen to the more you will be able to see
whose descriptions of products to trust and whose to desregard when tryin to guess if you will like a phone you never heard.
You dont go by statistics (more people prefer x over y, what if you are like the less who prefer y over x)

I don't think the era of $1000 headphones is over, it seems to be going up even higher these days but the M1060 is a good start to provide better value along with the Massdrop HE4XX, HD6XX, THX00 and K7XX.

Ori pads + shipping is currently $75 so you got a good deal IMO

Comfort is an issue and anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves. If the best sounding headphones were only $100 but they were so uncomfortable that you can only listen for a few minutes at a time what's the point?

I know many that will trade performance for comfort since if you can listen for more than a few minutes the great performance of the headphone is lost, most will look for a balance between cost, performance and comfort. Along these same lines there are those that will also consider the aesthetics of gear to be an important consideration in a purchase, sometime even more important the performance, which is why I think there are so few females in this hobby since they tend to place a higher value in aesthetics than males.

Agree that actually listening to a headphone is the best way to evaluate but this is before doing any mods. But if you have the same preferences as another then I would put more weight on that persons impressions.

I've tried the M1060, (stock since it was not mine), it was very boring and nothing like all the hype I've been reading but I haven't given up yet.

 

[nocmnt]

I am of the same opinion. The cavity diameter is 95mm, I used 75mm first and then went up to 89
to live a small breathing path, but I placed it under the thick foam and on top of the foam I adder paper tape that covers half the area. I also used slightly wider fuzzors strips and that is why I achieved stellar performance regardless of volume level, recording media file types and music genres.

hey, can you kindly show me a pic of how you have the tape?