new hd 555's crackling
Sep 7, 2010 at 2:32 PM Post #17 of 86
i will try to be the best help to you since i owned these and ill tell you my experience.  first off, i never had an amp to power them, i thought they were just fine, but that's just me.  i only had them hooked up to my computer on-board 5.1 sound card so i don't know.  anyways, here is what i did and they sounded awesome in like 6 months.  i stumbled upon the foam mod which was just taking a piece of foam out of the inside off and they said it would sound better.  so i did that, and i thought it sounded a little better.  then like a month later, i read about the soundstage mod and i thought it made them look really cool (check my link), and i couldn't believe how much clearer and wider they sounded.  then i continued to burn them in for like 5 months, and by that time they were the best sounding headphones ever.  crystal clear with everything i played with them.  but if you don't wanna wait that long, i just read about the "pink noise" mp3 file that you just continually run on the headphones and it burns them in.  i suggest just doing it the natural way though.  this is yet another case where "patience" is a virtue, the longer you wait, the better they are going to sound.  i just read the other day of someone who put on 800+ hours on his and said they were incredible.   so i'd say at least after a year, you will have good enough headphones, and then hook it up to the amp.  good luck!
i can't stress enough how the soundstage mod made the headphones sound and look great.  i was a total beginner when i did it so anyone can do it.  i'm venturing into re-wiring the set also, seems a bit more trickier but still manageable.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 2:56 PM Post #18 of 86
where is the link to the soundstage mod? i dont think ill be able to wait that long like a year :D but i do know i have to burn em in and probably do about 100 hours of burning in after that ill use the amp. besides that i listen to it about 3 hours a day and ill be leaving it on every night till i reach something like 200 hours.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 3:03 PM Post #20 of 86
yeah that sounds like a good enough plan, i am just saying after a year of use, it will really shine.  anyways, the soundstage mod link is near the bottom of the first page in one of my posts.  it looks hard to do, but it's super easy, just be careful of the thin wires that are connected to the drivers and you will be fine.  i did it for looks mainly, but i couldn't believe how much nicer everything sounded.  it made me feel like i was in the movie.  like the perfect example i can give is that in saving private ryan, there is a scene when the soldiers are walking across water in the rain.  it made me feel like i was the one walking in the water in the rain, very cool.  and the shots fired at omaha beach in the beginning, sounded like they were going by my head.  can't explain how cool this is :).  this was after they were burned in of course.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 3:06 PM Post #21 of 86
read the entire thread before you do the soundstage mod.  several people recommend cutting out the grill with nail scissors.  if i ever do this again, that is what i will do.  the soldering iron stank and burned the stuff.  definately read the whole thread before you try it.  it really isn't as hard as it looks.  just gotta be delicate with the insides.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 3:33 PM Post #22 of 86
hey
i was just reading the "Burn in Headphones" guide, and i came across this:
 
Is there a wrong way to burn in my headphones?

You risk damaging your headphones at any time by using extremely high volumes. Some recommend setting the volume to a comfortable listening level during burn in, while others recommend a volume slightly higher than your normal listening level. If you hear distortion, pops, or cracks due to high volume, you are likely doing damage to the drivers. Also, using very low volumes will not be very effective in burning in your headphones.
 
so, unplug your amp, and burn the headphones in for at least 100 hours.  but for these headphones i recommend at least 200 hours before attaching the amplifier.  good luck!
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 6:39 PM Post #23 of 86
thanks for ur help :)
 
i mean even lasting 100 hours without my headphones is a mission for me let alone 200 :D
 
i was wondering if there are any drawbacks to the soundstage mod? like more leakage and less strong build for the headphones, the headphones become easier to damage and gather dust in the driver or stuff like that.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 6:49 PM Post #25 of 86
the popping and other sounds are from the headphones clipping the sound because they are being overdriven
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 6:52 PM Post #26 of 86
Sound-stage Mod:
 
Pros:
 
Soundstage widens greatly
things are cleaner and crisper
it makes you feel like your in the action in war movies/etc
you can hear artists sigh/spit, etc.
looks really cool with the see-through driver in the cup
 
Cons:
Sound leakage although it's barely noticable unless you have it on max volume
could damage easier I guess, but I take care of my equipment that is over 100 dollars
no more warranty (probably biggest con, but i barely ever had to use a warranty on anything)
irreversible (can't go back to how it was...well I guess if your careful enough you could glue it back in there using epoxy)
just be careful when taking the cups apart, especially when you pull the driver cup out because it has very thin wires attached to it
 
 
All in all, the pros outweigh the cons by far, other than the warranty loss.  But if your into modding electronics this should be a given.  Anything with electronics, even overclocking a CPU, loses the warranty.  That has never really stopped me before when trying things out, especially with the gain I've heard with these headphones.  Although, the first thing you should do, is remove the 1-inch foam piece that is inside the ear cup and put it back together.  If you can notice a change in the quality, etc then I would do the sound-stage mod.  If you can't notice any change at all, I would just leave them the way they are.  Myself, I noticed a huge change just from removing that foam piece and then I read about the sound-stage mod which made that little mod seem like triple.  Of course, all this will change over time.  The first thing though I would do in your case is remove the foam piece, burn it in for a while, then do the sound-stage mod if you feel a difference in music, movies, games, etc.  And don't worry this mod is nothing special like other mods, I was a complete n00b like i said and all I had to look at were pictures.  My detailed instructions should be very good for you and anyone else.  I just wish people had detailed instructions like I did for re-wiring the headphones.  If you have anymore questions please ask me!
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 6:54 PM Post #27 of 86
and no, just read this thing about burning in:
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/56744/headphone-burn-in-faq
 
but i wouldn't play any bass heavy songs, just play something like eric clapton, green day, britney spears, etc.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 8:07 PM Post #29 of 86
i heard pink noise was the best one, but in all honesty, i suggest just wearing them and letting them naturally burn in, that's what i did.  i played all types of music, played games, watching movies, etc.  just keep the volume at a normal listening level, not too low, not too high and you will be fine.  if i haven't said it already, patience comes in handy.  you got to have patience for the good things to come.
 
Sep 7, 2010 at 8:13 PM Post #30 of 86
I had a pair of HD555s once. Straight outta my laptop they made the said sounds. When i later acquired an amplifier, the problem disappeared.
 
If you're using a software equaliser, this is also likely the problem. Software equalisers distort sound when pushed more than a notch.
 
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