[Darksoul]

Love my Aivas and have recently started tweaking with Equalizer APO in Windows. Any suggested settings to adjust for some of the minor issues people are having? Which ranges should I adjust to bring the treble down a little and bring up the recessed mids? I don't want to completely change the U shaped curve, but do want to improve the already amazing sound signature.

Also, one side of my headband seems to slip a bit. Is there a way to tighten it?

Here's a list of the things I did to solve all those things you addressed:
1. Bought a pair of these pads:



They look and feel a whole lot like ZMF Universe pads, found them in amazon for 35USD.

2. I tried several dampening materials both in front and behind the driver:



Dampening in front of the driver mostly tuned down the highs significantly. The black thing is rubber foam, while the white one is...regular foam 1/8" thick. The Rubber Foam damped the highs the most, to the point it sounded muffled. The one with the coarsely cut 1" hole did all right in dampening the highs without muffling and bring up the bass a bit. The material that I'm currently using in front of the driver is felt:



This one does an excellent job at taming down the really upper high frequencies, while leaving the mids mostly intact. Compared to the rubber foam and the regular foam, the felt didn't seem to muffle the details, felt overall has nicer...timbre compared to the foams. I've been using that pink felt ever since. Another effect of the felt is that it brought up the mid bass a notch, without losing detail in the mids. Maybe with black felt the effect would be more pronounced...

3. After that I added some more felt to the back grills, I also tested with regular foam and rubber foam, with holes and whatnot. At the end I decided to use felt on the back grill as well instead of leaving it alone. I just preferred the sound with felt on the girll.
4. One last thing I did was adding a "gasket" to help seal the front and rear back cavities better. My logic for that was based on this article: https://homebrewheadphones.com/design/detailed-design/



The result was an immediate and very welcomed boost to the lower frequencies, without becoming bloated. They aren't bass monsters, but they certainly aren't bass shy anymore. In fact, so far it's the best bass I've had on a pair of headphones (headphones I have owned/owned, not listened to...I certainly like the bass better on these jury-rigged Aivas than on the LCD-2C I managed to listen once)

5. The last thing about the headband slipping. I went full brute force with it:



Please remove the headband from the headphone before attempting to bend it, or you'll very likely break something.

I did two bends, the first one to prevent from slipping beyond that point. That is my preferred position. The second one is right where the headband connects to the headphone, it's like a 70-80 degree bend. I did that so the earpads could seal better bellow my ears when it rested on my jaw. The geometry of the stock Aiva heaband combined with the bigger earpads, created too little pressure when resting in my jaw; bellow my ears, and was losing seal and bass. That little mod makes the headband exert a more even pressure around my ears giving me a more consistent seal.

Those are all the things I did. These headphones are detail monsters with a really nice timbre and a solid bass signature; at least on my gear and with my modifications. I think I can get more detail out of these with a better DAC. I'll get back when I get my gnarly claws on an ADI-2.

 

[Mtbaker22]

Are these the pads you are referring to?
Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads Compatible with Fostex TH-600 TH-610 TH-900/900MK2 FOSTEX T50/T40/T20RP, E-MU Teak, Massdrop TH-X00 and TR-X00 and Some ZMF Headphones (Sheepskin Leather)

 

[Darksoul]

Are these the pads you are referring to?
Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads Compatible with Fostex TH-600 TH-610 TH-900/900MK2 FOSTEX T50/T40/T20RP, E-MU Teak, Massdrop TH-X00 and TR-X00 and Some ZMF Headphones (Sheepskin Leather)

Yes, I refrained from posting the direct link to avoid any conflict of interests.

 

[Mtbaker22]

Thanks... And great write up by the way.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Can anyone rec me some leather earpads around the 30 - 35 price point. I was looking at the ones mentioned above and they seem very nice. Amazinly nice for the price. I want low end to improve while still keep the nice mids and maybe taming treble slightly. If soundstage can be slightly improved that would be a bonus

 

[Darksoul]

Can anyone rec me some leather earpads around the 30 - 35 price point. I was looking at the ones mentioned above and they seem very nice. Amazinly nice for the price. I want low end to improve while still keep the nice mids and maybe taming treble slightly. If soundstage can be slightly improved that would be a bonus

I tried like 5 different pair of ear pads on the Aiva; Brainwavz, Dekoni, alternate perforated stock pads, velour, sheepskin, perforated sheepskin. Out of all of those the ones I mentioned gave the Aiva bass more grunt, without making them sound cavernous like the Brainwavz sheepskin. The thing that really made them rumble...compared to stock at least, was adding that gasket; it was a significant improvement to the sound signature. The soundstage was kind of improved, they're still headphones but it's all right.

 

[Mtbaker22]

What material did you use to create the gasket?

 

[Darksoul]

What material did you use to create the gasket?

Regular rubber foam, it was like 1/8" thick? maybe a bit more thick. Word of caution when attempting this. The plastic ring where the earpads attach, is going to be raised in a similar distance as the thickness of the gasket used. Second advice, the screws are going into the wood itself, that means when screwing them back in with the gasket, don't over tighten! seriously. Screw just enough so the gasket is lightly compressed and the plastic ring is more or less leveled. This is to avoid destroying the threads on the wood, they are going to take a bit of a beating with this but nothing to be afraid of if you're careful.

Another note about the geometry of the gasket. The one that ended up working was one that wasn't a closed ring. The second gasket I used was perfectly cut, but when I put it with the plastic ring it wrinkled, it failed to create any seal and it did nothing. You can't tell from the picture, but that gasket has a cut on the top. It has like a 2-3 milimeter gap, I noticed when it's compressed (LIGHTLY!) that extra gap lets the rubber deform in that direction, it prevents the gasket from wrinkling and creates a much better seal than all the stuff I tried up to that point.

Do tell me how this goes for you. Here's hoping I'm not talking out of my arse with these mods and these small things create a favorable change on the sound of your own Aivas. You know how audiophiles ears can't be trusted.

 

[BubbaJay]

I still love the way my Aiva sounds stock but I have wanted to get a thicker pad so I might give those a shot. I don't really want the sound signature to change but if it gives me a bit more soundstage width that would be great.

I've been listening to my Sundara the past few weeks because I just got them and they're a great headphone for the price. When I went back to listen to the Aiva they sounded to closed in with not a lot of separation at first but after letting my brain adjust back to them they sound as good as ever. Also, going from low to high gain on my SMSL SP200 amp the imaging and separation seem to be better. Even though the Aiva is a more sensitive planar they do scale up with more power imo.

 

[Grayven]

I still love the way my Aiva sounds stock but I have wanted to get a thicker pad so I might give those a shot. I don't really want the sound signature to change but if it gives me a bit more soundstage width that would be great.

I've been listening to my Sundara the past few weeks because I just got them and they're a great headphone for the price. When I went back to listen to the Aiva they sounded to closed in with not a lot of separation at first but after letting my brain adjust back to them they sound as good as ever. Also, going from low to high gain on my SMSL SP200 amp the imaging and separation seem to be better. Even though the Aiva is a more sensitive planar they do scale up with more power imo.

i have found that they definitely like lots of power.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

I tried like 5 different pair of ear pads on the Aiva; Brainwavz, Dekoni, alternate perforated stock pads, velour, sheepskin, perforated sheepskin. Out of all of those the ones I mentioned gave the Aiva bass more grunt, without making them sound cavernous like the Brainwavz sheepskin. The thing that really made them rumble...compared to stock at least, was adding that gasket; it was a significant improvement to the sound signature. The soundstage was kind of improved, they're still headphones but it's all right.

I like how the Aiva sound stock. I honestly just want slightly more low end and soundstage. It seem like the earpads you mentioned are the ones to go for

 

[BubbaJay]

If I can get a thicker pad that fits and if it helps the soundstage a little bit I'll be a happy camper.

 

[shafat777]

@BubbaJay

I have been experimenting with at least 10 pairs of pads for the AIVA due to the really searing treble peaks (treble sensitive) and these are my impressions:

Sendy aiva (at least the one I have) has a very sensitive ear cups and large pads can cause the driver to rattle or creak when you put the headphones on. The increased air pressure from the thicker pads (zmf, angled oval, brainwavz) rattle the drivers. The stock pads (regular or perforated) dont have that issue. As far as the sound is concerned, I find the ZMF oval (lambskin, Cowhide or protein) are the best, if.....you can deal with a slight rattle, but only when you put them on.

On the other hand, thinner pads, such as (ZMF universe, eikon or Brainwavz XL protein or sheepskin) pads completely eliminate the driver rattle at a cost of slightly lower bass. Any good brand sheepskin fenestrated or perforated pads, in my opinion, will elevate the mids of the Aiva by at least a little bit. Thats why i am currently using my Brainwavz xl round perforated protein pads on my aivas and I am content. If i can somehow manage to stop the drive rattles, then I am definitely gonna put on the ZMF oval pads.

I hope this helps. I am a new member so I am usually very shy about posting stuff because you guys are the gurus that i learn from so I really hope I was able to help someone with these headphones.

Best

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Here's a list of the things I did to solve all those things you addressed:
1. Bought a pair of these pads:



They look and feel a whole lot like ZMF Universe pads, found them in amazon for 35USD.

I found the Perforated version of these earpads. How do you think they would effect the sound.
They are called the AHG OMNI and the non perforated are called the AHG ORION

 

[BubbaJay]

I was going to get a set of those ear pads but I really love the way my Aiva sounds with the second version of the Aiva pads I got a while ago. I don't want to gain some soundstage width but then maybe lose some of that intament intenseness that makes them such a good headphone to me.

The pads aren't expensive so I still might get a pair to try them out but I also thought about getting one of the ZMF pads to try as well. The one thing holding me back is the fact they cost around $50 or $60 and I don't want to spend that if I don't like them.