[lee730]

Quote:

I think you'll be quite pleased with the results

  I just re-cabled my d2k's with cryo treated mogami wire. The biggest difference to me was the detail and smoother presentation.  I also dampened the cups which really helped the mids and tighten the bass.  I'd like to try your open back mod but reaching for that drill has been tough.
 
I also totally get having somebody else do the re-cable. I did it myself but it scared the crap out of me. Lol every time I had the soldering gun near the driver I thought "well there goes $250..."
 

You can just experiment and take the cups off to see if you like the sound before actually committing to drilling the holes. Just unscrew the cups and test if you like it. Its not permanent at all.
 
 

 

[hans030390]

You can just experiment and take the cups off to see if you like the sound before actually committing to drilling the holes. Just unscrew the cups and test if you like it. Its not permanent at all. 
 

Don't forget to raise the earpads by placing them on the frame of the headphones instead of locking them in like normal.

 

[kjoh]

Quote:

You can just experiment and take the cups off to see if you like the sound before actually committing to drilling the holes. Just unscrew the cups and test if you like it. Its not permanent at all. 
 

Funny you mention that, i was just sitting here thinking the same thing.  Though I wondered if that would be an accurate test since the air flow would be a little different.
 

 

[kjoh]

Decided to try it out anyway.
 
First off, the soundstage is way better!  Sound in general is a little more forward and natural. Vocals sound less congested.
 
Kudos hans

  Drill won't be a problem now.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

Funny you mention that, i was just sitting here thinking the same thing

  Though I wondered if that would be an accurate test since the air flow would be a little different

 

Someone didn't read my first post carefully enough.

There is a very minor difference between having the cups completely off and having them on with the hole drilled in them. This is assuming the hole is at least as large as the driver. The differences became non-existent once I added sound acoustic dampening foam in the open-backed cups.

Again, don't forget about raising the earpads by placing them on the frame of the headphones rather than locking them in place like normal. Use those plastic locking pads as “stands” to offset and raise the earpads off the frame a bit. They need airflow underneath. Use your noggin to keep them in place while listening.

 

[kjoh]

Hehe, yeah sry I didn't read carefully.
 
I also just tried the paper mod. As you mentioned, it brings back alot of the bass impact lost through the open back mod. I'm now quite happy with these hp's

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

Hehe, yeah sry I didn't read carefully.
 
I also just tried the paper mod. As you mentioned, it brings back alot of the bass impact lost through the open back mod. I'm now quite happy with these hp's

Honestly, I wasn't expecting anyone else to try removing that paper! But, yes, in my opinion, that paper removal is almost as important as raising the earpads with this mod if you're having the same problems I was after doing it (too bright and sibilant). I didn't personally feel like they needed more bass after the open mod, but I can't say I was disappointed that they gained more back after removing that paper. Glad you're liking the results!

 

[hans030390]

Got my D2000s back from being recabled! Unfortunately, the new cables made the upper mids and treble brighter and more sibilant. They still sound good, and aside from that, the sound seems more refined overall. I've been burning them in just in case. I will probably run pink noise through them for a few days.
 
I am determined to get these issues ironed out, though! I actually removed all of the paper from the back of the driver. This does NOT include the paper on the back of the driver baffle. Like my previous experiments with paper remove, this greatly helped reduce the aggressive treble. Much easier to listen to now! But, still like before, this brought out more bass and lower mids. The sound is boomier now and could definitely use some tightening. It also seems like some of the mids have been clouded over now. Basically the sound seems less focused...it needs to be tightened.
 
So, what's next? I plan on replacing the acoustic foam on the back of the driver with Dynamat, and I also plan on putting Dynamat on the front of the driver baffle. I'm hoping this will tighten the bass up.
 
I also will be experimenting with placing various materials in front of the driver in order to reduce sibilance and upper-mid/treble peaks. I might also try using different materials to cover the open part of the cups. I was toying around with some felt over them, and found that it can help bring back some of the mids and treble that were lost from the driver paper removal without making the existing peaks much worse. The sound became a bit more focused while retaining the good sound stage.
 
Would I recommend a recable? It depends...I feel like the recable will give them more potential and a more refined sound in the end, but it will also require some additional modding to take care of the sound changes the cable brings. If you don't want to mess with that, I think the stock cable actually works in favor of this mod.
 
While it might seem like my mods are more like band-aiding any problems that come up, I'm having fun with this! There is so much potential here, and I can't wait to see where I can take these!
 
Once I have done more tweaking/modding, I'll be updating the original post with details and pictures.

 

[TMRaven]

Did you a/b the new cable with the backs of the headphone closed and open?

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

Did you a/b the new cable with the backs of the headphone closed and open?

Well, I don't have extra cups to try it closed, and trying to cover up the hole in my existing cups doesn't really represent how they would sound if they were actually closed. That, and the velcro that keeps my earpads on makes it difficult to lock the earpads back in like normal.
 
Also, considering I've removed the paper from the back of the driver, they are already going to sound different than stock even if closed.
 
Based on what I'm hearing though, with the Mogami 2534 recable, you'll get more treble and maybe tighter bass. I've heard some people say a recable helped reduce sibilance, but it made it worse in my case.

 

[kjoh]

The w2534 is exactly what I have.  I do agree that it put more emphasis on the higher end compared to the stock cable, but I also thought it brought more detail and tightened up the flabby bass a bit. With the open mod though I fully support removing the center paper from the back of the driver.  Otherwise it's a bit too bright. Reminds me of the sr325is a little actually.
 
Also Hans I have dynamat in my earcups and while I think removing the paper makes the bass boomier, I still thought it was somewhat tight. Although I don't have any dynamat on the back of the driver and I've never tried the acoustic foam. 

 

[thrillhaus]

You can't "burn in" a cable. Upgrading a cable is never going to do anything to attenuate excessive treble. From my experience as a guitarist, treble information is the first to go when using an overly long cable, or extremely cheap one. So if anything, it was to be expected that your treble would be enhanced from a cable upgrade. I guess I should have pressed the issue harder when I first mentioned this.
 
Also, I see that some people when "upgrading" their cables, are actually just making them longer, and possibly with marginally better materials. But the length is what is probably attenuating the treble for them. If you're using the headphones on a computer, your best bet is to just EQ the sibilance out. Otherwise, a longer cable I guess?

 

[kjoh]

Also I got a hold of some wood-boring tools over the weekend and here's what I came up with.
 

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

The w2534 is exactly what I have.  I do agree that it put more emphasis on the higher end compared to the stock cable, but I also thought it brought more detail and tightened up the flabby bass a bit. With the open mod though I fully support removing the center paper from the back of the driver.  Otherwise it's a bit too bright. Reminds me of the sr325is a little actually

 
Also Hans I have dynamat in my earcups and while I think removing the paper makes the bass boomier, I still thought it was somewhat tight. Although I don't have any dynamat on the back of the driver and I've never tried the acoustic foam. 

Oh, yes. Removing the center paper from the back of the driver still keeps the bass tight. When you remove the ring of paper that goes around the middle of the driver, though, the bass becomes noticeably flabbier. It's not horrid or anything. All it takes is a very, very slight EQ in the 100-250Hz area to tighten it up. I bet some Dynamat will take care of it for me!
 
Quote:

You can't "burn in" a cable. Upgrading a cable is never going to do anything to attenuate excessive treble. From my experience as a guitarist, treble information is the first to go when using an overly long cable, or extremely cheap one. So if anything, it was to be expected that your treble would be enhanced from a cable upgrade. I guess I should have pressed the issue harder when I first mentioned this.
 
Also, I see that some people when "upgrading" their cables, are actually just making them longer, and possibly with marginally better materials. But the length is what is probably attenuating the treble for them. If you're using the headphones on a computer, your best bet is to just EQ the sibilance out. Otherwise, a longer cable I guess?

I didn't figure that you could burn in a cable, but I'm pretty sure I've heard people mentioning it before. I am of the opinion that it certainly won't hurt to burn them in. I mean, all you do is run pink noise through them and stick them somewhere to hide the noise! That's about as easy as it gets. The cable is as long as the stock one. I also prefer to not have to use EQ, as EQ implementation can vary widely between different software/hardware.
 
Quote:

Also I got a hold of some wood-boring tools over the weekend and here's what I came up with

 

That looks great! What are you using for the grill material? And are your earpads raised like mine or locked in to the headphones like normal?
 

 

[TMRaven]

How does attenuating the bass from an EQ tighten the bass up?  Are we crossing the line between actual bass decay and bass quantity?  I sincerely hope not.  It's a subject I've been questioning to anybody who says the D2000's bass 'tightens' up with the recabling.  I'd like to trust they actually mean more controlled bass and not just less of it.