[vid]

Tried running the HOK 80-1 out of the speaker outs on my tiny Technics SU-300, but no major change in the sound. I measured a few extra dB of bass, but the comparison was a measurement of them running off a different (headphone) amp, so could be that.

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Tried running the HOK 80-1 out of the speaker outs on my tiny Technics SU-300, but no major change in the sound. I measured a few extra dB of bass, but the comparison was a measurement of them running off a different (headphone) amp, so could be that.

Unless you were applying massive bass boost, yeah, I can't see there being a lot of difference using the amp to drive the HOK. The SU-V300 is not too tiny electrically-- 27w/ch @ 8 ohms should be sufficient even for orthos.

 

[vid]

This was the vanilla (non-V) SU-300, which has a bit less power - it's rated 30 W for 8 ohms, but only at 1 kHz.

 

[wualta]

Ah. [smacks forehead] Of course, it's not a US unit so it doesn't have an FTC-style power rating. My guess is that it's about 25 "real" (ie, wideband signal, both channels driven, realistic THD figure) watts per channel. Radiomuseum.org gives the bald figure of 23 watts. All so close that they're virtually identical, which is not to say the sound quality will be identical.

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

I hadn't noticed earlier but the driver of my TDS-5M is different from pics posted by TiEx/Wualta. This one looks more like the tds-16 with a similar centre tab & hole pattern. The tds-16 outer tab has a triangular lip which isn't there though.
I'll post some pics later.

 
And that's mine(serial# 32825):
 

 
Got pics of yours?
 
I dunno whether both state "66" because the previous owner who damped them used fairly strong glue in order to keep the earpads in place and I haven't gone through the trouble of opening the second cup yet, but I'll be giving it the whole recabling/COBY earpads/AcoustiPak foam damping treatment soon.
 
Quote:

Does sitting them under the weight of the books simply make them small profile or does it actually soften up the stiffer foam, or compress the foam and give the pleather less tightness? 

 
Sorry if that wasn't clear, but that's still a work in progress. But it usually helps IME.

 

[leeperry]

And that's the COBY's on the TD5-m:
 
They indeed feel a tad less firm after 2 days crushed under 20kg of books.
 
Perfect combo to listen to 70's roots reggae remastered in SACD

 
This tune never fails to deliver on those vintage orthos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRiOrCVoDL8

 

[leeperry]

and how heallthy can it really be to use headphones made in Kiev in the late 80's when a few years earlier Chernobyl blew up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chernobyl_placement.svg 

 
PS: not that bad apparently: http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q3909.html

 

[leeperry]

well, a bit of unsewing et voilà:

 ​

​

 
great bass + great comfort + very focused sound thanks to the thick pleather = couldn't be happier 

 
these are the foam donuts from the TDS5m, I've got a few beat-up YH1 earpads that will also get cannibalized tomorrow eventually 

 

[nick n]

that's a great way to tackle the pads!

 

[gurubhai]

Quote:

 
And that's mine(serial# 32825):
 
Got pics of yours?
 

mine are similar to yours.
serial # 319546

 

[leeperry]

Quote:

mine are similar to yours.
serial # 319546

 
Isn't there an extra figure here?
 
Quote:

that's a great way to tackle the pads!

 
Yep, me like it a lot! If you're lucky or know what you're doing, you can catch the master thread and then it'll essentially become a 30 secs job.
 
Those vintage ortho drivers still got it kicking decades later but as much as their stock cables/jack plugs have oxidized to death over time, their earpads also use a terribly dated pleather formula...luckily, the chemical industry has learned how to make bass-heavy and very focused sounding pleather by now

 

[gurubhai]

^Nope. The serial no. I mentioned above is correct.

 

[kalbee]

Quote:

well, a bit of unsewing et voilà:

 ​

​

 
great bass + great comfort + very focused sound thanks to the thick pleather = couldn't be happier 

 
these are the foam donuts from the TDS5m, I've got a few beat-up YH1 earpads that will also get cannibalized tomorrow eventually 

If I am understanding right, you removed the original foam and replaced it with your own?

 

[leeperry]

Yup, because comfort is great, it's just the pleather that's crackling 35 years later 

 
Diff between the TDS5m/HP1 foamies(the smaller/thicker one comes from the former):
 

​

 
And now for a cosmetic comparison between stock HP1 and HP1/COBY frankenpads:
 

​

 
Well, they make the TDS5m sound even more like a yamie now hehe, and they're even more comfy because the yamie foam is both thinner and less firm 

 
BTW, it's kinda hard to find your way through a 20K posts long thread, but did anyone ever try to install YH100 drivers in a YH1 shell? Ludoo's search engine couldn't really help, I guess I'm gonna have to try it on my own.

 

[vid]

Gave the HOKs another go from the speaker outs - the drivers started heating up quite noticeably and actually got to sounding progressively worse as I let them play. The volume wasn't even close to loud.
 
They sound fine (HOK fine) now from the headphone out and don't heat up, so not sure what was going on there.
 
In happier news, I took out all dampening from the HOK cups, and the back disc as well, and instead put in a very slim disc of cotton to break up some waves that might bounce off the non-vented middle part of the cup. I figured since the HOK (v. 1) has no bass to dampen and open-backed cups too, why put in any dampening. The sound is decent and somewhat enjoyable. Soundstage is pretty decent as well.