[nick n]

  Replaced the magnets on TDS-7 single sided , super efficient can drive directly from dx50. Just tested on bare drivers.
Double sided too risky the magnets are too strong and you need proper rig to assemble them.

How are you finding the results after a bit?

 

[MuZo2]

 
How are you finding the results after a bit?

Not yet finished them, just one side. Will post some pics soon. Need to make some accurate spacers. Its lot of work to accurately cut the plastic and install the magnets. New Neo magnets are super strong.

 

[nick n]

You're lucky you got the stock ones out without them flipping around
I had a screw fly out of the screwdriver the other day onto a rare dynamic monitor set and stick to the driver, went right through the baffle holes.
Thanks for the pics whenever , no rush.

 

[nick n]

I revisited a few SFI drivered mods lately to bring up the high end a bit  so that the detail was there without sibilance.(~4 mods if I can recall)
Yeah  normally there is no problem with that part---the highs, but my mods generally brought out the bigger potential of the low end on them.
 I found that using a fuzzy felt material damper common in most of my mods( Arctic brand materials=A.Cotton or A.Bamboo), helped those high ends a bit to be tolerable. However they still needed some fleshing out. 
What I did was another thing that seems to work well in various schemes and drivers. That is to apply a layer of 3M Micropore to the rear facing side of the fuzzy felt-type damping.
 
What this tends to do is filter and at the same time reflect some goodness back into the mix.
For all the SFI mods I used a rear application that  reflected/filtered 4 of the outside holes  and kept the middle and top 3 unencumbered.
Obviously the center hole is the bass zone.
 Let that fly.
 Not sure if this is of any use to anyone, does anyone do SFI driver mods these days??? Am I a Dinosaur?
Aside from the minor dynamic compression due to size these can have some seriously decent results. On the cheap. In the right application and housing.etc.
 
The blocking of the backwave on the rearsides on fuzzier felt-type damping layers works very well.
Sound immediately encountering the fuzz and adding some diffusion to the backwave, then hits the selectively filtering and reflecting single 3M Micropore layer scheme directly behind selective holes.
This seems to result in a common effect among all the mods I just tweaked.
 
I can relax now
 
good stuff.
 
Have fun!  and heck yeah keep adding to this "origin "thread please.
 
Trust me there ARE unknown finds still to be had out there.

 

 

[MuZo2]

Nick for highs you can try some damping on front side.

 

[JamesHuntington]

Got some yh-1 for just under $100 on eBay about a month ago. They are almost perfect condition and no broken plastic on the headband. I couldn't pass them by as they aren't the same ones that have been recirculated on there for a long time with broken up headbands. After selling my yh100 for $300 and feeling indifferent about it I wanted to try these. They seem to be driven well even with a ipod and much more comfortable than the 100. I did quickly replace the 100s with hifiman He5le because I missed the sound, not necessarily the ear pain

 

[JamesHuntington]

A nice match

 

[fleasbaby]

I realize this is probably my longest post in this thread....I have been lurking for a while. You might know me from the T50rp threads and the Grado modding threads. I am a recent convert to orthos/planars. I am currently really enjoying making Thunderpants style woodies in my workshop. I decided it would be worth starting to tentatively explore outside of the T50rp realm a little while ago...
 
So the results of my trade for a pair of my T50rp woodies came in the mail a couple of days ago. I have been trying them out a little, getting to know them...
 
 

 

 
The TDS 5M are immaculate, and its not a paint job. The plastic is genuinely Soviet red. Its awesome. The TDS 16 are the 16 ohm version and they are fairly rough. The Y split on the cable is black electrical tape, they have definitely seen some pretty heavy use. Regardless, both sound great. I really enjoy the stock sound on both (weird, not weird, who knows? Let your freak flag fly brothers, let it fly....).
 
I am fascinated by the fact that the pads on both seem to have been chosen with a mind to offend even the most hardy among us. Perhaps it was to steer the Comrades away from spending too much time listening to degenerate popular music, or listening to music in an insular, non-communal fashion? The ones on the TDS 16 are particularly hilarious. There is no filling, they are simply plastic sacks glued to the baffle.
 
Does anyone have recommendations for decent, similarly sized alternatives? The diameter needs to be 3 inches for the TDS 16, and slightly less for the TDS 5M. I will more than likely leave the TDS 5M stock since they are less painful, and in such great shape.
 
The TDS 16 will get an overhaul....new cable, clean-out, new pads...maybe the drivers will find themselves transplanted into some woodies...I would hate to spoil that fantastic retro design though (don't be surprised....remember, I come from Grado-land)...

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

I realize this is probably my longest post in this thread....I have been lurking for a while. You might know me from the T50rp threads and the Grado modding threads. I am a recent convert to orthos/planars. I am currently really enjoying making Thunderpants style woodies in my workshop. I decided it would be worth starting to tentatively explore outside of the T50rp realm a little while ago...

So the results of my trade for a pair of my T50rp woodies came in the mail a couple of days ago. I have been trying them out a little, getting to know them...








The TDS 5M are immaculate, and its not a paint job. The plastic is genuinely Soviet red. Its awesome. The TDS 16 are the 16 ohm version and they are fairly rough. The Y split on the cable is black electrical tape, they have definitely seen some pretty heavy use. Regardless, both sound great. I really enjoy the stock sound on both (weird, not weird, who knows? Let your freak flag fly brothers, let it fly....).

I am fascinated by the fact that the pads on both seem to have been chosen with a mind to offend even the most hardy among us. Perhaps it was to steer the Comrades away from spending too much time listening to degenerate popular music, or listening to music in an insular, non-communal fashion? The ones on the TDS 16 are particularly hilarious. There is no filling, they are simply plastic sacks glued to the baffle.

Does anyone have recommendations for decent, similarly sized alternatives? The diameter needs to be 3 inches for the TDS 16, and slightly less for the TDS 5M. I will more than likely leave the TDS 5M stock since they are less painful, and in such great shape.

The TDS 16 will get an overhaul....new cable, clean-out, new pads...maybe the drivers will find themselves transplanted into some woodies...I would hate to spoil that fantastic retro design though (don't be surprised....remember, I come from Grado-land)...

I've never seen the Red before...very cool.

The foam has deteriorated and turned to goo. nick n has successfully repaired and replaced the foam.

You can mod TDS 5 much like a vintage Yamaha. I would hesitate doing so if I had a rarity like yours in perfect condition.

You can tune bass on the TDS 16 model you have by sealing most of the vents with tape on the Outside. You have to open them for repairs so please post pix of the process and what / how you tuned them.

 

[fleasbaby]

I've never seen the Red before...very cool.

The foam has deteriorated and turned to goo. nick n has successfully repaired and replaced the foam.

You can mod TDS 5 much like a vintage Yamaha. I would hesitate doing so if I had a rarity like yours in perfect condition.

You can tune bass on the TDS 16 model you have by sealing most of the vents with tape on the Outside. You have to open them for repairs so please post pix of the process and what / how you tuned them.

Thanks for the advice and info BMF...I took the pads off the TDS 16 this morning, and used some small scissors to cut access into them:



I cleared out the sticky mess as best I could and then slipped some Sony MDR 7502 pads inside. I figured that since the pads are made of what feels like solid plastic sheeting, the pleather on the Sony Pads wasn't going to change much:



I then used double sided tape to reattach them. I figure I will use Aileen's later when I want this to be more permanent. The pads affix to a solid wall of plastic, so again, I assumed the the tape wouldn't change anything.



I also opened up the sliders for the headband as they were really loose and not helping much at all for fit. They just needed to be cleaned out and reassembled nice and tight. They are working now.

Sound is the same as before, most enjoyable still. Comfort is a little better, and fit. Next round of work will entail getting inside the cups, seeing what needs to be cleaned in there and trying a recable.

 

[bluemonkeyflyer]

Thanks for the advice and info BMF...I took the pads off the TDS 16 this morning, and used some small scissors to cut access into them:



I cleared out the sticky mess as best I could and then slipped some Sony MDR 7502 pads inside. I figured that since the pads are made of what feels like solid plastic sheeting, the pleather on the Sony Pads wasn't going to change much:



I then used double sided tape to reattach them. I figure I will use Aileen's later when I want this to be more permanent. The pads affix to a solid wall of plastic, so again, I assumed the the tape wouldn't change anything.



I also opened up the sliders for the headband as they were really loose and not helping much at all for fit. They just needed to be cleaned out and reassembled nice and tight. They are working now.

Sound is the same as before, most enjoyable still. Comfort is a little better, and fit. Next round of work will entail getting inside the cups, seeing what needs to be cleaned in there and trying a recable.

 
fleasbaby,
 
Thanks for the pad pix. I look forward to seeing the inside of the TDS-16. You have the Kiev version.
 
I have TDS: 5M, 7, 15 (black and silver versions), 16 (Kiev and Smela versions), H25C, and H21C (portable ortho 
Some of my mods with pix are listed in my profile including transplanted TDS-15 drivers into a Takstar donor (thanks, leeperry for the suggestion).
 
Tip: Look for a 3' x 3' sheet of double-sided adhesive and an X-Axto "compass cutter" at your local art supply store. This makes for much easier pad mounting with a perfect seal all the way around. If you cannot source it and want to try it, I'll send you some...PM me.
 
X_ACTO Compass Cutter

 
 
 
A few Russian orthos from the '80's and early '90's
Left to Right: TDS-5M, TDS-16 (Kiev), TDS-15, TDS-7,
TDS-15, TDS-15 transplanted into Takstar donor;
TDS-16 (Smela) not shown

 
 
 
 
Amfiton H25C retooled with stronger N45 neodymium magnets 
and 70 mm currently manufactured diaphragms: 
 

 

 
 
Amfiton H21C Portable Ortho:
 

 
 

 

 

 

[GREQ]

.

 

[nick n]

Nice work.
Those are some classy looking things.
Maybe try some very long black zipties if they can hold with careful contact cement application? Ridges underneath the tie side would grab the cement nicely.
you could always do a full replacement test band first to see if that works well enough.
 
 If you try a disc ( or is that disk? 

) of Micropore over the center you should get better highs. Maybe ~ 18 - 20mm-ish.
I put it on the backside ( facing rear of cups ) of the Arctic materials seems to work well in that orientation. My guess is the AC material diffuses a bit of it and adds its 'thing" before the Micropore gets to it's filtering/reflecting duties and allows that few mm of extra breathing room right  after the sound exits.
 
You can make those near monitor-like with a larger disc, or should be able to come close anyhow. I had to tone the HP-50 back to around 20 mm because it was too much with 24mm, and too little with 18mm. Pretty sure the HP-50 is similar size I have to check on that. Probably a bit bigger these ones you have. EDIT: Both HP-50 variations and the HP-2 have 46mm drivers. FYI
 
I should mention too that the HP-50 did not use the vent felts stock, so I have none and left them open.
 
I'm guessing hitting the center area with stuff helps bring out the highs that come from that part of the driver since it is a center pinched thing, and the bass throw will be outwards of that moreso.

 

[GREQ]

 If you try a disc or is that disk? 

) of Micropore over the center you should get better highs. Maybe ~ 18 - 20mm-ish.
I put it on the backside ( facing rear of cups ) of the Arctic materials seems to work well. My guess is the AC material diffuses a bit of it before the Micropore gets to it's filtering/reflecting duties and allows that few mm of extra breathing room right  after the sound exits.

Sure, will try this out.
 
I was thinking of trying tiny amounts of epoxy resin to make the repair as discreet as possible to preserve the aesthetics. 
Failing that I'm already totally happy with my 5-minute leather cut out headband ^_^

 

[nick n]

Added some editing not sure if you saw that before you posted.
 I like the simple leather bands also. but I am sure you'll whip up some sort of masterpiece like the PMB thing.
Please check back when you figure out what mod you like or settle on.