Orthodynamic Roundup

[khbaur330162]

Well... I don't think any of us ever reall stop trying to squeeze more out of any of our headphones, eh?

Never.

My modding/listening strategies have changed a lot recently with the addition of a pre-amp with tone controls.
I feel like I was just limiting myself before with excessive 'purism'.
Now I've got great bass and treble, and far less modding and stress needed to get there.
Before with raw RP18 modding it always feels like a see-saw balance between bass OR treble... never both.

Ahhhhh, don't remind me. I recently jumped from a Nakamichi TA-2A (with bass + treble knobs and unlimited low frequency driving current) to an ECP T3... I miss my tone controls and unholy bass slam tbh, but the bonus imaging, sense of space, and general nuance throughout entire spectrum is too much to deny. I do still have MathAudio PEQ plugin for Foobar so am still able to "drone strike" (as my friend @Philimon says) a specific frequency or add bass / treble shelves, etc. It works. And I 100% agree, after I discovered the tone controls and began EQ'ing headphones my enjoyment with my mods went up. I sort of obsess over EQ filters, though. I change the damping scheme and then next 3 hours are finetuning EQ, lol.

I think I'm going to stick with this round one for now, just because it sounds so lush/slammy - I really like this bass energy - and there's definitely no other headphone I own that can use this pad.

Also, angled pads on this Beyer frame isn't very comfortable.
There's just not enough swivel.
So I'm also enjoying the extra comfort.

Aw, sorry that the pads won't work. I get it, though, Beyers don't have much play in the cups. I will say this though: the bass does not seem to suffer as you might expect. All other components of the pad are non-breathable leather so these pads do trap in the bass much like an ordinary leather or fenestrated leather pad. However, they increase detail slightly by lowering earpad reflection distortion imho. I am actually having some custom ear pads made for my Yamaha builds that adhere to this format because I liked the pads so much on other headphones. If they end up adding my custom pad to their Aliexpress shop I will provide a link for others to purchase if there's any interest. The pads will be similar size to Brainwavz Oval's but about 2/3's the foam thickness.

 

[khbaur330162]

Hello, your product has been completed and shipped on November 27th. You can check the logistics tracking information. I can send you some pictures later.

I am hyped. Depth of pad looks great, imo, it's not too thick or thin. Quality of the leather appears to be as expected. It's a little oversized for the frame I am using (he took a video of pad installment on an MDR-ZX700 and it's just a little loose), but this might be a good thing.

I responded to them, "It looks amazing. Thank you so much. Please add this product to your shop!!!!"

They said:

Okay no problem, I'm a little busy today, I'll add it later, thank you

So, appears this earpad will be available to the public. I will keep everyone posted on sonic results, maybe even try to do a pad shootout between a bunch of Brainwavz pads versus these. It's been a while since I've swapped pads on KH-100's a thousand times in one day...

Anyways, pads have left China and are en route to US customs already. Probably middle of December I'll get them I'm guessing.

 

[khbaur330162]

For those interested, custom Ether pads can be bought here after they become available. I'm not sure if they have any intent on "restocking" this listing tbh, they are saying all 5 pairs produced are going to me and none will be left over. If you truly have interest I would recommend contacting the vendor and expressing this interest. If they see a target market greater than literally 1 individual they may choose to carry stock. I will of course be letting them know what I think of the product when I receive the shipment and probably pressing them once more to carry stock, but again, I would think interest from multiple parties would speak louder than just some crazy ear pad hoarder on the internet (read: me). Also, judging from the photo, the ear pads don't look 100% symmetrical so quality will have to be ensured first and foremost. Previous pads I've bought from this manufacturer have been amazing imo and among my favorite pads from a sonic perspective. I believe this manufacturer has been mentioned before in this thread, actually.
You may have seen this logo before. This is who made my pads.
SoundsMate YF Store

If you have any headphones that fit Brainwavz Oval earpads imho these might be worth a shot (includes Stax with the adapters). If you need round ear pads in this variant I'd recommend the same angled pads I recommended @GREQ for his RP-18 mod.

 

[khbaur330162]

Ok, I apologize for the one man spam about these earpads, but they have arrived.

Here's measurement comparison:
Purple = Old Handstitched Pads
Green = Pro Custom Ether Pads

As you can see the professional Ether pads are flatter below 1kH and also they bring the treble down to "sane" levels. Honestly, I feel these pads add a little warmth to the sound and also decreases midrange "glare". To expound, I always felt there was some tension in the midrange somewhere. It was hard to notice and mostly discernible after direct A/B with other headphones, but it bothered me. These professional Ethers seem more relaxed after a brief audition.

I am currently listening with flat EQ and they sound fantastic. Will mess with EQ's later. I immediately heard some new bass nuance. I have to run these pads through their paces and see what exactly they do better.

 

[Philimon]

I used an Etsy 3DPrinting service to print this for my spare YH-1. $25shipped, ABS plastic. You can view the files better by using the 3D viewer on the page (change tab to “files”). Thanks @Asciisuki . Will update after they arrive.

This pad adapter would be nice to try with stock YH-1 enclosure if youve not the ability or not the inclination to solder.

Not a perfect fit, 1-2mm off. Dont know if its the design or something related to printing process. Variables that can effect dimensions of object include printer settings, hardware, and print material. Anyways, used some epoxy to make secure. Now to let it set for a couple days.

(YH-1 drivers)

 

[bananasplit 00]

Bought a pair of Philips Electret N6321 because they came up real cheap.

Seems to be little to no information on them so they are probably nothing great, will be interesting to see how they perform once they arrive

 

[myheadHz]

Bought a pair of Philips Electret N6321 because they came up real cheap.

Seems to be little to no information on them so they are probably nothing great, will be interesting to see how they perform once they arrive

Those are electret headphones, not isodynamic/orthodynamic unfortunately.

They don't sound great Very thin/veiled sound. I didn't spend long with them and passed mine on pretty quickly. The N6325 are much better.

 

[khbaur330162]

Bought a pair of Philips Electret N6321 because they came up real cheap.

Seems to be little to no information on them so they are probably nothing great, will be interesting to see how they perform once they arrive

Cool!

Once I converted an old pair of AT electrets with in-built transformers inside the cups to a Stax plug. I also adapted an old electret energizer box to accept Stax plug as well. The larger transformers completely transformed the sound for the better, imho. Here is a good option, imho, and is actually the same box that
I used. He is accepting best offers, I'd send him an offer of $25, tbh, he may take it, nobody wants this stuff anymore. You can wire everything up hardwired / "pig-tailed" to verify operation and if it sounds like the cat's meow then maybe think about buying some Stax plugs.

 

[ltzoschke]

I used an Etsy 3DPrinting service to print this for my spare YH-1. $25shipped, ABS plastic. You can view the files better by using the 3D viewer on the page (change tab to “files”). Thanks @Asciisuki . Will update after they arrive.

This pad adapter would be nice to try with stock YH-1 enclosure if youve not the ability or not the inclination to solder.

Hello. What headband are you planning to use with those cups? I messaged the guy who created the model, but he hasn't answered.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Philimon]

Hello. What headband are you planning to use with those cups? I messaged the guy who created the model, but he hasn't answered.

Thanks in advance.

Grado

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/orthodynamic-roundup.111193/page-1806#post-17861069

 

[ltzoschke]

Grado

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/orthodynamic-roundup.111193/page-1806#post-17861069

Thanks for the quick response!

 

[ToneItDown]

Here are the HP-1 with the new pads, they are indeed very thick

how's the sound with the new pads

 

[Philimon]

YH-2/3 aka KH-2/3
mod by @khbaur330162
YH-2/3 drivers in ATH-M50 enclosure
Sony MDR lambskin pads

These sound great. Much preferable to stock enclosure from memory. Circumaural comfort and stage and more bass. Ill write some comparisons to others later.

Spoiler: mehsurements, EARS

^These are closer to my ideal tone than something like 6X0. I like v-shape, specifically 3kHz dip.
Higher tier vintage ortho Yamaha drivers have much more dynamic bass but this smaller bottom tier driver does not sound bad in this configuration.

 

[bananasplit 00]

Got the N6321 a few days ago, and yeah. not good. there is no bass what so ever, they sound like the cheapest pair of earbuds you can imagine.

played around some with EQ though and with the <300Hz frequencies boosted as far as i could, they started to sound pretty normal I think there might be some hope for them with proper EQ honestly, but i am not sure how much i am going to play around with them as they are much less comfortable than i thought. I would need to get some suuuuper deep earpads as the driver grills sit on my ears even though the earpads are still in good condition

 

[Philimon]

Spoiler: mehsurements, EARS

Rotating to HD650mod today. Tonal issues are improved by mod (imo obvi). From memory, bass seems slightly less offensive but still not great... Ive been listening to modded Yamaha YH-2 past couple days. YH-2 bass sounds cleaner, while 650 sounds more dynamic.

YH-2

Spoiler: mehsures, EARS

^ trend of 3kHz dip. YH-2 highs sound a little brighter than measured due to possibly some resonance (at 5kHz) while HD650 highs sound smoother than measured (at 8-9kHz peak). HD650 sounds very slightly warmer. Both similar microdetail ability. YH-2 bass sounds cleaner and prefer to use for this reason and because closed-back utility. 650mod I hardly use at all but its too late to sell now, just listen occasionally as reminder.

edit: updated mehsures of yh-2 because switched cup filler from angel hair to arctic cotton. Tiny difference. I just dont like dealing with having to sparse angel hair evenly as im worried about channel imbalance.