Pioneer HDJ-2000 bass boost/extension mod

[WakiDabeast]

yeah Im a moderate bass head too m50 sufficed my bass needs, except needs a little more strength, not amount just strenght. anyway which of this mods part makes the most difference? 
also can you replace the hdj 2000 cable with a shorter one? 

 

[Armaegis]

The felt inside makes the biggest difference. After that, I'd say the lump on blutak in the cup crevices and the ring of dampening material on front of the baffle.

 

[Bag3l]

Is there anything that isn't as messy as blutak that a first time modder can use with little consequence?

 

[Armaegis]

Plumber's putty. Not as sticky, but more malleable and easier to work with, and $3-4 gets you a big tub of it from any hardware store. 

 

[Bag3l]

Quote:

Plumber's putty. Not as sticky, but more malleable and easier to work with, and $3-4 gets you a big tub of it from any hardware store. 

I was actually told the bass in these headphones was really prevalent. I'm not a very versed Head-Fi'er and I don't understand what problem you were having to begin with. Was the bass too flimsy or something?

 

[Armaegis]

The sub-bass rolled off a little sooner than I wanted, but we're talking <60Hz here which most music doesn't hit unless you're into electronica. Really, I was just looking for an excuse to mod my headphones 

 (if you check my profile, you'll notice most of my cans have been modified or transplanted or operated upon). 
 
For any headphone, adding mass and semi-solid vibration dampeners should improve low end response. Removing hard reflective surfaces behind the driver will typically decrease treble peaks. It's when you start messing with the cup chamber/acoustic filler and air seal that you start to get wacky results. 
 
I didn't do anything too fancy to the Pioneer other than mass load it in places and used felt to get rid of a treble peak (because I hate treble peaks).

 

[Bag3l]

Quote:

The sub-bass rolled off a little sooner than I wanted, but we're talking <60Hz here which most music doesn't hit unless you're into electronica. Really, I was just looking for an excuse to mod my headphones 

 (if you check my profile, you'll notice most of my cans have been modified or transplanted or operated upon). 
 
For any headphone, adding mass and semi-solid vibration dampeners should improve low end response. Removing hard reflective surfaces behind the driver will typically decrease treble peaks. It's when you start messing with the cup chamber/acoustic filler and air seal that you start to get wacky results. 
 
I didn't do anything too fancy to the Pioneer other than mass load it in places and used felt to get rid of a treble peak (because I hate treble peaks).

I'm thinking of filling in that hollow ring and covering the vents. If I only do those two, what results should I expect?
 

 

[Armaegis]

My steps 5 and 6 on the first page list my impressions from filling in the ring and covering the vents. Overall, I felt both had a very minor effect on the sound. The ring would improve bass slightly, and covering the vents I felt had more to do with isolation and wind than actual sound quality.
 
I'm thinking next I might try sealing around the outer rim of the baffle plate with some putty, which should have a noticeable effect.

 

[Armaegis]

Quote:

I'm thinking next I might try sealing around the outer rim of the baffle plate with some putty, which should have a noticeable effect.

Yowza, that did the trick. Bass extension is noticeably improved. 

 

[AUdIOYO]

Is this a significant bass boost? If the current bass level (out of 10) was lets say, a 5 what would you say the new level is?

 

[Armaegis]

It's not a boost so much as it corrects rolloff. The bass around 50-100 Hz is mostly unchanged. The bass from 30-50Hz I would say goes up two notches. 

 

[hybridfive]

Thanks I will Try this forsure. So essentially your just lining the contact  between the baffle and cup with blutack to seal the cup?

 

[Armaegis]

Yes. I would recommend a putty/plasticine though, otherwise you'll have a very hard time opening them up again. In my case, I actually laid a small foam paper ring over the putty for cleanliness since I didn't want the putty to mush into the felt that I have in the cup. 

 

[hybridfive]

Thanks for the tip, I'll try this the next time I go back to the pioneers. Have had a hard time putting down the modded t50rp's!

 

[Armaegis]

I replaced the felt layer inside with fuzzy velour and moved the felt circle in front of the driver under the pad. This smoothed out the bass hump.