[LunaC]

Please forgive me if my search was poor but I'm curious if anyone has had any success with mods of of the QC25 (or even QC15). 
 
Why you might ask why one wish to mod one if you enough headphones as is?  ANC and comfort.

So my curiosity speaks as I'd like to see if a little more sizzle is an option in these. I presume the typical Bose sound is such to be decent with poor recording and question the best route to do this.
 
Based on DIY fixes of these cans, most are using fairly generic 40mm drivers (beats or pioneer) and the signature is similar to stock. Is this due to the Active Equalization, filtering, 'luck of the draw' and common low cost components or what? More questions...

Simplest mod would be to play with what appears to be an acoustical filter in front driver. Is it there for the internal mic need and/or the absorption of higher freq content?


Here is the fabric over the driver:
 

 

Has anyone tried this before I possibly attempt to find a better driver or scoped the circuit to determine it's action? If for naught, obviously I'd rather not compromise the warranty.
Thanks!
 
-C

 

 

[McPatD]

Just a hunch, you're not going to get much Bose modding action 'round these parts. You could try one of those nice silver coated copper upgrade cables on EBay.

 

[LunaC]

That's part of the fun, it is a different game Seriously though, they bring something that others don't.The challenge is to retain the ANC but accomplish a sonic spectrum that we would be more comfortable with. 

 

[Earbones]

I'm gonna ressurect this thread because I think a Bose mod thread could be really beneficial

LunaC's point about Bose really being the only game in town is true, I'm afraid... at least in my experience. I've tried every ANC headphone currently available. Every. Single. One. And while I've definitely found much better sound quality in many of these cans, none of them touch the Bose for ANC. There's not even a comparable baseline there... No "happy medium" option, marrying near-Bose ANC with better SQ emerges. As far as ANC goes, there's Bose, and way back in the distance, with the rest of the pack, is second place.

Some may disagree, but that's been my experience. In fact this is why I've been largely absent from these forums for awhile... my job requires ANC cans lately, and that's all I've been listening to.

Anyway, beyond the excellent ANC, the Bose QC25s sound, to my ears, a half tick to the wrong side of the "meh" scale. That is to say they're just okay bordering on bad. Muddiness is a factor. There's an unhealthy coupling of booming bass and piercing, inorganic sounding highs. Mids are an afterthought. Nothing is fleshed out in the center of things.

I realize mods are unlikely to completely transform this can, but there's gotta be something one can do to improve matters... because for right now, it's what we're stuck with, if the best ANC is required...

 

[LunaC]

Even with the HD580/600, EtherC, Andromeda.....  I still use the QC25 often,  for podcast and such.  With all the tuning we do on the EtherC with the felts, I really am curious as to what the fabric is doing.  The white felts on my Sony7506 really altered the signature to that like the Bose. As long as the eq in the unit is not dropping the treble, it might help to remove the strip but haven't sacrificed them yet. Or even better a driver change.
 
 
 As for good ANC, it appears there are some newer units starting to challenge the Bose.

 

[Earbones]

As for good ANC, it appears there are some newer units starting to challenge the Bose.

Ooo... Gimme, gimme, gimme... What cans are you talking about? Been hoping somebody would eventually catch up... Space One? I've heard a lot about it's SQ, but little about the NC...