[Slater]

HEY what do you have to lose at least the mod is inexpensive. There is one Fostex phones i was interested in just never got a chance to try them.

 
Fostex are really nice, and they are a giant in the industry. They actually develop/engineer a lot of headphones for OTHER companies, who just put their name on them. Like a LOT of companies.
 
Most of the Fostex I would like to own are way too expensive for my budget.
 
Unless I could get very lucky & find a used or broken pair (and can fix them). That's how I got my Sennheiser Momentum, soundMAGIC HP150 and HP200. They were all less than 1/3 of the original price because they all needed repairs.
 

I hope you post impressions once you get the mod done.

 

Which mod? You mean to the HP50? Or Fostex? I don't own any Fostex.
 
If you mean the HP50, I'm all done modding the main pair (with the exception of swapping the smaller but thicker magnet that's currently installed with the correct diameter one, which won't make any noticeable difference because the overall magnetic force of each is nearly the same). I'm just waiting for my brain burn-in to finish before I share everything on the HP50 thread. 

 

[actorlife]

I have the SM PL50 armature some great different sounding phones for sure. Yep crap(2) i meant the magnet. The fostex im talking about is 50-60 when on sale. Seems to have the sound sig i like. I think i went back and forth with the JBL/Fostex. Well you know who won. Senns Mo how much and what did you fix the cable?

 

[actorlife]

I actually own 4 (2 still in sealed boxes). Everytime I'd see them go on sale for under $50 (which isn't that often), I'd order a backup pair. Now that I've modded my main pair & have seen what these things are truly capable of, I'm sooo glad I have so many!

Once my daughter's beloved Beats Solo finally die, the plan was always to switch them out for for the HD50. She's 13, so she doesn't know any better (yet). Kids of her generation think the Beats are the best thing since sliced bread - of course a lot of it is the fashion aspect of them.

I'm tired of fixing them though; they are made so cheaply and everything has broken on them at 1 point or another. The HD50 is built like a tank, and will last her 20+ years LOL

Damn 4 yoinks. Send me a pair. JUST KIDDing. Yep i think the first heaphones i had were awai they were so good though i could never find a second pair. Always preferred the hp and earphones i thought were harmful. Then years later at 25 decided to give them a chance. Yep always the search for the best. Those JBL are close to perfect and cheap.

 

[Slater]

I have the SM PL50 armature some great different sounding phones for sure. Yep crap(2) i meant the magnet. The fostex im talking about is 50-60 when on sale. Seems to have the sound sig i like. I think i went back and forth with the JBL/Fostex. Well you know who won. Senns Mo how much and what did you fix the cable?

 
Momentum (gen 1, over-ear) I paid $90 for. 1 side didn't work. Simple solder job (10 mins). They were brand new in box (open box return).
 
soundMAGIC HP150 - broken hinge (paid $70) which is the achilles heel of the soundMAGIC HP150/HP200. Tried a number of times to repair or make a new hinge (all failed). Would be easy if I owned a 3D printer. Ended up transplanting the entire soundMAGIC cups to a Superlux HP660 headband (perfect fit). I paid $30 for the HP660, so I have $100 in the HP150, which were $300 headphones at the time.
 
The soundMAGIC HP200 had a short in the wiring in the headband. Paid $100, rewired them, and use them all the time. They were also $300+ headphones at the time.
 
Also fixed some NIB JBL headphones that I got for free from a local Radio Shack (don't remember the model #, but they are basically like a Beats type deal). Hinge was broken, and I repaired the hinges using $0.50 worth of nuts and bolts.
 
I most recently bought a complete NIB Kingston HyperX Cloud II for $20. 1 side didn't work. Simple solder job (10 mins). They're worth $100, but I think they sound like crap compared to what I'm used to so I plan on sticking them on ebay.
 
I've bought a number of broken Beats for $15-$30, then Frankensteined together some perfectly good working ones by raiding the good parts from the various broken ones, and resell the good ones for $70-$100. Bob's your uncle.
 
There's a lot of good deals if you look around for bad/defective headphones.
 
Broken headphones are a great way to learn how to mod headphones, and even build up a spare parts collection of drivers, headbands, shells, earpads, cables, felt covers, etc.
 
You see how different models are put together, figure out how to fix a variety of issues, see how different drivers and cups are designed and what how they sound once you fix them, get good at soldering and swapping drivers, etc. And all on headphones you have practically no money in, so if you break something you're not really out anything. You basically have nothing to lose. Then you take those skills and now have the confidence to work on your own NICE headphones, regardless of the issue is.

 

[Slater]

Damn 4 yoinks. Send me a pair. JUST KIDDing. Yep i think the first heaphones i had were awai they were so good though i could never find a second pair. Always preferred the hp and earphones i thought were harmful. Then years later at 25 decided to give them a chance. Yep always the search for the best. Those JBL are close to perfect and cheap.

 
If you're really interested, shoot me a PM and we'll talk.
 
I certainly don't need 4 pairs, and I can do all of the mods.

 

[actorlife]

Momentum (gen 1, over-ear) I paid $90 for. 1 side didn't work. Simple solder job (10 mins). They were brand new in box (open box return).

soundMAGIC HP150 - broken hinge (paid $70) which is the achilles heel of the soundMAGIC HP150/HP200. Tried a number of times to repair or make a new hinge (all failed). Would be easy if I owned a 3D printer. Ended up transplanting the entire soundMAGIC cups to a Superlux HP660 headband (perfect fit). I paid $30 for the HP660, so I have $100 in the HP150, which were $300 headphones at the time.

The soundMAGIC HP200 had a short in the wiring in the headband. Paid $100, rewired them, and use them all the time. They were also $300+ headphones at the time.

Also fixed some NIB JBL headphones that I got for free from a local Radio Shack (don't remember the model #, but they are basically like a Beats type deal). Hinge was broken, and I repaired the hinges using $0.50 worth of nuts and bolts.

I most recently bought a complete NIB Kingston HyperX Cloud II for $20. 1 side didn't work. Simple solder job (10 mins). They're worth $100, but I think they sound like crap compared to what I'm used to so I plan on sticking them on ebay.

I've bought a number of broken Beats for $15-$30, then Frankensteined together some perfectly good working ones by raiding the good parts from the various broken ones, and resell the good ones for $70-$100. Bob's your uncle.

There's a lot of good deals if you look around for bad/defective headphones.

Broken headphones are a great way to learn how to mod headphones, and even build up a spare parts collection of drivers, headbands, shells, earpads, cables, felt covers, etc.

You see how different models are put together, figure out how to fix a variety of issues, see how different drivers and cups are designed and what how they sound once you fix them, get good at soldering and swapping drivers, etc. And all on headphones you have practically no money in, so if you break something you're not really out anything. You basically have nothing to lose. Then you take those skills and now have the confidence to work on your own NICE headphones, regardless of the issue is.

That's some great work there. You should do a thread of your "Slater" mods. That would be a thread to behold, Seriously. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Slater]

That's some great work there. You should do a thread of your "Slater" mods. That would be a thread to behold, Seriously. Thanks for sharing.

 
Glad to!

 

[ksio89]

So my pleather pads finally arrived, and I have already replaced the velour ones in SHL3300 with them. Oh my, I didn't even think it was possible, but the phone sounds even better with these pads. Bass sounds tighter and more powerful. The new pads are way more comfortable than the previous velour ones, and they leak less sound. If i press the cups onto each other, even lightly, I cannot hear anysound, even on highest volume, which did not happen before. The quality of the pads is fairly decent too, and they perfectly fit the Philips SHL3300. It wasn't hard to push the inner edges of the pads inside the gaps, they fit tightly and won't come off easily. They were worth every cent spent on them. If cheap pleather earpads can improve the sound as much as those ones did, imagine putting HM5 pads, they must sound awesome and feel very comfortable. I took some pictures to show how they look when fitted with the new pads:
 

 

 

[actorlife]

Nice job KS. WELL found a drill and did the holes and low and behold tighter BASS. Did 8 holes. 4 on each side. Hey the chinese lucky number is 8 SO UH HUH. One of the wires came off while doing the RIGHT side. Have no solding iron so put a tape on it for now. Took awhile cause damn tape kept coming off. Arg. These phones i agree with the mod is alot better. Slater RULZ. Clapping ensues. Woo Hoo. High 5. No vomiting occured during this procedure.

 

[fuzun]

Where is frequency response graph?

 

[Slater]

  So my pleather pads finally arrived, and I have already replaced the velour ones in SHL3300 with them. Oh my, I didn't even think it was possible, but the phone sounds even better with these pads. Bass sounds tighter and more powerful. The new pads are way more comfortable than the previous velour ones, and they leak less sound. If i press the cups onto each other, even lightly, I cannot hear anysound, even on highest volume, which did not happen before. The quality of the pads is fairly decent too, and they perfectly fit the Philips SHL3300. It wasn't hard to push the inner edges of the pads inside the gaps, they fit tightly and won't come off easily. They were worth every cent spent on them. If cheap pleather earpads can improve the sound as much as those ones did, imagine putting HM5 pads, they must sound awesome and feel very comfortable. I took some pictures to show how they look when fitted with the new pads:
 

 
Looks good. Yeah, you're right - pads make such a major difference on these headphones. Anyone who doesn't try out upgraded pads vs the stock ones can't possibly imagine what they're missing out on.
 
I can't tell from the photo - is that the $10 generic ebay/aliexpress 100mm pads? Or some other pads?

 

[Slater]

  Where is frequency response graph?

 
I don't remember if there was one on the back of the retail packaging or not.
 
There's no graph available on Philips website.
 
Anyone still have the box to check?

 

[Slater]

Nice job KS. WELL found a drill and did the holes and low and behold tighter BASS. Did 8 holes. 4 on each side. Hey the chinese lucky number is 8 SO UH HUH. One of the wires came off while doing the RIGHT side. Have no solding iron so put a tape on it for now. Took awhile cause damn tape kept coming off. Arg. These phones i agree with the mod is alot better. Slater RULZ. Clapping ensues. Woo Hoo. High 5. No vomiting occured during this procedure.

 
Looks good. Man, that looks like a lot less work than I spent adding the grilles. I wish I had thought of that :0)
 
Did you hit the wire with the drill, or did it just rip off when separating the cups? It would be really easy to solder that back on. Just reheat the solder that's already there to reattach.
 
Did you glue the cups back together?
 
Do you hear any soundstage improvements? Maybe it needs a few more holes to get the full benefits of being open?

 

[actorlife]

Looks good. Man, that looks like a lot less work than I spent adding the grilles. I wish I had thought of that :0)

Did you hit the wire with the drill, or did it just rip off when separating the cups? It would be really easy to solder that back on. Just reheat the solder that's already there to reattach.

Did you glue the cups back together?

Do you hear any soundstage improvements? Maybe it needs a few more holes to get the full benefits of being open?

Yeah fairly easy until opened the right side and wire came off did not pull hard either. Took me nearly an hour to secure the damn wire. I dont have a solder anymore. I used to dabble alot with it and misplaced it. Ah ill get one someday. 4 holes is perfect on each side. No need to add more. The bass and soundstage and separation is well advanced then stock. Listening to Nilson Matta & friends - Walking With My Bass & Things Are Different by José Roberto Bertram DL/CD(I encourage anyone who loves good music to get these + Bass is amazing) OH SO damn great on the 3300. I noticed the volume is a bit lower since my ear is not a close to the cup like the other stock pads. Oh Yeah the cups just click RIGHT in. No glue needed. I liked the way the holes came out although not perfect. WELL WHAT is perfect? aburrido-boring.

 

[Slater]

Yeah fairly easy until opened the right side and wire came off did not pull hard either. Took me nearly an hour to secure the damn wire. I dont have a solder anymore. I used to dabble alot with it and misplaced it. Ah ill get one someday. 4 holes is perfect on each side. No need to add more. The bass and soundstage and separation is well advanced then stock. Listening to Nilson Matta & friends - Walking With My Bass & Things Are Different by José Roberto Bertram DL/CD(I encourage anyone who loves good music to get these + Bass is amazing) OH SO damn great on the 3300. I noticed the volume is a bit lower since my ear is not a close to the cup like the other stock pads. Oh Yeah the cups just click RIGHT in. No glue needed. I liked the way the holes came out although not perfect. WELL WHAT is perfect? aburrido-boring.

 
Wow, you got REAL lucky. Usually all the clips snap off like toothpicks.
 
It's a really stupid design anyhow. I mean, how did they service them for warranty issues?