[redrol]

I like where this is going. So maybe the difference isn't the driver, but rather the nozzle dampers? Need more info, and maybe some graphs!

 

[Jearly410]

Time to take back the 7550s I’ve lent my father

 

[MONVMENTVM]

I like where this is going. So maybe the difference isn't the driver, but rather the nozzle dampers? Need more info, and maybe some graphs!

There could be a difference in the driver as well... however since removing the nozzle dampers produces exactly the sound the EX1000 appears to have compared to the stock EX800ST (more detail, bigger, airier, more soundstage but also brighter treble) I'd rather think they used the same drivers with differences in the casing and damping. It makes sense when you check out the graphs too (they are almost the same with almost the same resonances etc. except for the treble being a few db dampened).

Generally speaking with good sounding recordings the sound without nozzle filters is absolutely marvelous - no comparison to the stock EX800ST (EX1000 anyone?). With crappy recordings or more modern music the sound can at times be fatiguing though - especially for longer listening sessions (well... I guess EX1000 again?). I've tried doing my own DIY filters to get the sound to be more of a mix between the two:

The default foam cylinders have a very very subtle impact (with the plastic disks removed). Depending on what music you prefer listening to, these might not even be needed at all or be enough to tame the treble that tiny bit (basically I'd say this is for the people who don't mind the treble of the EX1000).

Rolling up a ~5x15mm strip of (dried) alcohol swab and inserting them into the nozzles will have a surprisingly big effect on the sound. The sound is not as big anymore, treble is tamed quite a bit (but I can't compare it to the stock EX800STs anymore of course). For me that was a bit much as the sound got noticeably less big and more veiled compared to no filter.

Next up was shortening the strip to ~5x8mm so that when wrapped overlaps just a little compared to before. Sound opens up more again, treble is less congested. I'm surprised how much of a difference this makes to the twice as long piece.

Wrapping the original foam cylinders in the ~5 x 8mm strip from above gives a sound that lies somewhere between the 2 options above. Cutting the strip even slimmer to around ~2.5-3 x 8mm (so not covering the whole foam cylinder) appears to be my favorite so far though. I can't notice much of a difference in soundstage and the treble is reduced just ever so slightly as not to be so fatiguing on longer listening sessions.

Next up was a micropore band stuck over the nozzle (without the original foam cylinder I should mention). I tried 3 variants so far. Completely covering the nozzle, poking a small hole into the middle of the band and only covering around 70% of the nozzle. I liked all three of those options quite a bit. They allow to fine tune the sound and genereally are not affecting the airiness, soundstage and treble too much. It looks a bit ghetto though.

I think I'll stick to the original foam cylinders wrapped in the 3x8mm swab strip for now. That combined with my "Tape mod 2.0" makes them sound like much bigger headphones such as my GS1000.

 

[Zerohour88]

There could be a difference in the driver as well... however since removing the nozzle dampers produces exactly the sound the EX1000 appears to have compared to the stock EX800ST (more detail, bigger, airier, more soundstage but also brighter treble) I'd rather think they used the same drivers with differences in the casing and damping. It makes sense when you check out the graphs too (they are almost the same with almost the same resonances etc. except for the treble being a few db dampened).

Generally speaking with good sounding recordings the sound without nozzle filters is absolutely marvelous - no comparison to the stock EX800ST (EX1000 anyone?). With ****ty recordings or more modern music the sound can at times be fatiguing though - especially for longer listening sessions (well... I guess EX1000 again?). I've tried doing my own DIY filters to get the sound to be more of a mix between the two:

The default foam cylinders have a very very subtle impact (with the plastic disks removed). Depending on what music you prefer listening to, these might not even be needed at all or be enough to tame the treble that tiny bit (basically I'd say this is for the people who don't mind the treble of the EX1000).

Rolling up a ~5x15mm strip of (dried) alcohol swab and inserting them into the nozzles will have a surprisingly big effect on the sound. The sound is not as big anymore, treble is tamed quite a bit (but I can't compare it to the stock EX800STs anymore of course). For me that was a bit much as the sound got noticeably less big and more veiled compared to no filter.



Next up was shortening the strip to ~5x8mm so that when wrapped overlaps just a little compared to before. Sound opens up more again, treble is less congested. I'm surprised how much of a difference this makes to the twice as long piece.

Wrapping the original foam cylinders in the ~5 x 8mm strip from above gives a sound that lies somewhere between the 2 options above. Cutting the strip even slimmer to around ~2.5-3 x 8mm (so not covering the whole foam cylinder) appears to be my favorite so far though. I can't notice much of a difference in soundstage and the treble is reduced just ever so slightly as not to be so fatiguing on longer listening sessions.



Next up was a micropore band stuck over the nozzle (without the original foam cylinder I should mention). I tried 3 variants so far. Completely covering the nozzle, poking a small hole into the middle of the band and only covering around 70% of the nozzle. I liked all three of those options quite a bit. They allow to fine tune the sound and genereally are not affecting the airiness, soundstage and treble too much. It looks a bit ghetto though.



I think I'll stick to the original foam cylinders wrapped in the 3x8mm swab strip for now. That combined with my "Tape mod 2.0" makes them sound like much bigger headphones such as my GS1000.

just got my EX800ST, I wish I was brave enough to try the mod. So far liking them, but might just pull the trigger and do the bore mode

 

[MONVMENTVM]

just got my EX800ST, I wish I was brave enough to try the mod. So far liking them, but might just pull the trigger and do the bore mode

I'm still super happy with them and I highly recommend the mod. I'd love to get some EX1000 to compare them to but unfortunately they're sold out absolutely everywhere now and used prices are ridiculous. Actually I'm thinking of getting another pair of the 800STs before they're also gone completely (plus I could do better comparisons with them stock vs. modded). I really doubt you can get anything even close in terms of sound for their price.

The thing with the bore mode is this: If you pull out the plastic disks, you can also pull out the foam cylinders without damaging them (so you can still use those as in the EX1000). Also in case you think they're too bright for you that way (as the EX1000 is for some people as well), you can easily do your own filters to tame down the treble as much as you want or even to get them back to how they sounded initially (but still with a bigger, more open sound).

Personally I'm still using and evaluating the slim strips of the alcohol swab wrapped around the foam cylinders. Maybe I'll cut the strips just a tad slimmer to get the EX800ST a little brighter (and thus a little airier, bigger and more detailed) again. Or maybe I'll experiment and cut the tape from the tape mod just a little slimmer to cover less than the currently 10/19 holes and reduce a bit of bass/warmth that way and see how I like it.

 

[Zerohour88]

I'm still super happy with them and I highly recommend the mod. I'd love to get some EX1000 to compare them to but unfortunately they're sold out absolutely everywhere now and used prices are ridiculous. Actually I'm thinking of getting another pair of the 800STs before they're also gone completely (plus I could do better comparisons with them stock vs. modded). I really doubt you can get anything even close in terms of sound for their price.

The thing with the bore mode is this: If you pull out the plastic disks, you can also pull out the foam cylinders without damaging them (so you can still use those as in the EX1000). Also in case you think they're too bright for you that way (as the EX1000 is for some people as well), you can easily do your own filters to tame down the treble as much as you want or even to get them back to how they sounded initially (but still with a bigger, more open sound).

Personally I'm still using and evaluating the slim strips of the alcohol swab wrapped around the foam cylinders. Maybe I'll cut the strips just a tad slimmer to get the EX800ST a little brighter (and thus a little airier, bigger and more detailed) again. Or maybe I'll experiment and cut the tape from the tape mod just a little slimmer to cover less than the currently 10/19 holes and reduce a bit of bass/warmth that way and see how I like it.

that's the thing, I think if there's a way to "reverse" the mod or basically make a filter system for it, that'd be the best.

might it be possible to pull the foam out without taking the "lip" off? though someone with a measuring rig might be able to do this and document the changes.

about not having the foam/sponge come off, seems like just jamming them tight in works well?

 

[MONVMENTVM]

that's the thing, I think if there's a way to "reverse" the mod or basically make a filter system for it, that'd be the best.

might it be possible to pull the foam out without taking the "lip" off? though someone with a measuring rig might be able to do this and document the changes.

about not having the foam/sponge come off, seems like just jamming them tight in works well?

Check one of my posts above where I was experimenting with different filters, which make it easy to get anywhere from the default sound (slightly bright treble due to the 5-7kHz peak of the MDR-600/800/1000 which is actually great for airiness and micro-detail but might be tiring if you're listening for hours) to a relatively dark/recessed treble sound.

It's possible to pull out the foam without removing the "lip" with little to no damage to them if you have very very fine needle nose tweezers (you can see them in the pic here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/review-sony-mdr-7550.679045/page-14#post-15105086) . In fact that's how I did it... I removed the "lip/plastic cover" after removing the foam cylinders. But I have to admit it's not easiest procedure if you intend to keep them intact. The second one went a little better than the first one though, so here some tips: You have to make sure you're pulling the foam out little by little in the beginning. In fact don't even try pulling it out right away but try to wiggle it bit by bit so you get to have more and more material on which you can actually pull with the tweezers. The problem is not that it's stuck in there or anything but that the hole is so small that even with the finest tweezers you can barely grab onto any material.

Still my recommendation is to first remove the plastic covers first. Those have the biggest impact on the sound in terms of sound stage and airiness.

Oh and the foam shouldn't fall out by itself even with the plastic covers removed... in fact the EX1000 doesn't even have those plastic covers. That's coincidentally why I assume this is the biggest factor when it comes to the sound differences between EX1000 and EX800ST. Once those plastic covers are out, the sound gets noticeably bigger, airier and more detailed while at the same time treble becomes more forward than on the stock 800ST.

 

[duyanh43]

Late to the party, but I have a question : Are there any counterfeits/fake EX800st/7550, cuz i've seen many EX1000 reported to be Chinese replica, is this the situation with this IEM.

 

[lllandline]

Late to the party, but I have a question : Are there any counterfeits/fake EX800st/7550, cuz i've seen many EX1000 reported to be Chinese replica, is this the situation with this IEM.

EX1000's chinese replicas probably sold through taobao, they are REALLY cheap there, something like 100-150$ last time I checked.
As for MDR7550 - I don't know, but if you want them for less money - search for MDR EX800ST on eBay/Amazon.
Also, consider the fact that it is less probable that EX800ST replicas will be made, due to MDR7550 being a more popular version.

 

[duyanh43]

EX1000's chinese replicas probably sold through taobao, they are REALLY cheap there, something like 100-150$ last time I checked.
As for MDR7550 - I don't know, but if you want them for less money - search for MDR EX800ST on eBay/Amazon.
Also, consider the fact that it is less probable that EX800ST replicas will be made, due to MDR7550 being a more popular version.

I just made my purchase of a pre-owned EX800st, condition was great, just like new for 100$ and he also gave me MMCX adapter. Sound quality surpass all <200$ IEM I've ever tried.

 

[mochill]

Who sold it for $100 :O

 

[blacksesame]

I was reading a few pages back. But to be clear, I just get tweezers and pull out the disc? How hard is it to do that?

 

[duyanh43]

Can someone show me a picture of your nozzle looks like, I feel that my EX800st's nozzle is missing something.. or not

 

[Sp12er3]

Boy how this thread got busy whne in off.
Gotta check these out.
Gonna try putting out the foam in a bit.
I'm still not clear on how to detach those plastic "cover" tho.

 

[lllandline]

Boy how this thread got busy whne in off.
Gotta check these out.
Gonna try putting out the foam in a bit.
I'm still not clear on how to detach those plastic "cover" tho.

It is glued to the nozzle, so you just pull it with a hook, try using bended paper clip. Nozzle itself on the inner side is just a straight tube.