[graben]

I just thought I would make a thread where everyone can list their favorite SA6 mods.

I'll start with the ones I know. I took a very small paper clip barely bigger than the hole in the bass + and pushed it through, then spun the bass port around it a few times. This added bass and opened up the sound stage a lot.

Next is to use volume attenuator. I use the Shure variable attenuator. I spin it from the bottom the top, in other words half a rotation of the wheel. This adds some more texture in the lows, but lowers the treble quite a lot. Fortunately I can just change my treble ports to + and now the sound is very balanced, open and detailed.
EDIT: A quarter turn is better, half a rotation is too much.
Thanks for everyone that came up with these.

 

[pianomav]

I did the bass mod on the '=' using a pin to create the hole and it does make a big difference in bass response. Anyone that owns the SA6 should definitely do these mods...almost a night and day difference!

 

[metllicamilitia]

I am little leary about the mods because my SA6's are only a few days old and I use the neutral bass ports, not to mention everyone is always talking about bass and I'm not big on bass, but the neutral bass port suits me the bass "-" is a bit too little though.

 

[graben]

The biggest change was a much much larger sound stage as I said.

And an edit to my previous post a quarter turn is perfect with the attenuator.

 

[ClieOS]

I think I am the first to describe the pin hole mod in my review, although it isn't intended to increase anything but to clean the port.

Here are my SA6 Bass≥ and Bass≤ ports mod. Bass≥ is the same as what pianomav described.

 

[Sovkiller]

The best way to see if there is any improvement opening the bass port hole is to remove the port completelly, there is no bigger hole than no port, and try them with no port, there is no bigger hole than that, I try it and I feel no big change...The ports are caculated for that purpose, and IIRC this tiny hole works as those aperiodic ports in speakers, if you make it bigger you end changing the purpose of it...But asking Jason will be a good idea...is just making the hole bigger were the solution, thye would provide an extra bass port just making one with bigger holes...

 

[graben]

Well, if it sounds good to you it's good. And after I did this the sound changed quite a lot. My staple was barely bigger than the original hole as well, I think it cleared it more than made it bigger. The hole is so small that I think it can get plugged up which is what ClieOS was stating all along.

You can think of it more as cleaning, you have to clean the tubes with the cleaning tool right. This is cleaning the bass port.

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by graben /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, if it sounds good to you it's good. And after I did this the sound changed quite a lot. My staple was barely bigger than the original hole as well, I think it cleared it more than made it bigger. The hole is so small that I think it can get plugged up which is what ClieOS was stating all along. You can think of it more as cleaning, you have to clean the tubes with the cleaning tool right. This is cleaning the bass port.

The problem is that once you mod them you have no other reference unless you have another pair of ports, as I have here. I tried the same approach following the same logic, I'm not saying that you experiment was completely absurd, or wrong, as that seems to be the logic for many of us, unfortunatelly for us, and IEM, it is not, once you place the originals back again, you will realize that the changes are not so big...if any...

Always while comparing two things in audio, a before and an after, I was always curious as how the people do that, not trying to pick your case, we have seen this here a lot of times, I have this player here, or this amp, or this headphone, I send them for this and that upgrade, they cost me a trillion of dollars and after 6 months, I received them and WOW, the difference is day and night, Yeah right? Are yuo goinf ot make me beleive that you really still remeber with accuracy how the device sounded 6 months ago!!!! GIMME A BREAK!!!! (but of course as you pay for it, and there is no way they will reimburse you, you better be right, what the heck????) Placebo at its best...

Experiments in audio need to be repeated and repeated till you get the conclussions, as the memory span in audio is really small, just a few seconds...Comparisons take a lot of time...

 

[epithetless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller /img/forum/go_quote.gif The best way to see if there is any improvement opening the bass port hole is to remove the port completelly, there is no bigger hole than no port, and try them with no port, there is no bigger hole than that, I try it and I feel no big change...The ports are caculated for that purpose, and IIRC this tiny hole works as those aperiodic ports in speakers, if you make it bigger you end changing the purpose of it...But asking Jason will be a good idea...is just making the hole bigger were the solution, thye would provide an extra bass port just making one with bigger holes...

It's been mentioned before that bigger holes are only part of the equation; as Jason said to me in a PM, you have to find the right balance of hole-size and resistance. A completely open port has no resistance whatsoever, and thus the bass impact actually suffers (in fact, I find the whole sound suffers). Like you, Sovkiller, I have modded bass+ ports and unmodded bass+ ports both on hand, and the difference to me is clear with back-and-forth testing. Why Sleek doesn't manufacture a bass++ port that is a bass+ port with slightly larger holes is something only they can answer...but my theories on the matter are thus: (1) While the mod does improve bass impact in a relative sense, more optimizations could be explored/done before a fully-endorsed "bass++" port is brought to production; (2) the mod is easy enough for users to perform themselves, with fairly low risk (as replacement ports are inexpensive); and (3) Sleek has a number of other items on its agenda, and the production of a new port (and all the logistics/work that entails) is not high on the list at this time.

 

[ClieOS]

I too have both unmoded and moded ports for testing and I can confirm that it makes a very obvious difference to my ears. However, I want to point out - my first set of Bass+ port are originally more 'open' than the second set. My theory is, since the hole size is so small and the very slight increment can affect bass quality, the product variation b/w different batch will have slightly different bass response. This explain why some will find the bass+ port has very little bass, while other find it to be sufficient. It also explains why pin-hole mod can have dramatic effect on some but not on other.

BTW, I strongly recommend those who like the Bass= port to do the Bass≥ mod mentioned above if you have extra set of Bass= port. It really combine the best part of both Bass= and Bass+.

 

[graben]

Thank you epithetless for letting us know your results.
I am glad you were able to compare the unmodded and modded.
Let's not argue and all just enjoy our SA6.

 

[epithetless]

Quote:

Originally Posted by graben /img/forum/go_quote.gif Let's not argue and all just enjoy our SA6.

I disagree! Let's argue and not enjoy our SA6!

 

[metllicamilitia]

I might do some modding later, but I would an extra set of bass ports first and do it on them, but I am happy with my bass + port and extented treble tip (different from the treble +, not sure if it is sold with all SA6's right now or not).

 

[Sovkiller]

To enjoy them is all about, but with all due respect if the hole size is the solution, I do not think that Sleeek will spend too much time and effort developing a new port, is just a matter of getting it done as they already know what to do, it is not that they will develop it from scratch...Also the conversation with Jason confirm my theory the ports works as an aperiodic port, in that case the hole size have to be selected very careful, and the combination is crucial...

BTW does anybody had tried to remove the port completelly and cover the cavity with a piece of foam or felt, or any other pass through material....will try that tomorrow to see...

 

[tadad1]

Some of my recent bass port mods. Materials used include plastic, fibreglass and wood with adjustments to tube lengths, diameter and extended chamber shaping being used to slightly alter acoustic qualities.

The ports with the red and blue ends are the most recent version shown with a couple of earlier designs.

Tools (Sandpaper, razorblade, battery powered engraver and various tips for shaping.) and some of the materials used.

Does extending the bass port increase the amount of bass? In short no or at least not that I can pick up on. What it does seem to do is slightly alter the sonic characteristics of the Sleeks. I have blind tested the current build with a second person swapping out the modded ports with the stock bass= and bass+ ports and was able to pick the modded ports in all cases.

Most noticeable is increased clarity across the board, with the Sleeks sounding slightly more open and airy. Whilst bass does not appear noticeably increased it is slightly sharper and more defined particularly noticeable with acoustic (Kaki King, Paul Simon, Flamenco/Spanish Guitar etc) and electronic music (Jean Michel Jarre, Robert Miles, Tangerine Dream, Enigma etc) . Bass also seems to reach deeper with lower bass being more resonant and felt. Effects like reverb and echo are more prominent.

I have also made a couple of wooden treble tubes but have found that even slight adjustments to the tubes such as increasing hole diameter can easily degrade sound quality quite noticeably so I have left them alone favouring the stock treble+.