[stonyboys]

Now that I think about it, what the hell's the point in doing this? You said the comfort and build wasn't that great on the kanens anyway, and mix that up with a pair of craptastic drivers and I would have a good waste of money.

The one thing that makes me want to do this is the wooden cups. I'll have to save up for this, but what if I take the cups from these, the headband from some other headphone, and the drivers from another good-sounding heaphone?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonyboys /img/forum/go_quote.gif The one thing that makes me want to do this is the wooden cups. I'll have to save up for this, but what if I take the cups from these, the headband from some other headphone, and the drivers from another good-sounding heaphone?

I think that's what Seidhepriest is planning on doing. He is a far better DIYer than I am so I would wait and see if he comes up with anything

. Like I said, this may be worth it if you can score a pair of good 40mm drivers for cheap, such as from a broken Shure 440 or something of the sort.

 

[stonyboys]

That's good, now I can wait and see if this is an utter waste of time and money or not.

 

[Seidhepriest]

That's the idea, yes. Transplant of KM-880 wooden cups to something more interesting.

The cups look like they might fit Panasonic RP-HTX7?

Transplanting drivers into the KM-880 frame is a bit of a no-no, that cheap headband, and Joker says it's not comfortable.

Joker: the "Denon recessed midrange" can be fixed with the right kind of acoustic foam. And/or damping of the cups. With the "bright" AH-P372 the fix was: cotton rings in the cups behind the drivers. That reduced bass/high-frequency boom and demasked midrange. With that little mod and a recable the "bright" AH-P372 are superior to first-gen AKG K-141 ("Sextett" drivers). Sweeter, faster, and with deeper dynamics. The trick/luck is getting the "bright" AH-P372 build and not the "dark" one. It's sort of like the "reverse Mark L mod" - Mark makes larger wooden cups for AH-D2000/5000, but here with the AH-P372 and other Denon headphones the trick is constraining space so the natural reverb doesn't interfere with a record's.

The trick for DN-HP500 was foam, and a bit of reduction in cup size (Foster engineers designed those cups to add a natural echo, but the echo can be boomy and mess with the record's frequency response). And guess what? DN-HP500 2nd/3rd octave midrange drop was fixed with AKG K-81DJ foam. Only trouble is, that also killed the spatiousness and high frequency sweetness. And bloated bass. So in the end the DN-HP500 had some motherboard packing foam, it didn't work as well, but it didn't kill the high frequencies.



- DN-HP500 with K-81 foam inserts.

 

[ljokerl]

You might be right about the HTX7 but you'd probably have to saw through the headband supports or drill through the KM-880 cups so that they can stick out the bottom.

I didn't mod the P372 but I'm sure they do improve. I wouldn't mind hearing a modded set but really my purposes are a bit different from yours. A stock set is more useful for review purposes as that's what most people would be buying/listening to. I've been thinking of linking to threads outlining possible mods from each review but I haven't decided on it yet. Interesting how the two undifferentiated versions sound so different. Wonder which one is currently in production...

And stop tempting me with the Denon DJ's. They are a hell of a good-looking set. The HP700 and HP1000 are too but they are a bit pricy for how plasticky they look. The HP500 is just right. I might swap one of my current phones for a set

.

 

[Seidhepriest]

That's the fishy thing, the KM-880 frame sounds uncomfortable and the cups won't be compatible with anything else without drilling (which might create cracks and damage the cups - cheap wood likely isn't very solid)/ Maybe the frame can be modified, the headband get somе padding, cup pads swapped and so on. But, all these mods can add up to a total.

The reverse - wooden inserts in AH-P372 or AH-D1001 cups - ought to work.

Yes, most people buy stock, but then the stock sets can be turned into something greater with not-so-serious expenses.

Temptation++:

 

[ljokerl]

At long last the HD25-1 II has been added. Also the surprisingly decent Coby CV-185.

@Seidhepriest: nice picture

 

[Rainbow Randy]

The HD25-1 is made of hard plastic? I always thought, because of how lauded its build quality is, that it was made out of mostly metal.

 

[ljokerl]

Nope, completely plastic. The plastics actually look a bit cheap but feel extremely solid. And there are weight benefits as well - the HD25 is light, very light. Just a bit heavier than the ultraportable PX200-II and Ultrasone Zinos, but nowhere near the weight of the AKG K181 or M-Audio Q40, both of which use hefty steel structures.

 

[Pott]

Great thread!

In Europe the balance of things are totally messed up. Those JVCs HA M750 cost about 75 euros, which is about 100 bucks. And not even a quarter of these are available in stores.
If I ever come back to the US I'll make sure to pick up a few interesting things...

 

[stonyboys]

hey joker, you ever tried these?

Audio Technica ATH-FC700A - Headphones | HeadRoom Audio

 

[jant71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl /img/forum/go_quote.gif At long last the HD25-1 II has been added. Also the surprisingly decent Coby CV-185.

Still need to get a pair of the HD25-1. Never wanted to spend the cash since I use portables quite a bit less than IEM's. Also waiting for a real replacement more along the likes of the PX200 -> PX200-II as far as sound improvement. HD25-1 -> HD25-1 II was not much different on the sound dept.

I think the CV-185 are sweet. Low profile and light, decent looks and sound. Going to burn mine in more. They got bright and are not the same phone that I felt was better than both the PX200-II and Denon and was close to the RX700(side by side unamped). Maybe a extra set of foams or foam insert will do the trick. They got harsh and easier to drive which is hurting the performance. The foam mod uses Radio Shack pads that come in a large/small 2-pair pack so maybe just insert the smaller pair inside under the larger pair. We'll see how it goes.

Joker, keep up the good work on the reviews!

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pott /img/forum/go_quote.gif In Europe the balance of things are totally messed up. Those JVCs HA M750 cost about 75 euros, which is about 100 bucks. And not even a quarter of these are available in stores.

Don't worry, JVC pricing is jacked up pretty much everywhere. The poor bastards up in Canada pay close to $100 for a set as well

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stonyboys /img/forum/go_quote.gif hey joker, you ever tried these? Audio Technica ATH-FC700A - Headphones | HeadRoom Audio

No, though I did want to at some point. But I remember people who tried both preferring the ATH-ES7.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jant71 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Still need to get a pair of the HD25-1. Never wanted to spend the cash since I use portables quite a bit less than IEM's. Also waiting for a real replacement more along the likes of the PX200 -> PX200-II as far as sound improvement. HD25-1 -> HD25-1 II was not much different on the sound dept.

If I remember correctly the mkII version of the HD25 only changed the cable configuration, nothing in the phone itself. To be honest I don't really see Sennheiser updating or replacing the HD25 any time soon. Compared to the PX series phones its target audience is much smaller and despite its age it is still one of the most often-recommended headphones for its purpose. But one can always hope

 

[stonyboys]

Yeah but ES7 is twice the price, so it isn't really fair to compare them...

 

[Olimoronio]

Great review on the Coby's, ljokerl.

I'd actually be tempted to give them maybe a point higher just to emphasize their superiority over the JVC Flats but that would be difficult on an ultimate scale such as yours. I am actually a bit surprised that you didn't compare the Flats and the Coby's.

The Flats do have a little bass but it is not what I'd call punchy or fun. And they lack that kind of lower mid/upper bass heft that only a good foundation can provide. The Coby's have all of this and are therefore a superior phone regardless if their response is as... "flat" as the Flat's.

I'd also just like to reiterate that these phones look great. The clear, thick, polished looking plastic that covers the Coby brand on either side looks particularly striking IMO. And these tend to look larger in pics than they really are. They are diminutive but hardy looking phones. They are also slim to the fit and quite low profile. I really can't imagine anyone hating the looks of these. And you can get them in red or blue if you like under the CV-215 nomenclature.


Anyways, thanks for the review, I really can't wait for your review of the full-sized Coby CV-720's which are clearly superior to the CV-185's and eminently moddable.