[DisCHORDDubstep]

AGH. Well, I don't want a paper cone driver... Any dynamics that are amazingly great and open backed??

 

[BucketInABucket]

AGH. Well, I don't want a paper cone driver... Any dynamics that are amazingly great and open backed??

Superlux hd668b assuming a budget of $40, they're probably one of the best bang for the buck open-backs on the market nowadays and they even look similar to the AKG K240 

 buying vintage is like gambling, you never know when you'll win or lose. I bought an OEM of the HV/1A and not the HV/1A myself hoping that I'll get the same sound and I lost. Should've just stuck with the HV/1A but at least now I have a good shell for my TDS-5 ortho drivers.

 

[vid]

  can you guide me to the mod you have in mind? might give it a go

 
The mod is unconventional and I don't know of anyone else that's done it. It's made for the HOK 80-1.
 
1. Take out the HOK driver and pile a whole bunch of cotton wool on both sides, covering each side completely. Wrap about a meter or so of thin sewing thread around the driver to compress the wool firmly against it.
2. Pick up your Senn HD 600, toss out the drivers, and put the sandwiched HOK drivers in the HD 600 frame. Might need to break one of the driver-holding clamps to get a good fit, but not necessarily.
3. Fill the entire back of the HD 600 cup with cotton wool.
4. Apply EQ on the now-smooth frequency response to get the tonality you want.

There's some measurements:

Spoiler: under here

The HOK with just some usual ortho mods - felt disc at the back of the cup, driver blu-tacked to the frame, etc. Decent, but not so great. The graph only goes down to 500 Hz, so you can't see the massive bass rolloff that starts at 200 Hz. The graphs below go down to 100 Hz.

 
The HOK with the other mods removed and steps 1, 2, and 3 applied. Tonality isn't good but the frequency response is now exceptionally smooth - the cotton sandwich around the driver smooths out the bass (might or might not be needed for the 80-2) and the HD 600 cup smooths out the treble spikes. A lot of energy above 13 kHz is lost, but that's the price. Decay is much faster than with the conventional mods - more resolution.

 
Finally, with step 4. I like neutrality so that's what I EQd for. The decay in some parts of the spectrum is faster now than it was without EQ - something people have a hard time accepting.

 
Some comparisons, the Stax SR-5 stats and the HD 600.
 

 

[fattyu]

   
The mod is unconventional and I don't know of anyone else that's done it. It's made for the HOK 80-1.
 
1. Take out the HOK driver and pile a whole bunch of cotton wool on both sides, covering each side completely. Wrap about a meter or so of thin sewing thread around the driver to compress the wool firmly against it.
2. Pick up your Senn HD 600, toss out the drivers, and put the sandwiched HOK drivers in the HD 600 frame. Might need to break one of the driver-holding clamps to get a good fit, but not necessarily.
3. Fill the entire back of the HD 600 cup with cotton wool.
4. Apply EQ on the now-smooth frequency response to get the tonality you want.

There's some measurements:

Spoiler: under here

The HOK with just some usual ortho mods - felt disc at the back of the cup, driver blu-tacked to the frame, etc. Decent, but not so great. The graph only goes down to 500 Hz, so you can't see the massive bass rolloff that starts at 200 Hz. The graphs below go down to 100 Hz.

 
The HOK with the other mods removed and steps 1, 2, and 3 applied. Tonality isn't good but the frequency response is now exceptionally smooth - the cotton sandwich around the driver smooths out the bass (might or might not be needed for the 80-2) and the HD 600 cup smooths out the treble spikes. A lot of energy above 13 kHz is lost, but that's the price. Decay is much faster than with the conventional mods - more resolution.

 
Finally, with step 4. I like neutrality so that's what I EQd for. The decay in some parts of the spectrum is faster now than it was without EQ - something people have a hard time accepting.

 
Some comparisons, the Stax SR-5 stats and the HD 600.
 

and that is not a hok any more right?
so the hok never beats the sansui nor the yamaha...

 

[leeperry]

It's not exactly breaking news that vintage ortho drivers are utterly crippled by their tiny stock shells.

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

Superlux hd668b assuming a budget of $40, they're probably one of the best bang for the buck open-backs on the market nowadays and they even look similar to the AKG K240   buying vintage is like gambling, you never know when you'll win or lose. I bought an OEM of the HV/1A and not the HV/1A myself hoping that I'll get the same sound and I lost. Should've just stuck with the HV/1A but at least now I have a good shell for my TDS-5 ortho drivers.

well, I don't want a superlux lol... Guess I'll find something and post here.

 

[Fearless1]

well, I don't want a superlux lol... Guess I'll find something and post here.

 
 
Have you even heard the hd668b? Quite frankly it blows the doors off the modern AKG 240. So why lol?

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

 

Have you even heard the hd668b? Quite frankly it blows the doors off the modern AKG 240. So why lol?

is that an opinion I hear?

 

[Fearless1]

is that an opinion I hear?

Yep, based on someone who owns both.

 

[DisCHORDDubstep]

Yep, based on someone who owns both.

lol. I guess I'll buy those superlux's...

 

[vid]

  and that is not a hok any more right?
so the hok never beats the sansui nor the yamaha...

 
Sure it's a HOK, but what surprises me is that instead of saying thanks, you came up with this.

 

[takato14]

To hell with you people and your modern AKG K240 variants and knockoffs, vintage K240 knockoffs are the way to go!
 
Here's my newly acquired, like-new-in-box, Philips N6330, an OEM of the K240 Sextett. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
These are in almost perfect shape; the only problem is that the right side badge is missing. Both badges fell off from age, but I reattached the left side one (which was found in the box).
 

 
Here they are on my head. Photos don't do it justice; these things are absolutely massive.
 

 
Here's the good stuff: the six passive radiators that give the Sextett it's big sound. You have absolutely no idea how hard it is to resist poking them. 
 

 
These are actually considerably heavier than they look and feel very rugged and durable compared to AKG's frame. The sliders use spring steel instead of elastic bands, which is very nice in the long run, and the headband is a thick, rubbery silicone instead of a pleather strap.
 

 
The sound of these is apparently somewhere between the LP and MP Sextett models in regards to the bass quantity. In my opinion, this means just a teeny bit more than what I'd call "netural". Surprisingly competent sounding even out of a lowly laptop. Glorious mids, surprisingly good treble. Colored, but in a very subtle way and not at all polarizing. A bit lacking in bass extension. Soundstage is small but precise, airy and well separated. Comfort is just as amazing as the K240.
 
A very nice listen and the closest headphone yet to matching my Z7. 

 

[kleptolia]

To hell with you people and your modern AKG K240 variants and knockoffs, vintage K240 knockoffs are the way to go!

Here's my newly acquired, like-new-in-box, Philips N6330, an OEM of the K240 Sextett. 



















These are in almost perfect shape; the only problem is that the right side badge is missing. Both badges fell off from age, but I reattached the left side one (which was found in the box).




Here they are on my head. Photos don't do it justice; these things are absolutely massive.




Here's the good stuff: the six passive radiators that give the Sextett it's big sound. You have absolutely no idea how hard it is to resist poking them. 




These are actually considerably heavier than they look and feel very rugged and durable compared to AKG's frame. The sliders use spring steel instead of elastic bands, which is very nice in the long run, and the headband is a thick, rubbery silicone instead of a pleather strap.




The sound of these is apparently somewhere between the LP and MP Sextett models in regards to the bass quantity. In my opinion, this means just a teeny bit more than what I'd call "netural". Surprisingly competent sounding even out of a lowly laptop. Glorious mids, surprisingly good treble. Colored, but in a very subtle way and not at all polarizing. A bit lacking in bass extension. Soundstage is small but precise, airy and well separated. Comfort is just as amazing as the K240.

A very nice listen and the closest headphone yet to matching my Z7. 

Well, I can't hear them from where I am, but they look AWESOME! It's like you have two actual speakers on your head.

 

[takato14]

 
Well, I can't hear them from where I am, but they look AWESOME! It's like you have two actual speakers on your head.

As opposed to having two hypothetical speakers on my head...?

 

[kleptolia]

As opposed to having two hypothetical speakers on my head...?

Yes! Hypothetical speakers are THE WORST! Save your imaginary money and pretend to not buy them!