[holland]

I see. I thought he meant it being closed gives the driver more movement, from the way it was worded.

 

[stewgriff]

Listening more, I found that the mod was far too fatiguing. The treble was just too much for an extended period of time. So, I made ~1.5 cm holes in the middle of the cardboard rings, making donuts. The bass lost some of its attack but gained a lot of heft, and the treble was lessened. Then I pulled the cardboard out, and the headphones sounded the same.

Lesson? The main reasons for the "improvements" were half placebo (difference=improvement), half high listening levels. When I turned the Beyers up to the level I'd been listening when I'd first done the mod, I could hear all the bass impact and detail I wanted. In the end, this mod didn't really work for me. I can see where it would improve things, though. Maybe using a foam instead...

Oh, and I also saw another horrible effect of this site: I'm now not afraid of pulling apart high-end equipment and sticking cheap materials in it

.

 

[Kees]

On request I restored the pictures that got lost.

 

[Rakooon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewgriff /img/forum/go_quote.gif Listening more, I found that the mod was far too fatiguing. The treble was just too much for an extended period of time. So,

Same for me.It was treble attack !!!!Can't stand that ! But its always interresting to be able to mod headphones to obtain different sound signature.For some it may be for the best but this one wasn't for me.
Had fun trying it though !

 

[PETEREK]

I just read up on another thread that the DT770 and 990 have very similar, if not identical drivers. Do you have a pair of 770's that you could get your hands on to see how similar the sounds are between your modded 990 and the 770? I have a pair of DT770/80, if they sound similar or the same, I may consider doing a open/closed mod (with some kind of plug or something). That would be pretty cool I think.

 

[crazynorweegian]

I was thinking about doing this mod. I am glad I read the whole thread!
 

 

[Chuck Canada]

I mite try this mod, I don't mind taking my brand new cans apart since I play with computers for a living as is. Headphones are no big deal.
 
I have had my DT990 600ohm premium cans for a couple of months now and I've finally got a really good feel for the sound they put out since they are finally nicely burned in.
 
Sub bass-mid bass is premium quality "IMO-, In my opinion" it is punchy, clean and up front. Not sloppy at all.
 
The highs can tend to be a bit bright but with a minor EQ change it is not a problem for me at all. I like the fact that the highs are crisp and clear and not drowned out by anything they come through very well.
 
Now the mids, oh yeah those mids on the DT 990's fall rite off and get pushed back by the mid bass and sub bass. These cans sound great with R&B, some Rap, movies and games. "for under 400$ Canadian I've never had a better pair of cans for these things'' but for Metal, Hard Rock, Blues, the pushed back mids suck "IMO" I am really not impressed and for me that is a huge factor, the majority of what I listen to could be classified as Hard Rock and Metal and for me not having a nice chunky mid for the guitar, vocals and part of the drums and bass is a real pain in the ass.
 
This is just my opinion on the DT990 600ohm Premium cans, I know to some people it may sound like I'm being a little harsh on them for the mids falling off but it is just my opinion. I really like a strong mid sounding headphone so in that case yeah I am a little bit more opinionated about the mids falling off a bit.
 
Lastly I don't find the bass sloppy at all, I find it very clean and punchy. Possibly just because I have the valour cushions. "I think they probably would absorb a lot of sound, that could make a huge difference in the bass compared to the leather cushions.
 
I like your mod idea and the directions you put up here are great, I will try this when I get the time and post some pictures of before, during and after.  

 

[Kees]

Nice. The mod is really easy and it is as easily undone as it is done, so there's no risk involved.
The fun thing is that you can try different things to get it exactly to your liking. I tried different materials (paper, cork, plastic, felt) and you can also try perforations in the disk (varying amount, size and placement). When you get the hang of it and a feel of the different effects it causes, it is just a question of time and patience to get it just right.
Have fun.

 

[Jehmimah]

Nice, I could probably do something similar on my DT770's.

 

[philkop]

Made an account just to come and preach the good word of this mod.

I use AKG Q701 primarily for mixing / critical listening purposes (since my room treatment is crap.) I found some DT990s for $60 locally and I've always loved the build/comfort of them.

Honestly for the first day of A/B testing against my Q701 I was getting headaches from the DT990s. The bass in particular was just too much. I also found I was loosing mid detail because of that overpowered bass. The highs weren't a huge issue for me.

I really didn't expect much from the mod but it really toned down the bass which brought out the rest of the spectrum. The bass is still there and stronger than my Q701 but I can actually hear the shape and texture of it rather than being flooded with wooomph.

I miss the mids of my Q701 but overall these sound much fuller. The q701s sound like a guitar amp compared to these being a full range loudspeaker after the mod.

Next up, removable cable mod

 

[oakparkmusicguy]

This is an old but great thread (and mod)! I have a large collection of headphones but I mostly game. I have the DT770 and DT990. I’ve been thinking about buying the DT880 but just didn’t want to risk another Beyerdynamic treble assault. So time to google and mod!
With each set I modded one side at a time and then listened with one side modded and one not.
In the DT770s I put a circle cut from a coffee filter in front of the driver. This worked really well and better than a circle of foam. Two filters seemed to much (although I may revisit that since my methods are totally not scientific). This tamed the treble just enough.

For the DT990s I tried several variations but ended up liking the one described - a piece of foam in the center with a firm circle of cardboard under the driver. I did one side and compared. I was very happy with the results so I did the other side. I have not tried it with cutting the center out of the cardboard. They seem much more even sounding with very reasonable bass. Still a bit V-shaped but so much more listenable! I agree that there probably reflection of the mids and treble but who cares since it evens things out. I don’t have to go crazy with the EQ and now I really like them for gaming.

Thanks!
OakParkMusicGuy