[spamtoaster]

I did this mod with my mdr 1000x a few weeks ago. I also put Cotton strips behind the driver cavity just in between the outside housing in the electronics to add a little more damper. I think I noticed a little difference in the passive noise cancellation but not overwhelming. The cotton around the driver seems to absorb bouncing waves inside the cup, making it slightly smoother to listen to. Not a great change in bass to my ears. I'm happy.

Little difference meaning lower performance? I am most interested in keeping the same performance in ANC but I'm unsure of buying it because of the headband cracks issue (I can see it in the first photos) that everyone is talking about. Also, I want to be sure that I can replace the earpads in the future, as owner of a Sony 1RBT with damaged earpads I see now that this is an important issue to observe before buying another headphone. Thanks

 

[Philip Christian]

Definitely better performance in all aspects after the mod. Also, the ear pads are easily interchangeable. By easily I mean very easy to pop off.

 

[rottencat]

Did this mod today. Actually bought the 1000x again to do this mod, after initially selling them because they didn't fit me (I have large ears).

Impressions so far:

Sound stage is definitely wider, which is great.
Bass is deeper. Not much, but enough to make a difference.
Comfort is much better.

Noise cancelling is not as good after the mod.
The original pads sit much deeper, giving a tighter seal. What this means is that without music playing, I no longer have this bubble of silence as I did before the mod. With music playing, it's not a big deal. I'll wait and see if I can live with that. So far I'm very happy with the sound and comfort.

Oh, and I marked where the ring should be with a pen instead of a knife. Otherwise did everything OP did.

 

[rottencat]

Okay, so here's a little mod to the mod:

The lack of noise cancelling that I experienced after doing the mod, comes down to the distance between the ear pads and the headphones themselves. Since you're basically gluing a ring on top of another ring, and the fact that the dekoni ear pads are deeper, the pads will sit further out, causing ambient sounds to get in easier. So I wanted to decrease that distance and bring back the noise cancelling.

I started by cutting the ring off the dekoni pads with a very sharp bread knife:

And placed the ring from the stock pads on top:

After that I started sewing the pads together, on top of the ring. I'm definitely not great with a needle and thread, and black thread would have looked a lot nicer, but it did the trick. I was careful to try not to cover the plastic parts that click into place.

Here you can see the difference in height between the glued on dekoni pad and the one with the ring sewn in:

And the final result:

I then removed the cotton pads next to the drivers, as with the decreased distance they now made the sound a bit muffled.

The noise cancelling is now back, but of course the sound stage has also decreased. So it seems it's either or. But most importantly, the headphones are still more comfortable than with the stock pads.

 

[mbgar]

Hi

You say the NC was worse because of the pads being bigger and letting in more sound through the pads itself.
Does that mean, when you press the headphones onto your head the NC got better too and when releasing the NC got worse again?

 

[rottencat]

Yes, that was my experience. As I pressed the headphones against my head, the noise cancelling improved because of the tighter seal.

 

[tayo15]

I'm about to try the original poster's mod anyone have any experience or tips?

 

[w45inus]

Bose is way more comfortable than the sony. Can't wear the 1000x more than an hour. Hopefully changing the pads helps

 

[mbgar]

Take a look at these, they feel great:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-mdr-1000x-earpad-replacement-mod.853277/#post-13667580

 

[essentia]

Take a look at these, they feel great:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-mdr-1000x-earpad-replacement-mod.853277/#post-13667580

That's the thread we're on man haha

 

[tayo15]

Anyone know which kind of cotton pads the original poster used??

 

[macbug]

I bought some MDR-1A earpads off ebay for 5 bucks, will report on how well they work versus stock. Hopefully no gluing will be necessary since the back is already made for similar looking plastic clips.

 

[rottencat]

After doing this mod twice (actually sewed the ear pads on twice), my personal conclusion is that this mod is not worth it. The lost noise cancellation killed it for me. Being on the subway and being able to hear everything around me was a total downer. I've gone back to the stock ear pads.

 

[macbug]

Interesting, I wonder how it's going for this fellow with his MSR7 pads

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-mdr-1000x.818871/page-143#post-13568459

 

[Canaudio]

I have the WH 1000X M2, which I think have the same ear pads as the MDR 1000X. I like them but they do get a bit warm and uncomfortable, even after relatively short periods. I wonder if the Sony H.ear on 2 pads have the same attachments and would fit? A comparison review I saw said the H.ear on 2's have deeper and firmer pads that are more comfortable and cooler than the 1000X M2, but sacrifice some anc. Some people seem to think the H.ear on 2 sounds better. it might be an interesting swap to try, particularly if it's "plug and play".