There are so many things I like about the R10 and the K1000. So why not have both in one headphone? The R10's have really been overheating my ears lately so.....
I decided to mod the R10 and K1000 and combine them into one headphone.
Removing the Ear pieces from the R10 was a bit tricky. The hangers are magnesium so cutting through the mounting piece was a bit hairy. But unlike the CD3000, the R10 does not route the cable through the headband, so there is no danger of accidentally severing the cable. I must say that magnesium is tougher than I thought.
Removing the K1000's "ear speakers" was much easier. I guess Sony is tougher to disassemble since they probably don't want people taking apart $4000 headphones easily.
It was pretty tough to get the hangers to mount to the K1000's headband frame. But two well placed bolts secured it nicely. They are not showing in the picture because of the angle. I'll try to take a better close up later. My digicam is dying, looks like I'll need to replace it soon.
I used a little superglue to "fix" the R10 ear piece hanger, so it would not rotate so loosely. That way I can get the R10 ear pieces to angle outward like the K1000's ear speakers. It doesn't quite far a the K1000, but pretty close. But since the R10's drivers are angled a bit already, this is a non-issue.
My initial listening impressions are impressive.
I have almost the R10's sound with the K1000's ergonomics. The Bass is definitely reduced. It's still a bit more than the K1000, but unfortunately, opening up the R10's ear pieces reduces the bass noticeably. But the soundstage is greatly improved. Since I have essentially permanently removed the K1000's ear pads, I can't really A/B compare, but the difference is noticeable from memory.
The really nice part of this mod, is that if I want to go back to a mroe traditional R10 closed mode, I can angle the R10 ear pads flat to the sides of my head like the normal R10's. The only problem is the ear pads are somewhat in the way, and don't let the ear pads press evenly on the sides of my head. So sound now leaks, but the bass response is much better in closed mode. The nice part is that since the ear pads aren't hugging snugly anymore, there is a bit of ventilation. Also, the headband on top barely reaches the top of my head. I guess I can try to position the ear pieces higher. I have a pretty big noggin, though.
I think I can tweak attachment of the R10 ear piece hangers a bit better, it's a bit figidy to get them to stay in position.
So far I am really happy with my new "SAKY R1000."
More pics to follow......
-Ed
I decided to mod the R10 and K1000 and combine them into one headphone.
Removing the Ear pieces from the R10 was a bit tricky. The hangers are magnesium so cutting through the mounting piece was a bit hairy. But unlike the CD3000, the R10 does not route the cable through the headband, so there is no danger of accidentally severing the cable. I must say that magnesium is tougher than I thought.
Removing the K1000's "ear speakers" was much easier. I guess Sony is tougher to disassemble since they probably don't want people taking apart $4000 headphones easily.
It was pretty tough to get the hangers to mount to the K1000's headband frame. But two well placed bolts secured it nicely. They are not showing in the picture because of the angle. I'll try to take a better close up later. My digicam is dying, looks like I'll need to replace it soon.
I used a little superglue to "fix" the R10 ear piece hanger, so it would not rotate so loosely. That way I can get the R10 ear pieces to angle outward like the K1000's ear speakers. It doesn't quite far a the K1000, but pretty close. But since the R10's drivers are angled a bit already, this is a non-issue.
My initial listening impressions are impressive.
I have almost the R10's sound with the K1000's ergonomics. The Bass is definitely reduced. It's still a bit more than the K1000, but unfortunately, opening up the R10's ear pieces reduces the bass noticeably. But the soundstage is greatly improved. Since I have essentially permanently removed the K1000's ear pads, I can't really A/B compare, but the difference is noticeable from memory.
The really nice part of this mod, is that if I want to go back to a mroe traditional R10 closed mode, I can angle the R10 ear pads flat to the sides of my head like the normal R10's. The only problem is the ear pads are somewhat in the way, and don't let the ear pads press evenly on the sides of my head. So sound now leaks, but the bass response is much better in closed mode. The nice part is that since the ear pads aren't hugging snugly anymore, there is a bit of ventilation. Also, the headband on top barely reaches the top of my head. I guess I can try to position the ear pieces higher. I have a pretty big noggin, though.
I think I can tweak attachment of the R10 ear piece hangers a bit better, it's a bit figidy to get them to stay in position.
So far I am really happy with my new "SAKY R1000."
More pics to follow......
-Ed
