moredes
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2008
- Posts
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I modded my D5000's. I was religious about following the directions, and I completed the entire modification--it wasn't just a partial mod; it probably took me 5 hours. I did the mod out of curiosity--chasing the 'holy grail'--I thought, for the minimal financial expense and time, the feasibility of project was acceptable.
When I listened to the modded D5000's they sounded terrible--just downright awful--"gelded" is the best description I can think of--the bass was almost non-existent, mid-range was GONE, and the highs were muted badly. "Muddy" doesn't begin to describe the overall quality the new sound had. I double- and triple-checked my work--the fiberfill in the cups was easily thin enough that I could see through it. To be sure, I removed it completely from the housings and still got no reward. ALL the holes lined up and were open where they were intended to be; my Dynamat installation was neat and in my view, perfect. I didn't 'poke holes and punch several times with a hole-punch'--I used a leather hole punch that fit perfectly over each plastic Denon hole--I could see the mating of the Dynamat and Denon was exact, everywhere.
It took me almost 7 hours to remove every trace of Dynamat (a real chore, I can tell ya--Xacto knife, surgical tweezers, etc). Now it sounds exactly as I remember the OEM's, with one exception--it probably requires 10-15% more gain adjustment to get the same volume I had before the modification. I've checked and double checked for leftover 'insulation', and can find none. Zero. I did all my checking with a 3X magnifying ring-lamp. Obviously something's changed, but I can live with it, since the amp I have can easily support the extra 10-15% demand. The only regret I have is that the screws are almost loose from so many R&R's.
I will say that the one thing I liked, and retained after stripping all the Dynamat and fiberfill out was that I left the 3" plastic cup rings and their accompanying fiberfill in the ear cushions. They REALLY helped the 5000's directional qualities--no more of that "middle of the head" sound.
Any ideas why my mod turned out so unsatisfactory? If it makes any difference, my units are an OPPO 970 and a SP MPX3 SLAM running a Mullard ECC32 and two National Union 6BL7GTA's--and I know the low-impedance Denon's rep, but the Singlepower handles the Denons just fine. I just thought this "holy grail" move would bring something better, and I dunno why it didn't.
Thank you.
When I listened to the modded D5000's they sounded terrible--just downright awful--"gelded" is the best description I can think of--the bass was almost non-existent, mid-range was GONE, and the highs were muted badly. "Muddy" doesn't begin to describe the overall quality the new sound had. I double- and triple-checked my work--the fiberfill in the cups was easily thin enough that I could see through it. To be sure, I removed it completely from the housings and still got no reward. ALL the holes lined up and were open where they were intended to be; my Dynamat installation was neat and in my view, perfect. I didn't 'poke holes and punch several times with a hole-punch'--I used a leather hole punch that fit perfectly over each plastic Denon hole--I could see the mating of the Dynamat and Denon was exact, everywhere.
It took me almost 7 hours to remove every trace of Dynamat (a real chore, I can tell ya--Xacto knife, surgical tweezers, etc). Now it sounds exactly as I remember the OEM's, with one exception--it probably requires 10-15% more gain adjustment to get the same volume I had before the modification. I've checked and double checked for leftover 'insulation', and can find none. Zero. I did all my checking with a 3X magnifying ring-lamp. Obviously something's changed, but I can live with it, since the amp I have can easily support the extra 10-15% demand. The only regret I have is that the screws are almost loose from so many R&R's.
I will say that the one thing I liked, and retained after stripping all the Dynamat and fiberfill out was that I left the 3" plastic cup rings and their accompanying fiberfill in the ear cushions. They REALLY helped the 5000's directional qualities--no more of that "middle of the head" sound.
Any ideas why my mod turned out so unsatisfactory? If it makes any difference, my units are an OPPO 970 and a SP MPX3 SLAM running a Mullard ECC32 and two National Union 6BL7GTA's--and I know the low-impedance Denon's rep, but the Singlepower handles the Denons just fine. I just thought this "holy grail" move would bring something better, and I dunno why it didn't.
Thank you.