The Altmann Tera Player - Thread

[ThaPapper]

Evening all,
 
Have been somewhat experimenting with some combo's the last 2 weeks.
Tried Tera with RS Shadow and afterwards the RS mini interlink as well, both nice upgrades.
Together with the Grado GR10 makes a nice combo and for me personally even better with the Shure SE846.
The latter combo provides a kind of movie theatre sound with a really great sub bass section.
 
Then realised again that the Tera is built en tuned for a higher impedance headphone instead of IEM's.
Started to listen more to the Tera - Koss combo and actually enjoyed it better and better.
The Koss doesn't fit me too well though, my ears start to hurt and I wanted a bit more resolution.
 
So decided to buy the Senn HD 25 SP II.
I know, by figures not the best HD 25 but pricewise nice, very lightweight, simple, not much clamping force,
hardly any enviroment noise, sturdy, no need to be carefull with it and above all 60 Ohm! (think Koss )
 
Let it play for about 6 hours but wasn't too heavily impressed:
- Soundstage was mwah
- Too much undefined bass
- Slightly sibilant
- Bit veiled presentation over the entire spectrum
 
So searching this great forum found some possible mods to be done, with many thanks to jfunk!
Did surgery upon the HD, removed the white back felt ring in the cups behind the driver, put sticky damping
material in the cups and closed 2 small holes in the frame of the driver as shown in the other thread.
Result was some clarity gained but not enough improvement to my tase in the bass section.
 
Opened the cups again, removed the damping over the 2 holes in the frame of the driver and
closed 2 other ventilation sections (should anybody be interested, I'll post some pictures).
Closed the contraption again, connected to the Tera, started listening and almost fainted......
 
Impressions after about one hour of listening:
- Wider soundstage
- Improved 3D stage
- Bass (for me) exactly the right amount and nicely controlled
- Mids foreward, great vocals
- Treble no hint of sibilance anymore but silky smooth
- All frequenties rather equally presented, none of them overpowering the others
- Effortless relaxed playback (I love that)
- Fast and punchy when the musics needs it
- Musical instead of analytical, it grabs me emotionally
- This combo clearly has more "the analogue Tera sound" without the extra amping
- Hardly any problems with more complex music
- Very open sound sig, moving in the direction of Grado's house sound but warmer.
 
And... playing directly from the Tera, no amping, no double chargers, small sturdy package, etc.
Maybe I will decide this is as good as it gets, I'm satisfied, no more experimenting.
 
Just maybe....
 
Meanwhile for sale:
- Shure SE846, Grado GR10, RS the Shadow, RS mini cable, AKG 701, NAD HP50, Musical Fidelity EB50,
Hifiman 602, Fiio X5, the rest
 
Mind you, all of the above is of course subjective, comes from to my personal hearing and
little knowledge and needs to be placed within the limits of a €150 headphone.
But very well worth trying and enjoying for those who like using the Koss.

 

[musicday]

Please post photos so we can make it.
I am interested if the sound is like the modded.Koss
Thank you,Musicday

 

[ThaPapper]

Photo's underneath,
 
A/B-ed several times this morning but it's not the Koss, sorry....
- Senn has more distance, like I'm standing on stage a few metres in front of musicians instead of between them
- Koss is more analogue but with the Senn my brain adjusts within a minute
- Senn has more aggresive treble energy
- Senn is more accurate and separates more
 
Probably like it so much is because I recognise the GR10 sound but without amping,
thus more analogue then the little wonders amped.
 
Comparison is with listening to the Koss with some foam pads though, haven't got the same pads for it as the Senn.
Edit: just purchased same pads as Senn for the Koss on Ebay, very curious about the result.
 

 

[musicday]

Thank you very much i shall try this when i can get a pair.
Enjoy your Tera and rest of the weekend.

 

[ThaPapper]

No problem.
 
The white circle in the second picture is actually a piece of tissue placed on the centre of
the driver between the drivergrill and the felth which keeps the dirt and hairs from the driver.
This was an attempt to make the trebble less aggressive but not too succesfull actually.
 
Wish I knew what to do about the trebble, Grado GR10 sound is great but tiresome sometimes.
So want to soften the sound a little but without loosing it's open caracter or tight bass.
Will try to find some theory on low/high freq's, probably do more mods and if you like, publish.
 
Maybe we can share our findings and get this baby rocking even more 
For starters replacing the connection cable will have it's effects, is discussed for Senn on Headfonia,
only was tested for the HD25-1.
Probably can expect some overall improvements if the cable matches the combo nicely and
this headphone is a dream to play around with cables, just need to find the right one.
 
Will have to leave my Tera and phones for now and go out for a nice dinner with my girl....
Have been in worser situations though ))

 

[ThaPapper]

btw. in the hifi store where I purchased the HD25, they let peoples audition phones with an amped iPad and Spotify.
When I asked the guy permission to audition the HD25 with my own player, he thought I was just after the cheapest somewhat decent phone.
 
Asked him if he'd like to listen briefly as well and had the pleasure of observing his facial expressions within the next following minute:
From "yeah yeah whatever"  to  "amazed"  to  "disbelieve" to  "amazed again"  to  "a broad smile"  to  "puzzeled qustioning looking at the Tera"
 
Hahahahahahahahaha!

 

[ThaPapper]

Went from the white tissue centered in front of the driver to some microcloth, resulted in €10 €5 headphone:
- No airyness left at all
- Sibilant flat treble
- Not much influence on bass
 
Took out all my handyman obstructions in front of the driver, just left the standard hairfilter material and almost fainted again...
Back to post #511, unbelievable!
 
So if there are more secrets hiding in this little Senn at all, it's behind the driver:
- Slightly diffusing thin material all around way back in the chambre? (bass probably won't be bothered much but treble just might be)
- Slightly diffusing thin circle replacing the standard white felth ring which I left out?
 
Should these and all other future attempts fail miserably, I don't care, I'll simply leave it as it is right now.
I already love the sound I'm experiencing now, oh boy what a musical live performances
 
Of course, due to my every now and then impatient nature, there's one more factor to consider.
Bought these just yesterday, about 30 hours ago, so will wait a few day's before further actions.
 
Musicday, if you try this, it just might surprise you If Senn is troublesome to find, I could get you one in NL and ship to UK.

 

[musicday]

Hi,
yes i would love a pair to check the sound.
Sounds interesting what you have done with this modd and if the sound is similar to Koss then is great.
Would love to hear it.

 

[ThaPapper]

Hi,
yes i would love a pair to check the sound.
Sounds interesting what you have done with this modd and if the sound is similar to Koss then is great.
Would love to hear it.

 
Noticed the edit
 
Hope to receive the same DT25 kind of earcups for the Koss the upcoming days.
Should be able then to do a more accurate A/B-ing and will report afterwards.
You stated quite often how you value Koss like presentation so want to spare you any disapointment en needless investment.
On top of that I haven't heard to many on/over ear headphones so can't really judge the quality in absolute sense yet.
 
Using the DT25 for some more days, made it substantially smoother so I decided to do no more modding (at least for a while).
Funny in my opinion is that the width of the soundstage varies with the volume, something I only experienced more often with excellent homesets.
As for the rest.... very lifelike presentation, not too picky about WAV quality anymore, everything sounds excellent.
Boomy, sloppy, hissing, sibilance, freq bleeding and al that are things, are for me personally things of the past, it's all in the right proportion.
 
A friend of mine who (like myself) is by no means a on/over ear headphone expert but knows a thing or two about homesets
listened to this combo and stated it's the best music reproduction he's ever heard up till now...
 
If... the DT25 sounds anything like the Koss, I'll get you one.

 

[musicday]

 

Hi,
yes i would love a pair to check the sound.
Sounds interesting what you have done with this modd and if the sound is similar to Koss then is great.
Would love to hear it.

 
Noticed the edit
 
Hope to receive the same DT25 kind of earcups for the Koss the upcoming days.
Should be able then to do a more accurate A/B-ing and will report afterwards.
You stated quite often how you value Koss like presentation so want to spare you any disapointment en needless investment.
On top of that I haven't heard to many on/over ear headphones so can't really judge the quality in absolute sense yet.
 
Using the DT25 for some more days, made it substantially smoother so I decided to do no more modding (at least for a while).
Funny in my opinion is that the width of the soundstage varies with the volume, something I only experienced more often with excellent homesets.
As for the rest.... very lifelike presentation, not too picky about WAV quality anymore, everything sounds excellent.
Boomy, sloppy, hissing, sibilance, freq bleeding and al that are things, are for me personally things of the past, it's all in the right proportion.
 
A friend of mine who (like myself) is by no means a on/over ear headphone expert but knows a thing or two about homesets
listened to this combo and stated it's the best music reproduction he's ever heard up till now...
 
If... the DT25 sounds anything like the Koss, I'll get you one.

That was a nice write up. Let me know when it arrives and how it sounds. If is sounds like the Koss then will be amazing., thank you looking forward to get the pair from you in time for Christmas

 

[soullinker20]

tried ABing the ex1000 with the Tera and 240, i can't believe how good the ex1k sounded on the Tera.. just that the 240 goes more deeper on the bass and the tera sounding balanced to me with more creamy vocals..

 

[flymetothemoon]

  tried ABing the ex1000 with the Tera and 240, i can't believe how good the ex1k sounded on the Tera.. just that the 240 goes more deeper on the bass and the tera sounding balanced to me with more creamy vocals..

Yes.  YOu might find the 240 a bit too aggressive via the EX1000 while the Tera's analogue character tamed EX's spike on the highs and made a much better pairing.

 

[musicday]

I have an idea.Is it possible to have a main folder with all the music folder in alphabetical order,and in the folder A to have a blank file so when you insert the card in the Tera will be quiet,untill you skip to next song? Sorry i cannot try right now as I don't have Tera for few days.Thanks

 

[HiFlight]

I have an idea.Is it possible to have a main folder with all the music folder in alphabetical order,and in the folder A to have a blank file so when you insert the card in the Tera will be quiet,untill you skip to next song? Sorry i cannot try right now as I don't have Tera for few days.Thanks

I just tried it and it doesn't work. Tera-Player goes to the first album/folder that contains a .wav file. You could likely accomplish the same thing by inserting the SD card then immediately press the center "sleep" button. Very little power is used when the Tera is in standby.

 

[ThaPapper]

How about producing an actual 5 sec. empty .wav file with e.g. Audicity and put only that file in the first dir?

Will consume power of course but no sound.