[kman1211]

I got my second pair of these in 200 ohm. I regret selling my first pair without looking into recabling. Anyway, these ones seem to sound a little better than the first pair I had after resoldering all cable connections. But this pair has an insanely weird issue in the left cup. There is a looseness in the baffle.. but yet the driver seems solidly mounted. Has anyone seen this before? I can tap on the baffle and there is a plasticky click/clunk like something is loose . I see nothing moving on the driver. Mounting the baffle back into the shell and tightening the two screws does nothing. I can still tap the outside of the cup and hear the baffle rattle. I don't think it's in the driver as it has a plasticky somewhat hollow clunk sound when I tap it. I need to open it up again to try to figure out the problem. I've no doubt it is coloring the sound through vibration feedback..I mean how would it not? The driver seems to operate and sound perfectly. Any ideas? I wonder if the baffle is two pieces glued together and they somehow became loose.

I also regretted letting go of my first pair which was a 200 Ohm. I ended up getting an 25 Ohm and 8 Ohm pair later. I do need to recable mine as well. That is a weird issue. But is the baffle fully screwed in? The housing can have a tendency where the screw threads can strip, especially the older pairs with the smooth dark grey housing, the newer pairs with the textured black housing don’t seem to have this issue. Also make sure the driver is positioned right(you may have to flip it around) otherwise it won’t close/seal right to the housing right. My pairs are where one big hole(the odd big hole among the small ones where the driver opening is) is facing down on one earcup and one is facing up.

 

[hatrack71]

I also regretted letting go of my first pair which was a 200 Ohm. I ended up getting an 25 Ohm and 8 Ohm pair later. I do need to recable mine as well. That is a weird issue. But is the baffle fully screwed in? The housing can have a tendency where the screw threads can strip, especially the older pairs with the smooth dark grey housing, the newer pairs with the textured black housing don’t seem to have this issue. Also make sure the driver is positioned right(you may have to flip it around) otherwise it won’t close/seal right to the housing right. My pairs are where one big hole(the odd big hole among the small ones where the driver opening is) is facing down on one earcup and one is facing up.

Do the baffles normally rattle while they are outside and not fastened to the shells? I looked and mine are the same way so I must have them oriented correctly- One big hole facing up and the other down on the earside driver grill. Mine are the shiny black finish. They have seen some action for sure.

 

[kman1211]

Do the baffles normally rattle while they are outside and not fastened to the shells? I looked and mine are the same way so I must have them oriented correctly- One big hole facing up and the other down on the earside driver grill. Mine are the shiny black finish. They have seen some action for sure.

Not in my experience. Makes me wonder why. Maybe where the cables are soldered to otherwise it could be the plastic rings inside the magnet assembly(can see it though the holes on the back of the magnet) but that is unlikely. Many are in rather rough condition.

 

[hatrack71]

It could be something loose in the driver but I hear no issues with sound and don't see anything move. However, when I try to dampen the sound by squeezing/stabilizing the plastic baffle with my hand it will still make the rattle when tapped. This does make me think it might be in the driver. I just checked the wiring area and it is solid so that's not it. The baffle seems like one piece of plastic so I'm not sure it could be the cause... but could it? Anyone have a parts DT 480 with one good 200 ohm driver/ baffle? LOL. I was really hoping for an easy solution but I can see it won't be. Might have to give up on this pair too if I can't find the solution. I just don't get it and really don't want to mess these up since they sound fine. But probably slightly colored from the rattle obviously. Darn it.

 

[SHAMuuu]

It could be something loose in the driver but I hear no issues with sound and don't see anything move. However, when I try to dampen the sound by squeezing/stabilizing the plastic baffle with my hand it will still make the rattle when tapped. This does make me think it might be in the driver. I just checked the wiring area and it is solid so that's not it. The baffle seems like one piece of plastic so I'm not sure it could be the cause... but could it? Anyone have a parts DT 480 with one good 200 ohm driver/ baffle? LOL. I was really hoping for an easy solution but I can see it won't be. Might have to give up on this pair too if I can't find the solution. I just don't get it and really don't want to mess these up since they sound fine. But probably slightly colored from the rattle obviously. Darn it.

It took me dynamat, sorbothane, cotton inside cups and stuffed pads to get them problem free (relatively speaking). My issues were in sub 80hz down to 30hz (when pushed to loud volumes). I know these don't have the cap like the dt48 and not sure how not having that cap affects the excursion of the driver. These guys were stacking their pads , whereas i just fattened up the dt150 pads. At the end i could not conclude whether it was a seal issue (both the cup/ pads)

I posted this in dt48 thread, but forgot to post here

YMMV

My ears always want these on. So that must be a good thing, until i win the lottery then...

 

[Henery]

I installed phase plug on the middle of the front grill on my DT 480. Stacked pads are keeping ears so far away from drivers, so i´m not surprised when phase cancellations occur on treble region. Subjectively this phase plug improves resolution and imaging. I made this plug from about 5 mm tall papertube, filled it with blutack and placed small round bead on top of it. I suggest you to try it. It´s easy to do and reversible.

 

[SHAMuuu]

I installed phase plug on the middle of the front grill on my DT 480. Stacked pads are keeping ears so far away from drivers, so i´m not surprised when phase cancellations occur on treble region. Subjectively this phase plug improves resolution and imaging. I made this plug from about 5 mm tall papertube, filled it with blutack and placed small round bead on top of it. I suggest you to try it. It´s easy to do and reversible.

Some pics would be helpful for such a mod

I'm curious, and well I kind of understand the concept, but having difficulty visualizing.

Any EQ work with this mod?

HAs the bass response changed somewhat?

thx

 

[Henery]

No change in bass response. I haven't touched eq for a long time for DT 480.

I just sent inquiry about neodymium ring magnets to a seller. I'm seriously going to do the magnet upgrade to DT 48 and DT 480. I will post images when new magnets are in place before assembly.

 

[Henery]

I just got the MiniDSP E.A.R.S headphone measurement kit. I have get more familiar with it and REW software before i can post DT 480 measurements here. Sealing problems against silicone baseplate need to be adressed. First set of measurements of my pair shows almost non-existent distortion levels, noticeable sub-bass rolloff and very good HF extension. More to come.

 

[kman1211]

I just got the MiniDSP E.A.R.S headphone measurement kit. I have get more familiar with it and REW software before i can post DT 480 measurements here. Sealing problems against silicone baseplate need to be adressed. First set of measurements of my pair shows almost non-existent distortion levels, noticeable sub-bass rolloff and very good HF extension. More to come.

Look forward to seeing the measurements on your DT 480.

 

[SHAMuuu]

I just got the MiniDSP E.A.R.S headphone measurement kit. I have get more familiar with it and REW software before i can post DT 480 measurements here. Sealing problems against silicone baseplate need to be adressed. First set of measurements of my pair shows almost non-existent distortion levels, noticeable sub-bass rolloff and very good HF extension. More to come.

Ha cool to see some new info on these. I stocked up so i'm good for life. 3x200ohm, 1 25ohm

I was close to snagging a sigma stax which has infinite possibility for modding, but some bloke got it before me.. aww shucks.... hard to find one affordable... the prices have skyrocketed.

vintages are no longer always reasonably priced.

stock up on your favs!

 

[Henery]

When interpereting these measurements you have to remember that my choice of earpads, type and amount of damping material is different from yours. Custom mic calibration was used. My DT 480 doesn´t currently have much damping inside cups and i´m using stuffed DT 150 earpads. I suggest that you use these measurements as astarting point if you are going to use EQ. Mics were calibrated to 90 dB @ 1 kHz. Correcting that 150 Hz hump really helps at removing that ennoying 'cuppy' coloration. Making a broad dip (5 dB) from about 1.5 kHz to 6 - 7 kHz works for me. 4.5 kHz and 8.5 kHz peaks seems to be characteristic of E.A.R.S silicone ears.

 

[kman1211]

When interpereting these measurements you have to remember that my choice of earpads, type and amount of damping material is different from yours. Custom mic calibration was used. My DT 480 doesn´t currently have much damping inside cups and i´m using stuffed DT 150 earpads. I suggest that you use these measurements as astarting point if you are going to use EQ. Mics were calibrated to 90 dB @ 1 kHz. Correcting that 150 Hz hump really helps at removing that ennoying 'cuppy' coloration. Making a broad dip (5 dB) from about 1.5 kHz to 6 - 7 kHz works for me. 4.5 kHz and 8.5 kHz peaks seems to be characteristic of E.A.R.S silicone ears.

Thank you for the measurements. I’m definitely aware mine will likely measure quite differently, honestly curious how mine measure. I don’t have much dampening inside the earcups, just some strategically placed sorbothane. On the baffle is a lot of dampening though and I use Brainwavz angled sheepskin pads with ventilation holes added. Definitely extremely low distortion levels.

 

[SHAMuuu]

Thank you for the measurements. I’m definitely aware mine will likely measure quite differently, honestly curious how mine measure. I don’t have much dampening inside the earcups, just some strategically placed sorbothane. On the baffle is a lot of dampening though and I use Brainwavz angled sheepskin pads with ventilation holes added. Definitely extremely low distortion levels.

Comparing dt48A which is hermetically sealed with fixed air volume vs open backed dt48 driver in dt480 housing is producing 2 very different sounds.
Mine with bass songs dt480 vibrated quite a bit hence why i added the dynamat and sorbothane to tame it.

The volume in cup and with dt150 pads, makes it sound very spacious and vibrant; though not as clinical , hardcore clinical as dt48A.

 

[kman1211]

Comparing dt48A which is hermetically sealed with fixed air volume vs open backed dt48 driver in dt480 housing is producing 2 very different sounds.
Mine with bass songs dt480 vibrated quite a bit hence why i added the dynamat and sorbothane to tame it.

The volume in cup and with dt150 pads, makes it sound very spacious and vibrant; though not as clinical , hardcore clinical as dt48A.

True they are very different sounding. Honestly my DT 480 sounds more like contemporary headphones in terms of tuning, it's tuned for long-term and relaxing listening but also aiming for a relatively linear response. It's on the darker and warmer side overall. Lack of bass and bass vibration is why I used strategically placed sorbothane, it controlled the vibration, increased the bass, and the soundstage size is comparable to the Amiron Home. The difference in imaging and imaging size does make it harder to truly compare soundstage.