The Mod Collective: Bring all your IEM mods here.

[dhruvmeena96]

Adding Mod #12 (iBasso IT01):

Spoiler: iBasso IT01 mod

That's a open back mod to a Tesla driver with zero former voice coil and graphene diaphragm.

What....killer mod.

How does it sound.

Actually o don't know about others but I was waiting for this for a long time, @CoiL

Thank you

 

[CoiL]

How does it sound.

Well... I went little "too far" with tuning and turns out I need to grab other tips instead Auvio S wide bores because I like slight L-shape sound. I reduced sub-bass littlebit "too much" but mid-bass is slightly "raised" right on my "limit of tolerance" (I don`t like mid-bass boosted sound) and is fast, punchy and detailed. It turned out more balanced sounding than I aimed for
Otherwise I get now more transparency, micro-details (that were somewhat "overshadowed" by bass in stock) and more open soundfield/stage. Imaging seems quite same and I wasn`t able to "stretch it out" into width.
Have to do tip-rolling all over again now with my ~40 S size tips.
About mod itself - it isn`t only about plain backplates, there is something more attached to it

 

[DocHoliday]

Adding Mod #12 (iBasso IT01):

Spoiler: iBasso IT01 mod

Are those vented faceplates sitting on top of a stock IT01 or have you replaced the ITO1's faceplates entirely?

Either way, it's a good looking mod.

Just imagine what a set of black IT01's would look like with mahogany or ash faceplates.

Spoiler

Mahogany

Black Ash

........pretty sure this is what VJJB used below.

If you were in the US I would gladly offer payment to have it done [maybe with side vents like the ZS5(v1)].

Also, regarding one of your earlier posts, how did you get the ED10 faceplates off to
re-cable them?

 

[CoiL]

Are those vented faceplates sitting on top of a stock IT01 or have you replaced the ITO1's faceplates entirely?

I replaced backplates entirely. Stock plates sit in drawer.

Just imagine what a set of black IT01's would look like with mahogany or ash faceplates.

Not good idea with IT01 - it needs hardwood.

Also, regarding one of your earlier posts, how did you get the ED10 faceplates off to
re-cable them?

I just used needles and knife.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

I replaced backplates entirely. Stock plates sit in drawer.

Not good idea with IT01 - it needs hardwood.

I just used needles and knife.

Use gaboon ebony

And I used sharp spoon to get ed10 backplate off

 

[CoiL]

I think with IT01 modding - using Walnut or Lilac is enough strength-hardwood (Lilac is probably slightly better but harder to get in properly dried/cut condition).
And using thin layers of perpendicular plywood raises strength littlebit when it comes to reflection/absortion of sound-waves in certain frequencies.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

I think with IT01 modding - using Walnut or Lilac is enough strength-hardwood (Lilac is probably slightly better but harder to get in properly dried/cut condition).
And using thin layers of perpendicular plywood raises strength littlebit when it comes to reflection/absortion of sound-waves in certain frequencies.

I suggested gaboon ebony, not to strength but for uniform grain and leveled damping, it will make the bass little less bleedy.....but gaboon ebony is crap expensive, so just leave it.

Lilac is good, purpleheart is love

@mbwilson111

Purpleheart wood, what do you say


Black it01 with purpleheart wood

 

[CoiL]

@dhruvmeena96 , You offer too expensive, hard to get and work with wood options. Most of us (even I who deals with wood very often, don`t get opportunity to touch purpleheart/ebony regularly, not to speak of using it!). Yes, quantities with IEM modding are small but still more hope to get pieces from old broken furniture and such than buy it (especially in EU).
Easiest way to get those rare woods is to buy it as plywood (leftovers) and make perpendicular layering glued pieces of it.
Why I suggested walnut and lilac is due to their availability and cost.
Uniform grain and leveled damping is very related with wood strength, walnut and lilac have very good specifications.
Anyway, with IT01 mod, wood selection must be hardwood but main tuning isn`t affected so much from it, rather other tweaks along with it

 

[Slater]

I took some unused UiiSii E6 IEMs I was tired of looking at, and made some semi-custom IEMs out of them using thermoplastic:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/custom-ear-molds-for-iems.830823/page-2#post-14472340

In the past I have tried other methods using mold-able silicone earplug putty (Radians), with poor results. The thermoplastic method is far superior, easier to work with, and boy are they oh so comfortable! They can be worn all day with no comfort issues, and they stay in place no matter what - eating, working out, skydiving, etc.

Credit goes to @Takeanidea from that custom ear mold thread, who turned me onto the idea and has successfully done a number of them.

The material itself is readily available on ebay, Amazon, Aliexpress etc under a number of different names (instamorph, polymorph, etc). The material is milky white by default, but it can be colored different colors. To use it, you simply put the plastic pellets into some boiling water and wait for it to melt (color changes from white to clear). I just boiled 1/2 cup of water in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave, removed it from the microwave and added the theromoplastic pellets. Then you simply remove the pellets with a spoon, and you can form it with your hands like clay.

The process is extremely easy, and very forgiving. The plastic takes a long time to fully cool (like 1-2 hours), and during that time you have plenty of time to mold it, shape it, smooth it, etc. And if for some reason you totally screw it up, you just remove it from the IEM and start all over again (ie putting the plastic back into boiling water until it melts again). My 1st attempt was a fail (I didn't give it enough cooling time and it deformed when I removed it from my ear). So I just removed the plastic, put it all back into boiling water, and the 2nd attempt was a success.

Unfortunately, you can't do this mod to every IEM. The thermoplastic needs something to "grip" onto and/or mold around. So if you have a large bodied IEM like the KZ ZST, ZS3, etc it isn't going to work very well. I used a piston shaped IEM for my 1st pair because I thought it would be the easiest (and also in case I screwed up it wouldn't be a big deal because they were IEMs I didn't care about). Takeanidea has done used a variety of other IEM shapes, including Apple Earpods. The hardest part of the process is not covering up any of the vent holes, which will change the sound.

The thermoplastic I bought came in a 500g bag, which is easily enough to do 50+ pairs of IEMs! I plan on doing the KZ ED9, EDR1s, or the Elistooop/Kailuhong AR-3001 next, which I expect to turn out great.

 

[Slater]

More thermoplastic mods!

I decided to experiment with the colored thermoplastic dye pellets, which allow you to color the thermoplastic from its default milky white color. They're easy to use - you just use knead 1-2 colored pellets into the thermoplastic until the color is uniform. The basic color kit includes primary colors, black, and brown. So with the basic color kit, you could theoretically make any color thermoplastic you want (including custom swirled effects, rainbow tie dye, etc).

Anyways, for this mod, I used a pair of Estron earpods (sold under their Timmkoo brand).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BKQLMTS

They are cheap, have an iOS-compatible 3 button remote, and sound good thanks to their large 14mm drivers.

I like the way earpod style earphones sound, but I hate how they fit. They fall out much too easily.

You can buy small silicone 'skins with wings', designed for Apple Earpods and Airpods. In addition to fitting Apple pods, they also fit on all 3rd party earpods (such as the MEMT T5, these Timmkoos, generic wireless Airpods, etc). And while the silicone wings do help stabilize the earpod in the ear, they really don't keep the earpod pressed into the ear canal opening. Earpods sound their best when they are making a slight seal with the ear canal. When the earpod sound nozzle falls away from the ear canal opening, the sound suffers greatly.

What's needed to solve this problem is a custom-fit 'wing'. This is the perfect application for thermoplastic

Unfortunately, the typical earpod body is too angled and slippery for anything to stick to it without falling off. So I added a small screw to give something for the thermoplastic to anchor to:



(Once the thermoplastic is applied, the screw is completely covered up and can't be seen).

Here's the final product:



The whole process took about 30 minutes, not including the time waiting for the thermoplastic to cool completely. Normally it takes about an hour to fully cool down, but I cheated and went for a short walk outside which cooled the plastic in ~15 minutes thanks to the temperature of 2°C/35°F and falling snow.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

More thermoplastic mods!

I decided to experiment with the colored thermoplastic dye pellets, which allow you to color the thermoplastic from its default milky white color. They're easy to use - you just use knead 1-2 colored pellets into the thermoplastic until the color is uniform. The basic color kit includes primary colors, black, and brown. So with the basic color kit, you could theoretically make any color thermoplastic you want (including custom swirled effects, rainbow tie dye, etc).

Anyways, for this mod, I used a pair of Estron earpods (sold under their Timmkoo brand).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BKQLMTS

They are cheap, have an iOS-compatible 3 button remote, and sound good thanks to their large 14mm drivers.

I like the way earpod style earphones sound, but I hate how they fit. They fall out much too easily.

You can buy small silicone 'skins with wings', designed for Apple Earpods and Airpods. In addition to fitting Apple pods, they also fit on all 3rd party earpods (such as the MEMT T5, these Timmkoos, generic wireless Airpods, etc). And while the silicone wings do help stabilize the earpod in the ear, they really don't keep the earpod pressed into the ear canal opening. Earpods sound their best when they are making a slight seal with the ear canal. When the earpod sound nozzle falls away from the ear canal opening, the sound suffers greatly.

What's needed to solve this problem is a custom-fit 'wing'. This is the perfect application for thermoplastic

Unfortunately, the typical earpod body is too angled and slippery for anything to stick to it without falling off. So I added a small screw to give something for the thermoplastic to anchor to:



(Once the thermoplastic is applied, the screw is completely covered up and can't be seen).

Here's the final product:



The whole process took about 30 minutes, not including the time waiting for the thermoplastic to cool completely. Normally it takes about an hour to fully cool down, but I cheated and went for a short walk outside which cooled the plastic in ~15 minutes thanks to the temperature of 2°C/35°F and falling snow.

Lovely mod but I would love to see on Barrel shape IEM

 

[HungryPanda]

My very first iem, still adjusting the tuning. I used a 10mm dual driver.

 

[Slater]

Lovely mod but I would love to see on Barrel shape IEM

Look 1 post above my EarPod post.

 

[dhruvmeena96]

Look 1 post above my EarPod post.

Lol, sorry

My very first iem, still adjusting the tuning. I used a 10mm dual driver.

Which driver it is on Ali...

Well the cheapest and the best 10mm which I used were
1. 10mm bio cellulose membrane(balanced sound)
2. XWB titanium Tesla 7mm with adapter plate(technically the best
3. Chitty store hybrid BA + DD

 

[Slater]

Lol, sorry

Which driver it is on Ali...

Well the cheapest and the best 10mm which I used were
1. 10mm bio cellulose membrane(balanced sound)
2. XWB titanium Tesla 7mm with adapter plate(technically the best
3. Chitty store hybrid BA + DD

I’m almost sure that bottom one is the same driver used in the Bosshifi B3 or B3S. It’s been a long time since I researched that, so I forget which one of the 2 it is.