[Fonglol]

Wow thanks a lot Jibbie, just pulled the trigger and bought the 900's from buyauthorized, impatiently waiting now...

 

[rehabitat]

Quote:

I actually Un-Kees modded mine, and I'll have to say I like it better. For some reason, the highs seemed really bright when comparing to my T50RP, so I took everything out, and the highs got back in line. Strange huh? Overall though, I think I'll pass up on modding my headphones now. I'll just be satisfied with whatever stock has to bring me.

I agree and did the same thing.  The Kees mod dampened the bass some but squashed the soundstage at the same time, mainly due to the cotton fabric floating out back.  It hit me that the cups and to a lesser degree the baffle vibrate like hell, especially when powerful lower mids and bass is playing.  I have experimented with damping the central flat circular portion of the cups with a thin layer of blutack in addition to a thick bead of it wrapped around the edge of the driver and against the baffle.  Wow, what a difference.  The bass is much less overpowering in certain musical passages and I believe the imaging is now much more accurate.  No damage to the soundstage as I can still enjoy the sound of the room in which a recording was made.
 
I did some a-b ing listening to modern classical chamber music with my K601s, which I believed to have a superior soundstage, to find that although the K601's stage is larger, it somehow seems too diffuse and airy, like listening to music outside when it can be harder to place each instrument in it's place, instead of a suitably sized room where everything appears in it's right place, which is how the Pro900s now sound to me.
 
It's taken a while and a few false starts to begin really enjoying these cans.  When the thought occurred to me, it seemed so obvious that the cups needed some mass loading to settle down the vibrations.  Try putting your fingertips to the cups when listening to thumping music at reasonable levels and you'll see what I mean.  I think that blutack is an excellent damping material as it provides mass loading at the same time as damping reflections within the cups.  One day I'll get around to trying some other audiophile-approved self adhesive damping sheets, but until then these cans are tops.  I highly recommend that the tweak-minded try this simple mod.  I'd be interested to hear results if anyone tries it out.
 
Piano sounds awesome on these cans, which is a great bonus when I primarily bought them for listening to metal in isolation.

 

[GeorgeGoodman]

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I wonder what a silver balanced cable would do with these. Probably get it to an unreal level of speed and detail!

 I am getting into making cables and such, so if I get the Pro 900s, I will probably try that, along with a good balanced amp like the Ibasso PB1 or PB2. Good to know that the Blue Dragon is a nice upgrade. Haloxt maintains that even a cheap copper cables that is a larger gauge than stock, such as 20 or 22 gauge, unchokes the bass and opens up the sound.

That's exactly what I'm hearing now with this cable. They seemed so open and detailed stock anyway, but with the new cable the bass is definitely cleaner, and reaches a bit lower at the same time--  when switching back to the stock cable bass seems more congested and thick, while not having the same reach. That was quite a surprise. The overall sound just got more open overall though, with a bit more space and separation. The stage definitely widened too. I'd say that, along with the better quality bass, are the biggest changes I've noticed so far and the cable only has about 10 hours or so on it at this point.
 
And what are you waiting for on the purchase? ....If you get them?.. don't you mean when??  

Good to know that the cable works well. Makes me want to make my own. And this is the next can I buy, it just depends on when. My Beyerdynamic DT880s are going up for sale, so we will see. These sound like everything I want in a headphone.

 

[Katun]

*My PRO 900 review is still on it's way -- I just need to get solid ground with Kees mod, and Blue Dragon cable.*
 
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I actually Un-Kees modded mine, and I'll have to say I like it better. For some reason, the highs seemed really bright when comparing to my T50RP, so I took everything out, and the highs got back in line. Strange huh? Overall though, I think I'll pass up on modding my headphones now. I'll just be satisfied with whatever stock has to bring me.

I agree and did the same thing.  The Kees mod dampened the bass some but squashed the soundstage at the same time, mainly due to the cotton fabric floating out back.  It hit me that the cups and to a lesser degree the baffle vibrate like hell, especially when powerful lower mids and bass is playing.  I have experimented with damping the central flat circular portion of the cups with a thin layer of blutack in addition to a thick bead of it wrapped around the edge of the driver and against the baffle.  Wow, what a difference.  The bass is much less overpowering in certain musical passages and I believe the imaging is now much more accurate.  No damage to the soundstage as I can still enjoy the sound of the room in which a recording was made.
 
I did some a-b ing listening to modern classical chamber music with my K601s, which I believed to have a superior soundstage, to find that although the K601's stage is larger, it somehow seems too diffuse and airy, like listening to music outside when it can be harder to place each instrument in it's place, instead of a suitably sized room where everything appears in it's right place, which is how the Pro900s now sound to me.
 
It's taken a while and a few false starts to begin really enjoying these cans.  When the thought occurred to me, it seemed so obvious that the cups needed some mass loading to settle down the vibrations.  Try putting your fingertips to the cups when listening to thumping music at reasonable levels and you'll see what I mean.  I think that blutack is an excellent damping material as it provides mass loading at the same time as damping reflections within the cups.  One day I'll get around to trying some other audiophile-approved self adhesive damping sheets, but until then these cans are tops.  I highly recommend that the tweak-minded try this simple mod.  I'd be interested to hear results if anyone tries it out.
 
Piano sounds awesome on these cans, which is a great bonus when I primarily bought them for listening to metal in isolation.

 
It's funny, because at first when I heard the T50RP and compared it to the PRO 900, I almost panicked. The PRO 900 was in some serious trouble, as the sound of the T50RP was just shoulders above the PRO 900. So, in desperation, I took out everything from the Kees mod so it was plain old stock. All of a sudden, the highs seemed controlled, the bass regained it's famous authority, and the whole sound signature simply just improved. Now, I absolutely love them again -- just like I always had. They are still my favorite headphone, with the T50RP probably coming in second before the D2000 (maybe). But to tell you the truth, I think the cotton inside the cup neutered the bass and caused the highs to have more brightness and sizzle -- hence why you put felt on the outer metal shield. I still think it's least brightest form is in stock. And the bass in stock form is still the best I've ever heard -- it makes me smile every time. Why on earth did I tinker with it in the first place?
 
I'll probably add that excerpt to my review or something similar. But I'll also add something along the lines of, "The Kees mod can definitely be considered as an improvement for some people, but for others such as myself, it actually detracts from what made the stock sound so great. I definitely won't consider it an upgrade, nor a downgrade, I'll just call it a sidestep. But, the absolute best way to tell is just to see for yourself, and experiment if you have the courage and curiosity."

 

[Dougeefresh]

A bit off topic but has any of the PRO 900 owners experienced XB500? The more I read about it the more interesting it gets.
For $50 shipped it seems like an even better bargain than M50 and I may have to pick one up just for the heck of it.

 

[Katun]

Quote:

A bit off topic but has any of the PRO 900 owners experienced XB500? The more I read about it the more interesting it gets.
For $50 shipped it seems like an even better bargain than M50 and I may have to pick one up just for the heck of it.

Click on my profile and check out my headphones...

 

[Dougeefresh]

Nice collection! So would like to divulge your experience with both?

 

[Jibbie]

No problem.  Hopefully they come soon, and I look forward to what you think of them.  They are great headphones.
 
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Wow thanks a lot Jibbie, just pulled the trigger and bought the 900's from buyauthorized, impatiently waiting now...

 

[Katun]

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Nice collection! So would like to divulge your experience with both?

Let's just say, if you own the PRO 900, you DO NOT need the XB500. Mine has been "collecting dust" for ages now, but I did pull it out at one time to compare it to the PRO 900. The result? Well, the XB500's bass is a super unrefined, flabby version of the PRO 900. The mids and the highs are completely drowned out as well, so any type of music sounds really bad. If you EQ the heck out of it, it becomes a decent headphone, but still one that I would never buy again.

 

[Dougeefresh]

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Nice collection! So would like to divulge your experience with both?

Let's just say, if you own the PRO 900, you DO NOT need the XB500. Mine has been "collecting dust" for ages now, but I did pull it out at one time to compare it to the PRO 900. The result? Well, the XB500's bass is a super unrefined, flabby version of the PRO 900. The mids and the highs are completely drowned out as well, so any type of music sounds really bad. If you EQ the heck out of it, it becomes a decent headphone, but still one that I would never buy again.

Thanks for saving me $50

 

[Leander7777]

Guys I need your advice, something quite frustrating happened today.
I've been disappointed with the midrange for a while so I thought perhaps I should undo the kees mod, so while I was unscrewing the shield, one of the screws slid across the shield and landed on the driver as it was attracted by it's magnet. I got the screw out but it let a small dent on the driver. Since, I kees modded them, I think I voided the warranty, is that true or is there anything I can do to claim warranty. They still sound fine, I think, I haven't listened a lot to them since, cause I've been really sad about it...

I could try to remove the mod, but it would probably leave marks and they'll be able to tell or not?
 
Edit: I mean I could tell them I noticed driver imperfections and just not tell them what happened. Cause it could very well be a manufacturing error.

 

[Dougeefresh]

Technically you did void the warranty when you did the mod. I am more curious about what you will say to them when they ask you what's wrong with the product?
You can't say that the driver has a dent on it because that would mean that you opened the phones up which would most likely against the warranty policy. If it sounds fine to you it would be tough to make a case to them that it sounds strange unless there is a detectable flaw in sound.
 
Edit: Just saw your edit

  You can always try and the worst thing that can happen is them saying no.

 

[Leander7777]

Well the bass seems to have reduced by a lot. I didn't have to open the driver to see the dent. Cause it fell through the grill which can be seen while you change the pads.
 
BTW: is removing the shield voiding warranty?

 

[Katun]

Quote:

Guys I need your advice, something quite frustrating happened today.
I've been disappointed with the midrange for a while so I thought perhaps I should undo the kees mod, so while I was unscrewing the shield, one of the screws slid across the shield and landed on the driver as it was attracted by it's magnet. I got the screw out but it let a small dent on the driver. Since, I kees modded them, I think I voided the warranty, is that true or is there anything I can do to claim warranty. They still sound fine, I think, I haven't listened a lot to them since, cause I've been really sad about it...

I could try to remove the mod, but it would probably leave marks and they'll be able to tell or not?

 
I actually did that exact same thing, except mine slipped and pierced a hole into one of those paper covered holes. It's not really noticeable now, and has absolutely no effect on sound quality (lucky me).
 
Where did you buy them from? Well, if they sound fine to you, maybe you should just keep them. But if you can "clean it up a bit" and make it look nice, see if you can claim warranty.
 
Story Time!
I remember when I had my first pair of PortaPros, I tried to do the Kramer mod to them (punching holes in the driver cover) and failed miserably. So I ripped the whole entire thing out with pliers so the entire driver was exposed. Well, I had second thoughts later and wished I never did that, so I wanted to send them back but knew that I "modded" them, voiding the warranty. So, I just cut out cardboard in the shape of the driver cover, and stuck them on the drivers so it felt like the "real" driver cover was still there. In the end, they sent me a new pair, but I'll never know if they took of those earpads or not!
 
Bottom line, give it a shot. If they refuse, then you are back to square one. If they don't, you are one happy camper. But first see if they sound imbalanced or different to you, because you may end up keeping them in the end.
 
Very sorry about that. I had a "sinking feeling" too when I pierced the paper hole (yet alone nearly stripping all the screws). But at least I got to have the joy and experience of experimenting with many, many different versions of the Kees mod. So now even though my PRO 900's are no where near "new" quality, I just try not to worry, because that doesn't help anything.

 

[Dougeefresh]

If it's indeed noticeable then wipe all the prints off, clean it, close everything back up and contact the support. Different companies have different policies and most of them will void warranty for doing any kind of mods but like I said, the worst that can happen is them saying no and you will be where you are right now. If you get lucky they may send you a new pair/or repair the driver.