[Spaceage]

So I dug up these Yamaha headphones that came in a free gift box with a Clavinova keyboard. After a few listening sessions I decided that they were probably the worst sounding headphones ever. They just didn't give a damn with these (or anything else in that "$99 Value" gift box.) I've never modded anything, so I thought what the hell.

Here they are, cheap build quality all around (but pretty comfortable.)



Another shot



A shot of the stock drivers, notice the white glue that has seeped inside



First I removed the stock drivers, shaved the mounting clasps down flush with an exacto and a utilty knife, then mounted the KSC75 drivers with aquarium sealant onto the hole left behind (without the KSC75 grilles).



Now, at this point I closed them up and listened to them with the solid plastic backings on. The sound at this point was decent, but the lows were washing out the highs due to the solid backing on the headphones. The KSC75 drivers needed to breathe. I busted out a dremel (don't laugh at my crappy cuts, it was the first time I had ever even touched a dremel) and cut some ovals out of the plastic.



Now to hide the ugly hole. While trying to think of a decent way to do it, I took the KSC75 stock foam covers and popped them into the holes. Not bad.



But I couldn't secure them in there and my crappy cut was fairly visible. How about some thin black nylon socks? Yes, yes.



The YamaKossi



Now to the sound. They sound great for what they are. Compared to my MS-1s (Senn 414 pads, half dollar cut) they lack the bass punch and the highs feel further back, but they sound more warm and intimate (in a fun way, it's hard to explain.) I'll have to spend some more time with them.

The only other thing I'm considering is putting some argyle socks on there to add to the bling factor.

 

[dmunky]

Wow nice mod there, Spaceage. I tried something similar with a pair of 70s Koss headphones but it ended up sounding pretty bad. I really like the concept of putting black stockings over the whole outer cup. Good job.

 

[Mercuttio]

It is scientific fact that Argyle makes treble sparkle.

 

[Jahn]

oh my lord, it's the Son of the Mule! My old pair of KSC-35 in Yamaha cans is floating around out there too, hehe.

 

[kramer5150]

Nice!! the ironic tihng is Koss (or at least Koss's overseas manufacturer is) is the OEM for those Yamahas ... thats how they should have done it from the start

 

[Spaceage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Nice!! the ironic tihng is Koss (or at least Koss's overseas manufacturer is) is the OEM for those Yamahas ... thats how they should have done it from the start

It makes sense, the drivers appeared to be meant for the mounting holes. My original intention was to see if I could use the headband for anything, but once I opened them up the whole thing seemed color-by-numbers.

 

[bl4cksh33p]

Hey, I used to own those Yamaha headphones. I broke them though while trying to remove the earpads and put them on my ms2i. They were very comfy.

 

[skev13]

Don't tell me you did this today... cause I did the same thing!

Just waiting for some epoxy to dry, and searching for my camera.

 

[Spaceage]

Quote:

Originally Posted by skev13 Don't tell me you did this today... cause I did the same thing! Just waiting for some epoxy to dry, and searching for my camera.

That's awesome, I'de love to see them. This site has gotten me to do some strange things. Noticing that the drivers would fit and remembering the thread where that dude made the combination Coby/Koss Kosbys got me rolling on something that I would have never tried before I came here.

 

[skev13]

Mine's a second attempt at Koss -> AudioTechnicas. First koss drivers died out, so I finally got my hands on another pair.