CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => Headphone, IEM, and Other Audio Related Discussion => Topic started by: lmswjm on January 05, 2014, 01:27:30 AM
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So I have been looking for a full sized closed back headphone for traveling. I came upon Tyll’s Wall of Fame and was intrigued by the Creative Aurvana Live cans. His review and measurements looked promising so I bit.
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/creative-aurvana-live-classic-reincarnate
(http://bala.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/untitled-1.jpg?w=584) (http://www.creative.com/headphones/images/products/aurvana/collage_aurlive.jpg)
They just showed up today and I was really taken with them. Unexpectedly, my mod gene kicked in and I wound up messing with them a bit. First thing was the ear pads. They were a little uncomfortable and small for my ears. I stripped off a pair of HM5 pads from a T50RP that was collecting dust. Comfort improved dramatically as expected, but there was a significant expansion of the sound stage that was a huge bonus.
(http://cdn.head-fi.org/7/71/200x200px-ZC-71a01678_photo22.jpeg)(http://cdn.head-fi.org/e/e3/200x200px-ZC-e3ad97ba_photo32.jpeg)
Okay, why not throw some foam in those empty cups?
(http://cdn.head-fi.org/c/c5/200x200px-ZC-c5f06886_photo12.jpeg)
I also had some adhesive backed felt that was beckoning to be placed around the front of the driver and cover up all of that reflective surface area.
(http://cdn.head-fi.org/3/3d/200x200px-ZC-3d0ce455_photo10.jpeg)
The result is a seriously good set of closed cans! :boom:(http://cdn.head-fi.org/2/23/200x200px-ZC-23ddedb7_photo42.jpeg)
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Weird...I just ordered a pair a couple days ago exactly for modding purposes after a few years of eyeballing them.
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Did your mods increase the isolation? I tried a stock pair and they sounded good for a closed phone, but the isolation was poor.
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^Nah, makes it worse. The HM5 pads were stretched out from the larger T50RP housing, so the fit is kind of loose. The poor seal gives it an open-back type presentation which I like. Also, the worse the seal against my head, the more I like the sound.
I also tore off the grille fabric from the pads a la Abyss. TME, this allows more detail to come through. Still amazed at what I'm hearing independent of the price.
At about 200 g with plusher pads, easily the most comfortable cans as well.
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Weird...I just ordered a pair a couple days ago exactly for modding purposes after a few years of eyeballing them.
Have you got them yet?, if so, how are you liking these against the TASCAM?
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No, Amazon is failing pretty hard with my order because it contains a 2nd headphone that's technically from a different seller. Order was supposed to arrive today, but on closer inspection, Amazon shows they still haven't even shipped the order. To them, I say )(
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If anything, the cable is very thin and can react to cold temperatures. The CAL! is one of the headphones I did not like but worse than the sound was the cable itself.
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Finally got mine in yesterday. Spent some time listening and modding over the night. They really are not bad. A little cheap feeling, but comfortable and lightweight. I have only tried the stock pads, but I could see the HM5 pads working well. I am considering ordering a pair.
I don't mean for this to be a pun, but I'd say they have a lively sound. The bass cleans up pretty nicely after some simple mods, but it's still bassy. Something about them is a little hollow and scooped out sounding, but not terribly so. So far, they sound fairly detailed but not too fatiguing, a nice change from what I remember with the D2000. Something about them is still a bit artificial sounding. There's either a small emphasis or a bit of ringing somewhere in the treble, but it only comes up in certain recordings and even then not all the time. It's more of a curiosity than anything and surprisingly didn't bother me too much right away.
Good or bad regardless, they're pretty involving and a good listen. I might still like the modded Tascam TH-02 a bit more. Even with mods, it costs less than the stock CAL!, though perhaps the HM5 pads would make a large difference on the CAL! like they did for the TH-02. I also got the Logitech UE6000 in at the same time. They're about $20 more than the CAL!, and I think they're pretty darn close in terms of good sound for value if you didn't want to mod either the CAL! or TH-02.
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Yes, that was one decent Fostex design, though it could use better bass control.
The ringing might be caused by a loose screw or other mechanical issue.
The artificial sound is actually the 5kHz cut combined with the slight ringing in there.
I think it cannot be fixed with any simple mod - you'd need to model the whole thing and design a proper anti-resonator or you end up with an even deeper cut.
Well, unless you want to equalize them.
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Sold mine eventually.
It had a 'PortaPro' factor (as I call it, doesn't mean it sounds like one in the least) in that they are easily to 'tune' into without exhibiting annoying faults and sound totally believable although you do hear it isn't a top tier headphone.
The presentation is 'nice' and warm/full bodied, no piercing treble no immediate sense of rolled off highs.
Strange part of them is (just like the PortaPro does) that when you listen to them exclusively it does not make you 'wanting' to put on another headphone, yet when you swap it for a 'better' headphone and go back to it from that better headphone after a short while you immediately hear where it is lacking.
Also found the peak in the treble and mushy bass annoying after a while but did not do any mods to it (except some felt in the cups and wool but did not help that much).
Sold it in the end because it got no headtime any more also because it gave me 'warm ears' rather quickly.
Nice headphone and could recommend it for 'easy to adopt to' reasons alone.
IMO this 'easy to adopt to' makes a headphone successful.
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That's actually a good what to put it and similar to what I experienced. I found the CAL easy and quick enough to "adapt" to that it made some better headphones sound weird/worse for a few moments, but the actual problems of the CAL would become noticeable upon switching back.
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I already forgot.. besides adding wool and felt I also installed a notchfilter around 4kHz and this made it better sounding to me, yet not good enough to keep it.
Sold it and the new owner reported back he was really pleased with it.
He doesn't know it wasn't a 'standard' CAL!
(strange, I cannot edit my previous posts, only quote it, but can edit this one)
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I remember the D2000 having some difficulties around 4KHz. LOL at the buyer not knowing it wasn't standard, but they're better off either way. I'm curious why you left that info out, haha.
(I think the amount of time we can go back and edit posts has been dramatically shortened recently. Thus, I have to be more deliberate and re-read everything I type. :)p2
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LOL at the buyer not knowing it wasn't standard, but they're better off either way. I'm curious why you left that info out, haha.
I left the modded part out because:
A: Some people think the asking price would be too high because of 'added value' and start to haggle even more.
B: Some people hate the idea some 'idiot' changed something which might be for the worse (does happen).
C: Some people like their purchases 'as new' and not 'taken apart and altered'.
I think the 'do not tamper with your old posts' idea is because of recent events when people claim to NOT have mentioned something and subsequently removing those parts.
I do find it limiting though.... not being able to correct something afterwards or edit it if something was an error in hindsight.
Certainly for not native speaking folks (like me)
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I did a bit more tweaking on these a few days ago. They were still too bassy and muddy to my ears. I did not really listen after I made changes...maybe 15-30 seconds before I put them up, and it wasn't even on a good setup (my phone).
I put them on today and...damn! I am very pleased! The bass sounds noticeably cleaner and more even with the rest of the spectrum. Not nearly as cavernous sounding. Still has a nice body to it, though. Don't notice anything real messed up or missing with the mids. Perhaps still a bit of a U-shaped sound signature. Good clarity and detail and not too artificial sounding. So far, not as laid back as the UE6000, but also not too fatiguing (yet, at least, will have to listen more). Less oddities in the upper mids/treble. Overall, quite well-mannered. Probably some slight channel imbalances due to me not being precise with everything.
Mods:
- Creatology adhesive foam in back of cups and other spots inside the cup. I also got a hole puncher and made small circle pieces that I placed over this to act as a bit of a diffuser (would have used drawer liner otherwise).
- Plenty of acoustic stuffing (sort of like fiberfill) - I underestimated this the first time around. Whatever works best for your tastes.
- Dynamat and adhesive foam on back of driver magnet.
- More adhesive foam on front side of baffle (covers all but driver and screws).
- KSC75 ear pad foam cut into small disc and placed directly in front of driver (small enough to fit inside foam donut surrounding front of driver). Use a second layer if you'd like, or opt-out entirely.
- 4 relatively small holes cut in bottom of ear pads (jergpad style)
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Hello. Here to talk to myself a bit and try to wrap up my thoughts on this headphone.
After listening to the CAL in their previously modded state, I found the treble was a bit sharp and harsh sounding at high volumes or over long listening sessions. I threw some drawer liner in the back of the cups, on top of the adhesive foam. But, my primary change was that I added a 1-ply layer of tissue in front of the driver (foam disc in front of that). This makes the overall sound a bit less powerful sounding (airflow sounds/feels more constricted), but it did seem to help smooth out the treble. I like it!
One thing I'm really happy with is that they seem to do quite well at low volumes. Bass still has punch and detail (i.e. still sounds dynamic). Micro-details are a bit buried, of course, but overall clarity is pretty good. I am currently using these at work, as they don't isolate extremely well (I can hear myself typing, can hear coworkers quietly trying to get my attention, and can even hear the quiet hum of the air conditioning), yet they don't leak like an open headphone would and annoy those around me. I can clearly hear my music across the spectrum and am still very aware of my surroundings.
And I usually don't listen to headphones quietly...just can't get into it. Not so with the CAL. With some amps, though, it's hard to set the volume low because the CAL is fairly sensitive (ex: UHA-6S runs into channel imbalance issues at these low volumes).
They do OK at higher volumes, but I suspect distortion starts to become a larger factor, and I still think there's a hint of ringing in the upper mids/treble that is not apparent at low volumes.
I'll contact purrin in the near future and see if he'd be interested in measuring these and the UE6000.