CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS
Lobby => DIY => Topic started by: Lurkumspect on June 04, 2012, 09:42:07 PM
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Post your marginally significant mods here.
Here is my HD 650 replacement cable that I bought for my HD 424X early this year. Superior cable to stock: a lot less stiff, feels nice, sound opened up immensely compared to the steel conductors that were on the HD 424X for the past two or so decades. Better molded plastic connectors downstream too.
Recently I put a 4-pin XLR on it because my amp puts out significantly more power (for this headphone, namely voltage) in balanced mode. Haven't tried it out yet though.
Today I put some red heat shrink on the right side (I hope!) connector. Frivolous mod. Satisfaction factor of 10x.
(http://cdn.head-fi.org/3/34/347f07d7_PhotoJun0422346PM.jpeg)
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BA knob on the Super 7. Took no more than 3 hours max.
(http://www.head-fi.org/image/id/2850121/width/900/height/900/flags/LL)
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Now we're talking. That's worth some Karma!
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highly thought out plan for the odac
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1182-1.jpg)
..dB
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highly thought out plan for the odac
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1182-1.jpg)
..dB
Hey....as long as it works.
I quite like it TBH.
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Hey Don you should post pics of some of your past amp builds somewhere on this forum sometime. If you want. I remember many of them looking really awesome.
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Hey Don you should post pics of some of your past amp builds somewhere on this forum sometime.
I have something better for this thread ;-)
I am guessing there are all sorts of levels of frivolous , to me this falls into that domain as it is not making a product from naught but tweaking something to suite the needs of the end user.
LFF had put out a call for help a while back to mod his Musical Fidelity XA-1 for headphone use.
I am glad I sent him a pm as it has enabled me to get to know one of the great folk in this hobby and that is what this community is all about. We started off with a pretty (grubby :p ) stock XA-1.
(http://www.affordablevalvecompany.com/mf_xa1.jpg)
After a little back and forth it was decided to maul the front panel and forego the option of "return to stock" should this end up in epic fail.
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1116.jpg)
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1119.jpg)
The tape monitor switch removed to make space in that section of the amp.
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1098.jpg)
Somewhere along the ways LFF decided that an internal DAC might be a nice touch
so the tape in and loop out RCA's were removed
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1099.jpg)
and the dac was dropped into place
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1179.jpg)
and that left us with the morphed XA-1
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1199.jpg)
XLR and TRS output jacks with a switchable output for speakers or headphones through a resistor network
small details not visible are an led indicator to tell you that the dac is plugged in ( just below the selector ) and relocated the power led to the bottom of the front panel.
The rear panel now has a usb input for the dac and a 3.5mm jack to loop out the dac in case you want to use it for anything else.
(http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg104/dBel84/IMAG1200.jpg)
I switched the black screws to the front intentionally as I liked the aesthetic, LFF is of course free to switch em back.
and so ends a frivolous tale of LFF's XA-1
It has not yet been put into service as I am waiting on a small usb cable with dual right angle connectors ( only way it would fit ) - hopefully in the week and then LFF will have to give us his feedback
..dB
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Ummm...not sure how frivolous that was. You might be violating the terms of service being that constructive. :P
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Yeah you might want to add some sequens or something :p
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Great work on the MF amp Don. A question for you if you don't mind. I have seen one of your "2 story" amps posted on HC which had windows looking into the amp; I loved the look of it. Any suggestions on how to do this? I tried drilling a screw hole in a sheet of plexi I picked up at home depot and managed to get 1 hole done successfully amidst 3 failed ones (all cracked :'( )
Thanks
edit: I think my question is what's the best way to mount it to a metal panel? (not very thick, guessing 2 mm, maybe 3 mm)
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Drilling plexi is a challenge. One way is to make sure you have an appropriate high speed drill with a very sharp bit. I usually tape over the spot that I plan on drilling too so that there are no shear edges. If you are not overly fixed on screwing it onto the panel, glue does a great job.
I more expensive but reliable option is to have someone like FPE make the windows for you too - they can cut any material you want and even etch onto plexi to - if you underlight the plexi window, whatever design is etched onto the window will light up
..dB
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Awesome work!
I must admit that during this epic journey, I too have enjoyed meeting a great member of this community. For those of you who don't know Don...he is an awesome dude! It's been a blast looking at the progress over these past few weeks and can't wait to listen to it.
I promise to post my honest impressions once I get it. :)
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Drilling plexi is a challenge. One way is to make sure you have an appropriate high speed drill with a very sharp bit. I usually tape over the spot that I plan on drilling too so that there are no shear edges. If you are not overly fixed on screwing it onto the panel, glue does a great job.
I more expensive but reliable option is to have someone like FPE make the windows for you too - they can cut any material you want and even etch onto plexi to - if you underlight the plexi window, whatever design is etched onto the window will light up
..dB
Thanks a lot Don, I'm not set on screwing, I just wanted something that would be sturdy even if the amp had to be shipped or transported to meets.
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Got this teaser pic..... :D
(https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=c03a63d12e&view=att&th=137e3d5016642293&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P9uHXtP1aLyVVepBtZgtzEy&sadet=1339614581940&sads=lUhQNo8REP80bBI6LlMkhypR71c)
Very excited! ;D
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nice work Don!
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Transplanted drivers from TDS-5M(russian HP-1 clone) into the PMB-80 enclosure. Don't worry if you have no clue what either of them is, these aren't exactly garden variety headphones. ;)
TDS-5M drivers were chosen because they are of same size as pmb drivers and are reputed to have better bass. They also don't need much damping to sound good.
(http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/116/dsc0825f.jpg)
(http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4535/dsc0826m.jpg)
This is a 55mm ortho driver essentially 'hanging in air' to allow mixing of front & back waves. Micropore tape is applied on the 360 degree vent to ensure that the mating isn't too destructive for bass.PU foam ring is used to secure the driver on the baffle struts to prevent resonances.
The result is a headphone which has the best soundstage I have ever come across, very wide & deep & immersively holographic.People who believe that orthos can't do soundstage & air are in for a big surprise! 8)
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Transplanted drivers from TDS-5M(russian HP-1 clone) into the PMB-80 enclosure. Don't worry if you have no clue what either of them is, these aren't exactly garden variety headphones. ;)
TDS-5M drivers were chosen because they are of same size as pmb drivers and are reputed to have better bass. They also don't need much damping to sound good.
(http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/116/dsc0825f.jpg)
(http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/4535/dsc0826m.jpg)
This is a 55mm ortho driver essentially 'hanging in air' to allow mixing of front & back waves. Micropore tape is applied on the 360 degree vent to ensure that the mating isn't too destructive for bass.PU foam ring is used to secure the driver on the baffle struts to prevent resonances.
The result is a headphone which has the best soundstage I have ever come across, very wide & deep & immersively holographic.People who believe that orthos can't do soundstage & air are in for a big surprise! 8)
Looks awesome! I want one!!!!!!
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Impressive. I tried driver suspension in foam with SFI pucks before, mine turned out really bad. Glad yours turned out great! :D It proves that the concept is applicable to ortho drivers.
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Is the concept proven with other technologies? Does stax float their drivers in foam?
Nice work Guru! Does it still have deep bass with all that venting?
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Yep, deep bass is there. Great texture & impact as well though the quantity won't compare to NAD/LCD-2 but still respectable.
Don't know about staxens, but most dynamic headphones have vents. FWIR, HD800 driver is similarly suspended.
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Yeah but dynamics aren't "foam mounted" as Ujammer was saying. I've tried playing with vents like this because I agree, it's why dynamics typically have better soundstage. But I always loose sub bass. Great to see you've made it happen!
The T50rp has a vent, and doesn't loose any sub bass from it. I think it's part of the reason the T50rp has better soundstage than other orthos.
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Mixing of 'in phase' and 'out of phase' signals is known to add to perception of image depth.It has something to do with how the brain interprets phase & arrival times.
Before I give a wrong idea, the bass is certainly not the strong suit of this design. But. the bass isn't as lacking as my previous attempts with the stock pmb & HP50 drivers. Certainly listenable.
I can extract more bass out of this if I seal some part of the vent (I did that using blutak on my other PMB-80) but the soundstage would certainly suffer.
I wonder why no manufacturer is trying this in the neo-orthos. Most of them have huge drivers & plenty of bass to spare.
With a little effort, they could probably achieve a lot more controlled mixing of front & back wave.But then, may be I expect too much out of headphone manufacturers.
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Hifiman is kind of accidentally doing that since their pads don't seal to the baffle at all, or to your head for that matter. It's part of the reason I think the HE500 has slightly floppy bass (though it seems other models of theirs get away with it). But they have to put out huge amounts of bass to overcome the leakage from the pads.
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The SS effect of leaky pads is minor at best, IME.
BTW, that reminds me that I can get better bass by using O2 pads. Gotta try that. :-*
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For those of you who don't know Don...he is an awesome dude!
Yes, I can't say enough good things about the guy! :-*
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BTW, that reminds me that I can get better bass by using O2 pads. Gotta try that. :-*
Now we are talking. ;D
guess I'll have to buy another pair of O2 pads.
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A little quiet in here.
Today I've setup my raspberry pi for wireless and headless duties. That's one step towards my network controlled preamp. :&
(http://i.imgur.com/yLETj.jpg)
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YES!!! This makes me comfortable planning to put my Super 7 on the incoming PS Audio NWD. :wheel:
BA knob on the Super 7. Took no more than 3 hours max.
(http://www.head-fi.org/image/id/2850121/width/900/height/900/flags/LL)
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Be careful CT, it might be just a tad to small for the S7's footprint (maybe). There is also a 20lb weight difference too so no telling where they saved the weight. The PWD is built like a tank. I can see screw holes on the top plate of the NWD but not sure that means anything.