HD800 TP Mod

Inspired by our glorious leader the great @purrin I decided we HD800 people could not afford to fall behind in the TP-mod arms race. We cannot afford there to be a TP-mod gap.

(http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/i-fixed-the-ether-c.1820/)

Hence: Hardwired + SD-mod + superBAF + TP-mod





You want to hear the funny part? I actually like it!

It sounds about the same as applying a -3-4 dB EQ to the 6kHz treble peak. I think I might actually use them like this without any EQ at all! I like my HD800's a bit dark and powerful sounding and these mods taken together actually does that, it's like a completley different headphone compard to stock. It actually sounds damn good, too funny.

 

Lets talk real details here - Charmin or Angel Soft

 

I would try cutting a hole for the resonator - having the TP over the resonator might make it less effective.

I will try this but given that I hate what the dust cover does to the sound, I will probably not like this either. I did use some (more like a lot of) toilet paper in my modded Superlux HD681.

EDIT: HOLY SHIT, I'm guessing mine is too thick. Lost ALL of the air. Doesn't even seem to affect 6kHz too much, it's just that everything 10kHz and above is now rolled to shit.
That was a 3-ply. I used a rather thick one since the pic looked like it was pretty thick. Will try single ply now.
This is much better.
I actually think that it affects the upper mids more than the lower treble (listening to Lithium (MFSL UDCD666) ), which is pretty much exactly what the dust cover did. This is not the case. Upper mids are likely unaffected. This is better than the dust cover.

 

I think it's the rough untreated stuff. For real men who sh*t in the woods. Thin but 2 layer.

@10kHz is very, very high up. Very little music there. You sure you mean 10kHz?

http://plasticity.szynalski.com/tone-generator.htm

I thought I got the biggest difference right at the peak. 5-7 kHz. With all my mods the peak is pretty much gone now. It sounds very close to a HD6X0 on steroids. Not everyone will like that but I do.

 

Just compared it against the dust cover: TP is much better than the dust cover.

10kHz isn't all that high. There is still a lot of information up there. I can tell between something that is limited to 18kHz (or maybe even higher) and the original CD file. I still think that it will make a bigger difference at higher frequencies. This is always the case with damping materials like this.

I will do some more comparisions (especially against HD600) but the only thing that I heard that was close to a HD6X0 on steroids would be the HE90.

 

@purrin

My TP is definitely doing lots of stuff around the infamous 6kHz peak, guess it depends on the TP used. It actually sounds very similar to my medium EQ which I posted in the HD800 EQ thread. And female vocals still sound extended and good, no problems there.

Maybe another project for @zerodeefex to find out which TP is the ultimate? Shouldn't be too shitty of a job. Maybe.

 

Okay, so here are my results:
In terms of frequency-response I preferred the 2 ply (my toilet paper is 3 ply and that was too thick for me), but in terms of overall sound I preferred nothing in front of the driver. The toilet paper is much better than the dust cover.

I did a bunch of measurements and I'm not so sure if they're 100% accurate but it should be good enough. The first thing I did (after listening) was take measurements on my flat coupler and on there it only affected 8kHz and up, the higher the frequency, the more effect it had. Since this was not how I heard it, I took measurements with my mic in the ear.

Spoiler: WARNING: IN-EAR MEASUREMENTS

DO NOT COMPARE THESE TO ANY OTHER MEASUREMENTS.
I really feel that I need to share the IEM-measurements with you but please take into consideration that these will never be as repeatable/accurate as the other ones. A small change in the position of the microphone affects these a lot and the positioning of the headphones will also vary a bit from measurement to measurement. I left the microphone in place and took multiple measurements to make sure they were somewhat accurate but you can only do so much.

Before we look at the HD800 measurements, here is the FR of the HD600 with the mic in my ear. Use this as a reference:


Next up are the HD800 TP measurements:

As you can see, the toilet paper does affect the peak. However it seems to affect the frequencies above 10kHz more. It also doesn't do shit below 3.5kHz (the same can not be said about the dust cover). It also makes the response smoother and makes the CSDs look better (this was to be expected). I still think that this is less resolving, has softer transients and probably hurts the soundstaging. YMMV.

The effect of toilet paper will be slightly different for every headphone. Remember the Rin-Choi measurements? The same effect can be seen for headphones, too.

Finally, the effect of the dust cover:

Yes, the blue one is the dust cover. Yes, it makes the peak worse. Yes, it makes the mids more sucked out (I am running secret mods that help with the mids). Yes, it also kills off a bit of air.
Yes, it sounds worse (in every way).

 

Wow, now I can say SBAF is unique, nowhere else you'll find serious promotion of TP mod.

 

I have after careful analysis, and several high-tech measurements, plotted a trajectory which would indicate (when extrapolated) that a single layer of TP gives the best sonic results. Dual-layer kills too much air up top, leaving a constricted feeling on some tracks. Single layer is "just right".

 

1 ply of my toilet paper (1 sheet of toilet paper is 3 layers) was nearly see-through. Is that what you mean or do you mean 1 sheet of toilet paper?

 

Just one single ply for me. Might vary brand to brand of course.