The Unthinkable Has Happened: The Sennheiser HD700 is now listenable. The HD750 mod.

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by takato14, Oct 5, 2015.

  1. FatTeemo

    FatTeemo New

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    Gibosi, have you tried it with just the earpad mod and not the filter? Right now I find that the treble sounds really great just with the earpad mod and it seems that using the filter as well would just muddy the sounds too much?
     
  2. BRCMRGN

    BRCMRGN New

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    I can barely use a screwdriver without hurting myself, but my sister is a wiz with a needle and thread, so I may ask her to mod my pads.
     
  3. gibosi

    gibosi Acquaintance

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    No, I have not tried removing the paper filters. Someday, I probably will, but for now, I am very satisfied with what I am hearing.

    My current thinking is that I will wait until we see the measurements. And then, if it looks like the treble is a bit off, I might try to tweak the filter. That said, my rather old and worn-out ears are rather sensitive to treble, so it may well be that I will prefer a bit more attenuation while others will prefer less.
     
  4. Zombie250

    Zombie250 New

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    I actually have a knock off set of HD700 pads I had purchased from ebay a while back that don't have the pleather or memory foam. They make the sound a little leaner with less treble. I tried the filter mod and it further reduced the treble. I honestly like the HD700 more in stock form (with filter) but I've yet to actually mod my headphones.
     
  5. Buke9

    Buke9 New

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    I was going to do the mod but my wife says she can do it without cutting the pads up and just pinching the pleather and sewing it up. Will this alter the sound? I know I'm looking to alter the sound but will this alter it for the worse? If I can get rid of the treble problem these things ain't too bad. I don't mind cutting them but she is sure she can do it without cutting. Any help here?
     
  6. FatTeemo

    FatTeemo New

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    I think cutting it is easier and it has already been done so you know it works. If pinching it doesn't work as well, then you have to do extra work to re-mod it.
     
  7. takato14

    takato14 God of Ruin

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    The entire point is to remove the pleather, so no, that's probably not the best idea.
     
  8. Buke9

    Buke9 New

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    Makes sense to me but she really wanted to do it but I think I'm going to remove it. Thanks
     
  9. Don

    Don New

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    takato 14 have the headphones been sent to Tyle yet?
     
  10. FatTeemo

    FatTeemo New

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    I'm just wondering. Does anyone know how the sound of a modded hd700 compare to a modded hd650?
     
  11. MATEOBCN

    MATEOBCN New

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    Hi. Live in Barcelona (Spain)
    The first thank takato 14 this modification. I did this weekend and I have to say it works. The change for the better the headset is great. The HD700 is now a great handset.
    I have a doubt, I've put a foam behind the driver, but finer than this mod. with foam I have more sub bass and bass more.
    If I make a hole in the foam, I will have more or less under?
    because as I have now is very beautiful and I want to be sure.


    [​IMG]


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    I meant if I make this hole I put foam.


    [​IMG]


    I am very curious to see measurements Tyll. This sounds great now.
     
  12. MATEOBCN

    MATEOBCN New

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    I've tried different configurations and with which I like is so.

    The sound is also more open, faster, guitars and voices more advanced,
    the bass and treble this and more quality.
    Very happy with them. Thank you.

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Buke9

    Buke9 New

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    Nice job. I need to get mine done as I have a Valhalla II coming next week.
     
  14. whipped

    whipped New

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    Just reading through all the mods and noticed your filter paper mod on the centre of the driver. I did this recently with a light paper sticker on the inner ring of my HD800 after reading the HD800 French thread and finding people getting success reducing the 6 kHz peak by introducing foam to this region. I also had a very similar result to what you have experienced with the 700. At first I was worried I would lose treble detail but that is not the case as I can hear more fine detail than before. An example is an old Beastie Boys song on their album Paul's Boutique. With track 7 they have recorded themselves playing ping pong in the background of the track. With the paper mod I can hear the ping pong ball more clearly i.e. exactly which side of the table it is bouncing on. Without the mod I can still hear the ping pong ball but it is lower in volume and it is not always clear which side of the table it is on (hope that makes sense). Does the HD700 have a single cylindrical ring in the centre of the driver area? If so then I believe this is the helmholtz resonator that tunes the headphone to the required peak and by introducing damping material we are allowing it to act as a Helmholtz absorber at this specific frequency. Do you notice the soundstage has improved slightly with your mod? Again I could be completely wrong but by adding paper to the top of the metal ring it is acting in some ways as an absorber and in other ways it mildly turns the open pipe model into a closed pipe with different (lower) fundamental frequency and allows only certain harmonics possibly making the headphones sound warmer, I would really love to get some hard data rather than the very possible placebo effect :). I want to experiment further and it's great to be part of this group where other like minded people are doing the same thing :)
     
  15. Buke9

    Buke9 New

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    How are you connecting the paper?
     
  16. whipped

    whipped New

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    Firstly I just put the sticker over the dust mesh inside the HD800. Then I got sick of it falling off so I pulled off the mesh carefully as Sorrojde outlines in the 'french mod'. I was in love with the sound so I understand why you like this effect on your HD700. Only tonight have I managed to match the 5K and 6KHz levels using test tones generated from Audacity and ditching the stickers but using acoustic absorber inside the ring. (Mac audio program) and feel like I have fixed my Hd800 permanently.
    The sticker mod gave me a slightly darker but richer tone which is easy to love. Interested in your comments regarding your mods sound?
    If the HD700 has an internal ring then this is it's helmholtz resonator tuned for a certain frequency. Add damping material and you will reduce the peak that is probably bothering you. Again if you match the troublesome frequency to the volumes to the left and right of it then I think you will be more happy :) I used acoustic foam that I cut from my loud speaker bungs.
     
  17. Buke9

    Buke9 New

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    Well finally got one done .Wasn't real hard after just getting started . I think I left a little too much pleather on it but wasn't sure I could sew it if it was too short. I don't think it came out too bad though.
    [​IMG]
     
  18. Don

    Don New

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    takato 14 any news yet on measurements of your results with tyle
     
  19. takato14

    takato14 God of Ruin

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    Waiting for a response from him. I haven't heard from him since Friday, but he said he was shipping my headphones back today, so they're probably done... all I need is the links.
     
  20. takato14

    takato14 God of Ruin

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    Alright guys, here we go.

    http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD700DIYModifiedTakato14.pdf

    I think what may be going on here is that I have too much in front of the driver, thereby impeding the front wave and pushing the transducer too hard. It did indeed lose a loit of sensitivity compared to a stock HD700, so I'm guessing that's what the distortion is about. The impedance plot shows some weird behavior in the bass area as well; perhaps a bit less damping would be ideal and would help alleviate the dip in the treble.

    Either way, one thing is for certain: the pad mod worked. The 6kHz and ringing are both completely gone.
     

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