Custom Cans HD600/HD650 mod: measurements and impressions

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by Biodegraded, Dec 26, 2021.

  1. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    No - it's the outer (removed) spider that the ring grips on to:

    [​IMG]
     
  2. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    Not to shitpost (but it's me, so yeah), but I'll be trying these out on my newer silver screen HD600s. I shan't molest my belov'd black screens for such blatant hooliganism.
     
  3. joch

    joch Friend

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    Has anyone else tried the Custom Cans mod on the HD600?
     
  4. StageOne

    StageOne Friend

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    I had a chance to compare the Custom Cans mod to 2 versions of the JAR650 and stock HD650 at a small meet. I came away really impressed with the CC mod using the green foam plugs. It tightened up the bass and improved dynamics on a stock 6XX. I much preferred it over the stock HD650. My JAR650 is still a little better, most notably cleaner mids, but the CC mod is solid for the price.
     
  5. Inoculator

    Inoculator Friend

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    I ended up trying this out for my stock HD 600 (marble finish/silver screen). Was pretty impressed right off the bat with just the weight and no foam, pretty substantial bass boost, and things, in general, seemed more tamed and even. BUT, there was something off about the timbre of the bass with just the weight and no foam. Kind of like when someone does a crappy bass boost EQ and things sound not right and a bit artificial. After some experimenting, I found the bored-out foam to be a good balance of still maintaining a bass boost but sounding more natural. Similar to the stock HD 600 I know so well but with a tasteful bass boost and general smoothing/tightening of the sound.

    Was a bit of a toss-up between the bored foam and the 3 punched foam. The 3 punched foam sound really nice and cohesive, and probably closest to stock to my ears but with bass just cleaned up a bit. Ultimately though the 3 punched foam was just a bit boring sounding, like too smooth. veiled, and without the addictive bass bump of the no foam or bored foam. Didn't try the other two foams as I would not want less bass than the 3 punched foam provided, but I could see maybe with an HD 650 giving it a try.

    I have a JAR 600 on the way later this year, it will be interesting to compare when it arrives. Based on my memory of when I briefly owned it previously, the JAR had more substantial improvements to the stage (both depths and cohesiveness), and makes larger changes to the midrange/treble. This mod mostly touches the bass with the HD 600, with maybe very very slight improvements to overall cohesion in the rest of the frequency response.
     
  6. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    I agree with everything you said. I have 6xx with the mod and JAR and came to same conclusion. I would say price/performance is high on this mod.
     
  7. shambles

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    I fitted the kit to my current production HD600 earlier in the week and this fits exactly with my experience. No foam sounded unnaturally/disproportionately boosted at the low end, '3' foams were not bad, but a little flat/boring, and the bored foam seemed to have the best balance. I guess on a brighter system the 3 foams could be preferable and I think actually this ability to very quickly and easily adjust the sound signature is as much of a plus as the improvements provided by the weight.

    Haven't had a huge amount of listening time yet and so can't be 100% sure, but in addition to the improvements in bass tightness and level at the lower end, it seems to me that with the bored foams there is also a slight improvement in clarity in upper mids and treble - maybe be due to them being less restrictive than the original foam disks?

    For completeness I should probably also add that I have the Dekoni elite velour pads on my HD600, so YMMV. However, assuming that @Inoculator is using stock pads, the same basic changes seem to hold, even if this is relative to a slightly different starting point.
     
  8. Tekker

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    Used a piece of this copper kit on the left channel of my Philips Fidelio L2, attached securely with tape (I don’t listen to the right channel anymore these days with my gear since I have tinnitus in my right ear, and it gets worse if I listen with it).

    The backside also seems to hold the copper ring securely (I have some open cell foam felt there that it’s laying against), since it’s a tight fit when closing the driver frame.

    Haven’t done any listening yet, but I figured it couldn’t hurt the L2 since I accidentally poked the diapghram with a toothpick when I was modding them, and now they’re rather bright and lean sounding (experience with the copper kit on the HD650 seems to smooth out the treble and attack, and add a bit of bass boost, so it would be what I’d need on the Philips L2)

    Will give listening impressions when I’ve started listening. I think it could be useful for people that want to use the copper piece with other 40mm driver headphones, where the back design allows enough space for the kit to fit.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2022
  9. Bob Smith8901

    Bob Smith8901 New

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    I recently installed the Custom Cans mod on my 2018 Massdrop 6XX's and I also, after going through the different foams, ended up really like the bored foams. Second best was just the copper.

    I think the mod seems to improve the cans to the point that they're more fun to listen to now. The low end now has a clean, mild emphasis (and increased clarity with less "wooliness") than stock. This has expanded the genres a bit and they're now more enjoyable than stock for electronic jazz/funk/R&B, especially music with a bass emphasis (the modern well-produced stuff). The beauty is that all of the other aspects, the lovely mids, etc., are all still there (maybe better with the foams removed). My listening with the 6XX's is primarily from a Shanling M6 Pro 21 DAP streaming Tidal HiFi and Masters. It puts out 760mW at 32Ohms.

    Just a technical note for my install: I have a set of 2018 Ireland 6XX's. I removed the two stuck-together foams from each side. For the copper rings I had to use the included stick-on gaskets as the copper rings wouldn't stay in place without them. The gaskets that came with mine were made of a sort of vinyl-ish material, black colored. Once I placed the gaskets as best I could, it was just a matter of gently but firmly pressing the rings down to secure them. As far as the aesthetic of the 6XX's, yeah, you lose the sort of stealth black interior, but the new look of the copper with the unobtrusive bored foams kind of grows on you, especially as their sound has really improved!
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2022
  10. KamWang

    KamWang New

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    The custom cans is the only place to order those copper kits? There is no other distribution that carry them?
     
  11. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Not that I'm aware of. You can contact the owner through the website and ask.

    Incidentally I see that the black version @jfunk teased earlier is now available, along with a nickel-plated one:

    https://jfunk.org/wpc/product-category/home/headphone-modding-service/headphone-damping-mods/

    No price shown on the black ones but the nickel are listed at GBP 35, which was the old price of the bare copper, and the copper is now down to GBP 29. 20% VAT is subtracted from these prices for exports.
     
  12. Bob Smith8901

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    Both the new colors look great. Wow, but that nickel plated is stunning and I can imagine it would really enhance the coolness factor of the 6XX! Thanks for posting the link and great job Custom Cans!
     
  13. shambles

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    I picked up the black version last month and it was £35 like the nickel version. I assume the price is not currently listed because it's out of stock, but presumably it will be re-listed if/when another batch is produced.
     
  14. Bob Smith8901

    Bob Smith8901 New

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    CNC Weight Rolling in my future?...better have a healthy supply of vinyl spiders!
     
  15. RenEH

    RenEH Acquaintance

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    Thank you to @Baten for the impression. Can you please clarify if you mean the HD650 KISS modded headphone is inferior to the HD600 with the custom cans mod because it's a HD600, or do you believe it's because of the quality of the mod?

    I currently have two HD6xx in house that I'd like to make sound like an HD600. I already have the second skin stuff with me, but I do love how clean this mod looks as a finished product. If the HD6xx will also sound better with the custom cans mod, then I'll pick up two right away. Thanks!
     
  16. Baten

    Baten Friend

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    I've no HD650 custom cans modded (nor a HD600 kiss modded, if that is even recommended) so it's an apples to oranges comparison. But the HD650 is just more warm, HD600(and HD580 Precision for that matter) have a bit more treble energy. So comparing both directly, the HD650K sounds more subdued. If you have one and like it, there's nothing wrong with liking this sound!
    On bass, I think it's the copper mod making it more clean and extended (quality), while the HD650K seemingly gives "more" bass (quantity). Maybe measurements of both would show the differences a bit better... just going by personal experience here.
     
  17. RenEH

    RenEH Acquaintance

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    Sorry @Baten I was referring to your post above. Personally I think the HD6xx has bloated bass. It can sound fun on occasion, but it's not to my taste. Cleaner bass sounds good to me, ordered :) Thank you!
     
  18. RenEH

    RenEH Acquaintance

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    I’ve been living with my two custom cans modded hd6xx’s for the last few months and I’m really happy with this mod.

    Firstly, the nickel plated weight on the driver looks sexy. Secondly, I can vouch that the hd6xx with the correct foam pieces does indeed sound like a hd600 with better extended bass which is a nice economical way to get some up in Canada.

    With that said, the mod’s creator mentioned in a YouTube video that a little dynamat may improve transients further, and I have a drawer full, so has anybody tried both? If so, which pieces did you apply?

    For reference, this is what the nickel plated mod looks like on a hd6xx.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    How does it look on the 58X Jubilee? :D
     
  20. RenEH

    RenEH Acquaintance

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    Made in Ireland 6xx with a 58x head band and other bits. I really wanted an all black made in Ireland driver 600, so here we are.
     

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