Modded DT880 (The Poor Man's Ether C?)

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by cskippy, Apr 7, 2016.

  1. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Saw the Ether C measurements and they inspired me to mess with my DT880 Pro 250 Ohm. This is a great headphone stock but the mid treble peaks can get fatiguing. Without further adieu...

    DT880 Stock but with an extra Beyer black foam pad that you ear rests against:

    [​IMG]R DT880 stock w extra Beyer foam by Chris Riley, on Flickr
    (Ignore the distortion)

    R DT880 Modded:

    [​IMG]R DT880 Modded by Chris Riley, on Flickr

    L DT880 Modded:

    [​IMG]L DT880 Modded by Chris Riley, on Flickr

    R DT880 Modded CSD:

    [​IMG]R DT880 Modded CSD by Chris Riley, on Flickr

    Didn't bother with Left CSD.

    HD650 for Reference:

    [​IMG]HD650 Stock by Chris Riley, on Flickr

    TH-X00 for Reference in Arta (frequency response remains unchanged):

    [​IMG]R TH-X00 by Chris Riley, on Flickr

    CSD:

    [​IMG]TH-X00 CSD by Chris Riley, on Flickr
     
  2. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Wrote a whole post and clicked off the edit pop up window by accident...

    Subjective impressions:
    -It's still a DT880.
    -Soundstage width is excellent but depth is so so. Mod helps depth a smidge.
    -Sub bass rolls of slightly sooner than what frequency response shows
    -Macrodynamics took a slight hit but microdynamics seem to have improved
    -Imaging is about the same maybe easier to place sounds
    -Front/back damping have less of an effect on dynamics compared to planars

    Overall I'm quite happy with the mod. It does what I wanted: fix mid treble peaks, flatten frequency reponse, and bring up sub bass. I'm currently seeing how big of a hole I can put in the front damping and still maintain the same frequency response.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2016
  3. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    I've often found that the beyer black foam pads can make everything sound stuffy and constricted, just not the treble but the midrange too. I've personally had better success without the foam pads and with EQ instead. Or maybe TP? :D

    Just something to listen for when you do the subjective impressions.
     
  4. trl

    trl Acquaintance

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    What is this mod about, please? Any pics and instructions so I can do myself such a mod?
    Thank you!
     
  5. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    Mod is as follows:
    behind the driver; 2mm closed cell foam covering the felt damping behind the driver with a hole cut out the same size as the existing port
    on the front; one cotton nail polish removal pad with a hole punch in the middle between the black felt and black foam cover
    use the retaining ring to hold everything in place
    pads used are Hifiman velour pads (I used old OG Hifiman pads from an HE-6, newer versions aren't quite the same but should be close enough)
     

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