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

Maybe you're a little too set on the pads being the culprit, maybe it's the driver, maybe it's just the baffle shape and distance to ear (makes sense since with the lower pads the resonance shifted upwards). If you had built a measurement rig, you would have found out already by performing pad-less or leaky-baffle measurements, and probably singled-out the problem and attacked it specifically. All this for less than $100.

 

I think splitting the difference on how much damping is behind the dustcover may be worth while. I'd need a little guidance from you, as there's a variety of materials there, but I'd be willing to measure again with about half the damping in there. Just need a little help with which bits to keep in the mix.

 

Honestly, at this point Tyll I'm more concerned about the 3kHz ramp that's shown up on all measurements so far. Even if the 6kHz is taken down by the filter paper it'll still need more work.

I'd just pack up and call it a day. I'll work on a "v2" mod instead once I get them back, probably involving my own custom pads and some more thought-out damping.

 

I don't know. My pair of HD 700s is new and I did a pretty good job on the earpad mod. I got rid of almost all the pleather. To my ears, the treble is no longer an issue at any frequency and I don't notice any bass distortion. Maybe my ears are just not trained enough to pick up on these nuances, but I still think it's worth a shot to see how it looks with just the earpad mod. Or maybe I just like treble and don't know it.

 

I have taken Tyll's suggestion and reduced the treble damping by half. To my ears, I think it sounds better.... And now I will wait for "v2"

 

I find it intriguing that the mods reduced the low bass and simultaneously worsened the 30 hz step response. Is that indication that the rear of the driver has been overdamped?

I assume the front of the driver has been overdamped as well considering the high treble is now too rolled off. Strange though that the 20 kHz behavior has went unchanged compared to stock, that must be inherent of the design.

The transformation of the impulse response is awfully remarkable, but I assume then they might be a little slow for some person's preference. Does anyone find that the case?

Also, has it been concluded that the typical resonance at 6kHz has simply been shifted to a lower frequency? I assume that might be a positive attribute however considering it's possible that the stock 700 may be less than neutral at 3.5 kHz. Is it possible however that the modded model now has too much energy at 3.5 kHz to be considered neutral?

 

I think you'll get a kick out of this, Tak!

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/reducing-headphone-treble-response-paper-filters-front-driver

 

I have a feeling that it was just mainly how the headphone was sealing against the head rather than the damping. Not sure why it happened.

 

Read the first post. The initial mod was an entirely different pair of pads altogether, but I had to go a different route as the headphone the pads came from is long discontinued. FWIW, I was much happier with those pads than the modified stock pads. Which is why I'm going to try making my own.

 

I did, and I trusted your impressions, however, in Tyll's rig there's two big spikes that reappeared when the front damping was removed. I hope you find some pads that work, but the point still remains; your results will multiply with the aid of a measurement rig.

UMIK-1, a piece of PVC piping, some cloth/upholstery foam/whatever to fill the tube, a few CD's, glue, and a sheet of creatology foam. REW is free.

 

Great work there, Takato14. Massive improvement in the 300hz square wave measurements vs stock. Still got a ways to go there, but looking good so far.

 

The side effect of the earpad mod is that the memory foam is starting to feel a bit too hard because it has been compressed. Anyone have suggestions on how to make custom earpads?

 

How did you manage to get the sony pads to stay on in the first place when it's a different shape?

 

Tak... You indicate that you liked the Sony MDR-605 pads more than your modified stock pads...

I found replacement pads for the MDR-605LP on eBay, listing # 131992125734. Do you think that these replacements might be good enough to do the trick? And I assume it would be necessary to remove the mounting rings from a pair of 700 pads and glue them on to these replacements?

 

Might have more luck if you actually tag Tak, I haven't seen them around very often so it would probably help to get their attention. @takato14

 

I highly doubt those will fit and I also doubt they will sound any good. The 605 pads are a felt/fleece type material.

 

That's too bad.... But as cheap as they are, I guess I shouldn't be surprised...

 

No reason not to try if you already have the headphone though... if I hadn't sold my pair I'd try it.

 

So, 1 year later and Dekoni will have some custom HD700 Pads in about 3-4 weeks from now.

Will be getting a set to see what they may change

 

All the pictures are down :/ any new guides around?