Rabbit
Administrator
Posts: 7,087
|
Post by Rabbit on Dec 6, 2015 22:22:39 GMT
It's certainly a Best Buy category once modified. Terrific headphone.
Bass extension is unbelievable.
|
|
howie
quite active
Posts: 158
|
Post by howie on Dec 6, 2015 23:06:56 GMT
What's amazing is even with all the bass the mids are crystal clear and the dynamics are maintained.
|
|
ix
valued member
Posts: 11
|
Post by ix on Dec 7, 2015 13:15:23 GMT
Hi all, Just tried my own version of this. Thought this might be of interest...
Wanted to keep the original pads, which I really like, but tame the lows and (imho) piercing highs. Looking closely at all the excellent measurements, I ended up doing this:
Bought ~2mm 100% wool felt for all the mods
1. Glued felt on the inside inside of the cup (not a donut) to lower the bass according to experiment 4. Glad to get rid of the hump between 100-200hz which always sound "thick" to my ears.
2. Put two felt discs in front of the drivers to smoothen and lower the treble, according to experiment 6 and 10 but covering the whole driver by sticking the edges behind the pads. Started with one. Still harsh. Two, much better.
I find the result very pleasing to my ears. Super tight and extended bass, not nearly as boomy as before. Treble, much more likable and pleasant, but not very refined. I'm thinking this might be limited by the driver itself.
Thanks a lot for the extremely nice description of the mods that helped me immensely along the way!
|
|
howie
quite active
Posts: 158
|
Post by howie on Dec 8, 2015 12:43:19 GMT
Hi, that's nice work. I wonder if part of your unrefined treble may be to do with your source/amp. The modded Philips I have is clear and sweet throughout the treble frequency range, using both an X3 and ClipZip, playing FLAC.
|
|
|
Post by c61746961 on Dec 11, 2015 5:59:13 GMT
I got a pair from Frans (thanks!), here's how it measured stock on my rig: (maybe one pad didn't seal properly) Here it is after swapping the pads with the HPAEC840 pads and stuffing the insides with some polyurethane and PVC foams: (for some reason I don't see or hear the super elevated treble that's shown on Frans' plots) So far so good! I will work on the 250 Hz dip and the upper midrange bump.
|
|
solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
Posts: 4,882
|
Post by solderdude on Dec 11, 2015 17:06:24 GMT
Your upper midrange bump (around 3kHz) shows up as a -5dB dip in my measurements. I also hear a dip there in reality.
When a headphone has a peak it becomes rather shouty and 'harsh' sounding which it doesn't at all. If I compare the sound to the HD650 (which is flat in that area) you can hear the Philips has less 'presence' which resides in that area.
The 250Hz dip doesn't really bother me and think it helps with the bass not sounding 'muddy' even when it is elevated.
The felt in front of the driver doesn't lower the treble that much in level but it does create slightly better damping and smoothens the highs. The CSD and squarewave both show less 6kHz ringing and better behaviour above 6kHz.
|
|
|
Post by c61746961 on Dec 11, 2015 23:17:36 GMT
The 3 KHz bump is partially the result of my damping scheme, I was damping the driver directly with the polyurethane foam, if I remove the damping, the dip from 2-4 KHz is lowered another 5dB. However, a little bump at 3 KHz remains, which may highlight a resonance in my rig. Strangely enough, it doesn't seem to happen with other headphones.
I was a little confused because the measurements didn't correspond to what I was hearing in the lower frequencies, turns out the performance is very seal-dependent, if I add a piece of felt to leak a little pressure, the bass is lowered dramatically. Since I have medium-length hair, I adjusted the tuning to compensate for the pressure loss.
|
|
solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
Posts: 4,882
|
Post by solderdude on Dec 12, 2015 8:52:48 GMT
Bass is indeed quite seal dependent. Fortunately for me I have a roundish face with little to no hair so I can easily get a good seal.
Do keep us posted with experiments.
|
|
solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
Posts: 4,882
|
Post by solderdude on Dec 13, 2015 10:00:23 GMT
I updated the measurements on the Philips uptownAdded distortion plots, extended frequency response plots, CSD's and squarewave and pulse response plots.
|
|
|
Post by c61746961 on Dec 17, 2015 17:33:11 GMT
So I've been A/Bing these against every other pair I could get my hands on, ranging in price from $10-$250 USD... These have outperformed or otherwise held their own in some areas against all other pairs, including the K7XX and my modded T50RP.
It's a real shame these are no more.
|
|
solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
Posts: 4,882
|
Post by solderdude on Dec 19, 2015 12:32:14 GMT
Yes these sound exceptionally good (once modded) for its price point. The Superluxes are all very mediocre/poor compared to these.
I can still buy them new here in The Netherlands. Everytime one pops up on the local 'ebay' I place a bid. Lately though there is always someone that outbids me after a while.
I can buy these new for around E 45.- E 50.-. Modding costs around E 25.- (pads + materials) shipping depends on country...
Still even for E 100.- shipped and modified they are well worth the price. These had an MSRP of E 100.- so...
|
|
|
Post by someguy on Dec 26, 2015 19:26:19 GMT
How long is the cable? Do you replace it or is it of acceptable quality?
|
|
solderdude
Administrator
measureutternutter
Posts: 4,882
|
Post by solderdude on Dec 26, 2015 19:33:56 GMT
about 1.5m
It is the anti-tangle kind (flat and made of silicone). The biggest issue with it is the angled plug. This isn't optimal in some cases.
Haven't found (nor actively looked) for a way to replace the cable. In the older ones (with the volume control) I simply bypass that part in the 'remote' so haven't needed to remove it.
Not really a 'cable-guy' myself.
|
|
|
Post by tunkejazz on Dec 26, 2015 22:23:19 GMT
I spent 2 hours last night comparing the modded Philips to a pair of D2000. Not that different in the bass but the Philips do the mids much better and the hights are sweeter.
About the cable...it is flat and ridiculously thin. But they sound so good that it makes you wonder why manufacturers include super-expensive cables when a simple and cheap change of the pads makes a much larger difference soundwise.
...I just wished for a tad thicker cable!
|
|
|
Post by grinny on Jan 4, 2016 8:27:45 GMT
Hello, first of all kudos to solderdude for his efforts, really detailed and superb mod guide. Although I have some questions regarding my results.
After donut shaped syntetic 2mm felt, SRH-940 pads, 3mm wool felt disc on the driver and getting out the mic/volume assembly mods; I hear that bass is recessed greatly, but the treble is tamed, so it's good. In general the headphones lowered in volume in all areas, I guess that's because felt wool infront of drivers?
Maybe I might have made some mistakes while doing the mod as;
1- I didn't have two sided tape at hand and I used "O rolled" normal tape to stick Donut shaped felts. 2- I didn't have 3mm wool felt at hand and I cut down a 5mm wool felt into half so I got 2x2,5mm wool felts (thoretically). But I must say I couldn't get even thickness along the wool felts.
Can someone help me if I correct these minor mistakes, can I get the extended bass you talk about? Thanks!
P.S: I'm comparing this modded headphones with my Fidelio X2 (I know they are not the same league). I'm not expecting X2 type of bass performance from Uptowns but, at least want to hear that bass extension that people talking here. I'm feeding my X2 directly from SMSL M8 DAC, I must say volume is more than enough without an amp with X2. But with Uptowns I need to go around %100 windows slider for listenable levels.
|
|