Sennheiser HD 800

[Steevo]

I caught these on sale and paid $59 for them from the egg so I was happy.

 

[Mescalamba]

i took mine about halfway apart, i've never actually unscrewed them completely. i'd rather wait for a more accurate description/pictures, than break them

Yea you need screwdriver..

http://mikebeauchamp.com/dump/hd555/DSC_2433.JPG

Remove ear cushions (they are easily removable), remove that black cloth between driver and ear. Unscrew drivers and its on grill as shown on picture, just remove that sticky tape and put everything back together).

DONT DROP SCREWS INTO DRIVERS! (or in fact anything).

Thats it, it doesnt make "wonders" but it certainly sounds much clear after that. Another mod is to cut that plastic grill and leave just that metal mesh.. But it changes how they behave much more (youll loose bass a bit).

Now Im thinking what to do with HD 650, cause even if I like them, they are not what I want.. Maybe they really have low-quality cable..

 

[Mussels]

hmmm, so any massive changes doing that? does it increase the amount of audio leaking out of the headphones? Could one not put MORE tape there, to block the sound leaving the headphones?

 

[DaC]

hmmm, so any massive changes doing that? does it increase the amount of audio leaking out of the headphones? Could one not put MORE tape there, to block the sound leaving the headphones?

I guess that messing with this kills all the sound signature senn wants to give to the 555.

 

[Mussels]

I guess that messing with this kills all the sound signature senn wants to give to the 555.

yeah but if it sounds BETTER, stuff their signature

edit: so far in quick testing (one side with, one without) it seems to reduce bass a fair bit, while enhancing treble and midrange somewhat. They sound clearer and less muddy, but (needs more testing) the bass seems to have lost all its punch.

 

[Mescalamba]

hmmm, so any massive changes doing that? does it increase the amount of audio leaking out of the headphones? Could one not put MORE tape there, to block the sound leaving the headphones?

Hah, these are designed as "open" cans. Which means they should be open.. doing "closed" from these will probably 1) kill sound 2) give you serious headache as multiple reflected sound is something you wouldnt like. Even reflected sound from this black tape (its called "surround reflector" is pretty bad).

Result of this mod is clearer/crispier sound (pretty much as from HD 595, cause these are basicly same, but dont have that "surround reflector").

If sound going out of headphones is what you dont like, buy closed cans. (HD350 for example). But there are no closed ones which can match quality of for example HD 600 and higher.. top quality is always open.

That "surround reflector" black tape is simply way to cripple things a bit, same way as Canon makes criple from anything lower than 1D series. Even if theres no reason to do so.. (well, except money ofc).

HD 555 and 595 doesnt have "signature" .. they are pretty much neutral sounding, in fact more neutral than for example my HD 650 which are pretty over-bassed. Which will probably result in me changing cable or switching them for something else (quite sure that it will be AKG 702).

 

[Mussels]

oh i'm fine with open, i was merely pondering.


So far its lost too much bass for me to like it - the 595's cant have that weak bass, no one would like it. i'm pondering like, half as much of that foam tape to see if that suits my tastes.

 

[twicksisted]

I have a pair of sennheiser HD265 closed monitoring headphones for recording (my second pair as i broke the headban d of the first ones by standing on them.... !!!) aswell as the sennheiser HD600's.... they both awesome cans!!!

The HD600's have an amazing spacial stereo sound but are a bitr lacking in the bass department if not properly amplified and background noise leaks in which is disruptive, whereas the HD265's you can run off an ordinary output without losing too much bass and it seals out background noise and more importantly its closed back seal out headphone noise from leaking into mic's.

I have to use them hooked up to my soundcraft mixer to listen to them properly as my soundcard dosent cut it unfortunately
personally i think $1400 is a joke... but then again i did pay a lot for mine, so its all relative

 

[Mussels]

its quite the dilemma with that mod - without the tape, high and mid range is a lot clearer. With it, i'm losing about half the bass (it has zero punch to it now)

i'm going to try half the foam 'tape' - just enough to raise the speaker to its original height, without blocking that big chunk of the mesh off. I'm thinking the bass is reduced simply cause its that ~1cm further away from my ear

 

[HammerON]

What the hell!!! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the price of these heaphones
I don't mind spending money on good speakers, but holly shit these are just headphones!

 

[Mussels]

awwww shit. may have trashed the headphones. one of the screws fell in on top of the speaker and the magnet sucked it right in onto the plastic over the top of the speaker - bent it a little. guess what crackles now?


the only solution for the crackle seems to be sticky tape over the damaged area, and that removes the bass entirely. Ffffuuuuuu


anyone got a dead set they'd sell a speaker from?

 

[DaC]

awwww shit. may have trashed the headphones. one of the screws fell in on top of the speaker and the magnet sucked it right in onto the plastic over the top of the speaker - bent it a little. guess what crackles now?

Holy.......... is it difficult to take it would without messing even more with it ?

 

[Mussels]

Holy.......... is it difficult to take it would without messing even more with it ?

what?


the only options left are: get a new speaker off someone.
buy new headphones (sad face)
use a pin behind the speaker through a 'mesh' fiber foam they have there (not airtight) and try and gently push the bent in parts out, WITHOUT poking a hole through the membrane. a failure there could result in 'no base with tape' to "fucked sound completely"

 

[Mescalamba]

Jeez, what have I wrote?

*sigh*

Hope they will be fine. If you hear any large difference in bass, its your aperature, not headphones.. They have exactly same amount of bass as HD 595 with this mod.. And its not weak. Plus they sound much more "reference" than HD 650. I think its just habit of having bit overpowered bass.

Hm.. I think Ill try AKG 702.. or simply forget everything and buy HD 800. (Im insane, Im actually thinking about that!)

If you think HD 800 is over-priced, try to find for example "ULTRASONE edition8 palladium". These are overpriced (especially considering poor specs) - 1,699.00 USD only. (crazy evil laugh)

 

[Mussels]

its the plastic coating over the speaker unit thats damaged here - not your fault, its the laws of magnetism at fault. As i said above, i think the bass was weaker because it was merely further away.

whats your opinion on poking a pin through the stuff on the back to put out the bent parts?

 

[Mescalamba]

*cry for Mussels HD 555*

I did this mod few times, always without problems..

 

[Mussels]

see my edit above, i want to know your opinion on fixing the problem from behind - is that mesh stuff important, will a hole there be a problem?

 

[DaC]

Well, since Mescalamba just destroyed all Senn engineers and made the ultimate upgrade because there's no difference between all the line up, I guess whatever you do is fine Mussels...
Sorry about your 555.... =|

 

[Mussels]

DaC: i noticed an immediate audio difference. it was a simple mod that may have changed the sound to my benefit - please stop trolling like that.


Mescalamba: opinions please?


edit: bahaha, i found what was almost a hole already in its natural design, and used a pin i sandpapered to have a blunt tip - and its working. all i'll need to do is find a way to cover up these odd pinholes when i'm done.

edit 2: with the main area fixed, the crackling is only noticeable on heavy bass. fixing the second area now, and i'll leave it at that.

edit 3: fixed

edit 4: i was right, cutting about 1/4 of the foam tape off and leaving it behind the speaker (giving it the original height) gives me the improved treble/midrange (about 85% of the improvement remains) without reducing the bass at all.

 

[DaC]

DaC: i noticed an immediate audio difference. it was a simple mod that may have changed the sound to my benefit - please stop trolling like that.


Mescalamba: opinions please?


edit: bahaha, i found what was almost a hole already in its natural design, and used a pin i sandpapered to have a blunt tip - and its working. all i'll need to do is find a way to cover up these odd pinholes when i'm done.

That's great you have found a workaround!

I'm not mocking about the suggested upgrade, not at all.
But to say this will turn 555 on a 595, better than 650. But anyway, I don't have anything to do with that.

 

[Mussels]

well, sennheiser do reuse their knowledge between models - this tape was probably there to help improve the bass as i discovered, but too much of it hinders the mid/high range. removing SOME of it, not all of it, has turned out to be the perfect solution.


http://mikebeauchamp.com/dump/hd555/DSC_2433.JPG

in this image here, you can see the speaker unit itself - look in the circle naer the green PCB and you can see the white 'mesh' i pushed the pin through to fix the plastic on the other side


edit: riiiiight, now i know why my bass changed. In my right speaker, its attached like in your photo - held in by those black clips. my LEFT one, is LOOSE and not attached - its magnet was holding it into the foam, grabbing onto the metal of the grille.


MOAR BASS THAN EVER BEFORE!

 

[DaC]

well, sennheiser do reuse their knowledge between models - this tape was probably there to help improve the bass as i discovered, but too much of it hinders the mid/high range. removing SOME of it, not all of it, has turned out to be the perfect solution.


http://mikebeauchamp.com/dump/hd555/DSC_2433.JPG

in this image here, you can see the speaker unit itself - look in the circle naer the green PCB and you can see the white 'mesh' i pushed the pin through to fix the plastic on the other side


edit: riiiiight, now i know why my bass changed. In my right speaker, its attached like in your photo - held in by those black clips. my LEFT one, is LOOSE and not attached - its magnet was holding it into the foam, grabbing onto the metal of the grille.


MOAR BASS THAN EVER BEFORE!

What do you think is the end result from removing this tape in SQ ?

 

[Mussels]

What do you think is the end result from removing this tape in SQ ?

previously, there was mild muddiness when bass midrange and treble all fired off at once (meaning: some songs) - now it seems the muddiness is reduced, and high mid seems clearer/louder when no bass is present.

 

[DaC]

previously, there was mild muddiness when bass midrange and treble all fired off at once (meaning: some songs) - now it seems the muddiness is reduced, and high mid seems clearer/louder when no bass is present.

Nice thing then, it's kind of cool to be able to "tune" your bass response by adjusting this tape.
555 is a great headphone, I wish I hadn't had to sell it to buy the 650... but I'm quite sure I'll get my old one back or buy a new one....
I'm planning to get the HD-800 along with some other hardware, I just need the money....
I think it will be cool to be able to make a statement over SQ differences for the price asked.... To rely on others experience is hard, because there are so much different opinios.

 

[Mussels]

its not really tape, more like adhesive backed sound absorbing foam