HD800 Internal Wiring Mods

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by Maxx134, Mar 19, 2016.

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  1. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    WARNING,
    THIS THREAD CONTAINS INFO THAT WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY AND POSSIBLY DAMAGE YOUR HD800...
    I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE AS I FOREWARNED YOU!!


    There,
    Now that that's out of the way,
    Let's mod!..

    Time to find out why "your" HD800s always have a shitty bright or edgy tonality...

    Depending on your headphone gear,
    Both the headphones and the gear will be dependent on one, nagging, irritating, shitty constant denominator. ..


    THE INTERNAL WIRING. ..!!!

    Lets take a look at the super tiny size of this wire(!)
    Pic*
    [​IMG]
    OMG broken pin,
    And 100 AWG! (kiddn)
    It is neither OCC, nor good enough guage.
    It will ALWASY present an "impedance" to your system...
    And I mean that LITERALLY! !

    0.1 OHM RESISTANCE MEASURED ON EACH wire, not including connectors !!!

    While that amount may seem small, any wire this short should not have such a measurable value .

    What does this do?
    Many different observations, but the easiest thing to say,
    Is yes, it makes a rather noticable difference. ..

    From my testing, BOTH the wire AND the stock connectors are influencing the HD800 drivers..
    Remember, we are dealing with possibly the most resolving dynamic driver currently,
    So everything makes a difference when you're dealing with the HD800.

    This is why ALL hardwired jobs makes a sonic result,
    Pic*
    [​IMG]

    And why ALL results are usually very positive.

    In fact, the easiest and best suggestion would be to install cable hardwired into driver and eliminate the connector...
    I did this with the Draug2 cable,
    but the drawback, is missing the option to upgrade to other cables,
    like the latest pure silver cables I now regard as best.

    Anyways,
    here you see I am replacing this specific HD800 (not mine) with a huge 20 awg guage wire,
    in which the silver plating alone is greater awg than the original wire!!..
    Pic*
    [​IMG]
    Also,
    I chose to make the internal wire an even shorter length, for better conducivity..
    Pic*
    [​IMG]
    Pic*
    [​IMG]

    Ok ,
    so now the problem lies,
    That YOU MUST have hands of a surgeon to complete this task,
    Or you could be out of commission with a broken socket!

    It really is that fragile inside...
    Pic*
    [​IMG]
    Notice the broken internal pin in the center(!)
    Lucky I have 2 extras!

    I found the best way was to UNsolder wires from the driver post first,
    Then remove the connector,
    Then cut the wire close to the inside connector tips,
    But leaving some wire as it is inserted microscopically and deeply inside.
    Then tinning(solder) and reinsert into housing to solder the wires on top.

    So although it can be done,
    The ideal solution would be to totally discard the stock garbage connector,
    And boldly drill away a larger hole! !
    For a mini XLR connector!
    Pic*
    [​IMG]
    Which is also the easiest and most compatible type to use. .
    Pic*
    [​IMG]

    Ok,
    So It was not an easy thing to do either,
    as it had to be drilled a bigger hole,
    at a slightly forward angle to fit in.

    So you had to have either b*lls of steel,
    Or steady hands of a surgeon,
    Or both,
    to get that drill bit in there so close to the soldering posts!

    The end result is very slick:
    Pic*
    [​IMG]

    And it actually makes it better when using the hd800,
    Because the cable is now very Slightly angled forward and away from you.
    Plus the shiny connectors are cool.
    Pic*
    [​IMG]
    :)
    Those are my HD800
    While I was at it, I decided to give it another paint job..
    Pic*
    [​IMG]

    Look ma, no more girly sparkly HD800! (for those of you that remember that)...
    Now I have the "Old man" serious looking colors!

    Too bad my paint was defective as the new "Rustoleum" cans have paint drying issues..
    Oh well future color changes is another topic..

    So anyways, how do the two different connectors sound?,
    Stock vs mini XLR?

    The bottom line is,
    that I will ALWASYS recommend THAT you replace those dam forsaken garbage HD800 connectors,
    As it WILL "add" to your sound.

    It's like Sennheiser just put it in there to show off and say,
    "look at me, I can make a super slick super tiny iem guage connector!"

    So Yes,
    the mini XLR I still consider easily MORE transparent .

    Either way you go:
    Hardwired- (easiest)
    Stock connector -( hardest soldering)
    Mini XLR - (tedious installation)

    The good news is:
    Replacement of micro stock wiring WILL give you positive results of transients, power and resolution.. (!)

    These are qualities that normal mods cannot adress,
    and reason for this thread.
    :)

    So go ahead,
    A man's gotta do,
    whatta man's gotta do..
    Do it. .
    :pirate07:
     
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2016
  2. Riotvan

    Riotvan Snoofer in the Woofer

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    South-Park-Randy-Balls-in-Wheel-Barrow-300x231.jpg
     
  3. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    That's a pretty extensive post, nice! I hardwired my HD800 last week. I wish there was a place to find the OEM hd800 female connectors. I picked up a pair of the sorta kinda hd800 female connectors from Norne, but they won't fit the HD800 without some minor filing or removing of some material.
     
  4. mtoc

    mtoc SBAF's Resident Shit-Stirrer

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    Anyone also changed these?

    [​IMG]
     
  5. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Those internal wires seem to have been upgraded.
    If so, the benifit has been done as old internal cable was pure garbage in size.
     
  6. johnjen

    johnjen Doesn’t want to be here but keeps posting anyways

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    I agree that those connectors and itty bitty wires gotta go.
    And hardwiring isn't for those who don't know what they are doing.

    Still, changing out even hardwired cables isn't THAT hard to do.
    And once those Choke Points (connectors and tiny wires) are bypassed, swapping out the cable while more complicated than simply plugging in another cable isn't the largest hurdle to trying out different cables.

    And unless you can convince a cable maker to send you a cable without connectors AND be able to return in if it is unsatisfactory (yeah good luck with that) your actual choices are rather limited.

    Which means you would need to choose a cable using the stock connectors, and then hardwire that cable which would void any warranty, right then and there.
    Which means hardwiring is or can be an expensive mod to make.

    Of course there are a very few who will perform this mod for you, but you'll be using their cable and again it's expensive.

    But for me the effort and expense is well worth it.
    And if SQ is the top 3 reasons for even thinking about this level of tweak, then perhaps it might be worth it for you as well.

    Just my 2¢

    JJ
     
  7. Overkill Red

    Overkill Red Friend

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    EDIT: Bit of a thread necro, oops.

    Did these awhile ago and I'm liking the changes I hear! Hope to be able to find a stock 800 to compare it to soon.

    '5-second fix' was used to seat the miniXLR sockets, not sure how it'll hold in the long run but it's very sturdy right now.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2017
  8. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    Yeah, those stock Lemo connectors tend to get loose over time, don't they?
     
  9. Overkill Red

    Overkill Red Friend

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    Yep! I also didn't like how small and expensive they were, and I liked the idea of being able to try my friend's Audeze cables, so I decided to make the switch to the mini XLRs.

    Whether or not the change to the XLRs has improved SQ I have yet to find out (probably kind of hard to do so, since I'd have to have a friend rewire their HD800 with the same wire using stock connectors), but in terms of usability I'm liking the robustness of the mini XLRs. As @Maxx134 has pointed out, the connectors also angle forward slightly, so it's very comfortable to use!
     
  10. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

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    This is why I love this forum so much, full of crazy ideas to try myself. I've ordered some mini xlr plugs and see how it goes for me.
     
  11. Overkill Red

    Overkill Red Friend

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    Do be very careful when drilling the holes for the mini XLRs. Take it slow and steady..
     
  12. m17xr2b

    m17xr2b Friend

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    I don't think I will take the risk of drilling unless I have to. I plan to use a file so I get the exact diameter and leave just a bit of room for the epoxy to really glue everything in place.
     
  13. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    Well, LEMO does quality stuff. But then again, in your case mini XLRs are valid on many levels. Nice work!
     

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