Anyone ever tried opening up an Andromeda iem for modding?

Discussion in 'DIY' started by rhythmdevils, Nov 4, 2020.

  1. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    They’re damn expensive so I’m scared to try it.

    But It would be interesting to try to mod the og Andromeda to get rid of the 10k peak or the 2020 Andromeda to tilt the FR brighter to make them more neutral.

    They have screws that would make opening them easy.

    I have no clue what I’d do to try to fix these issues as I know little about BA drivers or implementation.

    but those screws would make it so easy I’m curious if anyone has tried.
     
  2. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Last edited: Nov 4, 2020
  3. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I’m not a fan of reducing treble by adding damping to the front of the driver. You loose resolution, plankton, micro details whatever you want to call it.

    that’s why I was curious about opening them up and fixing it some other way.

    but I don’t know how he’s getting these different frequency responses between models, if it’s a BA placement/positioning change or internal damping change.

    or if it’s different BA drivers in which case internal mods probably aren’t hopeful.
     
  4. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Tip rolling or new source is going to be your best bet. Not easy to tinker with a complex design in a tiny package. And I bet the TAEC implementation leaves very little wiggle room in terms of moving things around.
     
  5. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Yeah I’ve already tip rolled the shit out of the Andromeda 2020 and it’s still too warm. Still my favorite iem though they’re all flawed. I’ll take some errors of omission over gross errors of commission.
     
  6. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Ever tried the EX1000 or FDX1? If you haven't heard FDX1 I can send you mine, I don't really like them but they are a favorite around here and I keep them as a 'reference'. I also felt the Andro was a little bit bloated in the low mids and rolled on top. Maybe Ara would be more up your alley from the CFA lineup?

    Personally I've given up on the 'neutral IEM' chase after being to one too many trade shows and hearing everything I could and not loving anything. 64 U12T might be kinda close, but too expensive and just as many tradeoffs as something like Andro in the end.
     
  7. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I’d take you up on it and thank you but I’m positive the upper mids on the fdx1 would be too much for me.

    I found one tip that makes the Andromeda 2020 much closer to neutral. Nice fit too. But I’m used to tuning orthos and getting my way!!! [tantrum]
     
  8. Tchoupitoulas

    Tchoupitoulas Friend

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    I'm about as far from being an engineer as you can get, but this description from CA of the Andro 2020's "solid body" interior might suggest there's less room for maneuver than with the OG version:

    "A single printed body now houses all of Andromeda 2020’s internal components. The interior and exterior spaces and the relationships between them are precisely sculpted to improved sonic performance. And the bonus of having the engineering doing the heavy lifting is fewer moving parts, and fewer moving parts mean reliable reference performance for the life of the earphone."​

    The OG Andromeda regularly appears on sale for under $700 these days, as it should for an IEM that's been on the market for some 4 1/2 years now. It's too bad that they all tend to be in nice cosmetic condition - where are the ugly, chipped and dinged ones that have lost their green paint and could go for less? (I've been watching carefully as I have the 2020 and am keen to get an OG to compare the two).
     
  9. dncnexus

    dncnexus Friend

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    I can send you my OG for loaner if you wanna have to compare
     
  10. imackler

    imackler Key Lime Pie Infected Aberdeen Wings Spy

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  11. Bill-P

    Bill-P Level 42 Mad Wizard

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    Yeah, on that note, I think this may be more true for single-driver IEMs or full-size headphones.

    For designs that employ multiple drivers, I've found that yes... you're right, there may still be a slight loss of resolution/plankton/micro details, etc... in a certain frequency range, but the other ranges are unaffected.

    I'm not sure what frequency range comes from that big nozzle in the Andro (maybe more localized measurements at certain frequency ranges will show), but blocking it doesn't really seem to drop overall plankton too far.

    OG Andro sounds largely... devoid of the 10KHz peak with Sony ZX2, by the way, and I found that I didn't really need the foam piece at all.

    If you want a brighter sound out of Andro, I had good luck with the iPhone 6 (5+ ohm OI?). Though... I'm not sure if the Andro 2020 changed anything.

    P.S.: oh, and foam tips also help tame the brightness.

    P.S. 2: and please don't try to unscrew the Andros. That won't work. You also need to use heat gun to separate the shells since they are glued together. I think the screws are mostly there for extra insurance (or coolness factor). Even if you can somehow get the shells apart and then deal with the mess inside, it'll be quite a hassle trying to reposition drivers back in without measurement tools to make sure nothing went wrong. I find IEMs to be quite a bit more... finicky if you want to mod them and tune their FR to your taste.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2020
  12. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    [​IMG]

    I'd popped my old white CK Andros open and it wasn't a big deal, so for science, I just tried popping my OG green Andros apart just now. I wouldn't do this if you want to keep your warranty, if it's still applicable. Yes, there's some glue around the MMCX connector, but some gentle twisting of the outer shell gets it to pop loose without a whole lot of fuss. Also, the screws on my OG Andro are Y0 Tri-Wings.

    Not a whole lot of possibilities for tuning unless you want to scrape out the glue. Feels like silicone, not hot glue but I'm not 100% sure. Interestingly, the 3d printed collector/maze thingy is labeled "RITE". looks like they didn't have room to print "RIGHT". Either way, without destructive disassembly, I'd say modding the interior/3D printed collector thingy is a dead end.
     
  13. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    that link didn’t work but maybe this one will I believe I found the red silicone tips.

    https://www.nobleaudio.com/accessories/p/eartips-set

    I’m hesitant to buy more tips at this point I’ve spent so much on them. And wasted a lot because I have 14mm ear canals which Is only about half of size large tips on the market or less. Many are 13mm. The red ones also don’t seem to have a large opening but that certainly doesn’t mean they won’t be bright sounding. The cheap Penon Audio tips I found to be the best with the Andromeda 2020 don’t have super large openings but are the brightest tips I’ve heard. I’ve read a lot of theories about how tips affect sound and while I certainly appreciate the attempt to find a universal theory to the madness, I have found the way tips sound pretty mysterious. Two tips can look nearly identical and sound totally different.

    that being said they’re only 3$ so maybe I’ll give them a shot. :)

    I heard he tuned the Andromeda og using the Sony ZX2. Bad idea using only one colored, weird source. But apparently good iem’s in every other way. Too bad. I’m curious what the hell source was used to tune the Andromeda 2020. Must be bright as helll

    awesome! Thanks for the sacrifice. My curiosity is absolutely quenched. No chance of doing modding in there without really knowing what you’re doing and likely having tons of experience to the point that you could just make your own iem’s. Wish I could do that.
     
  14. USAudio

    USAudio New

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    Interesting how the visible BA there has the "CA" logo on it, they must have proprietary BAs made for them?
    Knowles?
     
  15. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    I remember them saying something about that shortly after they released it. I'd be surprised if any of their drivers, BA or dynamic are completely off the shelf anymore given the proliferation of 96BA-driver "KNOWLESS" Chinese stuff flooding the market since Andro popped up. Market differentiation and all that.
     

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