HD800 "French Mod" aka "SuperDupont Resonator"

Discussion in 'Modifications and Tweaks' started by sorrodje, Jan 17, 2016.

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  1. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    Just try it. For what it's worth, I felt that even SBAF absorber + SD mod were slightly too bright.
     
  2. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    A friend sent me his HD800 in order I can mod mod it for him. We ( my wife and me) made a vid to explain how to install it properly :

    :)

    As you can see, after a properly done mod, the screen looks almost mint. and the entire process is quite simple and fast.
     
  3. Headcase88

    Headcase88 New

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    Thank you so much sorrodje. Your video is so helpful..... one very happy SDR customer !
     
  4. vittomasi

    vittomasi New

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    Hi,this mod i see interesting,i'm in Italy and i want to buy.
    Many thanks
     
  5. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    HI @vittomasi. Please check your conversations, You've got a PM. thks
     
  6. vittomasi

    vittomasi New

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    Hi,Yesterday I received the requiet.ors, fast shipping and great product carefully constructed.
    just woke up this morning with a calm mind, I mounted the resonators.
    I heard a song on the smooth HD800 then after 10 minutes the time to make the change I listened to the same song.
    my mom that emotion, I listened as the singer was live with me.
    after changing a thousand headphones and amplifiers I finally found the peace and quiet.
    these resonators with small defects of the HD800 are gone, everything has been rebalanced.
    My amplifier is a OTL built by a small handicraft factory in Italy ( megahertz OTL 6080) I replaced the preamp valve Telefunken CCA nos and power tube 6AS7G GEC.
     
  7. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Glad to read more impressions.

    I'd be interested to have more long term impressions. Did anyone give up and remove the mod after a few weeks ? What is your mod configuration? SD mod only? With anax mod? SBAF mod?
     
  8. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    I guess that means that I'm bound to post now, doesn't it ;)?

    Well, my first impressions can be found here.
    In short: Anax 2.0 + SD was still way too bright for me. It would've probably been brighter without the Anax 2.0.
    I also can't get how OJNeg can say that the UERM is as bright as an unmodded HD800. For a very very long time the UERM was warmer and closer to neutral than my modded HD800, let alone stock. Insertion depth plays a huge role with the demo units. When I tried them I couldn't get them inserted deep enough causing them to sound much brighter than my customs. Or my customs are special and less bright than other UERMs, which I doubt.

    Now I'm using the following mods:
    • SBAF absorber
    • SD resonator upside down
    • Smaller plastic ring holding the pads
    • Felt ring baffle around the driver instead of the metal ring
    In this configuration it took me a long time to decide whether I should use the SD resonator normally or upside-down. As mentioned in my above impressions, I cut out the center part of the protective screen. This does change the performance of the resonator. I didn't experiment a lot with putting the cut-out piece back on top of the resonator. Maybe this would change my mind and make me use the SD resonator normally but I honestly doubt it. I've pretty much settled on this configuration after comparing my HD800 against speakers. I'm now in the process of verifying a 3rd time, this time against my own speakers (which are less neutral than the ones I compared them against before). On-Axis these speakers are very bright. I have to angle them in a certain way for them to sound neutral. Every time I angled them so they sound neutral, they also measured neutral (close to the B&K target). This way they also sound similar to my modded HD800 in tonal balance.

    If it wasn't for the dynamic compression, I would have no problem with listening to 'Porcupine Tree - In Absentia' now. The tonal balance of this album isn't an issue with my modded HD800 anymore. I sometimes use Trains as a brightness test at shows.

    If I remove one piece of the mods mentioned above, the SD resonator inserted normally becomes the better choice. The SD upside down is slightly brighter around 5-7kHz but also has more energy around 3-4kHz which is why I ultimately prefer it. The position of the HD800 on the head also matters a lot. If I move it further up, the brightness falls more into this 5-7kHz region and then it would likely be better to use the SD resonator normally. I'm at headband position 7 or 8 (6 or 7 lines visible). I wish there was a 7.5 position. I use 7 most of the time.

    I should also mention that my HD800 doesn't sound warm. That driver will never sound warm unless you place paper in front of it. Removing the protective cover in front of the driver (bare driver) might be another mod that has a positive effect on the sound in a certain way. It also makes it sound worse it other ways. Ultimately it was too risky for me. I would not recommend that to anyone. Removing only the screen (without removing the plastic cover) will probably make it sound too bright and underdamped.
    The HD6X0 drivers are inherently warmer and IMHO sound more damped than the HD800 driver in terms of transient response. The HD800 sounds snappier than my HD600, which I prefer. I actually think that the tonal balance of both phones is similar now. My HD800 now sounds less bright than my UERM and is more neutral.


    I would say the SBAF absorber is a more worthwhile mod than the SD resonator alone, but those who like the stock HD800 staging might be disappointed by the SBAF absorber. In this regard the SD resonator is certainly a less intrusive modification. I like the effects the SBAF absorber has on the staging and (most importantly) the tonal balance. The SD resonator is great in the regard that it doesn't change much anything other than making the tonal balance more neutral by lifting the upper mids and lowering the peak. It has less "negative effects" if you will (although in this case the "negative effects" of the SBAF absorber are a positive thing to me). Obviously it also doesn't have any negative effects on the comfort, unlike the SBAF absorber. My ears just touch the absorber, but not enough to bother me. This might be a dealbreaker to some. I can recommend the SD resonator to anyone without hesitation.

    I would recommend anyone to try the SBAF absorber. In my opinion it does what the Anax type mods tried to accomplish, but gets much closer. For what it's worth the combined SBAF absorber and SD resonator mods were still too bright and unnatural in the midrange for me, hence the other mods. Still, the other two mods I mentioned above are less effective than these two "main" mods and especially the felt driver mounting isn't without negative consequences. The condition of the pads also plays a big role with the HD800, just like most other headphones. The smaller plastic mounting ring is essentially a mod to get the ear closer to the driver while keeping the thicker pads. This works best with new pads and should not be attempted with old, worn pads.
     
  9. linolt

    linolt New

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    I'd like to order a pair of your HD800 SD Resonators.How do I proceed?I do have a paypal acct.....Hope you enjoyed your vacation!
     
  10. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    @linolt. Sorry i missed your post. You've got a PM ( conversation) ;)
     
  11. SteveM324

    SteveM324 New

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    I also would like to order your SD Resonators. Please provide ordering information. Thanks!
     
  12. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    Just sent you a PM. Check your conversation @SteveM324
     
  13. linolt

    linolt New

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  14. SteveM324

    SteveM324 New

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    I received the SDRs over the weekend and I just installed them today. After some listening, I'm sure that the SDRs are making a
    positive difference. Nice improvement! Previously, I tried the Anax mod and I removed it because I didn't think it was an improvement.
    My HD800 has 18 gauge OCC copper cable hardwired directly to the driver. These two mods, cable and SDR, made a very
    nice improvement to the HD800 imo. Thanks Sorrodje!
     
  15. perkele

    perkele Acquaintance

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  16. Colinallcarz

    Colinallcarz New

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    I'm interested in ordering one as well. I'm in the states.
     
  17. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    @Colinallcarz : You've a PM . Check your conversations please :)
     
  18. TsKen

    TsKen New

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  19. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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  20. TwoEars

    TwoEars Friend

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    @sorrodje

    With the drawbridge up what are you going to do now? Start your own little web-site? It's not that hard actually, plenty of pre-made ones and turn-key services around. Shouldn't need to cost more than $100 or so. You could sell other stuff too. Cables, in-ears, noise dampening for concerts, headphone stands.... who knows. Could be a nice little side-gig.
     
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