• Mod for any of the Koss headphones in my list of reviews.
    What you do is remove the pad off of your KSC35/KSC75/(S)PortaPro and pry off the grille using your fingernail or a small knife via one of the grille's larger holes.  You have to be careful not to come into contact with the transducer's surface if you're using a knife. Once it's pried off put the headphone aside and drill or carve holes into the grille, as seen in the picture below.  Once it's all done put the grille back onto the headphone and place the pad back on. These are easy to recable too. The result is increased treble for better detail and controlled bass.



  • Pad mod.  This modification can be done on many open type headphones, such as the Koss models, PX100, SR60/MS-1, and highly recommended on the iGrado; basically any can with these types of pads.  It's similar to the Koss grille mod, which brings out a bit more treble/detail by bypassing the baffle material.  A very simple mod as you just cut a hole in the pad.



  • iGrado defoaming mod.  The iGrado out of the box sounds muddy, but with a pad/quarter mod and this defoaming mod it really makes it shine.  What you do is first take a tack or a any pin and poke out the plastic screw covers.  It may take some jerking due to the glue bond.  Once that's complete you unscrew the screws and take the driver housings off the headband.  You'll need a small knife to pry open the grille cover to access the interior of the driver housing.  The clips are very tight so if you're having trouble prying up one side then try the next because once you unclip one the rest is easy. After it's open you just remove the foam and reassemble.
            

  • Another pad mod for Grados is swapping the original  grado pads or bowls with Sennheiser HD414 yellow pads. The sound becomes a lot more detailed and the headphone becomes a lot more comfy to wear for longer periods of time.  For optimal detail you can decide to cut a hole in the middle of the pad, but it can be a bit too much treble and brightness for some, so if you're happy with just the pad swap just let it be.
                              


  • UR40 Mod.  This mod opens the headphone up alot with the removal of the baffle foams.  To do this you first pull off the pleather pads.  Then use a screwdriver to remove the three screws that hold the transducer plate to the headphone's body.  Once the screws are out gently remove the transducer plate as there is a cable leading to the driver that you don't want to tear.  After that's removed you'll see the big piece of foam that acts as a sound blocker to minimize sound going outside.  Take the foams out and screw the headphone back together.  Now with those foams you can try folding it in half and placing each one under the two pleather pads so that your ears lie farther away from the drivers resulting in a more airier sound.  With this trick your ears shouldnt be touching the screen that protects the driver anymore.


  • Shure E2c Mod.  This mod is a must for E2 owners.  You will need a file or some sort of Dremel tool to do this mod.  What you do is take off the tips off the E2 and you'll notice a block in the tube with a tiny hole where the sound comes out.  That is the debris filter and it's the main cause for the E2's heavy and unprecise bass.  What you do is file or grind off the tube up to the debris filter to open the bottleneck in sound to have controlled bass and more detailed treble. In my opinion, this mod puts a tremendous amount of value into these relatively inexpensive and quality IEMs.  The image below is an example of the end result.



  • HD580 mods.  There are several HD580 mods available to achieve more openness and therefore better sound quality (SQ).  Firstly, the cable can be swapped easily to something better, like inexpensive HD650 cables that are more thicker and durable, though the yield in SQ will be very minimal.  The HD580s unattractive grilles can be swapped with the HD600s resulting in a more open and more attractive headphone.  I know some others that haven't noticed any increase in SQ, but i could notice the change.  To describe the sound it's like listening to your music without the HD580 grilles on, so give it a try.  Another mod is to cut a hole in the foam or remove it altogether to go around any baffling for more crisp, detailed sound.  To get access to the foam you'll have to remove the pads first by tugging one side and slowly to the next. 

  • JVC FX33 (Marshmallow) mod.  This result of this mod is increased open sound and increased treble to balance out the strong bass that comes out of a stock FX33.  What you do is take off the stock foam tip and if you take a look inside the earphone's canal you see a small paper filter with a pinhole in the middle of it.  Using a toothpick or something thicker than a metal pin you tear a bigger hole or remove the entire paper filter altogether.  Less obstruction provides more detail, but sibillance is also increased.  To counter the sibillance you can cut two small bits of foam from earphone foamies and shove them into the FX33's canal.   In my opinion, these now sound up to par or even better than the likes of CX300, EP630.

    Another modification you can do with these earphones is with the tips.  If you aren't getting a good seal with the stock foam tips you can pull them off, remove the grey layer of PVC tubing and put on flanges or tips from shure or westone, etc, like I've done. Refer to the picture below to the right. Bottom left are stock.
          

    Note: Dave does not take any responsibility for any of your failed attempts at modifying or any displeasure of sound resulting from it.

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