LTA V2 v.1.0
The development of the V2's predecessor started in 2016 and was in a way the starting point of the entire LTA project. That headphone eventually led to the creation of the current V2 model in 2019. I started working on the headphone with an intention to build a fairly simple, but high performance open-back headphone utilizing nothing but additive manufacturing. That headphone can be seen in the picture below, and while it does resemble the current version somewhat, it was far simpler it terms of design and it was nowhere near being finished in terms of performance, that initial prototype served more as a test-bed for various materials and post-processing methods that I was testing out at the time. At that time, I started playing with an idea of a more complex headphone, and therefore the development of the headphone that eventually turned into the V3 began, which meant I dropped the V2 project about half-way through and switched to the development of V3 model instead. That's proven to be crucial for eventually getting the V2 model to the current stage, because the amount of experience and knowledge I've gained while working on the V3, both in terms of 3D design, engineering, utilizing additive manufacturing and post-processing of 3D printed parts, made the final development of the V2 fairly easy. I started working on the V2 again in early 2019 and finished the whole project relatively quickly, as everything that I've learned while working on the V3 was possible to apply to the V2 as well. I have also taken a slightly different approach to the development, fully focusing on the functional aspects and sound of the headphone, while leaving the visual aspects of it in the virtual world, as I've already proven that it's possible to achieve a high-end finish and appearance while using additive manufacturing technologies. For that reason, I haven't experimented much with post-processing methods or various finishes, color combinations, etc. However, the prototype components are accurate representations of the actual final production components, and in terms of performance, the final production versions of the headphone won't differ much, if at all, from the prototypes. The knowledge gained while working on the V3 enabled me to reach set performance goals fairly quickly, with even the very first V2 prototypes already working virtually perfectly and almost exactly as intended and planned, with very few unexpected surprises and only small tweaks needed to be done. The simplicity of working with the V2 headphone also made me realize that it's a more versatile modding platform than I've initially expected, with a wide range of possibilities that I intend to fully use in the future, not just for builds with dynamic drivers, but for builds utilizing other driver technologies, as well as fully closed-back, sealed versions of the headphone. It's truly a design that can be used to build anything from a mid-end to a high-end headphone depending on the materials, manufacturing methods and drivers used with it. Because of that, I've designed several versions of the baffle, you can find out more about that on the main LTA V2 page. Two versions of the V2 are featured here, with two generations of the ear cup design shown, the older version in grey, and the latest version in black. In addition, two types of baffle design can be seen, the black one with a 5 degree driver angle, and the grey one with a 7.5 degree driver angle. Both baffles come with their own filter frames and driver holders, while being fully compatible with the rest of the V2's components. Find out more about the sound difference between them in the performance section below.
The headphones featured here are fully manufactured out of a PA12 polyamide using HP Multi-Jet Fusion technology, so the Carbon Fiber and Graphite reinforced polyamides planned for the more expensive production versions were not used for the purpose of reducing prototyping costs. These prototype headphones feature an Elleven Acoustica P1 driver, Beyerdynamic T1 gen. 2 ear pads and SAATI Acoustex acoustic mesh filters. Despite the fact that they're built out a material less strong and rigid than the Carbon Fiber and Graphite reinforced polyamides, or the CNC machined aluminium that will be used in the production of high-end variations of this model, the headphones are on a very high level in terms of mechanical properties. Assembled headphones feel rock solid, with no flexing, creaking or squeaking, but lightweight at the same, with a high level of rigidity and strength which is hard to appreciate without experiencing it in person. It fully highlights all the advantages that the superior Polyamide has over the most commonly used ABS plastic. The fact that the V2 is this good as just a prototype, means it's going to be a stunning headphone, both in terms of aesthetics, as well as build quality and feel, when it's finally built out of reinforced polyamides and/or aluminium.
The headphones featured here are fully manufactured out of a PA12 polyamide using HP Multi-Jet Fusion technology, so the Carbon Fiber and Graphite reinforced polyamides planned for the more expensive production versions were not used for the purpose of reducing prototyping costs. These prototype headphones feature an Elleven Acoustica P1 driver, Beyerdynamic T1 gen. 2 ear pads and SAATI Acoustex acoustic mesh filters. Despite the fact that they're built out a material less strong and rigid than the Carbon Fiber and Graphite reinforced polyamides, or the CNC machined aluminium that will be used in the production of high-end variations of this model, the headphones are on a very high level in terms of mechanical properties. Assembled headphones feel rock solid, with no flexing, creaking or squeaking, but lightweight at the same, with a high level of rigidity and strength which is hard to appreciate without experiencing it in person. It fully highlights all the advantages that the superior Polyamide has over the most commonly used ABS plastic. The fact that the V2 is this good as just a prototype, means it's going to be a stunning headphone, both in terms of aesthetics, as well as build quality and feel, when it's finally built out of reinforced polyamides and/or aluminium.
INDIVIDUAL PARTS
Below you can see a gallery containing photos of raw and post-processed V2 parts. Several versions of the parts are shown, such as a 5 degree driver angle baffle, a 7.5 degree driver angle baffle, as well as two types of ear cups, and two colors of the PA12 material. As mentioned already, this entire prototype is produced out of PA12 using Multi-Jet Fusion additive manufacturing technology.
ASSEMBLED PROTOTYPE
A fully assembled prototype can be seen below. Entirely produced out of PA12 MJF in raw matte black color, shot peened after production for a finely textured surface. It features Elleven Acoustica P1 drivers, Beyerdynamic T1 gen.2 ear pads, Saati Acoustex HD acoustic mesh on the filter frame (~80% resistance) and under the grill at the rear of the ear cup (~30% resistance), as well as original Hirose connectors. Left side of the headphone is post-processed, with the hinge, frame and the headband piece featuring a high-gloss metallic black finish, entirely finished and polished by hand. The right side of the headphone features those parts in raw form, in order to illustrate the difference between finished and raw parts.
This prototype features a version of the baffle with a driver positioned at a 5 degree angle and only a slight forward offset, leading to the most neutral sound signature of the three possible baffle configurations. It's combined with the driver holder that enables the smallest driver-to-ear distance of the three driver holder versions currently available. This means that the driver is protruding out of the baffle by an additional 3 mm relative to the default position.
This prototype features a version of the baffle with a driver positioned at a 5 degree angle and only a slight forward offset, leading to the most neutral sound signature of the three possible baffle configurations. It's combined with the driver holder that enables the smallest driver-to-ear distance of the three driver holder versions currently available. This means that the driver is protruding out of the baffle by an additional 3 mm relative to the default position.
PERFORMANCE
In terms of performance, nothing surprised me, as I've gotten used to the versatility and quality of the P1 driver by now, and the frequency response I had predicted during the design turned out pretty much exactly as planned. In order to fully utilize the performance of the driver and achieve the planned sound balance, certain crucial design goals have been met during development, such as using the correct sizes and shapes of tuning ports on the baffle, finding the right driver-to-ear distance, as well as modelling the proper shape and size of the enclosed ear pad volume. These goals have been fairly easy to achieve by applying the experience and knowledge gained while working on the V3 model. As mentioned on the main LTA V2 page, I've designed several types of baffles for this headphone model, with the driver placed at different angles and forward offsets. The 7.5 degree and the 5 degree versions of the baffle can be seen here. In terms of sound, they are very similar due to featuring the same driver and acoustic mesh, as well as the same total baffle port area, so the only variable between the two designs is the position of the driver relative to the ear. Simply put, the 5 degree version is a tiny bit more neutral and less sensitive to positioning on the head, but has a slightly smaller soundstage and a slightly less pronounced frontal projection than the 7.5 degree version. The difference is subtle, and it comes down to personal preference.
This prototype has no special acoustic treatments applied to it yet, the rear chamber is not lined with felt or foam as planned for the final versions, the rear grill is fully opened apart from a very transparent mesh covering it, and there are no filters in front of the drivers, but despite that the headphone performs very well, very close to the intended goal. The sound of the headphone is very smooth, clear and transparent, with an almost perfectly flat frequency response from 100 to 3000 Hz, with the smooth bass peak at around 80 Hz, with excellent bass control without any bleeding into the mid frequencies, and only a slight SPL rise between 6 and 10 kHz. It's not a perfectly neutral headphone at this stage of tuning, it's perhaps a touch brighter than I'd wish because of that slight high frequency peak, not so much because it sounds too bright, but because of how sensitive it can be to bad recordings. However, while simply listening to high quality recordings instead of analyzing the sound, it's evident that the headphone is capable of extracting an incredible amount of information and detail out of them, it has a very quick, tight and punchy low end, and some of the best mids I've heard from a dynamic headphone, which makes this headphone particularly great with instrumental and vocal music. Definitely above most dynamic headphones that can be purchased for the cost of putting this prototype together. In addition, it's very musical and fun to listen to, and the amount of drama and emotion this headphone can bring out of the music is amazing, thanks to the incredible speed and dynamics combined with forward and full mids. In that way, it's the complete opposite of certain high-end headphones on the market that are technically great, but can still sometimes be overly cold and dull to listen to. The V2 model definitely sounds very promising at this stage of development and there is a lot of potential in it.
This prototype has no special acoustic treatments applied to it yet, the rear chamber is not lined with felt or foam as planned for the final versions, the rear grill is fully opened apart from a very transparent mesh covering it, and there are no filters in front of the drivers, but despite that the headphone performs very well, very close to the intended goal. The sound of the headphone is very smooth, clear and transparent, with an almost perfectly flat frequency response from 100 to 3000 Hz, with the smooth bass peak at around 80 Hz, with excellent bass control without any bleeding into the mid frequencies, and only a slight SPL rise between 6 and 10 kHz. It's not a perfectly neutral headphone at this stage of tuning, it's perhaps a touch brighter than I'd wish because of that slight high frequency peak, not so much because it sounds too bright, but because of how sensitive it can be to bad recordings. However, while simply listening to high quality recordings instead of analyzing the sound, it's evident that the headphone is capable of extracting an incredible amount of information and detail out of them, it has a very quick, tight and punchy low end, and some of the best mids I've heard from a dynamic headphone, which makes this headphone particularly great with instrumental and vocal music. Definitely above most dynamic headphones that can be purchased for the cost of putting this prototype together. In addition, it's very musical and fun to listen to, and the amount of drama and emotion this headphone can bring out of the music is amazing, thanks to the incredible speed and dynamics combined with forward and full mids. In that way, it's the complete opposite of certain high-end headphones on the market that are technically great, but can still sometimes be overly cold and dull to listen to. The V2 model definitely sounds very promising at this stage of development and there is a lot of potential in it.
Same as with the V1 prototype, I'm using the DT770 frequency response as an indicator of how my measurement system works, in order to make the results of the V2 measurements more clear and understandable. The DT770 is not used as a performance benchmark, as the difference in sound quality between the two headphones is simply too large. These graphs are relative, they're not absolutely accurate and aren't directly comparable to graphs found elsewhere online. However, by comparing this DT770 measurement to measurements from other sources, it's clear that the graph is fairly accurate up to around 4 kHz, while the area between 5 and 9 kHz is amplified by a couple of decibels on graphs compared to what I'm hearing while listening to the headphones.
In addition, the sound balance of the V2 can be easily controlled and modified by simply using different acoustic mesh on the filter frame ports, as shown on the graphs below. Using a slightly less transparent mesh on only two ports out of twelve, results in a linear and smooth boost to the low end by approximately 2 dB, as well as an equal reduction of the 1-3 kHz area. Using that mesh on four out of twelve ports further amplifies the effect. The results are always very predictable, and obviously a modification of the sound in the opposite direction is also possible, by using more transparent acoustic mesh. If we take into consideration that there are 12 tuning ports on the baffle, and various types of acoustic mesh filters available, with each port potentially covered with a different type of mesh, it quickly becomes clear that the tuning capability is immense, with an ability to fine tune the frequency response with a precision far better than +/- 1 dB. In addition to that, partially blocking the rear grill with felt, acoustic fabric or acoustic mesh, gradually accentuates the 1-5 kHz region and tightens the bass, which adds an additional dimension of tuning. The driver-to-ear distance can also easily be adjusted by using different driver holder components and driver spacer rings, currently available for three positions, 0mm, +1.5mm and +3mm. Moving the driver away from the ear makes the sound less aggressive and forward, with slightly smoother upper mids and highs, and a slightly softer bass impact. Differences between the steps are subtle, but easily noticeable.
In addition, the sound balance of the V2 can be easily controlled and modified by simply using different acoustic mesh on the filter frame ports, as shown on the graphs below. Using a slightly less transparent mesh on only two ports out of twelve, results in a linear and smooth boost to the low end by approximately 2 dB, as well as an equal reduction of the 1-3 kHz area. Using that mesh on four out of twelve ports further amplifies the effect. The results are always very predictable, and obviously a modification of the sound in the opposite direction is also possible, by using more transparent acoustic mesh. If we take into consideration that there are 12 tuning ports on the baffle, and various types of acoustic mesh filters available, with each port potentially covered with a different type of mesh, it quickly becomes clear that the tuning capability is immense, with an ability to fine tune the frequency response with a precision far better than +/- 1 dB. In addition to that, partially blocking the rear grill with felt, acoustic fabric or acoustic mesh, gradually accentuates the 1-5 kHz region and tightens the bass, which adds an additional dimension of tuning. The driver-to-ear distance can also easily be adjusted by using different driver holder components and driver spacer rings, currently available for three positions, 0mm, +1.5mm and +3mm. Moving the driver away from the ear makes the sound less aggressive and forward, with slightly smoother upper mids and highs, and a slightly softer bass impact. Differences between the steps are subtle, but easily noticeable.
ALTERNATIVE BAFFLE
As promised, many alternative baffle designs will be available for the V2 headphone platform. The design that can be seen below has been developed with an intention to house drivers that range from 40 to 50 mm in diameter. In this case, the excellent Peerless HPD-50N25PR00-32 set of drivers has been used to build a prototype. These drivers are well known and respected, and used in several high-end headphones on the market with great results.
This V2 model is no exception, offering a higher level of rigidity and a more advanced design than any comparable headphone on the market, it manages to extract all the performance that these excellent drivers have to offer. At the same time, this is proof of how well developed the LTA V2 modular platform is, and how easy it makes to switch between two sets of entirely different drivers, and end up with excellent results in both cases.
The alternative baffle design differs to the above mentioned standard design only in the way the drivers are attached to it. Physically and functionally, both designs are identical. The shapes and sizes of both baffles are actually identical. The shapes and sizes of enclosed ear pad volumes, the sizes of filter frame tuning ports, the ear pads, and the rest of the cup assemblies are identical between the two builds. Functionally speaking, the only variables that are different are the drivers and the acoustic mesh filters used on the filter frames. Because the Peerless driver is slightly bass-heavier than the Elleven Acoustica P1 driver, the total amount of venting or leakage out of the enclosed ear pad volume it requires is slightly higher. For that reason, 4 out of 12 ports on the filter frames have been covered with a more transparent acoustic mesh than on the P1 build, which has led to an ideal frequency response balance that can be seen below.
Furthermore, this alternative baffle makes it incredibly easy to replace drivers, as the entire driver sub-assembly is removed from the baffle as a single piece, only requiring 6 fasteners to be removed, a new driver sub-assembly to be attached, and the 6 fasteners put back into place to secure the assembly.
This V2 model is no exception, offering a higher level of rigidity and a more advanced design than any comparable headphone on the market, it manages to extract all the performance that these excellent drivers have to offer. At the same time, this is proof of how well developed the LTA V2 modular platform is, and how easy it makes to switch between two sets of entirely different drivers, and end up with excellent results in both cases.
The alternative baffle design differs to the above mentioned standard design only in the way the drivers are attached to it. Physically and functionally, both designs are identical. The shapes and sizes of both baffles are actually identical. The shapes and sizes of enclosed ear pad volumes, the sizes of filter frame tuning ports, the ear pads, and the rest of the cup assemblies are identical between the two builds. Functionally speaking, the only variables that are different are the drivers and the acoustic mesh filters used on the filter frames. Because the Peerless driver is slightly bass-heavier than the Elleven Acoustica P1 driver, the total amount of venting or leakage out of the enclosed ear pad volume it requires is slightly higher. For that reason, 4 out of 12 ports on the filter frames have been covered with a more transparent acoustic mesh than on the P1 build, which has led to an ideal frequency response balance that can be seen below.
Furthermore, this alternative baffle makes it incredibly easy to replace drivers, as the entire driver sub-assembly is removed from the baffle as a single piece, only requiring 6 fasteners to be removed, a new driver sub-assembly to be attached, and the 6 fasteners put back into place to secure the assembly.
ALTERNATIVE BAFFLE PERFORMANCE
As already mentioned, the Peerless drivers are excellent, and it shows in the performance of this prototype headphone. In comparison to the P1 build, the Peerless build has a slightly flatter frequency response, with a more even performance from top to bottom. The bass extension is better due to larger diameter drivers, and this gives the headphone a deeper foundation than with the P1 drivers. It's still superbly tight and well controlled, without any bleeding into the mids, but the P1's have a slightly more defined and quicker impact. It's a matter of preference, but I believe the Peerless build bass response is better suited for a wider range of music genres. The mids are entirely flat, without the upper-mid dip that the P1 build has. This gives the Peerless build a more even and smooth overall feel, but at the same time, these drivers don't quite match the level of resolution that the P1 drivers have, so in terms of vocal and instrumental music in particular, the P1 build is still slightly superior.
What the Peerless build does really well is avoid any harshness while not lacking detail. The P1 build can be a tiny bit bright with some badly recorded music, and can exaggerate faults in bad recordings, whereas the Peerless build is less picky in that sense, and isn't as sensitive to the quality of recordings. For that reason, it's a headphone that is better suited for a wider range of music genres and recording quality levels.
In either case, both builds have their pro's and con's, and while the P1 build ultimately does have a slightly higher level of resolution, the Peerless build is still an absolutely amazing sounding headphone, and excellent value considering the cost of putting it together. Without any doubt, there is no dynamic open-back headphone on the market that performs this well at this price point. On top of that, the platform is entirely modular and future-proof, which makes it an even better value for money in the long run. Nothing prevents future owners from installing entirely different drivers into their V2 build while keeping the vast majority of their headphone unchanged.
What the Peerless build does really well is avoid any harshness while not lacking detail. The P1 build can be a tiny bit bright with some badly recorded music, and can exaggerate faults in bad recordings, whereas the Peerless build is less picky in that sense, and isn't as sensitive to the quality of recordings. For that reason, it's a headphone that is better suited for a wider range of music genres and recording quality levels.
In either case, both builds have their pro's and con's, and while the P1 build ultimately does have a slightly higher level of resolution, the Peerless build is still an absolutely amazing sounding headphone, and excellent value considering the cost of putting it together. Without any doubt, there is no dynamic open-back headphone on the market that performs this well at this price point. On top of that, the platform is entirely modular and future-proof, which makes it an even better value for money in the long run. Nothing prevents future owners from installing entirely different drivers into their V2 build while keeping the vast majority of their headphone unchanged.
LTA V2 Customization Example
In order to more easily understand the benefits of modularity, it’s useful to look at a real world example of customizing the V2 headphone.
For example, changing filter frames is an easy way to manipulate the general sound balance of the V2 headphone. That is because the overall tilt of the frequency response, especially in the range up to ~2000 Hz, mainly depends on the total acoustic impedance of the tuning ports on the filter frames/baffles, or in other words, it depends on how much leakage the ports allow, or how much damping is applied to them with acoustic mesh filters. The less leakage is allowed, achieved through use of less transparent acoustic mesh filters, the higher the SPL level under ~2000 Hz will be, with a very slight rise above it, and vice versa. Because LTA headphones are utilizing special acoustic mesh filters specifically designed for headphones and for this purpose, the results are very predictable and entirely linear, with no peaks or dips in the response. This means that simply changing the acoustic mesh that covers the tuning ports on the filter frames, or replacing the entire filter frames with those that have different mesh attached to them, is an easy way of manipulating the sound balance of the headphone towards a fuller or a leaner sound, is entirely reversible, and most importantly, completely unique, as no other headphone on the market offers a similar system.
In addition to the filter frames, specific amounts of damping can be applied to the drivers themselves, either in the front, or the rear. Specifically speaking about the V2 drivers, the main port on the rear of the driver can either be uncovered, or it can be covered with one of the acoustic mesh filters that will be provided with the headphone. Depending on how much damping is applied to this port, the character of the low-end response of the headphone changes. The more damping is applied, the tighter the bass response becomes, with the peak of the bass response being pushed towards higher frequencies, and vice versa.
You can observe these effects on the frequency response graphs provided below.
For example, changing filter frames is an easy way to manipulate the general sound balance of the V2 headphone. That is because the overall tilt of the frequency response, especially in the range up to ~2000 Hz, mainly depends on the total acoustic impedance of the tuning ports on the filter frames/baffles, or in other words, it depends on how much leakage the ports allow, or how much damping is applied to them with acoustic mesh filters. The less leakage is allowed, achieved through use of less transparent acoustic mesh filters, the higher the SPL level under ~2000 Hz will be, with a very slight rise above it, and vice versa. Because LTA headphones are utilizing special acoustic mesh filters specifically designed for headphones and for this purpose, the results are very predictable and entirely linear, with no peaks or dips in the response. This means that simply changing the acoustic mesh that covers the tuning ports on the filter frames, or replacing the entire filter frames with those that have different mesh attached to them, is an easy way of manipulating the sound balance of the headphone towards a fuller or a leaner sound, is entirely reversible, and most importantly, completely unique, as no other headphone on the market offers a similar system.
In addition to the filter frames, specific amounts of damping can be applied to the drivers themselves, either in the front, or the rear. Specifically speaking about the V2 drivers, the main port on the rear of the driver can either be uncovered, or it can be covered with one of the acoustic mesh filters that will be provided with the headphone. Depending on how much damping is applied to this port, the character of the low-end response of the headphone changes. The more damping is applied, the tighter the bass response becomes, with the peak of the bass response being pushed towards higher frequencies, and vice versa.
You can observe these effects on the frequency response graphs provided below.
The red line represents the stock configuration, with a very transparent rear driver damping filter, and a medium acoustic mesh on the filter frame, resulting in a well balanced response suited for a wide range of applications.
The light blue line represents a configuration with the same medium acoustic mesh on the filter frame, but with a less transparent rear damping filter, which increases the tightness of the bass response, but also reduces the overall SPL in the low end of the frequency range, leading to a leaner, tighter sound signature.
The dark blue line represent a configuration with the same, less transparent rear damping filter, but also with a less transparent acoustic mesh on the filter frames, which increases the overall SPL below ~2000 Hz, resulting in a tight, but more impactful bass than the light blue configuration, with a slight SPL reduction above 2000 Hz.
Combining the effects of the filter frames and the rear driver damping allows one to precisely tailor the frequency response of the headphone, and these examples represent just a fraction of what is possible. The effects can be more or less pronounced, with very fine steps between various configurations, as there are many types of acoustic mesh filters available, there are 12 ports on the filter frame, and each can be covered with a different mesh. Whether you want more or less tightness in the bass, a higher/lower amount of bass, a higher/lower peak bass frequency, or a fuller/leaner overall sound signature, the V2 allows you to easily find the right configuration, with each step always being entirely reversible.
As a result of that, it’s easy to imagine how beneficial this is in practice, because it allows one to change the response of a headphone in an entirely reversible way, and will enable future owners to simply swap between filter frames depending on what kind of sound signature they’ll prefer at any given moment, or even which drivers they’ll decide to install into their V2 headphone, effectively turning a single headphone into multiple ones by swapping affordable parts of it, and leaving 95% of the headphone untouched.
The light blue line represents a configuration with the same medium acoustic mesh on the filter frame, but with a less transparent rear damping filter, which increases the tightness of the bass response, but also reduces the overall SPL in the low end of the frequency range, leading to a leaner, tighter sound signature.
The dark blue line represent a configuration with the same, less transparent rear damping filter, but also with a less transparent acoustic mesh on the filter frames, which increases the overall SPL below ~2000 Hz, resulting in a tight, but more impactful bass than the light blue configuration, with a slight SPL reduction above 2000 Hz.
Combining the effects of the filter frames and the rear driver damping allows one to precisely tailor the frequency response of the headphone, and these examples represent just a fraction of what is possible. The effects can be more or less pronounced, with very fine steps between various configurations, as there are many types of acoustic mesh filters available, there are 12 ports on the filter frame, and each can be covered with a different mesh. Whether you want more or less tightness in the bass, a higher/lower amount of bass, a higher/lower peak bass frequency, or a fuller/leaner overall sound signature, the V2 allows you to easily find the right configuration, with each step always being entirely reversible.
As a result of that, it’s easy to imagine how beneficial this is in practice, because it allows one to change the response of a headphone in an entirely reversible way, and will enable future owners to simply swap between filter frames depending on what kind of sound signature they’ll prefer at any given moment, or even which drivers they’ll decide to install into their V2 headphone, effectively turning a single headphone into multiple ones by swapping affordable parts of it, and leaving 95% of the headphone untouched.
Ear Pad Changing
Another way to modify the sound, but in a more extreme way, is to change the ear pads. The effects of changing ear pads are less linear and predictable than previously mentioned methods of tuning, as they introduce certain dips or peaks to the frequency response, but that can be a good thing, depending on the type of sound signature one is aiming to achieve.
Below, you can see the different frequency response effects depending on the type of ear pads used with the headphone. The headphone is untouched between ear pad changes, so the ear pads are the only variable.
Below, you can see the different frequency response effects depending on the type of ear pads used with the headphone. The headphone is untouched between ear pad changes, so the ear pads are the only variable.
Brainwavz Round Velour Ear Pads CSD plot
Brainwavz Round Hybrid Ear Pads CSD plot
Combining the effects of ear pads with other modification options leaves owners with an ability to endlessly tune the sound of the headphone. It's best to first find the right ear pad, based on the comfort, fit, and the general sound signature of the ear pad, and then use the modification options to tune the sound to perfection.