Hmm,
Certainly not a bad idea.
When I made my Emu Ebony mod with the Ahg pads and Dekoni rings I also found it a bit too pointy and a bit less bassy in tuning.
By chance I found the Yaxi pads which were offered in two variants.
And have decided for the Alcantara version, because the just again emphasizes the bass and tames the treble something.
And the effect had been exactly right.Was also a bit of luck, I must say.
Have tried it with Dekoni rings and without, and with was best with the Yaxi pads.
Later I asked myself why?
On the Emu Rosewood mod has fit directly on the first go.
My explanation would be if you want to tame the treble something then it is recommended to take what where in the pad modulation is wrapped with fabric.
At the moment I can only think of two manufacturers that deliver excellent results, that would be Yaxi for the price conscious or the Zmf pads for the Usa people mainly.
With the yaxi I have to say that like the Ahg pads they tried to keep the original sound as good as possible.
I burn on the Zmf but the import for pads is unfortunately too expensive for me.
I know there are Dekoni but they do not deliver good results unfortunately.
What else can I say about the mod itself.
As soon as new cups are mounted the signature changes so that a pad rolling is almost inevitable if you still have certain preferences.
Between the Emu mod from Rosewood and Ebony the differences were quite glaring.
So it would be quite at the @hilton his cups he has presented us this week still a good piece to get out of the Lawton mod and could still adapt according to his preferences.
Sure it is in the end again a question of money to invest in pads and try.
But the results also deliver for the most part.
@Hazi59ās post got me playing around again because I think my treble sensitivity is increasing with time (getting older sucks some timesā¦) and my type 4 wood cups + X00 drivers were getting a bit sharp in the treble. I had a similar shelf liner material on hand and put a disc on each side as Hazi did. I also went back to Lawton pads (from ZMF Ori Lambskin hybrid) because of hearing that as pad depth increases with these Fostex-based headphones the frequency response tends to get more peaky. My base headphone was a TH-X00 and that driver has a bit different damping than the 610ās has so I didnāt quite get the same result. Just the shelf liner + Lawton pads was still really bright and peaky in the treble. Adding Dekoni attenuation rings back in helped but didnāt quite eliminate that treble sharpness. So I cut some discs out of a piece of microfiber cloth used for eyeglass lens cleaning. I sandwiched one layer of that between the attenuation rings and the pad mounting rings such that none of the plastic of the attenuation ring was exposed directly to the drivers.
Results? Itās early but what I can tell already is I can put my MLPās pot at 11:30 - which is normally death range volume-wise - and the treble is NOT splitting my head open. The Lawton pads seem to even out the overall FR so the mids arenāt as recessed. But, the Lawton pads also do not deaden the physicality of thes cans as much as the ZMF Oris did, meaning that this is becoming a more tactile experience. The bass still digs deep and hits hard and I feel the vibrations much more than I do with the Oris. Itās still too early to say if this will be my new normal for the time being, but Iām encouraged by the results so far.
Iāve been using the Black Limba all day today and am really enjoying them.
Something Iāve noticed is the treble and upper midrange is slightly more gentle on the Black Limba. The Wild Chechen has a slightly harder edge to it so the Black Limba is very nice and punchy and warm but without the edgyness.
I sat down today and started listening to take notes for the big write up I intended to do for my Lawton chambers, and as I listened I realized all I really had to say was this:
The Lawton Waterfall Bubinga chambers are basically just the stock Purple Hart cups but better in every way (accept maybe looks, I find purple heart to be VERY pretty). Whatever aspect you want to compare, the Lawton chambers are at worst just as good as the stock cups, are more often than not superior, and are sometimes astoundingly better.
Some side notes that I want to mention, the bass is huge, but thatās only with the extra thick (0.8mm) custom attenuation ring Iām using. If I wanted less bass all I would have to do is use the normal thickness (0.4mm) rings or even no rings at all, and the bass is never less than stock cups even without rings. I should also mention that the bass, despite being so huge, is never too much (for me). It seems to only boom and rumble when called for by the song and is almost polite the rest of the time. Also pads make a huge difference in the sound, so feel free to pad swap to your heartās content (I prefer the ZMF Ori hybrids and also like the Lawton pads for a more neutral type of sound). I canāt seem to find any kind of music that these donāt sound great with. These are the first headphones Iāve been able to hear a clear and Identifiable difference between sources with. For those curious, I tested between my D10/Asgard 3 stack and my XD-05 (original). The differences were mostly in the bass extension/impact (better on the Asgard) and treble clarity (also better on the Asgard). There was also some sort of difference in the mids but I canāt really identify what exactly.
Another thing is just how helpful Mark Lawton is. I asked what felt like way too many questions and he was willing to answer them all and his answers wher exactly what I needed. He is also a great help for deciding what kind of wood to get. He knows what he is talking about and is very good at getting you exactly what you asked for. If you have the $300-600 to spend, it is absolutely worth it get some Lawton chambers.
The level 1 tune-up shipped today for my th610. The chambers are still in āprocessā and should be ready in 3-6 weeks. I went with a type 2, museum grade Hawaiian Koa. I chose a type 2 because my Denon D5000 is a type 3 (exhibition Wild Sissoo Rosewood) and Iām hoping it will be different enough to not be too redundant.
Curious to see what it will be like with just the driver tune up and then trying the Lawton pads and stock pads while waiting for the chambers to arrive.
The tune up is not going to change the FR in any real way. Do a lot of listening before Installing it then a lot after and youl pick up on the technical improvements. The cups are where the real upgrade is imo. Hawaiian Koa is gorgeous. Iirc they should have a bit less treble and a bit warmer sound. Canāt wait to see some pictures.
@Hilton
I was going back through some of your posts here and on another site. Somethingās dawned on me unless Iāve missed it. Did you only do the chambers mod and not the driver tune-up too?
The chambers are still not expected for another 4 weeks, but the cable I ordered from Hart Audio has arrived and just today I ordered a set of the Dekoni rings - just in case. I have not yet picked out any different pads (besides the Lawtonās that came with the tune-up), think Iāll wait on those.
I have not applied the tune-up yet, Iām debating if it is necessary. Also, Iāve been reconsidering the whole mod (I know a little too late now), but the stock 610 is sounding really, really good on the v281. I might just want to keep it stock. However, Iām getting a different DAC to pair with the v281 so I will wait and see how the stock 610 sounds first with the modified source before making a final decision.
When I first modded my X00 I did just the driver tune up and had a brief listen with stock cups. My memory is the treble smoothed out and sounded more natural overall. The mids also came forward just a bit. The chambers made a bigger difference but the tube up just seemed to smooth and tighten the overall presentation.
I need to do some more listening, but the Yaxi alcantara pads might tame the treble just enough for your Lawton purple hearts. Like I said, I need to test more, but so far Iām liking them.
Iāve had the yaxi alcantara for about a month now. I donāt find it tames the treble much at all. I had to add a layer of foam to filter some of the treble out. I also had to use really large attenuation rings to get the bass to acceptable levels. I reverted to Lawton Pads. Of courseā¦your mileage may vary
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