That looks great. Welcome! Heck of a first post!
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I don’t know if you @Vespahawk want to drop about $125 on Audeze headbands and another 40 or so on a yolk kit.
Nothing particular price wise in mind yet, just trying to work out my options.
Also thank you for the link.
Very nice. Still a big fan of the Phantom. Really like the grill and mesh combo you chose.
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I feel like I’ve taken the Phantom as far as I can and am satisfied with the changes I’ve made. Any friends and family I’ve had listen to them are very impressed, until they hear the Vali or Magni. Here’s where they sit in my rankings for the limited number of headphones I’ve heard or owned:
- Kennerton Vali 2019
- Kennerton Magni
- Fostex TR-X00 Ebony
- Thieaudio Phantom (Modded)
- Neumann NDH20
- Hifiman 560SE (Grill Mod)
- Modhouse Argon MK III
- Modhouse Argon MK II
- Focal Elex
- Sennheiser 58xx
- Sennheiser 6xxx
- Philips Fidelio X2HR
- Philips SHP9500
- Koss Porta Pro w/Yaxi pads
- Audio Technica m40x
- Monoprice Retro w/pad change
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Goddamn those are pretty really nice mods and welcome beautiful first post, do you find the metal grill funks with the sound?
Is there also somewhere you got the burgundy mesh? this is up there with @Tsunzo Phantom for sure
Thank you it looks like I might be getting a phantom then cause wow thats pretty high ranking, how do you rate the low end especially seeing as you have the X00’s and do you feel that theres anything lacking or something you wished was different in the sound?
The link to the burgundy mesh, it is from amazon UK however.
I also used this behind the mesh:
As for the grills I found them to have little effect, the stock black fabric on the grill seemed to be the bigger issue.
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How would you compare the Magni vs. the X00 in terms of isolation and bass?
I’m still learning a lot, so I’ll tell you the progression I went through to explain what I found lacking with the Phantom (and what I loved).
The first decent headphone I bought when I entered this hobby was the Modhouse Argon. At first I thought they were amazing (and in some ways they are), but over time I noticed on certain songs it was lacking detail and the vocals felt like I had to strain to hear them.
That lead me to purchasing the Phantom, looking for a “better” headphone. What I didn’t understand at the time, was some music just sounds better with a certain headphone, doesn’t mean it’s overall better. Some just fill certain roles.
I was LOVING the detail of the Phantom, I was especially impressed with the detail in acoustics, the overall timbre, and the drum and cymbal strikes. It added a fun to the music I hadn’t heard. I found myself clearly picking the Phantom over the Argon. The vocals were still set back, but the detail was better and the sound stage was better so I was happy…for a while.
I was so happy with the Phantoms, that I sold the Argons. Over time, I realized that while the Phantom was the superior headphone to the Argon for 85% of the music I listen to, there was 15% of songs I stopped listening to because the Phantom didn’t add that thick bass to it that the Argon did. For that 15% I needed that heavy bass.
I purchased another pair of Argons (then sold them again), got frustrated again with the distortion compared to the Phantom, so I did research and that lead me to the Fostex TR-X00 Ebony. To shorten this up, I’ll say the Fostex X00’s gave me 85% of the fun bass that I got with the Argons, but with none of the distortion. A good trade off. Didn’t have the sound stage of the Argons, but again, that’s okay. Over time, I began to prefer the TR-X00’s to the Phantom by a nose overall.
Sorry this is getting so long, but I rank them very closely. Why I prefer the X00’s is due to the superior imaging, the bass and the clearer, more forward vocals.
What I prefer in the Phantom is the detail, the fantastic drum and cymbal strikes, the sound stage and the overall better timbre/tone of the music. Sound stage on the Phantom isn’t huge, but just a hair better than the TR-X00’s.
I would say consider the Phantom if you don’t need/want overwhelming bass, (not saying it’s not there, just not like a bass specialist headphone like the Argons or X00’s. Found the bass better on the Phantom than I did on the Hifiman HE560), if you don’t mind tinkering with some very easy mods to get the sound you want, if you don’t mind recessed vocals and you don’t care about pinpoint imaging.
If what you care about is a warm, pleasant overall sound that has excellent detail but also really good drums and cymbal stikes, the Phantom might be worth a look. I have trouble recommending them because I spent a decent amount upgrading them which ultimately made them $450 headphones I’d probably buy the Fostex Ebony or Emu Teak over the Phantom at that price.
The Phantom sounds amazing to me for bands like Steve Miller Band, Beatles, Jim Croce, Fleetwood Mac.
Sorry this got long and rambly. Hope it helps!
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This one is pretty clear-cut for me.
When it comes to isolation, it’s a flip-flop. When I don’t want to hear the outside world, I’d grab the X00’s because with the Magni, I can hear my wife calling me. 
On the flip side, when it’s 2am and I need to make sure my sleeping wife can’t hear my music, I reach for the Magni. Despite being semi-closed back, the X00’s have a decent leak where she can hear my music a little, so it’s Magni when I need to keep it quiet.
As far as bass is concerned, the X00’s have a thick bass that really brings out certain music and enhances the music that wants that.
The Magni are much lighter on bass, but it has better detail and has snappy, punchy dynamics that almost make you forget it’s a much lighter in the bass than the X00’s.
If I had only two headphones, I’d listen to the Magni 85% of the time and 15% the X00’s when I’m listening to Rap, R&B and some bass-heavy pop music.
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Actual LOL 
To be clear, you’re saying that the X00 blocks more external noise but also leaks more? That’s interesting.
Thanks for the feedback!
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That is correct. 
Not sure what it is, but I can turn it up with the X00’s to block out others and the Magni I can still hear my surroundings.
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Thank you this really helps, its clear what you’re saying about the low end of the Argons to the X00’s. its clear the Argons is what you get when you squeeze everything out of a driver with max capability its an amazing mod. X00’s its so natural for that headphone with its low end its so tight and doesn’t bleed with amazing detail due to intimacy and close sound stage. I think what im looking for is something not as vocally resessed as the phantoms I’ve seen that quite a bit. I think ill keep looking for a big planar. One day maybe something second hand for the phantoms in future
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This review from Headfonia perfectly describes my experience with the Phantom.
This is a must read if you’re considering this headphone.
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Right… These are up for sale.
I tried. I really did…
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Or maybe not… Have you all tried pulling these of the the inside of the driver?
And the outside for that matter?
Mine didn’t have those, I just pulled a rectangular foam off of the driver on the head-facing side. Actually, what you’ve got there, probably sounded better than what mine did stock, but I’d still remove them. Interesting that they are still trying to improve it from feedback.
Interesting… Mine had on both sides. Together with the rectangular foam on the inside and the the circles ones on the outside.
I got them on the 2nd batch when they still did the hard casing so maybe they removed it subsequently?
Actually think this made more of a difference then taking the rectangular foam out. Will listen again tomorrow morning when my ears are fresh.
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Mine were 1st batch, so it had to have been added at least from the 2nd. Main things I did were take the foam off the inside and replace the pads with (I think) ZMF Ori Suede pads. I thought that made the most difference and they were quite enjoyable after that. I did mess around with the outside, and even changed the grills to a custom 3d printed one, but besides looking nicer, I’m not sure it really changed the sound that much.
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