Audiophile Headphone Parts Upgrade!

My old headphones were starting to wear out, but I wasn't completely thrilled with their replacement. Here's what I did to make them better.
---------------------------------------­------------------------------------
Please consider supporting my work on Patreon: / thisdoesnotcompute
Follow me on Twitter and Instagram! @thisdoesnotcomp
TDNC t-shirts and apparel can be found at www.redbubble....
This Does Not Compute
PO Box 131141
St. Paul, MN 55113
---------------------------------------­------------------------------------
Music: "Matlack", "Soft Focus", "Do Gooders", "Garoto", "Bob Ross Goes to Hollywood" and "Jon Gordo" by Birocratic (birocratic.lnk.....
Additional music by Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsou...).
Intro music by BoxCat Games (www.box-cat.com).

[@oryandunn]

One way to fix kinky cables is to tape one end, wrap it tightly, then tape the other end around a glass cup or measuring cup. Then pour in nearly boiling water. The heat warms up the rubber and will ease the kinks. I’ve used this to good effect with several of my Grado headphones with non-detachable cables.

[@jweebs1986]

Man this really makes me appreciate the detachable cable of my ATH-M50xs.

[@SteelyDanUnofficial]

when headphones start to buzz there could be hair or dirt on the driver

[@s.h.5726]

Thanks for your video. I have the ATH-AD500X headphones and did the earpad upgrade from the AD-700's. Way more comfortable now! Got them from Audio-Technica parts as well and they were great to deal with.

[@Xizax41325]

One of the mods I've been meaning to do for my 700x is make a removable cable mod so I can have the nice long cable and a nice short 5' cable for my PC. And I can attest to the sound for gaming. It's rather nice.

[@pixelrazor]

Not that it seemed to matter at the end, but it probably would have been worth trying to plug them in to test before reassembly. It wouldn't be to fun to take it apart to fix some soldering if you made a mistake in the future

[@stringstorm]

Head-fi is indeed a good source for modding tips. But I wouldn't stick around there for too long.

[@bitlandgaming1461]

You could say the same about any "specialised" forum!

[@frog382]

@@bitlandgaming1461 Exactly, and human hearing deviates so far from person to person.... Head fi is by far the best for headphones and big corp HATES on this site, thats why they spreaded the negative stigma, because on this site you can find the truth (: like about dt48 being one of the best pieces ever created sound wise, or hd800 being overhyped even more than hd600 series and so on... Now you have bunch of noobs who fell for the plot and are spreading it... Head fi sucks, why? Cause people are talking about their experience? You would rather have overpaid asshole writing a numbing advertisment over realistic criticism? In a way, you get what you deserve and some are doomed to listen to dt990 or something and never learn the truth

[@drunkpanda1094]

@@frog382 it sucks that in nearly every forum/website/post/video/etc ever created you have the snobbiest of people that make it hard for new people to get into cool hobbies

[@antoinep9733]

Great job, those factory parts were incredibly cheap! With your newfound skills I’d be tempted to order replacement drivers for the old ones, and paint the grills black when you’ve got them disassembled.

[@Light-Rock97]

I'm just glad he doesn't have to wear that purple-gold combo anymore.

[@ALAPINO]

Cable feel is often over looked. Nice mod!

[@flutterdrive4286]

tbh i like the bronze and pink colors of the old one. gives it much more character, really stands out more than the black and silver scheme.

[@kd1s]

I use bluetooth a hell of a lot. Had liked the NB-9's but they had fatal flaws in the plastic around the hinge. So looked for something else - found Avantree Audition headphones - 40 hours on a charge (The NB-9's were 48). and more ruggedly assembled. There's no rotating hinge so that flaw is eliminated. So happy with them so far. Even have a set of Symphonized Magnums. Those sound good - and can be easily adapted for Bluetooth.

[@HalkerVeil]

I don't understand how I'm just now finding this guy on KZbin. He's been on here for 4 years?!

[@AtenedoroGonzalez]

I've always wondered about modifying headphones like this, very informational!

[@Evan420]

Thanks a ton for the video! I've been a regular viewer for a while and I was surprised to find this on your channel! I just picked up a pair of 700x's at goodwill for $3 (I still can't believe it). They are a bit worn out (the cable cuts out and the earpads are pilled up), so this is a perfect tutorial for revamping these puppies!

[@matthewcullen7106]

I just bought the AD700X, I sold my original AD700 around 8 years ago when I got HD650s, wish I had kept it to do a direct comparison. Also nice to see that it's not my imagination that the original had thicker padding everywhere.

[@rguitar78]

Fantastic job, maybe now you'll be able to hear the crackling of the right channel audio during your intro from the image of the MiniDisc to the Sony Camera. Enjoy your upgraded cans!

[@Mach1Greeble]

OG ad700 crew checking in. the 250mm below my left driver is going hard after like 13 years. I'm here to figure out a good cable mod

[@nickloss2377]

bit late to the discussion here.. but if anyone else is watching this and has that problem with a stiff cord that hasn't relaxed and still maintains the form from when you first unboxed it... a quick way to correct this is by laying it out flat in direct sunlight for a few hours.. more to the point, the heat from the sun will relax the rubber coating on these cables... so you can also use the heat gun as long as you're careful not to apply too much heat if anyone please... once the cable is nice and relaxed then you're able to lay it out straight and flat, a good skill to learn is how to properly wrap a cable. Search for tutorials on using the "over under technique"--this is what we use in the Pro-Audio industry to extend the life of our cables and to always ensure they always stay straight when layed out. cables have a "memory" ... so once the cables memory is imprinted (when it's warm) it will retain that shape indefinitely..

[@HalkerVeil]

It might sound dangerous but you can straighten the cable out by pulling it slightly taught, then use a hairdryer to warm it up. Let it cool back into it's new shape. This happens in packaging from thermal issues as well. Typically when it spends a summer in a warehouse.

[@AgnarBurnsAll]

i love my 700X's i wear them on average 8 hours when im on the pc with no irritation or anything. but i can confirm the standard cable sleeve is infact cheap mine has split in one spot and everytime i cover it up with heatshrink it just splits at the end of the heatshrink tube because of how inflexible the cable is.

[@danieldelapena8369]

The wire's on the 700x are thin because they are enamel coated rather than having actual insulation. Nice work btw

[@hyperhektor7733]

10:40 haha recently i repaired my headphones(+mic) only to find after i was finished out that the "bridge" cable which goes to the other side was broken too (fluctuating contact). Then i had to disasemble EVERYTHING xD and replace all cables . These cables where so crazy thin(just isolated copper wires) that i replaced them with real cables (very thin so it fits)

[@colinmartin9797]

I've had a pair of ad700's in that color scheme for like ten years. They're hilariously comfortable, but don't sound very good for audiophile stuff beyond the immense soundstage. 53mm drivers are obnoxious to find alternatives for. And the fixed, huge cable is annoying. I don't even use them anymore, but they're still on my wall, so the other day I just desoldered the cable and added a 3.5mm Jack, and then wired a 3.5mm male to the original cable. I'd love to find a replacement set of 53mm drivers that sound good enough to justify swapping in, because the ad700 is just too comfortable to toss.

[@Flankzy]

So if the blue wire is the ground. That means white is the left sound signature and the red is the right? Or do I have them backwards. I just wanna make sure I am doing right. Thank you so much for the video. Amazing.

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

That's right -- in audio, traditionally left is white and right is red.

[@RisingRevengeance]

My old Sennheiser 558 has the same kind of cable, it feels weird mentioning a cable as a positive but it really is different from everything else. They're excellent headphones too, really cheap but super comfortable.

[@mischkin3588]

damn i have the same audio technica. they are amazing and i'_e had them forever.

[@swat37]

Ah, yes, that old song I used to listen to :)

[@CT37BN]

Because of the fixed V-angle shape of the AD700X some owners I think tried to place rubber bands or some sort of device to straighten them up but the thing is when you mod the headphone that way, the bass get quite boomy and the mid-range ( especially with voices ) tends to become very pronounced. I own AD700X and like that they are affordable with a top sound, especially for movies/gaming ( yes hated the cable, but I'd mod the cable system like that of Superlux HD668B - the best idea I've seen so far ).

[@somedude8538]

Great video as per usual and interesting for me since I just started looking into building my own pair of hi end custom ones.

[@declangallagher1448]

First 'proper' pair of Headphones were a pair of AT MTH 50's, absolutely loved them until they died. My HD 650s though best purchase ever.

[@KJ7JHN]

Bluetooth upgrade! Still waiting. . . :)

[@Alfredul03]

OMG, awesome video. I will definitely have to buy some Audio Technica and have them as a reference for my music (Pop, Jazz, R & B, Soul, Funk, Rap and Hip-Hop) and being honest, I liked your video, it's cool and at the same time sophisticated. Greetings and surprise us with another wonderful and delightful video! 📱🎧🎶🎶🎶👌🏻😉

[@jonnyboi9026]

Actually the buzz and rattle most likely isnt the drivers but a hair and dandruff in the driver it happens all the time. Regular driver cleaning is needed for some headphones such as beyerdynamic dt990's.

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

Seeing how thin the wires were on the newer headphones makes me wonder how cheap the wire that connects the drivers is. Might be worth looking at that too?

[@TheOmegaRiddler]

I'm not a fan of how you have to put the ear pads back on. I have a pair of Groove headphones. And a couple of times, a pad came off. It was so easy to put them on again by feeding the part that wraps around the speaker part through a gap and rotate it until it was mostly on. After that it was just a matter of tucking that last part in. With my DT 770 Pro headset, I need a hairdryer to heat u the air pads so i can get them on

[@robertrismyhr]

1:18, its because they are flat tuned for studio use :), like you say, most audiophileheadphones, but that can be altered with different amps, tube amps as an example :)

[@MikeChimeri]

The song that plays when you're putting the headphones back together samples "Kari" by Bob James and Earl Klugh. Bob's early recordings have been sampled often. Take Ralph MacDonald's percussion at the beginning of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras," for example.

[@ultraali453]

Nice video. Hey, what would happen if I took cheap headphones and put audio Technica drives (speakers) in them. They should work.

[@Light-Rock97]

Dude, I need to ask my dad about basic soldering and electronics. I've lost some nice headphones in the past just because the cables ruptured inside, but not anymore. Next time it happens I'll take it as an opportunity to learn a new skill.

[@Vaskomyr]

Looks like a fun mod to do and not crazy expensive. Always love watching your vids, are you gonna do the mic mod as well?

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

My headphones aren't audiophile grade (Philips Fidelio X2HR) but they are very good headphones, I recommend them. I may try the set mentioned in this video as I like the look of the way they sit on the head. What are you plugging your headphones in to?

[@chubbyadler3276]

Since you got extra ear pads, and the old ones were wearing out, did you go ahead and change the pads on those as well?

[@xxRayZamora17xx]

What setting did you use on the multimeter to check which wire goes where?

[@RKBenchmarker]

ohms

[@CKT1138]

The rattle could be debris inside the driver housing, definitely check that

[@CollectingRetro]

Mine are starting to do the same. Could be hair on the driver. I need to check them yet.

[@tommyb.6064]

CollectingRetro it's rarely the cone that's the problem. Often, the contour of the cone which is glued to the basket contour itself gets unglued, or the voicecoil which it's itself glued to the cone from under gets half fallen, allowing the cone to move... but with strange noises. With some delicate care, thoses things can be fixed as they can be fixed as well on larger drivers. Another cause for noises can be metal chips stuck to The cone thru magnetic field that happens around the middle of it. Those debris would rattle and don't get away by blowing around. They have to be swiped away of the magnetic field and then they usually fall or stick to your finger moist... well. Good luck everyone with amazing headphones repairs!

[@themaximus144]

It could even just be some hair or grime that's gotten under the pad and and is sitting on the outer housing there. I've had this problem with my Sennheisers. Occasionally I just have to take the pad off and clean them.

[@hbarudi]

I like the color of your older headphones they look good to me. But for me for $100 on headphones, I would expect bluetooth and other features. But for now, the KLM headphones I have that look like the koss ones I commented on the previous video are still very good and I have ended up jerking their wire out so many times yet they are still working properly.

[@SyCoREAPER]

What are your thoughts in the actual hinge connections/pivots at the cup? They look notably different in the two revisions

[@KevinTwiner]

Awesomeness Goodbye old cable hello happiness 🚮 really enjoyed this hope ya have a wonderful day! Peace ✌️

[@hugosantos1476]

Doesn't chaging the thickness of the wires mess with the impedance of the headphones?

[@MasterYoshidino]

This is going to be an off-the-wall question. Do you play Splatoon 2 TDNC? Salmon Run?

[@MikeleKonstantyFiedorowiczIV]

Good to know that orginal thick cable is 90% fat rubber, not actually good fat ass copper lines. But i dunno why wires are not shilted near pcb all of them all like touching themselves.

[@MikeleKonstantyFiedorowiczIV]

Btw your new cable is russian

[@madMARTYNmarsh1981]

Ha! I tried to buy some original replacement ear pads for my AKG K712 pros and they wanted £70.... EACH! That's £140 for replacement pads for a set of headphones that cost only a tiny bit more than that to buy brand new!

[@carlos280897]

Have you tried the Marshall major II? If so, what do you think about them?

[@alejandropalomares2295]

Hi. Is it possible to replace the speakers from one Bluetooth headphone to another as to upgrade one of them? As in I prefer the physics and comfortness of one but the sound of the other?

[@rubenmclitt7194]

Hey dude I want to remove the two dumb looking wires from the top of the headset. Are there wires in there or can I just cut them off

[@nitauzin]

Hello friend , Can you help me? I have the ad900x but the cable is bad, coming apart. Where can I find this cable on the internet, just like yours at 8:00 in the video? Thanks so much. Sorry my bad english, i'm from Brazil!

[@Ramdileo_sys]

Blue cable = GND = base contact of the Plug and metal cover ...... White cable = Left = Tip of the plug conector ........ Red cable = Rigth = middle contact of the plug............ that is in the cheep new cable.... in the good one... was the standard... copper color cable = GND = Plug base contact ...... Green cable = Left = Tip of the plug ........ Red cable = Rigth = middle contact of plug......

[@mikearaujo377]

Where can I find this P2 cable? I need one to fix my 668b superlux.

[@1yaz]

Audio Technica made changes due to complaints on the original AD700/900/etc. Fit was a hit or miss (see rubber band 'mod') Did anyone notice a better fit in the newer X/Z models?

[@shadowdusk2903]

I have question what's the best noise canceling headphone for someone with a small head?

[@destevan10]

I need to know that was the serial number of the replacement cord Im in desperate need a high quality cord

[@destevan10]

@thisdoesnotcompute

[@Xfullboost]

I do love my ATH-AD700's as well!

[@R1Kard]

Saludos amigo from Puerto Vallarta, love ur channel

[@Menda_Lerenda]

fixed cable is deal breaker for me

[@VEN0M415]

just got the Takstar pro 82s and the detachable cable is something I never realized that I needed in my life... convenient from going to my pc cable to a mobile cable

[@Menda_Lerenda]

Not only the convenience as you correctly point out. The cable is the weakest point of any headphones and, usually, they are not easy to replace.

[@Millylerks]

Cables are fairly easy to replace its just convoluted.

[@Menda_Lerenda]

I forgot all audiophiles love to soldering... and I would bet you most of the headphones for sale aren't meant to be disassembled.

[@ryanbrown4183]

even the m50x has a removable cable it should be a deal breaker if your spending more than 100 on headphones

[@josuevelazquez]

What cable did you use for this mod? Where did you get it?

[@sam_9228]

Haha, I'm listening to this video while wearing my ATH-AD700X :D

[@eternalbeing3339]

Someone on reddit said that if you remove that paper ring it will improve treble. Has anyone tried it yet?

[@dazuk1969]

i am the only person sat here wondering what the other (better) pair looked like inside ? given how cheap the build looked inside the new pair..calling them wires thin was a complement. The new old wire was on a different level quality wise i can't help but think the same would have been the case with all the components..new doesn't mean better, especially in this case.

[@TheAndrewCarrera]

I've tinkered with consoles before but I've never actually done anything with any sort of audio equipment. I have a pair of 60's Stanton Dynaphase headphones that I really like and I would like to change the cable to one that is detachable and with a 3.5mm jack. Does anyone know of a place that offers such a service online? Or perhaps in Chicago?

[@MusicDiscoveryNet]

Hey, what do you think about the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro?

[@DeaD1te]

picked up the 500x's on the cheap, had to laugh at the cable, so i straightened it right out, with the headphones behind a dorr and a weight on the jack end... and went up n down with a hairdryer on the cable for about 15 minutes, like some idiot.... but it worked, the cable no longer wants to coil up annoyingly... having said that, im going to take them apart and put in a 3.5mm jack so i can use the headphones with a vmoda boompro mic when gaming, normal audio cable when not

[@tony714keene]

Sounds like the headphones are chintzy small headphones that is on your ears. The ones that you say people can hear around you and you can hear noises while listening to your music on the headsets, they look like your ears are in the headsets.

[@eddsauceplz]

Can you mod a pair of sony wh 1000x2 to make the ear cups more comfortable? Thx

[@Nyk_Style]

Awesome video!!!

[@Nyk_Style]

Your mod videos are the best, for sure

[@MinoTheShow]

Could really hear the Minnesota in your voice during the soldering section - in some parts you sounded like Joel from MST3K

[@Markoboy99]

What the fuck... The AD700X cost 170€ in Finland, which is about $200

[@nibernator]

Really diggin' the stuffed animals man! Got any names for them? hahaha

[@Rock79529]

I know this video is old, if I send you my AD700x can you do this?

[@RealHIFIHelp]

Interesting.

[@chao0]

"Music sounds really good" 1:34

[@NoName94922]

This guy looks like an alternate universe Steve Nash lol

[@Mark_5150]

Nice "upgrades" to bring the new headphones up to the quality standard of the old model. Gotta love corporate profit margins.

[@MonkeyPunchZPoker]

Mark G at least the parts prices are reasonable

[@Menda_Lerenda]

Collin can you tell us how the set of sony's 770 are faring?, as has been a some time now

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

They've held up pretty well I think! They were never marketed as being high-end, but for the money they've been a good value.

[@RATsnak3]

what?? no way. my glasses get painful over time.

[@colofduty3836]

What do you listen to?

[@John.Fielding]

Any chance for a link to where to buy that replacement cable? My google-fu is failing me right now... I've got the old AD700 as well, but after about ~3 years a short in the wiring developed so now I have this weird effect as if the left and right channels are being subtracted from one another like a karaoke machine's 'voice removal' function. I wound up grabbing an AD500x as a replacement but it only lasted me a year because the jack got finicky so it needed to be in *just* the right position to get audio in the right channel to come through... until it just completely failed entirely. It's been ~20 years since I last soldered anything but if I can get one or both of those old pairs of headphones working again...

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

You'll need to call Audio-Technica's parts department, for whatever reason they don't sell them online. Seems like they have pretty much all of the parts of the headphones in stock.

[@John.Fielding]

Thanks!

[@vanteal]

I have those headphones. And they are literally the most painful and uncomfortable cans anyone could ever use. And they sound like hollow crap.

[@1d3d4f5s2d]

What cable did you use for this?

[@pavel1809]

How do you know to rewire it

[@Ramdileo_sys]

13:38.. Sorry men.. but this time you have no idea what you are talking about... the cable you remplace..... ...... you gonna need it back really soon...... is made of varnished copper wires..... It usually has kevlar fibers between the copper wires it's really ... really.. really hard to get self cut by normal user movement.............. while the piece of crap "new" cable... which by the way is a really old and cheap (is the type of cable used in the old ball mouse... but with 3 cables inside instead of 4)...... any way ... it's going to cut itself really soon.... probably near the connector.... or near auricular insertion point.... do not throw it away the varnished cable...

[@pavel1809]

30 dollar ebay headphone wont eben last me 2 mouths lol. Now i m looking to upgrade it

[@WildVoltorb]

But is it good for anime songs?

[@kyoudaiken]

I have the M50x and they have the same cable your new one came with. I my case, the cable also didn't wanna cooperate but after a while now it kinda does. It got a bit better, still not perfect. Where can I buy this exact replacement cable?

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

Unfortunately Audio-Technica doesn't sell parts online (not sure why), but if you call their parts department they can hook you up.

[@credfire8660]

you can buy replacement cables on amazon (just make sure you read up on it before buying it).

[@konadbenz3383]

very clear video. thanks even I would not dare to do the same action I am an artist painter and absolutely "autistic" in any practical action. but I would like to get these pads. I changed all my headphone with brainwavz - pads and I wish, they would produce the earpads, to take of the pressure. on very sensible (?) heads. but off topic on your bose-"haters" video I wrote about my pads problem. I seem to be the only person in the world, who has this "pad-destroying" by sweat problem. only with bose. also I think, their pads are too small for big, male ears. I wish I could send you a photograph of these pads, as they are now. so you could see , I'm telling the truth. ok: long intro. my off topic qoestion: would you be able and willing, to show, how one could change the bose - pads by something like brainwavz - leather pads? I will never put bose pads on again principle of not to support such a ignorant company any more (kicked out the bose - companion and bought fostex active speakers for the same price, big quality difference) take care and have a nice day k

[@DavidLarson15]

Pro tip, just buy the cheaper SHP9500 instead.

[@chopin65]

Where did you purchase the screwdriver set you used in this video?

[@ThisDoesNotCompute]

I got it from iFixit. They don't sell the exact set any more, but have a few that are similar.

[@madatyoutoob]

David Henson they sell fit on amazon... They have better sets out.. I have one.. Better than his set.. It has spudgers and things also... But the more you pay the better the set..i paid around $70. Highly worth it! Look it up!

[@Deses]

you can find these sets for 10 bucks all over the internet. Look for 56 bit screwdriver set.

[@John-jc3ty]

i checked these in amazon. 100$ in amazon.com + 40$ shipping, 250€ in amazon in my european country.

[@tommyb.6064]

Perhaps they received a lot of pads order following your video. :-p

[@endofword2012]

ATH-AD700X - Audio-Technica....not bad for the price! Specifications Type. Open-air Dynamic. 53 mm. 5 - 30,000 Hz. 700 mW. 100 dB/mW. 38 ohms. 265 g. 3.0 m (9.8')

[@Fightie]

”Audiophile upgrade”

[@mnkybndit]

I use these pads on my 700x tinyurl.com/yb9c7d2d even where it touches my ears it's so soft it doesn't matter.