Headphone Tuning / Modding basics with the Sony MDR-ZX110 Amazon's most popular wired headphones

In this video, you will learn some cheap and easy techniques to tune some cheap headphones to make them sound better.
Sound is a personal thing so being able to change the way your headphones sound to suit your preferences is great. This video covers some physical modifications that may breathe new life into some subpar headphones.
Obviously - when modifying anything, there is a chance you could break something so if you are a ham-fisted gorilla ... maybe this is not for you and I take no responsibility for any damage you may cause. But if you have a bit of dexterity and take your time the results can be impressive
If you'd like to check out our shop, use the link below:
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[@garfycat2227]

I love the idea of modding headphones but usually I'm too afraid to break something. I did mod my Sony MDR-7506 to balanced, which actually worked perfectly. I wouldn't have done so without your videos, so thanks :)

[@CustomCans]

Glad to hear people are finding this stuff useful

[@johnhin416]

Thanks for the new vid. I've been trying to learn more about headphones, and your videos are very informative. Too many people in this hobby just keep buying and buying and never learn. Your contents are a breath of fresh air. Keep up the good work!

[@CustomCans]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@-aexc-]

i like that you've pointed out the hidden cost of these products (people payed terrible wages in bad working conditions

[@CustomCans]

Yes - the working conditions may be fine for all I know but I can see no way that it is possible that the people making these are paid a living wage when they retail at under £15.

[@phillipnunya6793]

@@CustomCans If they sell a lot of units and have the construction process optimized, it may be possible to provide "fair" wages. Even if that is the case, it is still uncertain if that is what they do.

[@martinez30hz]

Dude your video was so much help, it saved my bluedio v2 from sounding like trash. If you look up the bludio v2 reviews they always get bashed on for sucking. The biggest driver had no holes on the back. I popped one little hole on each side and boom! The bass is killer.

[@CustomCans]

Cool - really glad it helped and you were brave enough to give it a go

[@krollpeter]

I bought a Siindoo for about USD 8 and exchanged the lousy factory drivers with some upgraded Poyatu drivers for about USD 18. The result is quite astonishing. The sound character is pretty close to the SONY WH-1000XM3. I tried my luck because of you! I modded the inside some with acoustic sponge and fibres. Very satisfying result!

[@CustomCans]

Glad you found the vids helpful

[@krollpeter]

@@CustomCans I would like to add, I was extremely surprised about the result. The case is of course bottom quality. But it is light, and that makes it such a easy to wear device. Now working on a headphone with better substance.

[@konna200]

These kind of videos are very helpful too for making my decisions :D Thanks mate! Gives more perspective and still wanting that 400! =) Keep up the good work! From dad to dad love your attitude!

[@BrikzStudios]

Tysm! Doing these changes actually dramatically changed my headphones (bass sounds amazing, I honestly didn’t expect this would work).

[@CustomCans]

Really glad it worked for you. It is always fun looking at the comments on this one. You get some people who enjoy giving it a go and some that are offended that I would mess with them rather then EQing them.

[@tristanwh9466]

This was really helpful, I appreciate the way you show your process and explain why you the things you do

[@CustomCans]

No Problem. Glad you enjoyed it

[@OrangeMicMusic]

You’re extremely skillful and knowledgeable 😊. These mods are very effective to some degree and someone can save money. Also I’d like to share my experience as a mixing engineer = an easy“nondestructive mod” is an Eq. There are lots of options for PC and Android (I don’t know about Apple). This way you can use any headphone not being afraid that you can break it, and it’s more effective because it’s correcting all the non wanted frequencies. All the best. Mike

[@CustomCans]

Yep EQis is quicker and safer... I have destroyed many headphones over the years by modding them

[@n11n12]

Just bought a pair of these for the hell of it, turns out HD25 pads will fit perfectly on these. It's kinda funny to use them with yaxi red leather pads that cost three or four times more than the headphones they're on

[@CustomCans]

Lol yes - I have a similar situation. I am currently testing a £400 cable on a £150 pair of headphones ;)

[@duckwerksofficial]

Modding has always been fairly difficult for me because the different configurations seem to blend together after a while. I appreciate you mentioning the theory and reasoning behind each of the mods you did. That was really helpful. When modding a pair of headphones, do you generally shoot for a specific target curve? I'm also wondering what the differences between a driver like this one and a more expensive part would be. IE: what knobs can a manufacturer turn that an end consumer can't? Keep up the great work. I really enjoyed this video.

[@CustomCans]

When we are developing mods we normally start by having a good listen and note anything we don't like or is lacking, than have a look at the graphs to see if there is anything obviously wrong and go from there. We don't have a target curve - it is much more about the listening and A/B testing with as many people as we can until we get to a point where everyone that tests them prefers the new sound to the old one. As for drivers - it is pretty complex and there are loads of factors - every manufacturer has their own secret sauce but as an example... beyerdynamic developed their tesla drivers a number of years ago, they went for a super powerful magnetic field to get more control over the voice coil and help it move quicker and more accurately. Sennheiser's HD800 driver is ring shaped so the sound waves hit your ear more like they would from speakers that are further away and there are loads of other designs and tweaks other people have done to try to make their drivers better

[@squirts1]

yeah man... same for me. the change is generally subtle making it difficult to objectively hear the difference without a measurement rig or some other way of doing a direct A - B comparison simultaneously.

[@asmodeoloyalvillacorta508]

I dont know how i got here but this is amazing and i watched the whole thing ❤ i kinda wanna mod my headphones now lol

[@CustomCans]

It is fun but, even though I vaguely know what I am doing, I have quite a few pairs I have destroyed while trying to mod them so it is not without it's danger

[@Synthematix]

You’re a man like myself, been messing with phones and speakers for 30 years

[@CustomCans]

It is an addiction ;)

[@Synthematix]

@@CustomCans One thing i have found with open back phones is if the pads are worn out they sound absolutely terrible! you ought to have a bash at making custom surrounds with different materials

[@SianaGearz]

So here's a thought. I have a whole zoo of Urbanears Zinken, which haven't been manufactured in a decade. As they were out of the box, they have a slightly recessed mid, polite and very extended top-end well past 17 KHz, no sibilance emphasis, a little bit of presence emphasis but surprisingly polite not shouty, and bloody RUDE bass, with a near subsonic 12db emphasis. It sounds like you're sitting on a subwoofer. The emphasis in midbass is there but isn't strong enough to muddy up every single piece of music imaginable, so it's not terrible. What a peculiar tuning. The driver is around 40mm, the baffle isn't vented and the cup is well sealed as well, with a rubber bung where it connects to the hinge, but rather generously sized. They're mid impedance, around 90 Ohm, and quite inefficient, they don't do well on a phone or PC, but they go hard on a DJ mixer out. Thing is the tuning is made entirely by the pads there. Original pads have all delaminated at the welded seams and exploded, revealing an absolutely overstuffed amount of blue viscous foam. With standard aftermarket pads, the cans sound like wet noodles. Might be the original pads are doing bone conduction? I need to learn to make comparable pads. Anyway the thought is, if suitable pads with such behaviour existed, they might just rescue these ones.

[@CustomCans]

Yes, pads make a lot of difference, We did a video testing a load of different pads on some beyerdynamics to see what happened.

[@pyabhashoart-design4920]

Awesome Video. Could you do a tuning video for the SONY MDR XB550AP? They are just extremely heavy on the bass side, to a degree of creating fatigue in long sessions. But it would be interesting to see what can be done with those pairs of consumer headphones. I managed to do a bit of tuning on my headphones thanks to this and other videos of yours. Very useful tricks that I didn't know about until I found (by accident*) your channel. So thank you a lot. And keep up the more and more interesting work of yours.

[@CustomCans]

I probably won't be doing those but as I mentioned in this video - if the bass is a bit overpowering, the 1st thing I would try is seeing if there is a hole in the paper on the back of the driver and covering that with tape

[@VSN-wb2ly]

This is perfect for fun experiment, i already have audio Technica r70x but i feel like i want to do something new. Obviously can't do thag with my 300$ one but I'm definitely looking into this, maybe get the same exact model too

[@CustomCans]

Glad you enjoyed it.... it definitely gets scarier with the £300+ headphones ;) I have destroyed a few over the years

[@user-tf9tq6mg5f]

holly hit this video is top tier educational when it comes to frequency section pls make another one on how to determine wich instrument is treble and wich is mid range and bass

[@chrystopherbourlegat4755]

U sound just like Dank Pods with a different mic. Am i hallucinating?! Excellent content btw!! Merry xmas :P

[@CustomCans]

Dank pods does have a pair of our modded headphones - I think I need to work on my youtube skills a bit more before I am on his level though ;)

[@AhDollar]

even uses the freakish ears on a stand 💀

[@stuartdavey]

Profuse thanks for this video. I just bought these headphones and needed to see if I could increase the treble to better hear speech. The tips for changing both base and treble was enlightening.

[@CustomCans]

Really glad you found it usefull

[@Nugzo26]

00:02 Modify cheap Sony headphones for better sound quality. 01:47 The Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones are lightweight and foldable, making them convenient for travel. 05:25 Understanding how headphones work and how to tune them 07:32 Restricting airflow and damping the movement of the headphone driver helps tune out the bass. 10:51 Modifying headphones can help enhance or reduce bass frequencies for a better listening experience. 12:29 Adding fluff inside the headphones can improve listening pleasure 16:21 Adding weight to the back of the headphone to improve the sub bass region 18:07 Modding basics for Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones 21:47 Modding the Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones to improve bass 23:35 Covering up the hole inside the baffle results in weird peaks in the treble. 26:53 Modifying the Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones to enhance treble frequencies. 28:26 Removing the harsh peak improves the sound quality of the headphones 32:00 The headphone tuning and modding process involves reducing interference and adjusting the frequency response. 33:48 Modding the Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones can change the treble but has little effect on the bass. 36:57 Modding headphones can improve their sound quality and provide a sense of satisfaction. 38:16 The 13mm driver in the Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones has limitations in reproducing low frequencies. Crafted by Merlin AI.

[@AntiPixel1]

I wanted to know how you can change a sound signature. Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

[@CustomCans]

No problem!

[@screwthishi5thing]

I think the reason the bass port does nothing in your testing is because the hole through which the cable connects to the driver already doubles as a port in the enclosure. Also, I got these on a whim as headphones to just wear around the house that wouldn't need charging, a headphone amp or a financial decision-making re-evaluation if my dog chewed them. Of course you get what you pay for, but when you buy from huge corporations like Sony there's a very good chance one of the components is quite good despite the price due to their manufacturing optimization - in this case, as you point out, this would be the driver and reinforced plastic assembly. I'm happy to report that with just an extra hole poked into the back of each driver and some make-up pads glued to the back of the cups they sound dramatically better. Maybe even worthy of being called DECENT with EQ!

[@sarba16]

Cool video thanks! Just picked up a pair for $10 off Amazon and some larger 3rd party earpads. They have been great to fall asleep listening to and not have to worry about breaking them as I toss and turn. I Will definitely stab some new holes and fluff like you suggested.

[@CustomCans]

As a couple of other people and have mentioned in the comments - have a listen inbetween each mod you do and see if you like the sound more - sound is always a personal thing. And ... If you do jam a hole in the paper and don't like it just tape over it again ;)

[@sarba16]

@@CustomCans oh ya for sure , sounds great to me with an extra hole and the inner mesh removed, luckily the ear cups I bought have a thinner material covering the driver to stop hair from getting in easily.

[@francesquare8708]

dang cmon my MDR-ZX110APs are perfectly fine man, nice bass, comfortable, microphone, portable. dont do them dirty

[@CustomCans]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it ;)

[@squirts1]

what is the general effect of closing off large ports around the outer housing on a set of supposedly closed back headphones? boomier? more resonance? stuffiness? more or less clarity?

[@CustomCans]

You can remove that part in the 990 making the fully open. You gain a bit of clarity but lose most of the bass so you need to do additional mods. We have a couple of tuning kits that involve taking that part out but assing weight to the driver and foam behind it instead of hard plastic. kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKPZoaqjrq6IaK8

[@rb7491]

fantastic, thanks! got some boom out of my cheapies.

[@CustomCans]

Glad I could help!

[@MadhurajSpeaks]

great videos man please keep up the good work

[@CustomCans]

Thanks ;)

[@juanmoya7138]

The best mod you can do to change the sound is……different earpads

[@CustomCans]

Yep.. it can get a bit expensive if you try too many though ;)

[@Charun1982]

Cool video on the different mods! What i'm wondering is whether painting the diaphragm with thin coat of rubber paint would add mass to it, without affecting it's elasticity too much, and how that would affect the sound..?

[@CustomCans]

I would not recommend it - generally you want the diaphragm to be as light as possible so it can move quickly - I was just interested to see what would hapen

[@PartikleVT]

Taking my old sennheiser bluetooth headphones apart tomorrow to convert them to cables, introducing some fluff in the case as well and trying to get rid of the muddy bass. We'll see what happens haha. Also might mess around with some open back ideas.

[@PartikleVT]

Main reason is noisy electronics, bad bt sound quality and poor battery life. Also I have some cheap unused IEM cables laying around, so might as well.

[@CustomCans]

Sounds like a fun project and they will probably sound better wired rather than wireless

[@duverjamirjimenezbarragan7760]

Hello, good afternoon. I would like to thank you for the modification of the headphones and also ask you to please give me more measurements of those SONY MDR ZX110. to be able to equalize them and improve the sound quality. Thank you. excellent video and I am eternally grateful

[@CustomCans]

Sorry chap - I gave those away so I don't have them to take measurements of any more

[@Bug3ater2]

Poked the driver tissue and stuffed the ear cups and they are already very good

[@CustomCans]

Glad it helped ;)

[@SlavJerry]

I am really new to this hobby so I have a question, is it better than just EQ?

[@CustomCans]

EQing is a good cheap and easy way to change the sound of headphones but there are limits to what is possible. Sometimes you can get better results modding or combining the two

[@adinnugroho6544]

Luckily, I didn't purchase that Headphone. Was planning purchasing it, but ended up buying from "Monster", Hongkong brand At same price or little bit more than Sony MDR om video, feel like premium 😅😂. Kinda like XM4 if I correctly say. And it has both Bluetooth and AUX. For wired use is not permanent, so I can use any Cables for it

[@crowbaril903]

What abot if we take some of the tweater upgrades from car stereo and we take and insert ourselfs right into it?

[@CustomCans]

I am imagining headphone with car tweeters as drivers - the would probably be terrible but an interesting experiment ;)

[@Synthematix]

If you can get a Pair of 12quid sony headphones sounding like this then imagine what a £100 pair of sony's can do

[@CustomCans]

We don't do a lot of sony's but have worked miracles on a few £100 pairs of headphones

[@djseraflow5580]

You should do the Behringer HPX2000 and see how good you can make a $20 pair sound XD

[@CustomCans]

Not a bad idea - I will be too busy until Feb but may get some more cheap headphone in to play with then

[@puppetpianoanimationgaming8077]

Thanks for the video, man. Would love to hear your subjective impression of the mods. I know it can be difficult to pin down and describe the incremental changes but it might add to our understanding of what you're achieving. Would it be worth buying a secong pair of the Sonys? To A/B them? That's something that's hard to do with more expensive cans!

[@CustomCans]

I only picked the sony ones as they were the highest selling ones on amazon but the idea was to show some things you could try on any headphones. If I was actually doing this for my own headphones I would rely more on listening than graphs but it is easier to show small changes on videos using graphs. Also... I am not great at describing sounds ;)

[@elliotdownie7431]

Do you think there's a way to get sony overear headphone pads and fit them to the on ear headphones?

[@CustomCans]

Probably not easily unless you are handy with a 3d printer

[@istiakahmed-edu]

Nicely made video. Which software did you use to measure the frequency waves?

[@CustomCans]

REW www.roomeqwizard.com/

[@kuso.megane]

Hey, i am really illiterate in electronics, could you point out where I could find how to replace the cable on these? And also where to find cable replacement?

[@CustomCans]

I am always keen to repair things rather than replacing them but if you don't have experience soldering then, due tot he price of the headphones, I would probably replace them. Unless you know someone who could repair them for you.... even then, the cost or a new cable will be close to the cost of the headphones

[@martinez30hz]

What? Headphones have on board ports on the back that are used to change tuning frequency. What a trip

[@CustomCans]

mind = blown ;)

[@user-nw7mu7wf2f]

I do this to my headphones

[@CustomCans]

So do I ;)

[@metaltech1000]

I bought these a few days ago and the headphone jack is shorting out. I’m going to do a mod 😊 ten dollars headphone now I need a twenty dollar soldering iron😂 can I use yours

[@CustomCans]

Lol, that is the way it goes with modding stuff. I purchased my car for £2,600 and then spent at least £10,000 on tools and parts to get it just the way I like it... Money is boring ... modding stuff it fun ;)

[@EdgetonWolfeDrezwellington]

Just picked up a similar pair in Turquoise at Marc's Discount Store for $3.59. May do the same.

[@user-sb7wj1vn4x]

Hello, i have a question. my dt 880's suddenly began crackling in either deep and bassy lows or the high's, but it's very subtle. is there a way to fix it without replacing the audio driver?

[@CustomCans]

It may just be a hair in stick in the driver - dismantle them and give the driver a good blow to dislodge anything in there

[@surreptitiousscreamer]

What we all really want to know is...... no not that, put it away..... which headphones do you use yourself, Mr CustomCans? Fan of the videos and my HD25 love you all, thanks!

[@CustomCans]

It changes quite a lot as I often have something I have to do "long term testing" on to make sure it works. The pair I have put the most hours on is probably a pair of beyer Custom One Pro as I use them while I am in the paint booth because they are indestructible. Currently I have a pair of modified HiFiMan HE400se on my desk which I have been using a lot and really like the sound of

[@surreptitiousscreamer]

@@CustomCans Ah thank you, it is always good to collect thoughts from people with real experience. Thank you for taking the time, you are one of the reasons I have spent money with your company, enjoy your day.

[@CustomCans]

@@surreptitiousscreamer But... Don't take headphone advice from me - I am more into their design. Other people are much better at comparing sound than me

[@surreptitiousscreamer]

​@@CustomCans Don't worry I haven't rushed to buy a pair of each! I was just interested in what a man with access to lots of things uses himself. I'm with you on the design and construction of things BTW, if all the stuff I owned was badly designed and looked like poop, I wouldn't own most of it. You truly are a good example of how to run a small business, thanks again for finding the time to satisfy my noseyness (and for making my HD25 baller).

[@axnyato4753]

Honestly can anyone tell me when im in a call and I'm wearing the headphones no one can really hear me

[@CustomCans]

The version I pulled apart did not have a mic in - if yours are the same you are going to need to hold the phone near your mouth for people to hear you

[@axnyato4753]

@@CustomCans thank you

[@SomeGuy-qd3li]

I really want a readable tutorial on this

[@CustomCans]

I am fantastically dyslexic so probably not the best guy to write a tutorial ;)

[@SomeGuy-qd3li]

@@CustomCans damn, thanks for the consideration anyways

[@kentbergstrom3020]

Why not use EQ instead?

[@eddkrub]

ขอบคุณมากครับ

[@cherylbrunner9404]

How to turn sound up

[@CustomCans]

Usually with the volume control ;)

[@pisderata]

I think the clear box is bassier for some reason

[@CustomCans]

I may have to check that out

[@Maxtutubo]

I have made a MOD of that Sony MDR-ZX110 and I know a little about its characteristics. That is why I must tell you that you make several mistakes in yours: A: That minidriver doesn't support at all enlarging the mini hole in the paper that covers the rear casing without starting to screech and distortions. If you look at it, it is smaller than usual and someone from Sony calibrated it very well without allowing it to be manipulated. You must recap the second hole you made. B: That "plasticine" is absolutely useless. It doesn't have enough mass to absorb any vibration. Remove it because that doesn't work even by making contact with the outer lid of the cups because they don't have enough rigidity either. C: You should check your measurements because they are not very reliable and you should actually use your ear after each modification to see if it is effective or not. The frequency response graphs are indicative but do not show everything. A true modification or "improvement" is never done as you only use a measurement microphone if you haven't heard first. D: This driver comes from the factory with a very flat midrange response, everything you do in that range is spoiling it. The defects of this headset are in the excessive and uncontrolled bass and in the lack of treble between 5 and 10KHz. Which gives a feeling of lack of brilliance in treble. The first thing you have to do is fix the bass and with your modifications you will never get it. The only thing that is correct is to add absorbent material in the form of polyester fiber, but even that is not entirely effective. Higher density material is needed to prevent the back wave from the driver from bouncing off the flat wall of the earphone's outer casing. But putting polyester fiber won't do you any harm. E: With your modifications you have converted a headphone with a very flat response in medium frequencies into a loud one with a good increase between 1 and 3 KHz, which are the critical frequencies of the ear and that is why to solve it you must put polyester fiber inside the pads. If your Mod were correct, not only would you not need that fiber, but you could even remove the black textile disc that is on the driver. F: Go back to factory defaults and start over, but using your ear on each tweak until you get a decent sound better than the Sony original. It can be done in 10 minutes and only using very basic things. Sorry if I make grammatical errors but my level of English is very basic and I have to use google translate Greetings from Barcelona Spain.

[@CustomCans]

Thank you very much for your feedback - I was trying to show some general things you could try on any headphone rather than just this particular model. But yes, you are right. If I was seriously modding them I would have a good listen to them in-between each mod. I thought using the graphs would help show the changes visually and it saved a lot of time during filming. But... I promise, next time a make a video like this I will be more focused and try to do a better job

[@Maxtutubo]

@@CustomCans Each earphone is different in its construction to adapt to the characteristics of the driver. And each driver despite being very similar in construction has some characteristics. Some support (very few) go with all the holes uncovered and others only with one. In the case of this Sony, the holes must be very fine, about 0.5 mm. If it gets bigger the movement of the thin membrane gets out of control and starts to distortions🎧🎧🎧 shrieking in mid frequencies. Even if you uncover the magnet sticker you will see that the core is also perforated or vented. If you remove the sticker, the sound also worsens because that hole is bigger too. Each driver requires different "air damping" conditions. in this Sony that cannot be altered in the driver. Then other different things must be varied to improve the bass. It's actually a good headset for its price but too light and simple materials. Very suitable to be modified.

[@ljay284]

😃😃😃

[@passiton3801]

Hearing is believing. Who knew u could mod headphones....

[@CustomCans]

Mod everything ;)

[@andreaaaaaaa574]

It Is possibile make foldable a non foldable headphone?

[@CustomCans]

Anything is possible but there would probably be a lot or engineering involved. If you have to ask... it is probably not a good idea ;)

[@andreaaaaaaa574]

@@CustomCans i want male foldable my Beats EP , can you help me?

[@asmodeoloyalvillacorta508]

I dont know how i got here but this is amazing and i watched the whole thing ❤ i kinda wanna mod my headphones now lol