My RD-X is based on the Audeze LCD-X. It reveals the full speed and resolution of the LCD-X driver, flattens out the frequency response, eliminates all resonance and lowers distortion. The final sound is very neutral with extended, layered, punchy bass, a gorgeous, lifelike vocal range that is clear and present instead of hazy and recessed, and extended, clean, peak free treble.

The open back grill pushes the soundstage out further in a way unique to my other Audeze's, with a seamless, airy, transparent soundstage.

These are reference class headphones in every way and are suitable for the most demanding studio applications, enabling you to hear deep into your mix. But they are also very natural sounding and give audiophile listeners a clear window into the music that is uninterrupted by artifacts found in other headphones.

These are a good entry into my modded Audeze sound as the headphones are cheaper and they are easier to drive, synergizing really well with the Cavalli Liquid Gold X amplifier as well as TOTL tube and solid state amplifiers.

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My RD-4 is based on the Audeze LCD-4. It is my most resolving ortho, they are incredibly fast, but they also have smooth transients giving them a very natural, effortless sound. If you love the HD650 but want something better, this is a great headphone to look into. They are much faster and cleaner with better extension, but have similar natural transients and attacks. They don't jump out at you with any one thing, but let you explore and fall into the music, discovering things you have always missed. Bass depth and control is outstanding with very low distortion.

My RD-4 scales really well. They sound good out of basic amps, but they come alive and transform into something magical with better tube or solid state amps. They are the least distracting headphones I have listened to or created, coming closest to getting out of the way and letting you hear nothing but the music itself.

I replace the stock grills with open back grills to open the sound up and then damp the driver to compensate and keep it moving fast. The result is a much bigger, wider sound than stock.

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My RD-4z is based on the Audeze LCD-4z. Audeze says the LCD-4 and LCD-4z have the same drivers but my modded versions sound very different. My RD-4z is faster with snappy transients and a lighter more ethereal tone than my RD-4 but just as resolving if not a bit less. It has more clarity than my RD-4 with a smoother, more liquid sound. They are also easier to drive to get the full potential out of them. They have a very flat frequency response from bass to treble with gorgeous vocals, clean extended treble and tight, punchy, extremely detailed bass. My RD-4 has more bass rumble while these have more punch but both extend equally low. I open up the sound significantly from stock, giving them a much wider, airier soundstage.

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My RD-R is based on the Audeze LCD-R. It has the same tonal balance as my other modded Audeze headphones, but it’s driver gives it a unique sound. They are more delicate and faster sounding than any of my other orthos, with a sound that comes close to reaching the decades old orthodynamic dream of mixing the ethereal speed of electrostats with the weight and impact of electrodynamics. These have a truly special sound that is unique to all orthos.

They are spacious sounding, with gorgeous vocals, and very clean extended, fast treble. The bass on my RD-R is faster than stock with more coherency with the rest of the spectrum and a bit more quantity, but ultimately rolls off at a similar place because the driver simply does not put out extremely low bass frequencies. Transient response is phenomenal and approaches the SR-1a Ribbon headphones.

Their tone has a euphonic richness out of the Jottenheim A that will make you look twice at the fact that there are no tubes in the signal path.

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RD-HE6se V1 and V2

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My RD-HE6se v1 and v2 are based on the Hifiman HE6SE. The highlight of this headphone is its open and airy presentation which is pretty unique to orthos. There is an affect of being able to hear through the drivers to the space behind them. I use a lot of tricks to get good soundstage out of my other orthos but these have it naturally.

I tune the frequency response to bring vocals up and bring out as much bass as possible, and I eliminate cup resonances and replace the cup grill with a more open grill to increase the soundstage further.

This headphone sounds a bit cold/clinical and a bit plasitc-y stock, but my mods completely eliminate this and give you a very natural sounding headphone.

There is a small peak in the stock driver around 7-8khz that cannot be eliminated with mods that don't sacrifice sound quality. So they have a bit of extra treble than any of my other orthos, but are never harsh.

I give you three earpads with instructions on how to easily change the front damping (without opening them up) to match the earpads, so you can choose between three different sounds: I also send you links to where to buy all three earpads so you can buy extras of your favorite.

Velour earpads: As open and airy as possible while still maintaining extremely controlled, deep bass response. There is a sense of realism to this version that is beautiful. A slight bump in the electric guitar region is the only reason I offer an alternative to this mod. But the treble is neutral, clean and extended as you would expect from the HE6

Perforated Pleather earpads: These aren't as open as the velour earpads, but are more neutral with no bumps or peaks anywhere and a smoother sound if you find the velour pads fatiguing. These earpads are still very open due to the perforation, so they maintain a large soundstage, just not as large as the velour earpads.

Squishy Pleather earpads: More closed in than the other earpads, still very neutral, but with a slightly different tonality.

I require a replacement occ copper cable with my mod because the stock cable is of very poor quality and pure silver which does not synergize well with the sound of the driver. I have two options I can provide with the headphones at two price points and I offer them them to you at my cost.


RD-HE560v4

My RD-HE560v4 is based on the Hifiman HE-560v4. It is kind of a baby version of my RD-6se. It has magnets only on the back side of the driver. It is less resolving, but has excellent clarity and even frequency response from bass to treble along with an even more open sound than my RD-HE6se. These headphones are an incredible bargain at the sale price with the cost of my mods.

The same copper cable options are required and available for the RD-560v4.

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This is my only closed back ortho. They are my most involved mod. It takes me several days to implement and is the result of years of work with many unique innovations never seen before in orthodynamic headphones.

They have an open sound for a closed back headphone with excellent imaging. I put a lot of work into improving the bass response to get rid of the rubbery tonality that the T50rp can have stock. The result is excellent quality, extended, solid bass. Vocals are beautiful, and treble is some of the most clean of any headphone outside of electrostatics.

These headphones would make great reference studio headphones, but are also natural sounding like all my headphones and are great for audiophile music listening as well. They are very flat from bottom to top with no peaks whatsoever and extremely clean decay.

They come with a nice, very flexible Lunashops OCC copper cable terminated in a 1/4" plug.

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First, some history. The HP-1/2/3 came out first. Then later Yamaha made a rebranding effort and changed the name to YH-1/2/3/100. But the headphones themseles did not change, just the name. So a YH-1 is the same as the HP-1, YH-1’s are just a few years newer. The YH-100 should be avoided because the driver has a fairly large Grado like peak in the upper mids that is unfixable.

The HP-1 Anistropic (HP-1a) is a version of the HP-1 made with steel plates on both sides of the driver. It has better extension on both ends of the spectrum, better resolution, and lower distortion than a standard HP/YH-1. They are very rare, so they cost usually about $250-270. They are usually unobtanium but I know a secret way of finding them that I keep a secret to keep prices down and so that I have a way of sourcing them for my customers.

The midrange of my RD-HP/YH-1(a) has the most natural timbre and tonal balance of any headphone ever made. They just sound "right" in a way that makes other headphones sound artificial. It is incredibly rich, clear and beautiful. They are perfetly flat through the lower mids, avoiding a thin sound.

The driver does not have extension all the way on both ends of the frequency response, so I try to balance this with my mod and give you just enough treble for them to be clear and resolving and not sound rolled off, with enough bass presence and extension to keep a solid foundation for the rest of the spectrum.

My RD-HP1a has better bass extension and more resolution and control than my RD-HP1.

My mod focusses on speeding up the driver, evening out the frequency response to absolute neutral, and getting the best balance of bass and treble extension as possible. They are not as resolving as my Audeze or HE6se headphones, but they are close, and offer a tonally that is unique to all headphones.

I drill holes into the back of the cups to increase soundstage and air, tune the frequency response and eliminate cup resonance. Note: I do my best to drill these holes evenly, but the inside of the cups of Yamahas are not symmetrical, so I make the holes as evenly spaced as I can within the space of the cups.

Note: there is some variation between units with vintage Yamahas, every one I have bought sounds slightly different. Some have better extension than others. So it’s a bit of luck of the draw, but they all sound good.

I’m happy to find an HP-1 Annistropic for you if you like. I would buy one as soon as I find one at a decent price, then you would pay me back for them right away at cost (no markup). I can have them shipped to you or have them shipped to me and hold onto them until your name comes up on my waiting list. Then when your name comes up, I will invoice you for the cost of the mods.

Email me if you want help finding an HP1a

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My RD-1a is a modified RAAL SR-1a. It maintains all the things you love about the SR-1a including the lightning fast transients and super sharp attacks, the airy, open soundstage and incredible space between notes.

However, The SR-1a clearly lacks bass and there is a howling tonality over everything that comes from resonance off the wings and driver dividers.

My mod increases bass response by about 2x without loosing quality or creating any distortion like EQ would. It also removes this howling resonance leaving you with a much more pure tone, vocals for example are much more natural on my RD-1a.

There is no loss to the transient speed, sharp attacks or soundstage size or sense of air. It's really just a better headphone after this modification.

I add a "bass retention wall" made out of the highest quality visco elastic foam available at the outer edge of the wing that absorbs resonance and holds in a bit of bass, and I also cover all the surfaces with a thin layer of resonance absorption.

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