Hifiman HE pentagram/star grille mod for headphones

Pentagram Grille Mod for Hifiman HE6SEv2 Headphones

Introduction

Hifiman HE6SE v2 headphones, as well as other Hifiman HE-series headphones that share the earcup design (at least HE400), benefit from the “grill mod”, i.e., either removing the grille entirely or replacing it with a more open design. Removing the grille entirely seems risky, since it exposes the internals of the headphone to stray fingers and dust, so I designed a 3D-printable replacement grille.

This grille design ⛧ particularly enhances the sound for black metal music. 😉😈 You can invert it to make it a star symbol (e.g., print in blue and white for the USA flag star or blue and gold for the EU flag star).

To be serious, the exact shape of the grille seems to be largely irrelevant to the sound, it's more of a matter of how much it obstructs the opening. This is much more open than the stock grille.

Printing

Print with 100% infill (or enough wall loops to do the same). The top surfaces can be improved by ironing. If you want the pentagram to really stand out, the “Pentagram Top” is a separate component in the 3D model, and can be printed in a different color.

For two-color printing of the pentagram, there is only one filament change needed, so it's possible to manually change the filament at the third layer from the top.

If your build plate has a strong grip, be careful when removing the prints – the points of the pentagram can snap if bent.

Installation

1. Remove the stock grilles by wedging your fingernails (or a plastic guitar pick) between the earcup and the plastic ring surrounding the grille. They come off very easily.
2. Turn the headphones with the grille facing down and it will just fall out. Catch it.
3. Optional: peel off the cloth from the stock grille. It is glued on. You can also use speaker cabinet cloth or something similar to replace it, if you don't want to do this. Or you can leave the cloth out if you are not worried about dust entering the headphones.
4. Optional: if you will use a backing cloth (recommended), glue it to the back of the printed grille. I just used the glue stick that came with the printer.
5. Insert the replacement grille into the headphone. Use the headband yoke as the “up” direction guide for alignment. (In particular, the cable connector is not straight down when worn.) For a Christmasy “Hail Santa!” experience, have one point facing down, or opt for a more magical starlight experience by having one point facing up.
6. Reinstall the retaining ring. There are four small tabs that insert into four holes. The placements are not completely symmetrical, so you need to check  that two adjacent tabs are aligned with a hole. Then insert one tab into the hole and the rest will follow easily. If you missed, it's not serious, you can either rotate the ring while pushing down until it snaps into place, or retry.