I'd say that's pretty accurate. If you haven't put the order in yet, you might want to try finding a used Purity Audio KICAS. Very fast and clean, and it might give you more precision. The Caliente version (what I have) has deeper bass, but I guess both models are very similar. Looks like someone is selling, actually.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749176/purity-audio-kicas-caliente-amplifier
Thanks for the suggestion Levaix, I will look into it. Still haven't ordered my amp yet, waiting on some funds.
The sound signature of the Blackwood that I originally thought to be a bit dark or "veiled" has actually grown on me a lot (brain burn-in) and now sounds a lot more detailed and balanced than I had originally thought. However, I still wanted to experiment with dampening material adjustment, just to see what the difference was like. I took the earpads off, removed the dampening material entirely, put the pads back on, and listened to some songs I am very familiar with.
As to be expected, the sound was a lot brighter, more sibilant, less smooth, and I had to use a lower volume than previously. Obviously, I was used to the stock sound with the dampening, so I tried out a fair number of songs to try to acclimate myself to it. On some very well recorded stuff (like the 2010 45rpm re-issue of A Love Supreme), it wasn't so bad, in fact it might have been a slight improvement, with some details less buried in the mix. However, on the majority of stuff I played, especially modern or lower-fidelity recordings, the sibilance and harsh, aggressive sound did more harm than good. Yes, the sound was clearer, the tonality was a bit more "full", and I can see how the more "in your face" presentation could be appealing in some cases, but the tradeoff wasn't worth it for most of my music. I debated leaving the dampening out for a few days or longer, to allow my ears/brain time to adjust as it had to the stock configuration, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. The loss of sound enjoyment was too much!
I thought about experimenting with roughly 50% of the dampening material removed, but considering how it is arranged, I decided against it, as I feared not being able to get it back to the way it was originally. I ended up putting all of the material back in, and returned to the sound I've grown to love. I guess it makes sense that Zach wouldn't put that material in there if he didn't think it was a good idea, and my ears agree.
This has been a learning experience for me. I think I just had it ingrained in my mind that brightness = detail. This test was an attempt for me to brighten up that sound to try to bring out additional detail. The Blackwood has taught me that a dark sound can still deliver oodles of detail when called upon to do so. Oftentimes, the detail it does roll off is recording or mastering flaws that I'd rather not hear anyways. As I mentioned previously, my headphone experience is limited, so what might be "dark" to me might not be as much to others (I haven't tried headphones such as HD650, LCD-2, etc).
Wow, this ended up being a lot longer than I had planned! Sorry for the wall of text. I still encourage anybody with the Blackwoods to do this experiment, because YMMV. For example, Grizzly said he completely removed the dampening and it's working out well for him. If nothing else, a peek inside will give you a better knowledge of the mods at play here.
Review / impressions coming soon!
