I ended up modding my original, fully broken in pair last night. On the new (third) pair that I opened, I have to extend/slide the cups about an extra 1/2" down along the tubes compared to my original pair. They seem to fit better, too, that way, so I decided to mod the originals and let these new ones become my "stock" references. Also noteworthy is the fact that I prefer LESS GIVE in the memory foam pads that a brand new pair seems to offer. After break-in, the foam seems to relax, which I feel de-optimizes the fit for me. I would like to try some denser memory foam for the earpads in the future [as part of a more thorough modding scheme].
A few things:
(1)
The newest/3rd pair sounded completely innocuous straight out of the box: NO bass; confused, bright and congested mids and treble; puny soundstage. [Never had a stock pair sound this radically different from a fully developed pair before.] After about 20 hours these were really beginning to sing--sounding even "better"(?), I thought [scratching my head] than my original stock pair. So, between the better fit and the way these newest ones were opening up, I took apart my original pair.
(2)
Left Earcup: that wire was shorter inside this pair than in the previous set I opened up. Had to be very careful. Had to rotate the chrome plate/perforated grill coupling to be able to get them out of the way and stand them up on edge without unduly stressing that wire.
(3)
Removed the Rabbit Hole covers, this time intact.
(4)
Put a dynamat strip, about 1/2" x 1/4", on the driver casing, just above the fully open Rabbit Hole.
(5)
Cut a piece of faux-chamois 30mm x 15mm and double-sided taped it to the bottom of the earcup, centered and aligned along the major axis of the eliptical outline etched into the plastic down there.
(6)
Cut a strip of 3/8" thick open cell foam 2-1/4" long x 7/16" wide and wedged it from top to bottom, also aligned along the major axis of the earcup atop the chamois.
No Blue-Tak was used, except a little dot's-worth to batten down a corner of the chamois.
(7)
Closed up. The very last screw went in a little weirdly--hopefully it did not get cross-threaded.
[Will try to post pictures later.]
Soundstage is more voluminous and 3-dimensional.
Bass is fuller and warmer, not bloated [but could stand to be just a shade more taut].
Midrange is more developed; vocals are chestier/throatier.
Treble is more open and better differentuated, e.g. with massed strings [but could stand to be just a tad more transparent] .
Textures, overall--treble, midrange and bass--are more dense, with a better sense of both macro- and micro-dynamics.
Tones are sweeter, rounder and fuller, adding a further layer of differentiability to instruments/vocals.
Localization in space of various instruments/performers is more pinpoint.
I will say that I think there is a slight trade-off in absolute transparency with either of the mods I have tried so far [Lors' MIKROSHEARTHRUBASS and this one--still in progress]. Some of that gossamer/spiderweb-like connectivity is lost [a plus for the stock configuration]. But the significant gains, I think, come about in added bass warmth and heft, improved tonal density/truer timbre, improved sense of dynamics and a larger, more open and more cleanly differentiated soundstage.
After reading the last string of posts between Lors, Wayne and Nim, I may make the following adjustments:
(a) replace faux-chamois with real chamois or deerskin [soft-side up]
(b) put fiberloft or very open/transparent acoustic fabric directly over the Rabbit Hole
(c) maybe introduce incrementally small amounts of Tacky here and there.
Also, have been auditioning with the Auvio cable, which is comparatively bright alongside the ET-4 or the Teds custon UPOCC silver. So I will have to do some more auditioning using other cables together with the latest mods.
ENJOY..its fun Modding !
