jekostas
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2011
- Posts
- 328
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- 196
Alright, Part 2 - Post Mod
Since I prefer a slightly warmer headphone (and my source is very neutral) I decided to go with the tape and hole mod that was posted earlier in the thread. Simply taping over the forward vents on the earphone substantially increased the bass response, but also decreased the soundstage and made it somewhat boomy. I ended up poking some holes in the tape with a small needle to "tune" them to what I wanted. All credit to ScottFW for the idea.
Since a fair bit of my earlier review is still valid I'll only be posting the differences here.
Isolation: With the forward vent taped over isolation does increase in the headphones, but not a drastic amount (they're still quite shallow in terms of insertion).
Bass: Bass response increases noticeably post-mod, with more body, impact and thickness. Without adding back a little bit of venting the bass can get very boomy due to the reverb in the shells. Overall sub-bass response doesn't really change.
Mid and Treble: Post-mod there's a touch of bass bleed in to the mids, but overall the mid and treble response doesn't change much. The increased bass prominence does lend the overall sound a much warmer signature, without sounding dark.
Soundstage: A much more drastic change can be found in the soundstage. Where before it was airy and open, the soundstage is now much more intimate. It's not quite in-your-head stuffy, though, more like listening to music in a medium sized room rather than a music hall. On the plus side the smaller soundstage does help with overall cohesion, with various instruments and vocals no longer separating in to disparate elements on busy tracks. A reasonable trade-off for me.
I'd hesitate to call the newer signature "bass heavy", especially compared to other bargain buds. I would call it more "bass-focused" and warmer than anything and the soundstage does become more intimate. Personally, I prefer a warmer sound in my phones so I'll likely keep the mod, but it's easy enough to reverse and reapply if necessary.
Since I prefer a slightly warmer headphone (and my source is very neutral) I decided to go with the tape and hole mod that was posted earlier in the thread. Simply taping over the forward vents on the earphone substantially increased the bass response, but also decreased the soundstage and made it somewhat boomy. I ended up poking some holes in the tape with a small needle to "tune" them to what I wanted. All credit to ScottFW for the idea.
Since a fair bit of my earlier review is still valid I'll only be posting the differences here.
Isolation: With the forward vent taped over isolation does increase in the headphones, but not a drastic amount (they're still quite shallow in terms of insertion).
Bass: Bass response increases noticeably post-mod, with more body, impact and thickness. Without adding back a little bit of venting the bass can get very boomy due to the reverb in the shells. Overall sub-bass response doesn't really change.
Mid and Treble: Post-mod there's a touch of bass bleed in to the mids, but overall the mid and treble response doesn't change much. The increased bass prominence does lend the overall sound a much warmer signature, without sounding dark.
Soundstage: A much more drastic change can be found in the soundstage. Where before it was airy and open, the soundstage is now much more intimate. It's not quite in-your-head stuffy, though, more like listening to music in a medium sized room rather than a music hall. On the plus side the smaller soundstage does help with overall cohesion, with various instruments and vocals no longer separating in to disparate elements on busy tracks. A reasonable trade-off for me.
I'd hesitate to call the newer signature "bass heavy", especially compared to other bargain buds. I would call it more "bass-focused" and warmer than anything and the soundstage does become more intimate. Personally, I prefer a warmer sound in my phones so I'll likely keep the mod, but it's easy enough to reverse and reapply if necessary.
!
