I wouldn't say the C-pads "kill" the Grado sound quality either, but they do alter it. I just had my 4-port alphas converted to 8-port, which I'm running with no plugs. I did myself a favor having Larry add the extra ports, because I thought the 4-ports were a little too dark and too bass-heavy (or lower-midrange heavy). The 8-ports, at least completely "unplugged," have ALMOST the hyperdetailed highs I get with stock Grados. Probably the tonal balance is a little more natural than the bowl pads. With the C-pads there's a very slight loss of transient speed compared to stock, but as a tradeoff there's a much better sense of space--bigger, deeper, wider, and better defined--and a much better sense of musicians playing in an actual space. In fact, in 10 years of Grado use I'd thought that "Grados with a big soundstage" was an oxymoron, and after using Senns and K501s I thought that "classical-friendly phones that are easy to drive" was an oxymoron. Not anymore.