Yeah, despite damping airflow through the hole, which helped, it was not enough to make me want to use them. It's no fault of the builder, because he's obviously made a bud that is loved by many people.
It's just... after I started DIY'ing for a while, I could find ways to tune to fit my personal preferences, which nobody else can do. That knowledge beats out any hundreds of dollars that I could spend on other people's buds. Thanks to you and the others on this and the earbuds thread.
I don't think I'll be buying any more big name buds anymore. Just interesting shells, cables, and drivers. Well, unless I am able to listen to them for a while first.
By the way, the hacked version sounds amazing

It is currently permanently attached to my Qudelix 5k.