I think the other idea, the one I've tried by taking the fabric out of the Focus-A pads is hitting that middle ground but perhaps in the opposite way. I find that vocals or whatever the dominant melodic instrument is at the time, is often very close in the sound field, like right in front of my face or even right in the middle of my head. However, there are many sounds that are also far off in the distance. For me, I think that the grille mod emphasizes that separation too much, making those details even further away from the center image. (I tried taking the grilles off completely and found this before the pad mod).
By taking the fabric out of the Focus-A pads, I got that significant boost in clarity and more precise imaging but I didn't push those sounds further away.
I still haven't tried taking the grilles off with the fabric gone, nor have I cut the fabric out of the Focus pads.... I guess I pretty much have to now.
A big change though too is the upgraded cable I added so others' experiences would still likely vary from mine.
I'll be waiting