[VeXun]

I picked up a pair of 558's last weekend and absolutely love them and I don't even have them amped yet. I have burned them in for about 25-30 hours now and they are sounding better now but the bass with certain genres of music is only good at higher volume, I am tempted to remove the foam because I have a best buy warranty so it wont matter if I lose the Sennheiser warranty, Is there a way to put the foam back on if I don't like the way it sounds after I remove it?
 
Will I lose any sound stage or any quality if I do this mod? If I have to lose any accuracy that will change my mind. I know I need an amp but I have no idea what to get considering my budget is so low right now.

 

[WhiteCrow]

Quote:

I picked up a pair of 558's last weekend and absolutely love them and I don't even have them amped yet. I have burned them in for about 25-30 hours now and they are sounding better now but the bass with certain genres of music is only good at higher volume, I am tempted to remove the foam because I have a best buy warranty so it wont matter if I lose the Sennheiser warranty, Is there a way to put the foam back on if I don't like the way it sounds after I remove it?
 
Will I lose any sound stage or any quality if I do this mod? If I have to lose any accuracy that will change my mind. I know I need an amp but I have no idea what to get considering my budget is so low right now.

The 558 shouldent have foam in them, I believe thats just the 555.

 

[karohan]

No, the 558 DOES have foam in them (I owned them). But your implication is right, removing the foam wouldn't make them 598s like removing the foam made 555's into 595's. There are still some differences (I own 598s now).
Quote:

The 558 shouldent have foam in them, I believe thats just the 555.

 

[SONIC BOOM]

I would say look into getting something like a fiio e17 and use the bass bost

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I picked up a pair of 558's last weekend and absolutely love them and I don't even have them amped yet. I have burned them in for about 25-30 hours now and they are sounding better now but the bass with certain genres of music is only good at higher volume, I am tempted to remove the foam because I have a best buy warranty so it wont matter if I lose the Sennheiser warranty, Is there a way to put the foam back on if I don't like the way it sounds after I remove it?
 
Will I lose any sound stage or any quality if I do this mod? If I have to lose any accuracy that will change my mind. I know I need an amp but I have no idea what to get considering my budget is so low right now.

The HD558 and HD598 use the same driver and the HD598 does not have the black rubber tape.
I removed the tape a few weeks after getting the HD558, the two tape pieces are still stuck to the side of my computer case.

 

[streetdragon]

Just bought the HD558 and brought it home a few minutes ago, should i remove the foam tape? and what changes does it make?

 

[VeXun]

Wait so if the foam mod were to make the quality go down I could put them back on? Also I purchased a warranty from best buy so if I do void my warranty from Sennheiser would I be safe? Any time in the past I have used my warranty at best buy they didn't even bother making sure the headphones were the correct model let alone inspect them.

 

[VeXun]

Quote:

The HD558 and HD598 use the same driver and the HD598 does not have the black rubber tape.
I removed the tape a few weeks after getting the HD558, the two tape pieces are still stuck to the side of my computer case.

Wait so if the foam mod were to make the quality go down I could put them back on? Also I purchased a warranty from best buy so if I do void my warranty from Sennheiser would I be safe? Any time in the past I have used my warranty at best buy they didn't even bother making sure the headphones were the correct model let alone inspect them.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

Wait so if the foam mod were to make the quality go down I could put them back on? Also I purchased a warranty from best buy so if I do void my warranty from Sennheiser would I be safe? Any time in the past I have used my warranty at best buy they didn't even bother making sure the headphones were the correct model let alone inspect them.

the mod is reversable, provided you don't lose the sticking power on the foam tapes by exposing it to dust and sorts

 

[streetdragon]

just did the mod, now i love the headphones more than ever, treble is significanly more refined and yet less biting now 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

just did the mod, now i love the headphones more than ever, treble is significanly more refined and yet less biting now 

I believe my HD558s improved after 20 or 30 hours of use.

 

[VeXun]

I am really worried about removing the valour pads, do they clip on? how are they attatched? Also when you put them back on did they look exactly as they did before you took them off? Do I just take them off, remove the 3 screws then carefully remove the foam strip? 

 

[SONIC BOOM]

yes they clip on.

 

[karohan]

Quote:

I am really worried about removing the valour pads, do they clip on? how are they attatched? Also when you put them back on did they look exactly as they did before you took them off? Do I just take them off, remove the 3 screws then carefully remove the foam strip? 

The pads are super easy to remove. You might be afraid that you're going to break them, but they're just clipped on and with a little force, they clip on/off. The part you should be careful is unscrewing the cover to access the tape. Try to be gentle with the wire attached to the driver. 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

I am really worried about removing the valour pads, do they clip on? how are they attatched? Also when you put them back on did they look exactly as they did before you took them off? Do I just take them off, remove the 3 screws then carefully remove the foam strip? 

They are clipped on, the Veluor ear pads are attached (glued?) to a plastic ring, the plastic ring is attached/clipped to the headphones, the clipped part is around the inner part of the plastic ring.
So have something like a small flathead screwwdriver ( or something close to that) handy.
You need to use your fingers on the inside of the velour pads to to lift one side just a little, on the outside you will see a space open between the outer part of the plastic ring and the headphone cup.
put the screwdriver a few millimeter in side, between the space, you can use that to slowly pop off the velour pad/plastic ring.
The clips do make a little noise while remove ear pads
I made the mistake of just trying to pull/yank the velours straight off, but lucky only had a few milli-meters of tear on the velour, which is not visable.
once the velours are off, remove the three screws, remove inner cover, the remove the black rubber tape (carefully)
Then put cover and three screws back in, carefully press velour ear pads back in place (hear clips reattach)