2021-05-28: Creation of the DIY foam mod.
You most likely have an iem that you arent exactly pleased with the treble, maybe its a bit too much in quantity or just a peak that annoys you. Well, then you should try this DIY foam mod using ordinary earbud foam as the material. All you need to do is rip it apart into smaller pieces. Like this:
To get a 1/16 size of the full foam then you put it inside the tips and the magic begins from there.
(watch this video if you are unsure on how to do it:
)
Positive changes:
The DQ6, TSMR – 4 pro, Hana and the T800 benefited a lot from this foam mod. The shoutyness in the Hana and the TSMR – 4 pro (along with less BA timbre but also got a pretty big hit with the technicalities) is gone while the peaky treble in the DQ6 is also gone. The sibilance with the T800 is gone as well and is actually useable for me now and also got a bit less BA timbre in it. Game changer for the DQ6, Hana and the T800!
Neutral:
The mod with the EX1000 and the Tape does help, but not enough. The Tape needs to have its 3,5k peak cut down a lot more and the EX1000 just needs a big overhaul of its entire treble.
Negative:
None of these iems needs this mod for me since I dont have issues with them. So with them, the quality dropped without any real benefit in tonality. The modded Oxygen sounds identical to the modded Hana as well.
Overall: This mod is a great mod if you have some slight issues with peaks here and there or if you just want it to be warmer overall. But when the issue is caused by a massive peak or if the entire treble just needs to overhauled, then this mod wont solve the issue and you are better of with PEQ. With iems that you do not have problems with, it simply reduces the overall quality, so not recommended for them either.
If you want to increase or decrease the effect, just use a bigger size (like 1/8 instead of 1/16) or with a more porous foam. Using the Hana as the example, you can see that using the 1/8 size will reduce the treble even more and also boosts the bass directly, this isnt good for me because it loses too much quality. Thats why, I believe that the 1/16 is the optimal size.
Rank changes accompanying this mod:
Audiosense T800 A+ (foam mod)
KZ DQ6 A (foam mod)
Tanchjim Hana A+ (foam mod)
Tansio Mirai TSMR – 4 Pro B (foam mod)
from:
Audiosense T800 B+
KZ DQ6 A-
Tanchjim Hana B
Tansio Mirai TSMR – 4 Pro B-
Also added a separate a separate ranking for iems with mods:
(The list will be sorted by the highest rankings.)
So this should be helpful to people that dont want to mod their iems. Just a noticed though, I dont count changing cables (doesnt affect sound) nor tips as being mods.
Since tips are extremely important to fit and therefore the sound (stock tips almost never fit me).