Quick report about removing the transparent tubes from the Z1R cables.
Reason to do it:
The material became quite sticky and it seemed to be decomposing. I had previously cleaned it with alcohol, so maybe that has contributed to it, or it might have been sunlight, body oils, who know. The point is it started to be very annoying as it would stick to my skin.
How to do it:
This part is simple. Just take a pair of fine scissors and carefully cut around the cable.
Note #1:
One thing to note is that jack end of the tube connects to a plastic bit that seems to have been molded onto the cable. It doesn't slide and is so tight on the jacket of the cable that I didn't feel like risking puncturing the jacket so I just left it in place. It might even be helpful to weigh down the cable around your ear.
Note #2:
A second thing to note is that the tube degradation appears to have been occurring on the inside as well. Either that or Sony decided to lube up the contact area between the cable jacket and the rubber tube. Regardless, the point is that I removed the tube to get rid of the stickiness and underneath I found more stickiness. The good thin is that this time, it cleaned up very well with alcohol. The plastic/rubber jacket does have some natural adhesive properties, so the now bare cable still sticks a tiny bit to my ears after a while.
Reasons not to do it:
Are there any downsides to removing the tubes? Yes. The tubes mounted flush to the MMCX connector housing, while the cable itself is a bit loose. Once the tube is gone, or even just punctured, water or sweat can now technically drip along the cable and into the connector housing. There might be a second layer of isolation inside the connector so this might be a non-issue, but my bet would be on them being at least somewhat exposed.
Final word:
After using this "mod" (lol) for a number of days now and during longer listening sessions, I am very happy with the change. Comfort is quite a bit better for me now and I believe that the soundstage has also increased - just kidding. So, if you're having trouble with the tubes rubbing on your ears, I think this is something worth a try. But I wouldn't do it on brand new cables, as I've compared my unused SE cable to my well used Bal cable, and the tubes on the unused cable felt a lot better. So wait until they start degrading to pick up the scissors.
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