Ok so just installed a lawton Tune up and have the damper disk at position 3, and holy cow. Its really a great boost in SQ to my ears. The bass has grown a bit deeper when called for, the mids have really taken a step forward, and the highs have been tamed. The disk seemed to just give the lawton mod the last little oomph it needed.
Listening to several EDM tracks, I can really tell the bass stops and goes faster and harder, while the treble in the background has a nice consistent sparkle but not shrill. Hip Hop vocals also come through better and smoother. Strings and background riffs in alternative tracks also have clearly improved.
I tried with the lawton pads, and I did lose bass, but gained what seemed like some more instrument separation. Im thinking the bass decrease is because the pads have smaller interior diameters and thus blocks some the of holes that have been cleared up by moving the damping disk. Id have to play around a bit more to give a full opinion on them. I'm having trouble A/Bing the pads because it takes a few minutes to swap them. So this is by no means a good or bad comment on the lawton pads. I'm going to try getting some of the mounting plates to keep on the lawton pads to allow faster swapping.
Cosmetically, my lawton pads aren't as nice as the stock pads. The stock pads have a mice matte finish that matches well. the lawton have a slight sheen to them. Maybe because the material difference. I did notice myself being less worried about the position of the phones on my head with the lawtons, since the lawton has a smaller earhole and thus less forward and back movement.
Edit: the lawton tune up did require some trimming to fit accurately. install time was 10 minutes. Difficulty of 4/10 for anyone with headphone disassembly experience. mostly only due to the small screws that need to be removed. If you're not scared of little screws and have good dexterity, 2/10. Did one cup at a time.
and I have access to CNC. But time, that one I don't have much.
