Out of pure curiosity, I decided to remove the white sponge pads inside the HI 2050 cups and oh boy does it do wonders:
- The somewhat limited soundstage has really opened and thanks to that, tracks with multiple instruments have more room to breath. The drums on my metal songs become calmer, less "metallic" sounding and bloated, and leave other instruments much more audible.
- The high peaks seem to be more controlled, they don't drill deep holes in your ears like before but instead just dig some shallow cracks and then fly off (I can't search for any other more appropriate expressions LOL) I find myself no longer dependent on the electri-q setting recommended earlier in this thread. It could be placebo effect though, I'm not totally sure
- The can now feel slightly lighter. Not much, but I think it's quite noticeable, which adds to the overall comfort.
However, there are cons to this so-called mod too. The bass, which is originally quite weak imho, now get even more pale. And the sound leak is bigger than ever. Don't ever try wearing this next to your drowsy wife if at nights or else you'll end up sleeping on the sofas
So, to sum up, I think this simple trick would be useful for those seeking for a wider soundstage, more seperation and less spikey highs. This would be ideal for genres like classical, busy rock and metal (if you're not bassheads) imho. Not suitable for bass centric genres like DnB, mainstream pop etc.
For me, I'm glad I did this mod. But I don't expect my Sennheiser Hd 239 to feel willing too haha
Happy modding and listening guys!