Speakerphile
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 30, 2012
- Posts
- 797
- Likes
- 42
Quote:
You are correct in that it shouldn't hurt the seal, but the seal is not the entire equation. If the foam is more compressed, it's ability to absorb certain frequencies changes. Also, if the foam is more compressed, the "chamber" that the cup makes will have less volume, which would alter the sound as well. This is to say nothing about your ears touching the cup which would alter your perception of the sound you are hearing. My point was that, after this mod has been in place for an extended period of time, you cannot simply remove it to "go back to normal". You would have to replace the pads altogether.
You're totally right, but I can't see it being detrimental to the seal, I mean, the part of the pad that's conformed to my face is really what matters, isn't it? The gauze did compress quite a bit with use, and I can easily tell it's moulded to shape, but like I said, I can't see the inside of the earpad cushion's shape being what hurts the seal. I can't disagree that the pads would be a little shallower, but from memory (pun unintended), I don't seems to notice much of a difference, but it's been a while, so tifwiw. If my assumption is incorrect, then please correct me. I'm going by 'logic' which doesn't always work out for me lol.
And yeah, I wasn't expecting to keep these earpads in. Ever since Val announced the XL Cushions (I still like DD lol) I've been patiently waiting for them to be released and replace the stock pads/mod. Until then I'm fine with however the stock pads turn out (with or without the mod), theyr'e not the permanent pads I plan on using.
I'd like to take this time to throw it out there to those who don't want to 'stuff $300 headphones with paper towel to make ti sound how it should'. I understand the frustration that might lend to, seeing users such as myself being happy with the mod. However, Val's R&D team developed the pads to be MEMORY FOAM. It has to sink in; once the seal is optimal, the sound is optimal, and that's the point. For me it was a purely comfort issue as to why I decided to put in the mod, but a secondary result of the mod ended up having a more preferred sound. Keep in mind that every review/site/aggrigate blog site that's lended a high esteem award to the M-100 has done so without any mod, and I think more users here than not are happy with their M-100s sound without the mod. So just because a few people here have comfort issues, or report 'better' (subjective) sound with the mod in, shouldn't steer people away. Val's working hard on getting the comfort right for everyone, but that doesn't mean a modification of any sort won't make a difference. Take Fostex T50RP headphones for example. How many people mod that thing to get a preferred sound? And that involves much more than a couple rolls of paper towel or gauze.
You are correct in that it shouldn't hurt the seal, but the seal is not the entire equation. If the foam is more compressed, it's ability to absorb certain frequencies changes. Also, if the foam is more compressed, the "chamber" that the cup makes will have less volume, which would alter the sound as well. This is to say nothing about your ears touching the cup which would alter your perception of the sound you are hearing. My point was that, after this mod has been in place for an extended period of time, you cannot simply remove it to "go back to normal". You would have to replace the pads altogether.