AKG K601 foam disc removal. anyone done it and found improvements?

[RexAeterna]

i couldn't literally find very little on this even on head-fi. i wonder how many here own the k601? i got mine from a trade and when i first heard them i found them to have a very relaxed top-end, cause i am so use to the flat top-end and air response with headphones i used. not cause i like artificial bright sound(by that i mean headphone with bumped top-end to fake details). i like natural sound flat top-ends that is fast in decay and will sound wonderful on songs with natural dynamics.

i was gonna trade these up after week of use cause i only used it for my ipod much more often for outside or late night listening cause of the relaxed top-end. they have wonderful sub-bass extension and good weight/impact to them without sounding accentuated surprisingly cause they use velvet pads which allows your ears to breath and limiting sealing ability like real leather.

now like about few days ago i decided to take the pads off and see if removing those thick foam discs around the driver can help cause not only was it covering the whole outside diaphragm but the acoustic ports around it as well,so i removed them and place the pads back on. to my surprise they gotten much better clarity and the top-end came out more! no more relaxed,dark sounding top-end. surprisingly these drivers have amazing speed so don't know why AKG decided to give them such a relaxed top-end with that  thick foam disc. the bass tames down a bit but not very noticeable unless you pay attention to it but me being a fan of tight, ''real'', non-accentuated bass it sounded fine to me since i am not a basshead and i care about more accurate bass response.

i haven't got a chance to test these against my modded fostex or 240DF since i still have them out for auditioning still. i was gonna trade these up for a Sony SA5000 or CD900ST but after removing the foam i got rid of all my ads cause the clarity i missed and wanted came by simple foam removal and now defiantly are keepers. i also have a pair of Sony SA5000 on my way when i get my other headphones back so i can audition the sony's and see how i really like them. if i feel i favor the sony's still i might put them up back for trade. might, but for now i finally can appreciate good clarity and sound(not like they sounded bad in the first place. not at all since i liked these much over the k701). no more annoying relaxed top-end and more clarity across the spectrum,especially the midrange.

[edsamac]

Actually, I did the same thing with my K242HD per suggestion of Bro Dyaems, and the result was somewhat similar to what you're describing.  I used to find the K242 rather dull on the highs, lacking shimmer and often times having a blunted tone.  It's just like how you described it - a sort of laid-back sound, but not aggressive enough to engage you in bright movements, such as rock or acoustic.  This made it feel natural, but at the same time rather detached.

It also sounded terribly dark when I hooked it up to an H/K AVR 145, and the "flat-top" treble was veiled even more thanks to the dark nature of the amp.  After removing the foam pads, however, the whole upper spectrum just opened up and became deliciously exciting.  Crisp and full of detail, but not as clear as the SR80i.  Still, there was such a great improvement that I've done away with the foam pads, altogether.  The only thing that's somewhat distressing is how the highs tend to pierce more than they used to.  I usually use the bass boost options on the E7 to veil out the highs (surprisingly, it does this without drowning out the mids), otherwise everything is much more engaging and energetic.

I'm not too sure what the point of those foam discs are, either, but I've been thinking of finding a plastic grill/mesh similar to those found on the DF to at least protect the face of the driver.  Otherwise - yeah, there is a marked improvement after removing those foam discs.

[RexAeterna]

the foam discs i see probably as for fine tuning maybe or quick decision to make their models different sounding from each other. i have looked around observed and seems the difference in mostly the 601 and 701 to 702 and q701 is the ''foam disc'' and the ''pads''. yea the 701 different driver cause it's 63ohms instead of 120ohms nominal but one of main difference is the pads(k601 uses velvet. K701 uses angled Velour pads to help angle the drivers) and the density of the inner foam discs. the k601 is more dense compared the k701. same with q701 with it's slight tweaking. all of akg current models is slight tweak from one or another it seems.