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Welp. I tried this and can’t hear a difference. I guess I might not have the proper audiophile training. Or maybe excessive levels of skepticism made the placeb

Welp. I tried this and can’t hear a difference. I guess I might not have the proper audiophile training. Or maybe excessive levels of skepticism made the placebo effect not work. Luckily I didn’t damage them so no loss. I wish there was some more objective way I could measure. Though that’s difficult for obvious reasons. In fact, after getting covid I had tinnitus and everything felt muffled. An audiogram showed that I have above average hearing. But good luck telling my brain that. It’s constantly convinced that everything is muffled and there’s a ringing.

yadingus 3y ago
FWIW in my experience these changes are not immediately noticeable, but once you do get used to better gear, if you were to go back to the old one, then you'd notice the difference. Perhaps not a very viable experiment with this mod, but worth taking into account in general.
- throwanem 3y ago
  For almost a decade I've had a modded HD555, and another one that's not modded. I have never been able to tell a difference in audio output between the two. By contrast, moving to strictly better gear (as when I got the first HD555, or when I got the HD6XX that's replaced them both for music listening) is an immediately perceptible step change. Basically, the foam mod is nonsense. I get why it was popular, especially in audiophile circles where snake oil is always at least on the menu and often just is the menu. (Green marker around the rim of a CD, anyone? It makes the bits sound warmer!) At least in the case of the foam mod there's a physically plausible mechanism, which puts it head and shoulders above most audiophile nonsense. But it still does not make a perceptible difference in practice.
- erulabs 3y ago
  That’s how so much of life is. Moving up is somewhat “meh” and disappointing, but moving back down feels like a huge downgrade. It’s sort of a bummer!
  - aqfamnzc 3y ago
    That's why I've tried to stick with my cheaper stuff like Monoprice earbuds, haha.
  - ip26 3y ago
    I don’t think it’s “meh”, but I was surprised by the scale factors. High end product might cost 10x more, but it often feels like it’s only 50% better. It was disorienting given my misinformed understanding of wealth & the wealthy. See refrigerators. The units in the homes of the wealthy are way better than a $300 special at the big box store. But they are also still pretty much ordinary refrigerators.

yadingus 3y ago

FWIW in my experience these changes are not immediately noticeable, but once you do get used to better gear, if you were to go back to the old one, then you'd notice the difference. Perhaps not a very viable experiment with this mod, but worth taking into account in general.

throwanem 3y ago
For almost a decade I've had a modded HD555, and another one that's not modded. I have never been able to tell a difference in audio output between the two. By contrast, moving to strictly better gear (as when I got the first HD555, or when I got the HD6XX that's replaced them both for music listening) is an immediately perceptible step change. Basically, the foam mod is nonsense. I get why it was popular, especially in audiophile circles where snake oil is always at least on the menu and often just is the menu. (Green marker around the rim of a CD, anyone? It makes the bits sound warmer!) At least in the case of the foam mod there's a physically plausible mechanism, which puts it head and shoulders above most audiophile nonsense. But it still does not make a perceptible difference in practice.
erulabs 3y ago
That’s how so much of life is. Moving up is somewhat “meh” and disappointing, but moving back down feels like a huge downgrade. It’s sort of a bummer!
- aqfamnzc 3y ago
  That's why I've tried to stick with my cheaper stuff like Monoprice earbuds, haha.
- ip26 3y ago
  I don’t think it’s “meh”, but I was surprised by the scale factors. High end product might cost 10x more, but it often feels like it’s only 50% better. It was disorienting given my misinformed understanding of wealth & the wealthy. See refrigerators. The units in the homes of the wealthy are way better than a $300 special at the big box store. But they are also still pretty much ordinary refrigerators.