I feel after the mods I did, while the sound is more balanced, it sounds a little bit sluggish and not dynamic. It needs more volume to play at a satisfying level, and it is definitely happier plugged to my headphone amp, the Burson Playmate.

I remember what I read about stacking magnets in Head-Fi and I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. So I ordered a pair of ring neodymium magnets. I use one 20x3mm with 5mm hole on each side. They are rated N52 but being 70 cents each I’m not sure if I can vouch for that.

Impressions: GOOD!

However, please always note that everything I write is subjective, and human audio memory is not reliable. Having said that, I feel more energetic music, more open and direct, if I may.

Kick drum on Roberta Flack – Killing Me Softly has an ‘ambience’ I’ve never heard before. So is the drum part on Chrisye’s Badai Pasti Berlalu.

Piano on Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man sounds fuller and more convincing – more accurate timbre, I would say. Electric bass and steel-string guitar on the intro of ‘All I Have to Do’ played by Nils Lofgren is very satisfying, definitely a step up by any measure.