Initially I was not as impressed as I thought I would be. They do sound wonderful, but before I was able to complete this mod I purchased a TH900mk2 Limited Edition Pearl White with the anniversary tuning, and WOW, those phones are a game changer and set the bar really high. The energy, dynamics and speed from the 1.5T drivers is really something to be reckoned with. Add to that the Fostex anniversary tuning applied to those phones with a smoothed treble, raised mids (low, middle, and upper) and the well controlled bass that extends down deep, they over took me and the result was that I was initially underwhelmed with the TH610 level 2 Lawton.
As with all things for me it does take me a while to adapt and appreciate āchangeā as well as eliminate preconceptions.
What the Lawton mod did for the TH610 in summary, was raise it to the level of a TH900mk2 accomplishing many of the same things, smoothing treble, enhancing midrange and tightening up the bass adding control and detail. It is almost too similar now to the TH900mk2 and yet, still not exactly the same and that is where my disillusionment manifested. I was thinking āThese donāt have the the bass I expected, the treble is a touch ācrunchyā still and the timbre not as natural sounding (to me)ā. However, after I gave the new Lawtonās more time and stopped comparing them to the TH900mk2 directly, I felt much better about them and started appreciating them for what the are.
Now, comparing the TH610 Lawton to the D5000 Lawton, this is where the 610 comes into itās own. The D5000 is an all out bass cannon and super fun. The TH610 Lawton takes that to another level. Itās still bassy but a āgrown-upsā bass cannon not so bloomy more control - Itās not āalways onā. There is better decay, better speed that allows for more bass detail while still providing that fun factor. The 610 mids are clear, more linear and forward than the D5000. Not exponentially so, but still more prominent. Treble region, is very close between the 2, with a lean going towards the TH610 as being warmer.
With all that I said it may appear that I am negative, thatās not the case. I like the phone and if I had not heard the TH900mk2 PW, I am confident that Iād be gushing all over it. It does sound great.
TL:DR
Iāll need to spend more time with them and also allow for some of my obvious brain bias to dissipate before I can truly comment.