Dekoni Foam Attenuation Kit – A Budget Modders Paradise? 

Dekoni Foam Attenuation Kit – A Budget Modders Paradise?

Dekoni’s long-standing goal has always been providing comfort alongside a chance to modify the sound signature of your headphones, with the Elite Series encompassing the widest variety of sound changes. Ranging from the open, airy velour and fenestrated pads to the warm, isolating sheepskin pads, the choices are available for those able to afford it. However, for those on a tight budget or wanting to maximize their spending only on the headphones themselves, what tools are available to give them a proper modding experience without stretching their budget?

ATTFK-03With the recent release of the latest Foam Attenuation kit, the opportunity was clear: with an affordable kit offering a variety of densities, I was curious exactly how expansive the modding possibilities could be with only one or two sets of earpads on a single headphone. For testing, we’ll be using a Dekoni Blue with both the X00 Elite Hybrid and T50RP Elite Velour pads as our baseline.

The goal of this won’t be to find a single ideal sound signature for me, but instead explore the range of capabilities the foamkit brings to the table to cover a wide variety of use cases. For this testing, the focus will fall in the two areas most related to me: music and simracing. For music, I enjoy a more v-shaped sound signature emphasizing the low frequencies to keep the listening as relaxing as possible.

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Simracing, on the other hand, places a significant emphasis on the midrange and highs to be able to pick out finer details of exactly what the car is doing. Hearing the differences between front and rear tire scrubbing as well as ABS/TC activation is critical in maximizing pace over both qualifying and race sessions. Lower frequencies aren’t strictly necessary as they can potentially hide key audio cues and don’t necessarily increase immersion. In many scenarios, bass shakers are the next natural step in a sim rig’s assembly before moving to motion rigs to better feel the suspension of the car.

Before we dive into the mods tested and results, let’s look at the most common modding options available.

The Blue is an in-house mod of the classic Fostex T50RP, utilizing a semi-open design along with a denser baffle and Dekoni earpads to turn the studio-grade sound signature into a warm, exciting headphone. Swapping the Hybrid pads for the Velour ones reduces the bass content, resulting in an overall brighter sound. We’ll be diving deeper by looking at combining foams, looking behind the driver and experimenting with the openness, and experiencing just how complex modding can become with something as simple as a stack of foam.

Keep an eye out for part 2 as we open up our Blue and tuck foam into places deeper than most common modding practices go for!