One, I don't think the 4s or 8s are worth it unless you plan to mod them with the samson or audio technica adapters. Two, degrade the sound compared to what other option?
what upgrade do you speak of? The power adapter module upgrade?
I am gonna do this mod shortly, but I wanna get the AT adapters instead of the samson adapters. leegeddy gave me the phone number where I can get them, but they are significatly more than the Samson brand.