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DT880 leather pads

post #1 of 22
4/23/07 at 1:22pm
Thread Starter 
Has anyone tried these pads
http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynami...uschelsatz.htm

Are they leather or pleather?
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post #2 of 22
4/23/07 at 2:11pm
I believe "softskin" is a trade name for pleather.
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post #3 of 22
4/23/07 at 2:18pm
Pleather! The price alone should have told you. Additionally, you should realize there is a $50 minimum purchase at Thomann (common for Int'l orders), and shipping starts at $30.

Unfortunately, you will see listings that presumably say Leather and they are not. I had mistakes made with German parts orders where I have specified Leather or Genuine Leather - and have received &@!(&^&Y - there has to be a translation problem - but I haven't taken the time to pin it down. The vendors were good, honest firms where things sometimes can go a bit wrong.
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post #4 of 22
4/24/07 at 1:58am
Is it just personal preference that would make one choose to replace his velour pads with leather, or does this affect the sound quality?
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post #5 of 22
4/24/07 at 3:23am
Thread Starter 
Genuine leather pads available from with Beyer Manufakture headsets were reported on increasing DT880 bass response.
Pleather on the other hand just doesn't work that well.
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post #6 of 22
4/24/07 at 8:43am
Vanity can also play a part in people buying leather earpads (although I really do prefer the Gen. Leather 2005 headband covers [you should realize they are not exactly the same length as the 2003 and if switching, you should also do the headband ends at the same time).
Sent my pair of leather earpads off to Larry with other parts for new Darths he's building for me - so haven't done any real fooling with them.........but put an order in for 880's and included Red Leather for them (and a spare pair in Blk) - when that arrives I'll decide what works for me. I have doubts about using them on Darths or 770's because I'm the sort who wears them loosely as possible because I prefer a little less bass than a tighter fit provides.

Besides that Skylab post re 880's/leather, you should do search to find JensL thread on the subject when he got some (then early and new) 2005 Beyers from his Norwegian distrubutor and his experiences with Gen. Leather vs. Velour.
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post #7 of 22
4/24/07 at 9:12am
See my signature on the topic of DT880 and genuine leather pads: Team DT880 Leather Notch Mod.
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post #8 of 22
4/24/07 at 2:23pm
IMO, the genuine leather pads sound great. I don't have the same problem with the change in frequency response - I actually LIKE what the leather pads do to the frequency response. Those Pleathers, on the other hand, are way too much.
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post #9 of 22
4/24/07 at 4:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylab View Post
IMO, the genuine leather pads sound great. I don't have the same problem with the change in frequency response - I actually LIKE what the leather pads do to the frequency response. Those Pleathers, on the other hand, are way too much.
For sure it's as matter of taste as to whether you want to notch the frequency in the upper bass. For what it's worth my notch (and this will only make sense if you read my post) is now 0-5-3, i.e. less than before and now flat from 55 through 110hz, but I do still find some real benefit in reducing resonance around 156 hz.

I absolutely agree though that the genuine leathers make the DT880s sound great. It's a remarkable acoustic affect. Complaints of anemic bass no longer apply.
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post #10 of 22
4/24/07 at 4:44pm
cooperpwc - I've noticed 3 (maybe more, not sure) equalizer settings. Do you have a theory as to why you have had to make changes since the original posts?
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post #11 of 22
4/24/07 at 5:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by BushGuy View Post
cooperpwc - I've noticed 3 (maybe more, not sure) equalizer settings. Do you have a theory as to why you have had to make changes since the original posts?
Good question. On the basis of the frequencies at 110 hz, 156 hz and 220 hz where the perceived resonance resides, I have gone from -3, -6, -3 (described as 3-6-3) to 3-5-3 and now to 0-5-3. So the trend has been downwards towards a flatter EQ setting.

The short answer is that I have been experimenting and refining my opinion as to what is right. Here are some of the settings that I have played with over the past five weeks or so that I have had the DT880s:



I think that the leather pads may be wearing in a bit so that less EQ is necessary. Mostly I am biased towards doing as little notching as possible and, admitting that I am a basshead, I am now as much as possible only notching where I feel that it is really necessary - specifically 156hz.

I do still think that 3-5-3 is probably most accurate and may be best for classical but I usually just use 0-5-3 because it sounds great with everything.

EDIT - UPDATE:

Shortly after writing this, I experimented again and reduced my setting to 0-4-2. The pads definitely break in. Then I went a further step and the result is this update to the thread previously linked in my signature:

Some before me had found the DT880's upper bass overwhelming with the leather pads and abandoned them. I believe that to be a mistake as they are missing the best of how the DT880s can sound. The leather notch mod is a better alternative.

However, the leather pads break in over time and I have found that the bass bloat is reduced and becomes entirely volume dependent. (This is not surprising: just as yelling in a large hall will cause an echo but talking may not.) I no longer use frequency notching but rather take advantage of the leathered DT880s enhanced bass as an opportunity to keep volume low which I had otherwise been desiring to do. If I hear any bloat, it's like an alarm going off that I'm listening too loud. Used this way, it's quite remarkable how good the leathered DT880s sound at reasonable volumes.
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post #12 of 22
4/25/07 at 2:22am
Thread Starter 
Anyone tried these
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...ughType=search
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post #13 of 22
4/25/07 at 8:11am
Andrew, those are the pleather pads again. If you look at the picture on the right, there are no holes on the back of the earpad - a sure sign.
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post #14 of 22
4/25/07 at 12:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by cooperpwc View Post
Andrew, those are the pleather pads again. If you look at the picture on the right, there are no holes on the back of the earpad - a sure sign.
Interesting looks like we have at least two different designs of pleather pads.
As these do have holes in the back
http://www.thomann.de/fi/beyerdynami...ohrpolster.htm

Or may be it's leather.
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post #15 of 22
4/25/07 at 1:08pm
Those sure look like pleather to me! And you're right, they do have the holes. Those are for the DT770. Maybe that's why? I have no idea.

The genuine leather pads really do look different. They have a slight extruding lip where the genuine leather front is fused to an artificial back.
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