M-Audio Q40 Impressions (long w/pics) - Page 59

Yeah, I got them from Music Matter like a few more people here and they are just doing a straight replacement instead of a lengthy repair so I'm happy about that. I just ordered some new cable for them to and that came today but I was unable to use it. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacknile 

I got a pair for £59 shipped. These must be the absolute best value headphones in the UK at the moment.

 

They have almost the exact sound signature I was looking for! I much prefer them to my M50 for jazz and classical...With jazz especially, they render acoustic double bass beautifully, while I love how cellos sound in classical records.

 

Now if I could only reduce a bit the bass: is there a fix apart from equalising? I find that on recordings where the bass is already heavy from the mastering stage (ambient, electronica) with these headphones it becomes bloated - frankly a bit too much.

 

Any ideas?

I've never found the bass to be bloated. Plentiful but not hyperextended. You may want to try different earpads and see if that changes things a bit towards better.  

Thank. Does the bass response change with different amplification, in your experience? I must admit I've only fed these from a desktop computer's jack and from a speaker amp jack. Could it be that high output impedance jacks change the bass response for these headphones?

Mine are sounding pretty good with an Odac & M-stage combo, this is my first decent setup and the acid test for me is a much played EDM cd, the never before heard detail on this cd had a big smile on my face this morning and Battlefield 3 is just astounding..

As other have said its a little tight on the noggin but for £59 I'll persevere..
 

Anyone know if the DT990 velour pads are the same as the DT770 in terms of size and fitting the Q40? The DT770s are sold out everywhere but the DT990s are still in stock at a few places...

I read on the Pro700mk2 thread that the 990 pads are different from the 770s. The 990 ones tend to reduce the amount of bass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prakhar 

I read on the Pro700mk2 thread that the 990 pads are different from the 770s. The 990 ones tend to reduce the amount of bass.

Ugh.

Anyone have any leads on 770 pads??

Quote:

Originally Posted by canuck88 

 

Ugh.

 

Anyone have any leads on 770 pads??

I bought my 770 velour pads from BHPhotoVideo, but I think they're out of stock right now. They do have the gel pads in stock though so you could try getting those, or you could wait for the velours to come back in stock.

Another option would be to mod the original pads, by stuffing something underneath them to give your ears some more clearance. 

EDIT: Found the pads on amazon. 
http://www.amazon.com/Beyerdynamic-EDT-Replacement-Pads-Pair/dp/B0016MMYKA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360863549&sr=8-1&keywords=dt+770+pads

For you guys shopping for a new cable, you might want to check out this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/506494/m-audio-q40-replacement-cable

I found one I like that has the bonus of a button/mic to control your mp3 player/phone (I posted pics in that thread).

I wish these didn't clamp as bad, struggling to find headphones that have the same sort of sound signature. The DT770 Pro 80s sound far too recessed/distant to me.

Clamping on mine has decreased considerably after 2 weeks of daily usage. No forced stretching was required. Try to persevere for a bit and see how it goes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacknile 

Clamping on mine has decreased considerably after 2 weeks of daily usage. No forced stretching was required. Try to persevere for a bit and see how it goes.

Yea it does loose some over time for sure but the clamp never bothered me on this headphone even at start, guess I'm lucky because I do remember having issues with clamping on a DT770 Pro (the cups were so large and rather stiff it pressed on my cheekbones quite hard and caused fatigue) but it was like  as if the velour pads were really compact while the Q40 stock pads are shallow but still softer than those pads.

I agree. TBH these Q40 are much more comfortable than my old ATH-M50. Those were very heavy, head strong clamping and the weight gave me neck pain after 4 or 5 hours of usage. The Q40 are lighter, the clamping is spot on and the stock pads are soft enough, which means I can use them for hours without any problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blacknile 

Clamping on mine has decreased considerably after 2 weeks of daily usage. No forced stretching was required. Try to persevere for a bit and see how it goes.

Already got rid of them. Cups were too shallow as well.

The comfort issues can be easily remedied by stretching the headband if necessary, and either stuffing something underneath the pads or replacing the pads IMO.