Velour/Felt Pads for ATH-M50?
Mar 15, 2009 at 2:52 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 441

OpticElement

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Hey guys.

Just wondering if anyone knows of a set of velour replacement pads that will fit the Audio Technica ATH-M50s (i.e. pulling a Sony MDR-V6 with the Beyer DT250s).

Thanks.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 5:38 AM Post #2 of 441
I'm interested in this as well, has anyone found velour pads for M50?
Any suggestions would be helpful, thanks.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 7:32 PM Post #3 of 441
iGig (and to anyone else interested), from our good friend Pianist:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist

..I was browsing some Russian online audio store a while ago and under the description of M50s they had in stock, I found a recommendation to replace the stock pads with Beyerdynamic 770 velour pads. You can buy them from HeadRoom for $27 US. I have no idea how it will affect the sound of M50s, but they will sure sound different from stock ones - since they are softer I am guessing that the sound will also soften up a bit. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I think it might help tame the upper trebles a bit and to bring out the upper mids, which M50s are somewhat lacking. In any case, I think the velours are worth a try, especially if you experience discomfort with the stock earpads. If you won't like the way they shape the sound sig of M50s, you can always resell them on head-fi for slightly less. Here's a pick of M50s with Beyer DT770 pads on. I think they look pretty cool this way
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:

58_20071213-171230_vbig_1197555151.jpg



Could be worth experimenting. Damn why did I return those DT770s?
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Mar 17, 2009 at 9:06 PM Post #4 of 441
hmmm, very interesting...

I have DT770 here, I'll swap the pads later today and let you know how it sounds. Thanks for posting.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 9:37 PM Post #5 of 441
Quote:

Originally Posted by iGig /img/forum/go_quote.gif
hmmm, very interesting...

I have DT770 here, I'll swap the pads later today and let you know how it sounds. Thanks for posting.



That's just perfect - I'll be very interested to hear your impressions iGig. Wanted to buy a pair of these pads to try out, but I think that they might affect M50 SQ and/or isolation in a negative way. You'll might help me save a lot of time and money!
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Mar 18, 2009 at 3:03 AM Post #6 of 441
ok I tried the Beyer pads and they didn't fit. DT770 pads are bigger than M50 and they fall off, sorry that didn't work at all.
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I think DT250 pads might be a better fit because M50 is almost the same size as V6, I'm guessing they would fit but I don't know for sure.

Anyone has DT250 pads and an M50 to try this?
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 12:12 PM Post #7 of 441
Hmm that's strange, why would they post a pic of them then? So deceiving... Did they not fit at all, or was it only in certain positions?

But yeah, a DT250/M50 trial would be useful.
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 4:58 PM Post #8 of 441
++ It's weired, because from the looks of that picture it seems that the Beyer pads stretch out a bit on the M50s and shouldn't fall off easily. Are there different sizes of the pads perhaps? As for DT250 pads, they should fit much better, since they are about the same size as well as shape as M50 ones. I am still concerned about the possible negative SQ changes that putting velour pads on might bring. I used to own Senn HD25-1s and I thought that they sounded much better with pleather pads. With velour ones, the low end became thinner and highs became harsher, plus isolation really decreased - didn't like that at all.
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 5:08 PM Post #9 of 441
Quote:

Originally Posted by OpticElement /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmm that's strange, why would they post a pic of them then? So deceiving... Did they not fit at all, or was it only in certain positions?



Here's a picture of it:

12.jpg


The pads are flexible and I was able to make them fit on one side but there's a lot of extra material on the other side. I guess you could force it to fit if you glue it together and don't mind a few pockets around the pad, but I don't think that's the best solution for this. Another thing I didn't like is that it left the driver totally exposed because the pleather pads are atached to the nylon mesh covering the drivers.
Maybe the DT770 consumer edition have different size pads? because I have 770-80pro and they are definitely not the right size.

I was thinking pad covers like this may work a little better:

Garfield Headphone Softies

These fit "most full-sized, circum-aural headphones, such as the Sony MDR-7506" and come in different colors, what do you think?
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 5:39 PM Post #10 of 441
Did your pic get deleted?

Yeah I saw those Garfield things when searching, though I guess it technically turns the headphones into supra-aurals since there's no ear opening, which wouldn't work for me :frowning2: (I hate supra-aurals lol). DT250 looks like it might work, but it'd be nice to not have to go out and buy before trying :p
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 6:22 PM Post #11 of 441
You can't see the pic? it's uploaded here on my head-fi album.
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I know what you mean about the Garfields, reading the reviews one user said it was taut like a trampoline, lol
Even if the DT250 pads fit, they'll still leave the driver exposed, and that wouldn't be right either. I'm totally out of ideas.

At this point I'm considering making my own, sewing some fabric around two elastic rings shouldn't be too difficult, right?
This is the way it usually is, if I can't find the answer on Head-fi I call my mom for help.
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Pianist: ITA about the pads on HD-25. I'm using the pleather because I lost too much isolation and bass with the velour pads and I don't think they're too hot or uncomfortable because they rest only on my ears.
The pleather on the M50 is bothersome to me because it touches my face, I would like to find something more comfortable but I don't want to sacrifice any SQ either. We might be stuck with the pleather.
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 6:45 PM Post #12 of 441
Unfortunately Pianist was also telling me that the sweat affects the quality of the pleather (i.e. degrading/stiffening) after a while, and that's after 3.5 months... Hmm.... But they sound so damn good lol! I can't believe it's hard to find a closed circumaural phone with standard velour pads :frowning2:
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 7:20 PM Post #13 of 441
Although I don't own the M50s, if you want to protect the drivers when you change pads, you can use speaker cloth and a little bit of hot glue before you put the pads back on, assuming you're doing this with the DT250 pads. I bought new DT770 pads from Headroom, and they shipped with the foam pad as well so I didn't need to use speaker cloth for my Q40 because the original pads had the foam pad sewed on as well.

Also for the HD25-1s, I guess I'm not a basshead like I thought I was if I prefer the velour pads over the pleather haha
 
Mar 18, 2009 at 9:27 PM Post #14 of 441
Quote:

Originally Posted by iGig /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You can't see the pic? it's uploaded here on my head-fi album.
confused.gif


I know what you mean about the Garfields, reading the reviews one user said it was taut like a trampoline, lol
Even if the DT250 pads fit, they'll still leave the driver exposed, and that wouldn't be right either. I'm totally out of ideas.

At this point I'm considering making my own, sewing some fabric around two elastic rings shouldn't be too difficult, right?
This is the way it usually is, if I can't find the answer on Head-fi I call my mom for help.
icon10.gif


Pianist: ITA about the pads on HD-25. I'm using the pleather because I lost too much isolation and bass with the velour pads and I don't think they're too hot or uncomfortable because they rest only on my ears.
The pleather on the M50 is bothersome to me because it touches my face, I would like to find something more comfortable but I don't want to sacrifice any SQ either. We might be stuck with the pleather.



Yep, that's how you do it. Or just carefully separate the ones on M50 pleather pads and glue them onto the other pads, which might be an even better solution, as with your own covering you never know how it might affect the sound. BTW, Beyer DT250 earpads should fit M50s no problem - I am almost 100% sure that they will as they seem to be just the right size and shape. If you have the money right now, I say go for it.
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I am currently on a tight budget unfortunately.
 
Mar 19, 2009 at 1:56 AM Post #15 of 441
I'll be heading to Long and McQuade tomorrow to either:

a) Swap out a pair of their DT250 pads to see if they fit my M50s
b) Buy the DT250s and try it at home

I'll let you know the results tomorro, everybody cross your fingers.
 

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