Mission: Replace the HiFiMAN ear pads with other brand ear pads - Page 11

I received a pair of the HM5 pads yesterday and installed them on my HE-500.

Couldn't persuade myself to spend $100.00 for the Lawton pads

I sure didn't think they would fit on the Hifiman ring at first (pad diameter seemed too small) but I finally did manage to get them on with a little persistence and gentle stretching.

Once on the ring they went on the phones pretty easily and fit well in the end.

They do improve comfort for me. I did not notice any significant change in the sound.

Just got my Lawton angle pads in, I'm into them.  

x2

Quote:

Originally Posted by .Sup 

Pics or....pics : P

Too busy listening.

Ok, fine.  

Really deep at the back, finally enough room for my ears.  Those springs on the cable actually function as lateral strain reliefs.  

Thanks for the pics.  How long did it take to get the pads?  I thought I was done with aftermarket pads but these angled pads have me intrigued.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phos 

Too busy listening.

 

Ok, fine.  

 

They were backordered for like a month, seems to be a lot of demand for these pads.  You can ask Mike how long it'll take before you order.  

How do they sound? Can you compare them to stock and/or to LCD-2, HM 5 pads please. 

Compared to my Beyer pads (Which are very similar to the stock velours, they bring up the sub bass, pretty much everything below 50 Hz a tad.  They seem to bring 100Hz down a tad but I recall the beyer pads bringing that up in the first place, so this is probably closer to neutral.  Seems to be a really moderate hump around 1 kHz.  Actually I think that might be a dip on the part of the Beyer pad.  Everything above that seems to be the same.  Based on pictures I've seen they look like they're basically mini Aude'ze pads.  

I ordered the HD600 headband about 10 days ago.. still hadn't got them as of today.  I emailed Senn asking what's the deal.. they replied back stating backordered until 7/3 (July 3rd).  WTF.  When I ordered them (10 days ago), it said the headband was "In Stock".  The HD600 is available in the online parts store now, btw.. and it still says "In Stock."

Thanks for being lazy/shady Sennheiser!

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlySweep 

I ordered the HD600 headband about 10 days ago.. still hadn't got them as of today.  I emailed Senn asking what's the deal.. they replied back stating backordered until 7/3 (July 3rd).  WTF.  When I ordered them (10 days ago), it said the headband was "In Stock".  The HD600 is available in the online parts store now, btw.. and it still says "In Stock."

 

Thanks for being lazy/shady Sennheiser!

Lame.

I hate when companies don't have a proper system in place for this sort of thing. If it says "in stock", it should be. Period. I could understand if they got a bunch of orders at once, and then had to email some folks the next morning saying "sorry, we sold out all at once". But to just leave you hanging? Lame. 

So.. despite the HM5 pads being quite plush & comfortable (not to mention, they look great on the HE-500), I've decided to go back to the stock, velour pads.

As I expected, the leather/pleather HM5 pads have 'broken in' and softened over time.  This has, in turn, brought the drivers (uncomfortably) close to my ears.. the upper tips of my ears actually touch the drivers.  As a result of the drivers being situated very close to my ears, soundstage takes a slight hit and the sound is a little too 'mid forward' for my liking.  I found the sub bass to be quite attenuated, as well.  The stock, velour pads put some space between my ears and the drivers and tend to balance the sound better.  With the drivers a little further from my ears, sub bass has (comparatively) better presence and soundstage improves.

While we're on the topic of bass, I noticed that when I pull & hold the cups away from my ears (so the pads are barely touching my ears & are practically hovering around my lobes, applying virtually no pressure to the sides of my head), sub bass punch and presence is incredible.  Deep, vibrant, and powerful.  The rest of the sound doesn't suffer much either, but it obviously isn't as accurate and dynamic due to a less than ideal seal.

Is there a the general consensus on if the HE-500 ortho drivers should be situated a certain distance from your ears for the most linear, ideal sound?  With the velour pads, the sound is more natural as there is some added space between my ears and the sound, in addition to the fq curve being more linear (opposed to the slightly aggressive, mid-forward sound of the HM5 pads).

I found problems with the STAX 007 mkii pads which have the ears very close to the drivers.  Very little SS width, and there was a big peak in the upper mids.  At the other end of the spectrum I found the leather LCD-2 pads to be too overdamped, artificially thin and hard sounding.  On the other hand, the vegan LCD-2 pads are absolutely the best I have tested both from sound signature and soundstage.  There are probably several factors at play, but for SS size, further from the ear, and preferable angled pads seems to be better.

I think you are totally on the right track.

However, don't give up on the HM5 pads just yet. A simple fix for your issue is to remove the foam O ring from below the HiFiman pleather pads and place them in the HM-5 pads. This will give you added firmness and distance. Ideally I find that two of those foam O rings per pad gives the perfect amount of distance and improves the seal considerably. You can also play around with including more stuffing behind your ears to get a slight angle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlySweep 

So.. despite the HM5 pads being quite plush & comfortable (not to mention, they look great on the HE-500), I've decided to go back to the stock, velour pads.

 

As I expected, the leather/pleather HM5 pads have 'broken in' and softened over time.  This has, in turn, brought the drivers (uncomfortably) close to my ears.. the upper tips of my ears actually touch the drivers.  As a result of the drivers being situated very close to my ears, soundstage takes a slight hit and the sound is a little too 'mid forward' for my liking.  I found the sub bass to be quite attenuated, as well.  The stock, velour pads put some space between my ears and the drivers and tend to balance the sound better.  With the drivers a little further from my ears, sub bass has (comparatively) better presence and soundstage improves.

 

While we're on the topic of bass, I noticed that when I pull & hold the cups away from my ears (so the pads are barely touching my ears & are practically hovering around my lobes, applying virtually no pressure to the sides of my head), sub bass punch and presence is incredible.  Deep, vibrant, and powerful.  The rest of the sound doesn't suffer much either, but it obviously isn't as accurate and dynamic due to a less than ideal seal.

 

Is there a the general consensus on if the HE-500 ortho drivers should be situated a certain distance from your ears for the most linear, ideal sound?  With the velour pads, the sound is more natural as there is some added space between my ears and the sound, in addition to the fq curve being more linear (opposed to the slightly aggressive, mid-forward sound of the HM5 pads).

Quick question, how did you do the install? I'm having trouble getting the Velour pads on the He-400. If anyone knows how or can send me a walk through that would be oh so very helpful :) 

Thanks guys