Quote:
Originally Posted by
BBEG 
Does anyone know M50-sized pads that would increase depth? It's not that the Uptowns have spoiled me, but a sizable part of my ears rest against the inside of the housing (that grate right in front of the driver that I still don't know the name of). This is partly due to the 463's pads collapsing and partly because they're just not that deep in the first place. Velour would be ideal, but I'll roll with anything at this point that's more comfortable.
Funny story about this, actually.
So my mom and I decide to have Christmas early, because why not. I open one of my gifts to see that it's a Turtle Beach X12. Yuck. Apparently, I was on the naughty list this year.
Anyway, I also got Skyrim for PC from my dad, which I was excited to play, so I decided to dig out the Turtle Beaches so I could use Steam chat (and not use my MH463s and Zalman mic, as not to upset my mother, because it was a nice gift.) Then I looked at them a little closer and thought 'It can't be'.
Well, it is.
Turtle Beach X12 pads fit the MH463. They also alleviate the problem that you're speaking of entirely.
(left - Turtle Beach X12 right- stock MH463.)
As the leftmost picture above shows, the X12 pads are about the same thickness the stock pads. However, they are much firmer and do not "give" as easily as the stock pads do (just look at the way they can take that can of olives and still keep their shape.) They are made out of "fabric mesh", which is codeword for "Turtle Beach is too cheap to use real earpad materials." However, they are still extremely comfortable, a bit more breathable than (p)leather, and make the headphone unquestionably over-ear (perfect for people who wear glasses, like yours truly).
But wait, it gets better. Not only are the X12 pads comfortable, but they completely alleviate all of the bass problems that the MH463s had before. Bass is now more prominent overall, giving them a hint of HA-S500-ness (no, I didn't forget to do the comparison. Unfortunately, I had an orthodontic procedure a few days ago, which made it very painful to talk, let alone talk in front of a camera for 40-50 minutes, given time for multiple takes. I'm working on it, I promise.) They aren't going to rattle your skull with bass while you're listening to Adele, but the X12 pads turn the MH463s into conditional thumpers. If the song calls for it (like a lot of electronic/rap music), these things will boom a bit. If not, then not. The midrange is still excellent, and the treble is still doing its gig and out of the way.
I think that this really goes to show where Somic had their priorities when creating this headphone. At a $50 price point, you can only allocate so much money to any particular component. Somic wisely decided to focus on the drivers, a very smart move. Spending money on fixing the creakiness, adding a better strain relief, and improving the earpads would have easily sent this headphone into the $70-$80 range, where the competition is much fiercer than at $50. However, for $13 bucks shipped from Turtle Beach's website, these headphones turn from great-sounding M50 slayers into some of the best sounding headphones out there under $250. Period.
The moral of this story? Mom always knows best and Christmas miracles sometimes come in the form of Turtle Beaches.
Edit: The EFi82-MT is in Illinois, so I'll definitely post impressions (a separate thread, maybe, if I think they're worthy.) once I get them. Given where I live, where they're at, and the fact that it's Christmas, I should have them by the 27th or 28th. Fingers crossed!
Edited by CashNotCredit - 12/24/12 at 10:56pm
