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= Hifiman HE500 & HE400 Jergpad Mod v2.0 = - Page 13

post #181 of 642
1/26/13 at 3:54am

I just claimed the jerg pads to sound more sibilant than the velours.

 

After doing a pad swap, I found that the velours are actually more sibilant.

 

I must be experiencing some sort of fatigue...


Edited by Marleybob217 - 1/26/13 at 4:02am
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post #182 of 642
1/26/13 at 3:58am

I don't understand, Jerg. You can order the pads directly from their website.

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post #183 of 642
1/26/13 at 5:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

Was able to demo the LCD3 earpads with HE500 (thanks dleblanc343) for this weekend.


Feel:

The comfort level is nothing short of astonishing, especially considering how thick these pads are. The softness of the foam and leather are leagues ahead of anything else I’ve tried (including the J$s). The pads just melt onto your head. Seriously, the lambskin leather that J$ pads use feel like cheap cowhide compared to the lambskin used on these.


Treble:

Treble quantity is quite a bit more than pleathers/jergpads, and is about as much as the velour pads, but much, much smoother-sounding. Treble extension is readily boosted, which contributes greatly to the sense of air and sparkle. That extra sparkle might excite some people (who seek air and upper treble microdetail) but might frustrate others (who like a more liquid and rolled-off treble). Overall treble is presented very smoothly though, and the air complements well with Hifiman planars which are by default very open-sounding.

A minor SQ annoyance that surfaces after I listen to it for a while is that there seems to be a slight glare in the lower treble with these pads that make vocals / violin sound a little tipsy and fatiguing (but not so bad that it is aggressive); could be attributed to the angling of the pads, or underdamping (it doesn’t have any damping holes unlike e.g. J$s). This makes my ears ring if I listen to a violin track for a few minutes at high volumes, though at low~moderate volumes it is fairly null of an issue.


Midrange:

There is a fineness to the midrange that makes it sound very smooth and transparent.  Overall tonality of the mids seem to be favouring the lower midrange and de-emphasizing the upper midrange slightly, this shift reminds me of how HE400s sound, but not nearly as much in colouration and laid-back-ness.

Imaging is excellent on these, and there is a very refined sense of openness and air, moreso than even the velour pads if you can believe it. Attributed to the angling of the pads and added distance from the drivers to the ears.


Bass:

Bass is interestingly enough attenuated down a fair bit; likely due to the ultra-low density of the foam used in the padding, that ends up conducting bass less well. The tightness and texture of bass is still there in spades, and is very tactile, but less rumble-y.


Conclusion:

Overall the sound with HE500+LCD3 pads is pretty much what an extremely refined, smooth, transparent / less-coloured, and better-extended HE400 might sound like. There are a few small issues like I mentioned, but I could definitely live happily with this sound signature.




Short summary of how they compare directly against Jergpads, LCD3 pads are:

 -more open-sounding and transparent
 -brighter and a bit more fatiguing (glare)
 -better treble extension / more upper treble emphasis
 -more laid-back and polite midrange (less engaging)
 -decreased bass quantity with less rumble and more tactility
 -very, very refined and smooth overall (hard to say if more or less than Jergpads), with the tonality that transforms HE500’s sound into what a perfected HE400-like sound would sound like.

I still feel the Jergpads are the best with regards to rendering vocals realistically.
Hey jerg..i see u tried the leather pads of the lcd3.. I think i read somewhere that their (urgly brownish!) vegan pads would pair better with the he500.. Any ideas about that? In my opinion they must then be between the jergpads and the leather pads of audeze soundwise because they sound more open then the leather ones on a lcd3.. Maybe good to test them out also? wink.gif
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post #184 of 642
1/26/13 at 6:49am

Just vented my HE-500 JergPad mod 1.0 pleathers. Try turning the pads after venting by 180° (tape comes to the front), you might love the stage...
 


Edited by Acapella11 - 1/26/13 at 7:12am
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post #185 of 642
1/26/13 at 7:54am

I ordered an extra set of pleathers, and performed a modified jergectomy.  What I did was similar to another poster .... it was a quick job, not more than maybe 20 minutes.

 

1. Discard foam rings.

2. Take out mounting ring.

3. Leave plastic flap and dust screen in place .....

4. Work around the pad a section at time, turning inside out, constructing holes with fine razor tool.

5. Reassemble - then using razor knife trim plastic flap back away from holes in mounting ring ... leaving full radial length where the actual mounting tabs are.

6. Using razor knife, cut series of slits in the side of the plastic flap (from the outside of the pad).

 

 

I find the sound most definitely improved over unmodified pleathers .... kind of sounds like my Beyer T1, just a tad less bright.

 

The sound is now probably more accurate than the velours, but I still prefer the velours for their unique U-shape to the sound --- they're the best I have for giving me staggering bass.  I tend to listen to non-vocal jazz instrumentals that benefit from a U shaped sound signature, but this was definitely a worthy experiment!

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post #186 of 642
1/26/13 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by davidsh View Post

I don't understand, Jerg. You can order the pads directly from their website.

No, no you can't. You can order LCD2 leather pads, and LCD3 vegan velour pads, but that's about it. LCD3 leather pads are exclusive to owners.

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post #187 of 642
1/26/13 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

No, no you can't. You can order LCD2 leather pads, and LCD3 vegan velour pads, but that's about it. LCD3 leather pads are exclusive to owners.
Any idea how the vegan velour pads sound? Could that be the perfect he500 pad? rolleyes.gif
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post #188 of 642
1/26/13 at 11:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

No, no you can't. You can order LCD2 leather pads, and LCD3 vegan velour pads, but that's about it. LCD3 leather pads are exclusive to owners.

LCD-3 vegan pads? Do you just mean vegan pads? LCD-3 pads are restricted to LCD-3 owners only.

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post #189 of 642
1/26/13 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hifimanrookie View Post


Any idea how the vegan velour pads sound? Could that be the perfect he500 pad? rolleyes.gif

No idea, if anyone has a pair of vegans and want to lend them to me for comparative purposes, then it'd be great.

 

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by paradoxper View Post

LCD-3 vegan pads? Do you just mean vegan pads? LCD-3 pads are restricted to LCD-3 owners only.

Right my bad, just Audeze vegan pads.

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post #190 of 642
1/26/13 at 11:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerg View Post

No idea, if anyone has a pair of vegans and want to lend them to me for comparative purposes, then it'd be great.

 

 

Right my bad, just Audeze vegan pads.

I thought I was missing out on some information. Whew! 

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post #191 of 642
1/26/13 at 12:53pm
Lcd3 velour vegans are what I asked audeze to release aha: the comfort would be astonishing I'm sure. Also Jerg, the LCD3 pads are not 150$, but they are pricy. Just don't want people to be confused tongue.gif
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post #192 of 642
1/26/13 at 12:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dleblanc343 View Post

Lcd3 velour vegans are what I asked audeze to release aha: the comfort would be astonishing I'm sure. Also Jerg, the LCD3 pads are not 150$, but they are pricy. Just don't want people to be confused tongue.gif
Do u have experience with the vegan pads? I understand they are less dark sounding?
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post #193 of 642
1/26/13 at 1:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hifimanrookie View Post

Do u have experience with the vegan pads? I understand they are less dark sounding?
Sorry, I do not. I don't like the LCD2 pads in terms of comfort
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post #194 of 642
1/26/13 at 1:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hifimanrookie View Post


Do u have experience with the vegan pads? I understand they are less dark sounding?

They are not less dark sounding.

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post #195 of 642
1/26/13 at 1:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by paradoxper View Post

They are not less dark sounding.
Oh ok thanks, didnt know that
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