[Taveren]

I have stretched the headband for a couple of days now and listening to them I find the mids are the strong point, bass is there when called for but not overpowering. they do go deep but not much slam and here I was expecting them to be basshead cans.
 
I will report back once I get the HM5 pads I ordered meanwhile here are some (grainy) photos.
 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Maybe it is due to lessened clamping force? Doesn't that ever cross the mind of people stretching out headphones. I haven't stretched out mine at all because finally I get a headphone that clamps hard enough so I don't have to press on it to get proper seal.
 

 

[Taveren]

Point taken, though I only lessened the clamping force the lamp is still there but not as much. last time I felt it pressing my jaw a bit too much.
 
On comparison, my Takstar Pro-80s have very comfortable clamp and with the HM5 pads and the rope spacer mod bass is there and with authority. so I was thinking you don't really need excessive clamp for the bass to shine, just a good seal from the pads. but I may be really wrong though.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

  Point taken, though I only lessened the clamping force the lamp is still there but not as much. last time I felt it pressing my jaw a bit too much.
 
On comparison, my Takstar Pro-80s have very comfortable clamp and with the HM5 pads and the rope spacer mod bass is there and with authority. so I was thinking you don't really need excessive clamp for the bass to shine, just a good seal from the pads. but I may be really wrong though.

 
Yea of course it depends on the pads a lot too, the default Q40 pads aren't the ideal when it comes to creating a good seal why the high clamping force makes up for it. But I feel the stock pads due to having ears sitting so close to the drivers, the midrange therefore becomes very up-front too and I've been struggling to find a headphone besides Q40 that does have such midrange forwardness despite the obviously boosted bass and doesn't have rolled-off highs so that the tonality doesn't become too far from neutral. Due to the forward midrange I can listen if I wanted also to non-bass driven music like smooth female jazz and it does that very well too.

If you want slightly better neutrality and easy mod would be putting rope beneath the pads (I used paper towels) to make them slightly deeper, it will slightly move midrange backwards so the mids / highs balance become pretty much on the same level (I feel unmodded the midrange is ever so tiny bit more forward than the highs and that simple mod corrects that mostly from moving the ear away from the driver).

 

[Taveren]

I do like the mids on this cans, just hope it can be more comfortable without affecting the sound too much 

. thanks for the tips 

 

[dailysmoker]

This thing is a beast wonder why it hasn't got a green color like the Hulk!!!

 

[Taveren]

Sharing some photos of the Q40s with HM5 Pads and rope spacer mod.
 
 
This is with original pads (for reference)
 

 
 
This is with the HM5 and rope spacer. though it will take a bit of coercing the pads to fit.
 

 
A peak on the rope inside the cups
 

 
The comfort greatly increased compared to the stock pads. bass impact improved but I don't really notice any adverse effect to the mids and highs. will be spending more time listening now that the Q40s are more comfortable than the first time I wore them.
 

 
 
Cheers!

 

[Oregonian]

  Sharing some photos of the Q40s with HM5 Pads and rope spacer mod.
 
 
   
The comfort greatly increased compared to the stock pads. bass impact improved but I don't really notice any adverse effect to the mids and highs. will be spending more time listening now that the Q40s are more comfortable than the first time I wore them.
 

 
 
Cheers!

Awesome job................makes them a whole new headphone, huh? 

 

[dailysmoker]

Are these better then the alpha pads or are these the same ones...?

 

[Oregonian]

  Are these better then the alpha pads or are these the same ones...?

Not as cushy.  I have them on my JVC SA500's and they are good but not in the league of the Alpha's.  And cost about 1/3 as much........................

 

[Taveren]

Awesome job................makes them a whole new headphone, huh? 

Absolutely! now if only The alpha pads are cheaper....

 

[Cillu]

So I've replaced the audio cable with a V-Moda one since the stock cable connection is so bad that only one side of the headphones work (right). Things were fine and dandy for the first two weeks, but even with the replacement cable, whenever I readjust myself in my seat, the connection becomes unstable again and many times I find that I need to readjust the cable for both sides of the cans to output sound again. Anyone know what I can do to make it less annoying to deal with?
 
Other than that, these headphones have been good to me since I love listening to trance, happy hardcore, and house music; pairing these bad boys with the Fiio E11 is just awesome to listen to.

 

[Taveren]

Dude sounds like you got some faulty connection somewhere at the headphone jack...

 

[Taveren]

I've been using mine for 2 weeks as a portable, my commute is around an hour or more to work via bus and I must say I am loving it more and more.

I tried wearing it while walking from my place to the bus stop (around 10 min walk) and my ears tend to get warm so I just wear them when I get on the bus. Thanks to the ac I can enjoy them on for the whole trip without getting sweaty ears.

 

[dailysmoker]

  Not as cushy.  I have them on my JVC SA500's and they are good but not in the league of the Alpha's.  And cost about 1/3 as much........................

Hey i think the JVC SA500 are the same size as my ATH WS55 does anybody know this for sure...?
And where did you buy them..?