[Slim1970]

Well, today I became a member of the SE-Master1 family (thanks Tim!). I need to spend some serious time with these to really assess them. My pair has has the headstrap replaced, looks like a high quality job that should last a long time. The stock pads, like many others here, had been replaced. This is where I will focus my efforts to play around with the sound. The pads on my unit had an oval opening, and seemed a bit too thick. So I have replaced them with a pad that has circular opening and is a bit closer in size to stock pad. Also, looked like stock pad did not have acoustic mesh covering ear hole opening so I cut that out of this pair of pads I tried and it made a notable difference. Friend of mine sending me some Dekonis from a TH900 this week so I'll report back with impressions once received, but so far I'm enjoying these. And wow! What bass for an open back!

Enjoy my friend, they are truly underrated headphones.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

Enjoy my friend, they are truly underrated headphones.

I'm wearing mine as I type this
Mmmmm...they are criminally underrated. I've owned so many pairs of cans along with these and I never get rid of these. They are amazing and on par with S-tier cans I'd say

 

[RONJA MESCO]

With the original pads, I find the Pioneer to be dull and lifeless. They do veil the sound, IMO. I hardly used them. Then I put on some SR2 pads that are fenestrated, they opened up, veiling is gone, better frequency response and they come to life. I think the choice Pioneer used for ear pads was very poor. The headphones quality is very good except for the ear pads and head band materials used and the type of ear pads used, as mentioned.

Raining today. Maybe I will get out the leather and make a nice headband replacement.

This is true! You guys are gonna think this is nuts, but a few years back I bought some higher end round Brainwavz and it opened the sound of these all the way to 1000. I hated the original leather and felt pads that came with these, and they were way too shallow and deadened everything.

You don't need some expensive, far flung pads for these. Just get some round ones made of leather that are deep, not shallow, and break em in.

 

[Slim1970]

I'm wearing mine as I type this
Mmmmm...they are criminally underrated. I've owned so many pairs of cans along with these and I never get rid of these. They are amazing and on par with S-tier cans I'd say

Yes they are indeed

 

[sacguy231]

OK, so I've had the SEM1 for a few days now and thought I'd report back with some brief impressions. First, I've tried several pads on these because I've been trying to see how much I can play around with the sound and was looking to tone things down just a touch. I didn't get a chance to hear these with stock pads since they had already been replaced. To my ears, these are dynamic, punchy, and V shaped headphones and different pads have made some really dramatic changes (for better or worse!). The pads that are currently on them, and the ones that really improved the sound for my tastes, are Dekoni TH900 pads I got from a friend. The seem to have tamed the treble just a touch, and the angle and shape seem a good fit for the cans. They were TIGHT to get on, but once on are snug and should last some time. I've had a good number of headphones come and go over the last couple years, and the headphones that these reminded me of several times, from my distant memory of them, are the Klipsch HP3 (in terms of tonality, bass impact, and treble). I'd consider these pretty "fun" cans, and I am really enjoying them and look forward to many more listening hours.

 

[fogwall]

Beautiful! What cables are you using? I'm thinking of replacing mine with a lighter and shorter variant.

 

[cpsgoodbuy]

Hi all! This is my very first post to Head-Fi and I'm feeling fortunate it happens to be here, as a new owner of a not-so-new SE-Master1 of course!

I've been reading through the forum and hunting far and wide for cable, leather band, and pad options. I'm aware of the challenges for sourcing oem replacements, so as I usually make my own things, I might just buy a bit Ecopell nappa and spend a weekend on it

Now this is possibly a fruitless question (I did search for this I swear!) but I'm stumped when it comes to the cable. I'd like to make my own cable but I'd like to keep the stock mmcx connectors. Does anyone know if there are any male oem (or oem-like) mmcx connectors available? Failing that I'm going to try rebuilding a secondhand or even broken standard cable ...if I can find one that is!

Only dabbled a bit with valve tube HiFi so starting a new adventure with these I think

 

[Chris Kaoss]

I'd shot an email to Mateuz from ForzaAudioworks an ask for advice, bc you can order cables for SEM1 from him.

Maybe he has some spare parts laying around.

Of course there are some cable guys in UK too.

It's worth a try.

 

[cpsgoodbuy]

I'd shot an email to Mateuz from ForzaAudioworks an ask for advice, bc you can order cables for SEM1 from him.

Maybe he has some spare parts laying around.

Of course there are some cable guys in UK too.

It's worth a try.

Thanks for the advice, Chris!

Just checked out their website and their work looks lovely.

Will shoot them an email and see what they say. If they have spare SEM1 mmxc ends that would be amazing! Might be worth putting up a wanted add here for a broken cable as well I think.

 

[sacguy231]

Still really enjoying the SEM1. These are big headphones, though overall they are quite comfortable for me. They are not featherweight, but I tend to do most of my listening lying down or leaning back in a comfy chair so weight is generally not such an issue for me. The stock cable is 3 meters, my preferred length, but a bit stiff. I still find these to be "fun" headphones (versus analytical) so I approach listening to them with that in mind. The bass reaches deep and I'm OK with the somewhat hot treble (benefit of getting older I guess?).

 

[goldwerger]

it was much easier just to (again gently) pull the old ear pad to tear it off the foam (the old ear pad material is not strong at all so tears very easily). Then just put the new pad on.

Did you also peel that foam piece off the driver?

Hello SEM1 fans. I will share an update of my favorite headphones. New custom leather headband and lambskin leather ear pads.

Where can one order such a replacement headband? mine is flaking (as most do eventually) and I've like to replace it as well

Nice, I ordered my set. Now the wait begins. The way you describe the sound is exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks for the update!

How did that pad swap work for you @Slim1970 ? I'm wondering whether to try that one, or the SR2 pads some folks here mention..

 

[Slim1970]

How did that pad swap work for you @Slim1970 ? I'm wondering whether to try that one, or the SR2 pads some folks here mention..

It worked out great. There were minor tonal differences between the stock pads and the pads I acquired from AliExpress. Comfort levels were also better with the AliExpress pads.

 

[cpsgoodbuy]

Did you also peel that foam piece off the driver?

I plan on keeping the foam pieces.

My method for removing the old pads was to undo the old pad "lip" all around the assembly so there is just the double sided taped section on the foam piece exposed. I then used small amounts of isopropyl on a piece of stiff paper and/or a small detail paint brush to slowly un-stick the pad. This is a very slow process because you can only soften the double sided tape that is exposed as you peel. Once the pad was removed I went back with isopropyl and cotton buds to remove the double sided tape from the foam piece. I kept the foam pieces on the assembly for now and just waiting on the replacement pads (Dekoni TH900) to see how well they fit.

Where can one order such a replacement headband? mine is flaking (as most do eventually) and I've like to replace it as well

I could not find a source for this. I removed my headband straight away because it was in terrible condition.

Perhaps using the thin clear plastic inside the headband as a template to cut a piece of leather, thick denim, or similar. The headband is held on by torx screws so it is very easy to remove and the clear plastic is just secured inside by double-sided tape.

Other options are to bring the headband to a clothes alteration shop and see if they an make a replacement cover.

Alternatively, perhaps try Aliexpress or Amazon for a headband to modify such as https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003573368785.html I could see this working if you have an inexpensive hole punch.

How did that pad swap work for you @Slim1970 ? I'm wondering whether to try that one, or the SR2 pads some folks here mention..

I ordered Dekoni TH900 fenestrated leather pads but the Aliexpress pads should be just as good. I'dd order a pair to check them out.

 

[cpsgoodbuy]

It worked out great. There were minor tonal differences between the stock pads and the pads I acquired from AliExpress. Comfort levels were also better with the AliExpress pads.

To anyone thinking of a pad swap I recommend removing the stock pads as soon as possible. I have a very well used pair and the foam from inside the pads appears to be disintegrating and there are little flakes everywhere inside the assembly. This wouldn't affect the sound or anything but for me I like rebuilding things and learning so it was a good excuse to take it all apart

Edit: Turned out that the foam on my pair seemed fine, just general debris.

I fully rebuilt the headset and 90% of the time was removing these flakes, even from the driver itself. I taught myself wristwatch repair and servicing so it was fairly straight forward but I imagine it is a daunting job for others. I can write up a mini guide of how everything comes apart if anyone is interested.

 

[goldwerger]

Thanks guy!

I think I’ll order both the RS2 and Aliexpress pads and try them

I did, by pure chance, try a Dekoni th900 pads for another headphone (unfortunately I sent it back so don’t have handy). I found them a little too small and stiff for my comfort.

Headband idea is also great

I do hope new pads can serve to both solve flaking but also improve sonically. I’m not love this headphone as is