Perhaps it's just me but I don't see pad swapping or cable swapping as a very effective way to obtain a change in sonic presentation, if the change being sought is tied to a particular area of the frequency response. It's possible that such swaps could change more aspects of the sound than the one particular aspect you're looking to change. i.e. there's no free lunch. If your listening is computer-based you could always try EQ'ing the sound to taste, that way you can be very targeted in the areas you are changing and have full and fine control over how much change to apply. I currently have an EQ applied to lift 250Hz-500Hz by 1.5dB and cut 8kHz by 2dB to try to "warm" or "creamify" my ADX5000s slightly as I'm finding them a little too etched for my liking.
Good catch (as far as the difficulty of changing one part of the sound presentation, while not affecting others with a pad swap). I was aware of that (being a longtime AKG K701 owner, and looking at how AKG "re-tuned" the K-Series sound by changing from velour pads to memory foam pads with the 65th Anniversary model, for instance. I didn't mention this aspect of it, but I'm glad you did.
Thanks for clarifying that point, for anyone reading this now and in the future.
I've noticed though, that the vast majority of people who want to change pads in a h/p are either doing so out of a desire for a more comfortable pad, or to "warm" up the sound of a h/p (by going with a leather/pleather pad that will seal, which will usually give you more bass reverb, or "impact.")
This would never be a step in the right direction for me, as I think the ADX5000's bass quality (note, tone, timbre, etc.) as well as its' bass quantity (impact) is very good. And, I wouldn't want to muck too much with what AT achieved in this area.
However, I would be willing to shave just a bit of the low-end impact and trade (just a smidge of this very good bass quality) for just a bit more low treble resolution. It would be rare to read of someone looking to add a bit of air or to remove that "haze" that seems to envelope the ADX5000 and hopefully wanting to do it with a pad swap. But, I can't believe I'm the only one looking to do this. (Not that this is a "warm" headphone. But, having a lot of experience with an AKG K701, and a beyerdynamic T-90, there is definitely a thin veneer of a "film" or a "sheen" that's present with the ADX5000. Just enough to take notice of, really. But, it's there.
I believe that the AT engineers were very careful not to allow this h/p to introduce any sibilance as I'm sure they did their market research and erred on the side of (slightly) veiling or slightly recessing certain higher frequencies, as that's what most buyers of this h/p would probably want. However, I feel that in the process of doing this that a certain amount of detail retrieval may have been sacrificed.
I may be asking for the impossible here, in wanting to tweak ever-so-slightly the SQ of this h/p (without being able to use computer software and/or plug-ins). But, I can see myself either trying a pad swap, or going with say, a silver cable (as opposed to the standard OFC one).
In my opinion, Audio Technica came
this close...thiiissssss clooooose with this headphone. (I'm holding my left index finger beside my thumb to where they're almost touching).
I'm willing to wait a while and just see what other users will come up with as far as making slight tweaks and minor mods to this h/p.
Appreciate the reply,
ToTo Man.
This isn't intended to start a debate. Other owners of this h/p will no doubt disagree with some of my opinions on it, and that's fine.
