[money4me247]

  I was so close to pulling the trigger on the k545s, but something just kept urging me not to (not sure whether it was the talk of the comfort of the pads, or weak isolation). I've heard about the Thinksound On1s, and they seem like the ones the phones I'm going to get. Although more of a traditional on-ear (as opposed to the pseudo over-ear k545s), I think the fact that I'll be wearing them on the go means that isolation plays an important factor.
 
Still hoping to try the k545s out, from what I've read in this thread, they're a great pair of phones.

mmm... the k545 aren't "pseudo-over-ears," they are just regular full-sized over-ears & should fit most human ears in there very comfortably with the inner earcup diameter of 74mm & depth of 20mm (dimensions larger than the industry normal for over-ears). source: http://www.head-fi.org/t/653032/size-matters-earpad-hole-measurements-for-over-ear-headphones/15#post_10119942
 
supra-aural (on-ears) usually always have worse noise isolation than over-ears since the over-ears will fully encompass your ear & the leakage is simply from sound through the driver housing while supra-aural just sit on your ears so there are already cracks that sound can leak through in addition to sound going through the earcup material. over-ears also tend to be more comfortable than supra-aural as there is no pressure on your actual ears. $300 for a pair of supra-aural headphones seems extremely pricey to me. source: personal experience

 

[swiftus]

  mmm... the k545 aren't "pseudo-over-ears," they are just regular full-sized over-ears & should fit most human ears in there very comfortably with the inner earcup diameter of 74mm & depth of 20mm (dimensions larger than the industry normal for over-ears). source: http://www.head-fi.org/t/653032/size-matters-earpad-hole-measurements-for-over-ear-headphones/15#post_10119942
 
supra-aural (on-ears) usually always have worse noise isolation than over-ears since the over-ears will fully encompass your ear & the leakage is simply from sound through the driver housing while supra-aural just sit on your ears so there are already cracks that sound can leak through in addition to sound going through the earcup material. over-ears also tend to be more comfortable than supra-aural as there is no pressure on your actual ears. $300 for a pair of supra-aural headphones seems extremely pricey to me. source: personal experience

hey, thanks for your comments. Only reason I thought they were 'pseudo over-ears' is that I saw that some people on here mention that the pads sit on the edge of their ears instead of over (maybe they just have big ears!).
 
How much difference does the material of the pad make in isolation between on/over ear headphones?
 
Also, just FYI, the Thinksounds are on sale at $250 at the mo.

 

[dweaver]

On ear generally only have ok to good isolation if they have a pretty strong clamp which generally makes the ears hurt. Over ear similarly needs a strong clamp to have really good isolation but can have a gentle clamp and generally achieve close to the same level of isolation as an on ear with strong clamp. The K545 being gentle on the clamp only achieves OK isolation, this is made a bit worse compared to the K550 because the pads are also thinner. Having said that I do use my K545 for walking around my neighborhood and at the office and it is more than isolating enough. The only place it isn't good enough for is transit and I would not like it in noisy malls/stores/restaurants.

From reading I actually think the issue with it not being big enough is more about depth versus diameter but again this only affect a few people.

If you can I suggest trying the K545 out at a Bestbuy if your in the US.

 

[grizzlybeast]

mmm... the k545 aren't "pseudo-over-ears," they are just regular full-sized over-ears & should fit most human ears in there very comfortably with the inner earcup diameter of 74mm & depth of 20mm (dimensions larger than the industry normal for over-ears). source: http://www.head-fi.org/t/653032/size-matters-earpad-hole-measurements-for-over-ear-headphones/15#post_10119942

supra-aural (on-ears) usually always have worse noise isolation than over-ears since the over-ears will fully encompass your ear & the leakage is simply from sound through the driver housing while supra-aural just sit on your ears so there are already cracks that sound can leak through in addition to sound going through the earcup material. over-ears also tend to be more comfortable than supra-aural as there is no pressure on your actual ears. $300 for a pair of supra-aural headphones seems extremely pricey to me. source: personal experience

*cough...bull crap

Sounds good and in concept it makes sense. I used to believe the same thing until I tried a bunch, But unfortunately the only fully over ear hp I have used to beat the on ears I have tried in isolation is the German maestro.
Even the perfect seal of the 7520 leaked and let noise in(could have been the bass port but the vents on the fostex t50 leak less)

The beyer on ears dt1350's and senn hd25's(usually used by Djs as the num one set) and amperiors , even the on ear momentum, and pioneer hdj500, the spider powerforces have exceptional isolation.

Actually I have yet to try one that doesn't .

 

[dbdynsty25]

After using, and loving the sound of the 545s for the past few days, I'm almost 100% convinced I will not be able to use them going forward.  The clamp is just too light for my average sized head, thus resulting in a broken seal even with the slightest movement...when I'm NOT wearing my glasses.  The new HM5 pads may work better...I'm not sure, but I wear my glasses most of the time when I'm listening to music (late night after everyone else is in bed) so I'm fairly confident I will be disappointed.  
 
With a few other bass oriented headphones in my stable, I'll probably end up returning them, even though they have the absolute perfect sound profile for me.  I just cannot get over how bad the pads are and the clamp force compared to nearly every headphone I've tried in the last few years.  It's almost unforgivable.  

 

[dweaver]

I may be wrong about isolation levels and on ears so retract my post above since I don't use them enough to make a legitimate observation from regular use. I do remember the DT1350 being very good for isolation but to uncomfortable for me.

Dbdynsty25 I hear your comments and others have had the same issue. I think my very flat glasses frame has helped me not have that issue a lot but I do have it some times, but love the sound enough that I live with it.

 

[jwong]

I guess they can't make everyone happy. The low clamp force is one of the things I love about the K545. But I don't use them walking around, they are at my desk at work. And the HM5 pads work great with these phones and my glasses. YMMV.

 

[razorblader]

  I guess they can't make everyone happy. The low clamp force is one of the things I love about the K545. But I don't use them walking around, they are at my desk at work. And the HM5 pads work great with these phones and my glasses. YMMV.

Are the HM5 pads a close fit or more on the loose side? Any major sound differences to the original pads?

 

[grizzlybeast]

I may be wrong about isolation levels and on ears so retract my post above since I don't use them enough to make a legitimate observation from regular use. I do remember the DT1350 being very good for isolation but to uncomfortable for me.

Dbdynsty25 I hear your comments and others have had the same issue. I think my very flat glasses frame has helped me not have that issue a lot but I do have it some times, but love the sound enough that I live with it.

yeah comfort to me is why I stay away from on ears.

 

[jwong]

 
Are the HM5 pads a close fit or more on the loose side? Any major sound differences to the original pads?

 
They fit pretty well. They're oval instead of round, so they stick out a bit on top and bottom, but they're not sliding around.
 
My initial impression was that they isolate a little better and maybe increase the soundstage, but I used the original pads for such a short time that I can't say much.

 

[razorblader]

   
They fit pretty well. They're oval instead of round, so they stick out a bit on top and bottom, but they're not sliding around.
 
My initial impression was that they isolate a little better and maybe increase the soundstage, but I used the original pads for such a short time that I can't say much.

Thank you for your reply. Since the HM5 pads are pretty deep the slightly bigger soundstage would make sense.

 

[Citizen13469]

*cough...bull crap

Sounds good and in concept it makes sense. I used to believe the same thing until I tried a bunch, But unfortunately the only fully over ear hp I have used to beat the on ears I have tried in isolation is the German maestro.
Even the perfect seal of the 7520 leaked and let noise in(could have been the bass port but the vents on the fostex t50 leak less)

The beyer on ears dt1350's and senn hd25's(usually used by Djs as the num one set) and amperiors , even the on ear momentum, and pioneer hdj500, the spider powerforces have exceptional isolation.

Actually I have yet to try one that doesn't .

 
Tend to agree here. I ended up returning my K545's as the isolation just wasn't very good (especially when outside). I used to think that around ears HAD to be better at isolating but that has turned out to be incorrect for me. After having a lot of headphones in the past couple of months my go to headphones for outside walking around are the Amperiors. Best isolation of any that I've had or have which includes DT770, Momentum, K545, K551, K550, esw9, Shure SRH940, Audio Technica M50's (well actually these isolated pretty well, but didn't like the sound of them), Crossfade LP and Audio Technica A900x.
 
This isn't a thread about the Amperiors but I was searching for a portable set of headphones that sounded good and initially the Amperiors had a bit of piercing high end and sibilance and loose bass. I've never believed in burn in, but I've burned them in using pink noise and sweeps for about 20 hours and the sound has changed quite a bit..high end is much more smooth. I don't believe it's my ears adjusting because I'm using 4 other sets of headphones daily that all sound different so I'm not getting 'used' to the Amperiors (I don't believe so but who knows). I actually believe the sound has changed with burn in. Comfort on the Amperiors I would rate as very good and I wear glasses with them too! They actually sit on my ears below the arms of my glasses, which no around ear can do. I wear them for about 3 hours at a time with no real comfort issues.
 
Regarding the K545, I like the sound ok and have to say comfort was very good but the sound was nothing that blew me away. I preferred the K551 over them a lot. The 545 also broke seal more easily than the 551's because I wear glasses and the pads on the 545 are thinner.
 
My recent A900x's and esw9's have been a revelation. I prefer the A900x over any of the 3 AKG's (550,551,545) as the sound stage is quite a bit larger and instruments move around in a 3d space much more smoothly, especially during busy passages of music. To try to describe this better, the AKG seemed to have Left, Middle and Right and not much in between. The A900x has Far Left, Middle Left, Left Center, Middle, Right Center, Middle Right, Far Right AND a lot more depth in front of and behind my head. I'm surprised people don't buy this headphone more..but we all hear differently!
 
The esw9 is a completely different beast. This is the most fun headphone I've listened to. I guess I would call it musical. I know it's not accurate but it's not boomy and muddy (well maybe a little) and the music just sings. On the down side, comfort is so so and isolation is poor.. Build quality is weak IMHO as well...but that sound! It's beautiful.. I will probably return it as I can't justify it since I'll be using the Amperior's when out and about and my Sony MA900's (open) and the A900x's (closed) at home. I will very much miss the esw9 though and part of me thinks I should just hang on to it as I do feel it's a very special headphone.
 
Final note, on build though AKG beats the Audio Technica stuff easily.

 

[Citizen13469]

  After using, and loving the sound of the 545s for the past few days, I'm almost 100% convinced I will not be able to use them going forward.  The clamp is just too light for my average sized head, thus resulting in a broken seal even with the slightest movement...when I'm NOT wearing my glasses.  The new HM5 pads may work better...I'm not sure, but I wear my glasses most of the time when I'm listening to music (late night after everyone else is in bed) so I'm fairly confident I will be disappointed.  

 
Same problem I had with them. I wear glasses and with or without them on with the 545's slightly looking left or right would break the seal. This resulted in 'hollow' sounds coming and going as I was listening to music unless I kept perfectly still. The K551's sealed a lot better on my head.

 

[Citizen13469]

  have you heard any open hp's that you like?

Try the Sony MA-900's! Best comfort I've ever had and sound great (to my ears).

 

[grizzlybeast]

 
Try the Sony MA-900's! Best comfort I've ever had and sound great (to my ears).

I would but that new hifiman he400i has my wallet pinned right now.