[SHAMuuu]

Yes

Cool thx. Seems it would be less of distance than some of the Obese pads for them. Though some like the M Speakers/ ZMF cowhide, but the ebay leather is more of a bargain and closer in size to stock pads but bigger oval.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Having a real field day here watching all of you go back and forth about what pads to replace the stock ones on the ATH-M40x with, removing this piece of foam, adding that, poking this number of holes here, covering up holes there, imagining you are hearing any actual difference. Have you placed them on your dog's ears after $#%ing around with them? LMAO!! I auditioned these things at my nearest Guitar Center store for nearly ten minutes, and for the price they do a fine job across most genres of music. Perhaps a little more robust construction between where moving parts meet, is all I could recommend, but everything else on this thread is sheer lunacy.

 

[Mad Max]

Another thing, there are 8 holes in the inside of the pads. Not sure if the m40x pads had those holes in the past. Maybe a modification they did to improve the breathability and durability of the pads. However, I put tape on each hole, and sound further improved. But before I did that, I sank the pads in some hot water with hair conditionner, let them in water for many hours. I took this idea from a previous post saying it would make them softer. Works like a charm.

The more that those drivers are allowed to breath up to a point, the better they will sound. One way to achieve this is by perforating the inner side of the earpads. I doubt that you did much good to the midrange and treble by covering up all of the holes, but if you want to boost bass, I can suggest instead covering up only the "bottom half" or so of the earpad holes (colored in yellow):



The bottom part of your outer ear is what picks up bass and doesn't really benefit from holes in the earpad near it.

 

[Mad Max]

Having a real field day here watching all of you go back and forth about what pads to replace the stock ones on the ATH-M40x with, removing this piece of foam, adding that, poking this number of holes here, covering up holes there, imagining you are hearing any actual difference. Have you placed them on your dog's ears after $#%ing around with them? LMAO!! I auditioned these things at my nearest Guitar Center store for nearly ten minutes, and for the price they do a fine job across most genres of music. Perhaps a little more robust construction between where moving parts meet, is all I could recommend, but everything else on this thread is sheer lunacy.

Remove the earpads and the white filter ring that you will see underneath and see if you still like the headphone's sound.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Remove the earpads and the white filter ring that you will see underneath and see if you still like the headphone's sound.

#1. I never said that I bought them, just that I auditioned them for a long time at the store.

#2. With regards to removing filter rings, etc., I have neither the patience nor the time for such nonsense. These M40xs are in a completely different league from Monster Beats phones and the $29.99 full-sized specials formerly from Radio Shack. I trust that the manufacturers have done their engineering homework in turning out a product that will satisfy the maximum number of users at their price point($99-150USD)

What most of you are doing in this thread is the equivalent of putting 20"+ wagon wheels- ahem - wheels - on a car that Toyota, Chevy, Subaru or VW designed to handle perfectly well with OEM 16-17" wheels. Just enjoy the damn headphones as they came in the box, and stop wasting bandwidth on ricer mods to them. Ave Maria Purisima.... !

 

[TheSonicTruth]

The more that those drivers are allowed to breath up to a point, the better they will sound. One way to achieve this is by perforating the inner side of the earpads. I doubt that you did much good to the midrange and treble by covering up all of the holes, but if you want to boost bass, I can suggest instead covering up only the "bottom half" or so of the earpad holes (colored in yellow):



The bottom part of your outer ear is what picks up bass and doesn't really benefit from holes in the earpad near it.

Or, if you really want a dramatic surround sound effect, you could cover up the holes halfway up the left earpad, and cover up the holes on only the very top and bottom of the right, or vice versa. You could even flip over the white rings behind the pads, and see what that does, just for Schitz and Gigglez.

 

[TheSonicTruth]

Or, if you really want a dramatic surround sound effect, you could cover up the holes halfway up the left earpad, and cover up the holes on only the very top and bottom of the right, or vice versa. You could even flip over the white rings behind the pads, and see what that does, just for Schitz and Gigglez.

Aw I'm having too much fun in here - I feel like Don Imus back in the WNBC days! LOL by the way could I get 1,200 hamburgers?

 

[ScareDe2]

The more that those drivers are allowed to breath up to a point, the better they will sound. One way to achieve this is by perforating the inner side of the earpads. I doubt that you did much good to the midrange and treble by covering up all of the holes, but if you want to boost bass, I can suggest instead covering up only the "bottom half" or so of the earpad holes (colored in yellow):



The bottom part of your outer ear is what picks up bass and doesn't really benefit from holes in the earpad near it.

Interesting! I removed the upper half and although the bass is good, the upper midrange and treble seemed to be again too elevated. I prefer when the holes are all covered up. With this modification I use the stock back foam (or filter foam) to tame the treble further. It is really the best I heard of this headphone so far. To my ears at least.

 

[Mad Max]

Interesting! I removed the upper half and although the bass is good, the upper midrange and treble seemed to be again too elevated. I prefer when the holes are all covered up. With this modification I use the stock back foam (or filter foam) to tame the treble further. It is really the best I heard of this headphone so far. To my ears at least.

Oh, so you felt that it was too "boosted" stock.

Anyway, I do believe that the original pads always had the inner perforations. So do M50x's. M30x and M20x do not, though.

 

[ScareDe2]

Oh, so you felt that it was too "boosted" stock.

Anyway, I do believe that the original pads always had the inner perforations. So do M50x's. M30x and M20x do not, though.

I wrote to Audio Technica and asked about the HP-EP pads. They answered:
Thanks for the inquiry and contacting Audio-Technica U.S., Inc (ATUS.)


Note the HP-EP are the same ear pads that come with the ATH-M40x headphones.


But I know for a fact that the HP-EP is different from the firmer stock pads that I have. It is not unlikely that the sonic sense test was performed with a different pair.

I am very interested in those m20x/m30x pads. Do you know, outside of the perforations, what else is different compared to the m40x pads?

 

[Mad Max]

Forget it, I'm probably remembering incorrectly if the EP pads are for the whole series.

 

[ScareDe2]

Forget it, I'm probably remembering incorrectly if the EP pads are for the whole series.

Yes the HP-EP are compatible with most model of this line. ATH-M20x, ATH-M30x, ATH-M40x, ATH-M50x, ATH-M50, ATH-M50s, and ATH-M50RD. But you mentionned that the stock m20x/m30x pads don't have any perforations, that is very interesting for me because I think those perforations are detrimental to the sound.

 

[donunus]

I wrote to Audio Technica and asked about the HP-EP pads. They answered:
Thanks for the inquiry and contacting Audio-Technica U.S., Inc (ATUS.)


Note the HP-EP are the same ear pads that come with the ATH-M40x headphones.


But I know for a fact that the HP-EP is different from the firmer stock pads that I have. It is not unlikely that the sonic sense test was performed with a different pair.

I am very interested in those m20x/m30x pads. Do you know, outside of the perforations, what else is different compared to the m40x pads?

It is the same exact pads as my m40x but I have also tried someone elses m40x with different harder pads so they must have either mixed some of the older hard pads in the production line or the harder pads ones are older stocks that were released before they decided on the hp-ep.

 

[gargani]

Having a real field day here watching all of you go back and forth about what pads to replace the stock ones on the ATH-M40x with, removing this piece of foam, adding that, poking this number of holes here, covering up holes there, imagining you are hearing any actual difference. Have you placed them on your dog's ears after $#%ing around with them? LMAO!! I auditioned these things at my nearest Guitar Center store for nearly ten minutes, and for the price they do a fine job across most genres of music. Perhaps a little more robust construction between where moving parts meet, is all I could recommend, but everything else on this thread is sheer lunacy.

I like the sound of the m40x, just as it is.The problem is, I've got big ears, and the stock pads become a bit uncomfortable after awhile.
So I'm glad that a number of people, on this thread, are posting their experience with various pads.

 

[gargani]

It is the same exact pads as my m40x but I have also tried someone elses m40x with different harder pads so they must have either mixed some of the older hard pads in the production line or the harder pads ones are older stocks that were released before they decided on the hp-ep.

I bought my m40x, new, in January of 2015; and the pads are quite soft.. I don't know where these hard pads came from.I didn't even know there were hard pads, until reading it here.
My only problem is that the stock pads don't have bigger ear hole openings.