[Angel III]

I associate myself with those who advise you not to give up with Avantone Planar. They are some of the best I've ever heard. Question to all of you, are the original or similar replacement pads available?

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

Yes the original earpads are available. You have to email Avantone for them

 

[Heldaeus]

Hey! I got some funds for these pads now and would like your input. What I want out of the planar is more bass slam (imagine the feel of standing next to a bass drum when you impact it) and deep bass rumble (similar to a subwoofer, or in headphone terms, like the rumble of modhouse argons or the foster biodynamic drivers). The mids and treble are already perfect, so those don't need any mods.

I currently have a +10dB bass shelf going from 0-75Hz, falling off exponentially and back to 0dB by 100Hz. The rest of the FR is the eq settings from oratory1990.

I noticed your said somewhere in the thread you preferred the leather bass, but it was too bloated and added perforations.

With this all in mind, I was thinking of asking vesper for angled sheepskin pads in your dimensions, with the inside being perforated. Any thoughts/changes?

Sorry for the late response. I would order a perforated leather and stay away from the memory foam. The mem foam VA uses creates about a 4db 1kHz dip and this is the cause of the bloated sound. I wouldn't know which foams avoid this dip but if I had to guess I'd say go with a denser material if you can.

 

[SUSSUS AMOGUS]

Sorry for the late response. I would order a perforated leather and stay away from the memory foam. The mem foam VA uses creates about a 4db 1kHz dip and this is the cause of the bloated sound. I wouldn't know which foams avoid this dip but if I had to guess I'd say go with a denser material if you can.

Oooffff I ended up going with this:
Perforated leather inside, normal leather else
Foam+cooling gel+25mm thickness front angled to 35mm back

 

[Heldaeus]

Oooffff I ended up going with this:
Perforated leather inside, normal leather else
Foam+cooling gel+25mm thickness front angled to 35mm back

The cooling gel should add density to the foam so perhaps it'll be fine or at least improved.

 

[Heldaeus]

I made pads from an old coat I found at a thrift shop, they're kinda not good. In fact they're very not good... But, I like them

 

[trellus]

I made pads from an old coat I found at a thrift shop, they're kinda not good. In fact they're very not good... But, I like them

Well, at least they’re visually more interesting than the boring stock pads.

 

[Heldaeus]

Well, at least they’re visually more interesting than the boring stock pads.

Thanks haha I think the black and beige look works great for these cans

 

[Heldaeus]

Porta Planars

 

[trellus]

Porta Planars

Looks like a nice couple of slices of cheese there...

I'm also worried about the comfort?

But what do they sound like?

 

[Heldaeus]

Looks like a nice couple of slices of cheese there...

I'm also worried about the comfort?

But what do they sound like?

They actually aren't too uncomfortable believe it or not, and the sound is actually not bad. Nice low mids, lacking in upper mids and treble, bass doesn't suffer too much. Clarity isn't too bad either. I was expecting worse.

 

[SUSSUS AMOGUS]

Both

Dont know if I still have the box tho.

Check inside the earcups by removing the pads

 

[Heldaeus]

More pads! Emphasis on "more" lol. Made these from an old cushion

 

[SUSSUS AMOGUS]

My earpads arrived! Looks absolutely sick, and feels SO damn comfy. I wear these to bed almost daily, feels like massive cushions surrounding me; the leather headband I added also helps with the comfort- everything which makes contact with my head is all padded+leather.

Sound: since I went in to this blind, I had no way of knowing how it'll affect the FR and performance. The results are a mixed bag: the highs and mids sound the identical, if not, very similar. One thing I can say for certain is they're no longer piercing/shrill highs. There are still songs with extreme sibilance, but that's more on the recording than the planar. As for bass, unfortunately, the LOUDNESS of the bass is much lower than stock; however, the texture and clarity of the bass remains the same, if not, slightly better (not very noticeable).

To compensate for everything, I've simply done a massive +15dB low shelf from 0-100Hz, sloping off after that and reaching 0dB by 200Hz. Then I did a -15dB preamp to prevent clipping. This resulted in gaining back most of the lost bass, but with the enhancements to the sound offered by the pads, but most importantly, maximum comfort which is exactly what I was going for.

The way I attached the pads was pretty simple. First, simply remove the stock pads, then I peeled off the Velcro from the driver side of the planar. This was very simple and I didn't even need any heat, just my nails. Next, I applied sound absorbing putty from the Cow, just like Heldaeus mentioned earlier in the thread. Once I spread the pattern matching that of the back of the earpad's leather, I pressed on the pad for a few minutes and then simply wore them and let it naturally seal.
Here are some pictures:

 

[SUSSUS AMOGUS]