[zzffnn]

You can buy some PVC tubes and slide them behind the pads to add extra depth. They call it the phatpad mod. I have about 10.5" of 3/8" outer diameter and 1/4" inner diameter tubing in each cup of my AD1000PRM.

You can also buy the L3000 leather pads, but those are $100+ and I'm not sure how they would affect the sound.

I personally found PVC tubes too firm and uncomfortable, unless I go with really slender ones. Those yellow medical latex tubes work for me. Or you can try putting a few (whole or half) memory foam ear plugs under the headphone pads, although they fall out easily and don't look very nice.

 

[Argybargy]

REGARDING STAX 507, DAVID WROTE:
 
ANALYTICAL?: To my ears, the sound signature of the SR-507 is a bit on the colder side. I enjoy its analytical nature sometimes, but other times, I find its sound to be verging on icy.

BASS: The bass response of the SR-507 is very tight and shows excellent restraint. Even still, it is just a touch leaner than I would like. I would prefer the SR-507 have a weightier / fuller tone. Perhaps, this is from where my perception of the SR-507's analytical nature stems.
 
* * *
 
It's fascinating how differently I am hearing these headphones.  These new 507s have 150 hours of burn in and are driven by a Stax 600 Limited.
 
I'm slightly disappointed and perplexed by what I am hearing- which is exactly opposite to David's observations.
 
To my ears the sound sig is warm.  I was hoping for analytical.  The bass is thick and a bit boomy lacking tightness and restraint.  Frankly, these 507s sound somewhat like dynamic phones along with the characteristic stat speed and black background and that effortless quality.  I agree that the treble is smooth and glare free.
 
I'm hoping a little more of the analytical nature will emerge with 50 more hours of burn in.
 
It did sound slightly more analytical, lean and airy driven by a Stax 007T, but the essential signature was still (too) warm.
 

 

[BigCabDaddy]

Quote:

Hi David! After reading your monumental headphone battle I bought a ATH-AD900 and can't say it's very comfortable.
Did you mod your AD900 in any way or don't you have any problems with them? My ears are touching the driver and the headphone gets very uncomfortable after about one hour of listening.
 
Any sugestions? 

 
I did something you can search for here called the "AD700 comfort mod" to my AD700 and I suspect it would work on the AD900 as well. Same idea but as already mentioned it uses a piece of coax instead. Plan on having to do the same mod to my AD900x when they arrive.

 

[grokit]

The original phatpad mod was for the W5000, silicone tubing is the material of choice. Diameters vary by preference, I think that I settled on 3/16" tubing. It could have been 5/16, I don't remember but it was around a 1/4".

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Hi David! After reading your monumental headphone battle I bought a ATH-AD900 and can't say it's very comfortable.
Did you mod your AD900 in any way or don't you have any problems with them? My ears are touching the driver and the headphone gets very uncomfortable after about one hour of listening.
 
Any sugestions? 

I didn't mod the AD900.  It's not untypical for ears to make contact with interiors of headphones.   I would recommend trying different locations on the head for which to rest the self adjusting headband.  I find with AT headphones in particular it can really make a difference.
 
Quote:

REGARDING STAX 507, DAVID WROTE:
 
ANALYTICAL?: To my ears, the sound signature of the SR-507 is a bit on the colder side. I enjoy its analytical nature sometimes, but other times, I find its sound to be verging on icy.

BASS: The bass response of the SR-507 is very tight and shows excellent restraint. Even still, it is just a touch leaner than I would like. I would prefer the SR-507 have a weightier / fuller tone. Perhaps, this is from where my perception of the SR-507's analytical nature stems.
 
* * *
 
It's fascinating how differently I am hearing these headphones.  These new 507s have 150 hours of burn in and are driven by a Stax 600 Limited.
 
I'm slightly disappointed and perplexed by what I am hearing- which is exactly opposite to David's observations.
 
To my ears the sound sig is warm.  I was hoping for analytical.  The bass is thick and a bit boomy lacking tightness and restraint.  Frankly, these 507s sound somewhat like dynamic phones along with the characteristic stat speed and black background and that effortless quality.  I agree that the treble is smooth and glare free.
 
I'm hoping a little more of the analytical nature will emerge with 50 more hours of burn in.
 
It did sound slightly more analytical, lean and airy driven by a Stax 007T, but the essential signature was still (too) warm.
 

I am sorry you are disappointed. Of course, you do have one of the very best headphones around.  It could be an amp thing, but when I listen to the 507 with the BHSE it comes across precisely how I describe it.  I am doubtful an amp can turn a headphone 360, so I am not precisely sure what it is you are hearing.  There is definitely bass there, but it's not a "warm" sig...at least not my pair.  Would be interesting to hear your pair in a BHSE.  I think I leaned more in the direction of your statements when I paired the 507 with the Aristaeus, but I never heard it as warm headphone

 

[Argybargy]

Thanks for your comments David. To be clear, I'm not disappointed in the sound quality, but in the sense that I ordered strawberry ice cream and instead got chocolate (I love both).

I've experimented with lowering both sides by 2 notches and also some front to back movement on the head and achieved a better seal with tighter bass.

The phones are also still evolving at around 150 hours of use.

I wonder how much the actual dimensions of the ear matter to SQ, especially when the ear pads are narrow as with the 507. I have small ears and unlike in your case find these to be very comfortable. There is no pressure on any part of the ear from the pads and I can wear them for hours at a time.

 

[davidhunternyc]

I am not a scientist by any means and I can't explain it, but 150 hours of burn-in is still not enough on dynamic headphones. 500 hours seems to be the magical number for me. A headphones signature seems to get stable when this mark is hit. (If you all disagree me, then have at it.) Good luck. 

 

[Silent One]

I've said as much the past few years and had some members follow me 

 home.

 

[RustA]

Quote:

I am not a scientist by any means and I can't explain it, but 150 hours of burn-in is still not enough on dynamic headphones. 500 hours seems to be the magical number for me. A headphones signature seems to get stable when this mark is hit. (If you all disagree me, then have at it.) Good luck. 

 
Nope. The magical number is 503 hours, 26 minutes and 58 seconds and you have to ensure that the pink noise file you use is uncompressed lossless run in a fully-bitperfect mode using a fully-balanced audio chain with golden/silver hybrid interconnects because otherwise it doesn't count as a proper burn-in and you're definitely not getting the absolute best out of your headphones!

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Thanks for your comments David. To be clear, I'm not disappointed in the sound quality, but in the sense that I ordered strawberry ice cream and instead got chocolate (I love both).

I've experimented with lowering both sides by 2 notches and also some front to back movement on the head and achieved a better seal with tighter bass.

The phones are also still evolving at around 150 hours of use.

I wonder how much the actual dimensions of the ear matter to SQ, especially when the ear pads are narrow as with the 507. I have small ears and unlike in your case find these to be very comfortable. There is no pressure on any part of the ear from the pads and I can wear them for hours at a time.

Hopefully the burnin will bring it to a sound signature more to your expectations.  I think it is unusual just how you describe the fit, because my experience is that the fit is rather tight.  It could be a head-size thing, but it could also be a design alteration.  I bring this up because when head-fi friends and I have gotten together and compared Lambda models, we were very conscious that the 507 was much tighter and less comfortable.  By having a more comfortable fit (less clamp) the bass definitely blooms with these headphones.  If you try pressing the pads to make a tighter fit just for a moment, I wonder if your experience will change.  Other possibilities is that Stax has revised the driver somehow, but I am doubtful of this.

 

[Stratok]

Quote:

 
Nope. The magical number is 503 hours, 26 minutes and 58 seconds and you have to ensure that the pink noise file you use is uncompressed lossless run in a fully-bitperfect mode using a fully-balanced audio chain with golden/silver hybrid interconnects because otherwise it doesn't count as a proper burn-in and you're definitely not getting the absolute best out of your headphones!

hmh I did it wrong! Wish I would have read this sooner!

 

[hifimanrookie]

hmh I did it wrong! Wish I would have read this sooner!

 

[Bloodflowerz]

It would be great to have the T5p reviewed and placed on this list.

 

[BillsonChang007]

Hello!

Nice comparison! Why not add in HD598 when these are flagship of the Sennheiser HD5xx line! If not, can you please let me know where would you put them in between! Interested to see where my favorite open headphone is up to where XD

Thanks!
Billson

 

[cucera]

Thank you David. In my eyes the first post of this thread is the most important in the whole dorim. One can alwayes argue about the particular ranking of his favourit headphone but the descriptions are very precise.