This headphone hobby can really be insane. The price people pay for freaking headphone cables that make no measurable performance difference (expensive cables always seem to magically cure whatever a headphone's ailments are, and they always "open up the mids"); claiming to be able to "hear" USB jitter (it sounds "metallic" and "fatiguing"); leaving your DAC on so it's always at the right temperature (OK, I do this!); endless tube rolling; the list goes on. Yet, there are things that have a huge impact on a headphone's sound that are difficult (if not impossible) to find consistent and reliable information on: things like a device's output impedance (crucial for balanced armature IEMs); a BA IEM's impedance curve (what will happen when plugged into something with a little impedance?); the effect earpads and eartips can have.
Earpad/eartip rolling is a hobby unto itself. It has turned some IEMs from harsh messes into audio perfection (every try 2-flange SpinFit tips on the Noble Kaiser 10?) and has turned some of my headphones from "For Sale" listings into crucial pieces of kit. Dekoni pads are a huge reason for this, particularly the Choice offering.
While I wish they’d revisit the measurements of some important headphones since purchasing Tyll’s storied measurement rig (I’m looking at you, HD800!), their latest measurements have really demonstrated the impact pads have on a headphone.
Not all of it is good; it appears that there’s no salvaging the HD700, the HD650 turns to mud with anything other than stock pads, and beyerdynamics seem to explode when using certain materials. I’ve experienced this first-hand, and I’ll elaborate on that in a bit. However, you do notice that certain earpad materials have attributes in common, regardless of what headphone they’re on.
Both the Choice Suede and Choice Leather pads appear to have very specific characteristics that are consistent across all their available measurements, and I can personally verify that the Choice Suede and Leather pads do what the measurements say they do.
The Choice Leather pads appear to smooth out the 8kHz-10kHz region tastefully and fortify and smooth out the 2kHz-5kHz area, but they also seem to have a bit of a bump at 45Hz before divebombing in the sub-bass. The Choice Suede pads appear to leave the bass alone, while retaining that 2kHz-5kHz consistency. The real magic here is the fact that they completely smooth out whatever spikes exist at the 8kHz-10kHz range, for better or for worse. I find this area of the sound spectrum particularly irritating when it’s boosted, and in my experience a lot of headphones have trouble here.
I have a pair of Audeze LCD-X headphones that I was actively shopping. They sounded fine, but I had an Audeze LCD-3F I liked better. Both headphones had a little too much heat in the 8kHz-10kHz area for me, and the Audeze LCD-X had a withdrawn low-treble which made this peak stand out even more.
When the LCD-3F’s vegan pads started to fray (oh no!) I decided to pull the trigger on the Choice Suede pads to see if they’d calm down the treble heat. When they arrived, they did precisely that – that smoky, romantic presentation remained, with nary a hint of unbecoming crispiness up top. The whole 2kHz-10kHz spectrum seemed to flow into itself much more evenly, and I thought it was a great match.
At that point, I revisited Dekoni’s LCD-2F measurements (
https://dekoniaudio.com/audeze-lcd-2-measurements/) and noticed the Elite Sheepskin pads also provided a small 8kHz-10kHz cut yet extended the bass to 0. My curiosity got the best of me, and I purchased them for my LCD-3F, where they remain today (partially because I don’t know how many pad swaps those 3M adhesive rings will handle!).
I wasn’t getting much interest on my LCD-X ad. Instead of lowering the price, I decided to throw caution to the wind and remove the stock leather pads and replace them with the Choice Suede pads I just took off the LCD-3F. I mean, these pads should cool the treble here too, right?
My goodness was I ever right. Whatever magic they performed on the LCD-3F was tripled for the LCD-X. It’s like it inverted the headphone’s frequency response from 2kHz-10kHz – the transition was so much more natural, and there wasn’t a hint of harshness in the upper extremes. With the LCD-X’s drier midrange relative to the LCD-3F, the presentation was so balanced it ventured into “boring” territory in the best way possible. I can imagine a Choice Suede armed LCD-X would be the mastering headphone to rule all mastering headphones: every shred of detail is available from 0Hz-20kHz, yet nothing is emphasized. This headphone went from having an irritating treble profile to becoming a consummate all-rounder, almost to a fault.
I revisted the LCD-2F measurements again – and it made my curious to hear how the Choice Leather’s similar if not quite as drastic treble attenuation and 45Hz bump/divebomb would sound on the LCD-X. Off I went to purchase a set, and I installed them.
First of all, the adhesive rings of the Choice Suede pads were quite worse for the wear after their second removal. I bet they’d stick on a third time, but I anticipate a third removal would require a new adhesive ring. Who knows where to source those? Hopefully Dekoni can help on that front.
The Choice Leather pads have a fantastic synergy with the LCD-X, and they shall remain on them (although I wish pad rolling was easier on Audeze headphones!). This “45Hz divebomb” is a fascinating artifact: while the lack of extension was evident, the texture and speed of the bass improved considerably and left me appreciating the bass response more than I did before. You could hear the pump of kick-drum skins and the satisfying ‘thunk’ of an upright bass in addition to feeling the air move, and I believe these details were lost under the sheer wallop of the LCD-X with other earpads.
The treble was toned down to a point where it is almost beyond reproach, sitting at a near-identical level with the bass. The Choice Suede pads definitely imparted a warm quality to the LCD-X, whereas the Choice Leather pads kept things neutral without a touch of harshness. Snare drums and cymbal work that used to cause a squint with stock pads or carried a tastefully warm timbre with the Choice Suede pads, now sat perfectly in the mix, to the point where I am more easily noticing aural cues compared to before. I am amazed at how much detail can get lost in a haze of crispy treble and far-extended bass. The upper-mids were as tastefully fortified as they were with the Choice Suede pads, which made the LCD-X much more cohesive sounding compared to it in the stock configuration.
Jumping between the Choice Leather-clad LCD-X and Elite Sheepskin-clad LCD-3F lead to some very interesting comparisons. The LCD-3F definitely lead the charge on the bass extension and treble presence front, although the treble was just a hair crispier than I’d prefer. The LCD-3F’s romantic mids yields one lush mass of sound, where your focus is on the overall soundscape before you delve into the details. The LCD-X’s drier mids, even treble, and speaker-like bass response allowed you to be the judge, allowing me to drift your attention between the macro and the micro with ease. I feel that both Dekoni-clad cans are all-rounders, with the LCD-3F being a euphonious all-rounder, and the LCD-X is a more traditional all-rounder. I could not have asked for a better duo of headphones to be able to jump between.
I twice owned an LCD-XC and twice ditched it due to the sheer treble onslaught I was presented with – I felt like I was listening to a concert in a venue with all the lights on, and the bulbs being 5k “cool white” lights. I bet these Dekoni pads, particularly the Choice Suede pads, would be a complete game-changer for them. If anybody is on the fence about selling their LCD-XC, I implore you to try the Choice Suede pads before making your final decision.
Now, my dumb ass also ordered a set of Choice Suede pads for my beyerdynamic T1, instead of the Fenestrated Sheepskin ones I meant to order. I can confirm the horror of those DT1990 measurements (
https://dekoniaudio.com/beyerdynamic-dt1990-measurements/) on the T1. The bass increased to this indistinct mass that would shame a TH900 in its quantity yet compliment it in its quality. Yes, the 8kHz hell-spike of the T1 was smoothed out, but next to that atomic bomb of a bass profile it was a dreadful mix. There are other headphones that can give you this sound for a much better price.
For a time, the beyerdynamic Choice Suede pads were relegated to my “unused Dekoni pad” shelf. Then, I thought I’d investigate if I could get these going on my HiFiMAN HE-560s, which can be glaringly bright in the very problem area I’ve been describing for some time now.
Yes, they’re a little too small for the HiFiMAN mounting rings, but I had a spare set I trimmed down that came from a pair of Focus pads that inevitably came apart.
Now we’re talking. It gave the HE-560 the warming up it direly needed. Frankly, the entire HiFiMAN HE range could use a fair bit of treble reduction, and Dekoni is sitting on goldmine if they decide to release Choice Suede HiFiMAN HE-series pads… as much of a goldmine as aftermarket earphone pads can be, of course.
With Choice Suede, the HD700 just might be listenable after all. It might turn the HD800 into the HD650 successor people hoped it would be. It might be the HE-6 pad. Yet Dekoni has no official offering for any of these headphones. What a shame!
With the currently available offerings, however, I used to have headphones that I was considering/actively selling, and now I proudly listen to them. And it's due to the Dekoni Choice earpads.
tl;dr Choice Suede pads are great for cooling the treble of hot headphones. The Choice Leather pads provide a more tasteful treble tempering, at the cost of some sub extension – just check the measurements to ensure they don’t make the bass explode.