[thefitz]

Alright, I spent some/enough time with the hybrid pads on the HD800 SDR and have a conclusion.

My setup involves me running the HD800 SDR with the EQ settings that Tyll showed for the HD800S on his review. I think the sound is fantastic and in most cases my EQ'd HD800S gets more head time than my Focal Clear, although that could be a comfort thing! However, it did really bug me that I was using EQ - more accurately, it bugged me that I would constantly turn off and on the EQ depending on whether or not I was using the HD800. My other cans do not require EQ, but the HD800 does.

Looking at the frequency response curves posted by Dekoni, I thought that these pads would remove the need for EQ. Simply put, the pads were still too glarey with the EQ off, and I much preferred the sound of the stock pads when EQ was applied.

Note: I left the original dust covers on, and think you're a masochist if you take them off. I did not and will not cut off the dust covers of the Dekoni pads. To break the pads in, I howled at the moon, farted on my hand, twirled my arms, yelled at the pads, and did all the same crap that makes no difference that everyone else loves to do. It made my 12" interconnects sound better too.

Feel: I have a giant bald head and use the HD800 with the headband extended to the very last click. With these Dekoni pads on, the HD800 became on the tight side with the headband extended all the way. They were also quite warm with the Dekonis installed. Stock pads are far more comfortable for me, but that says more about me than the headphones.

Changes noticed regardless of EQ: This might be hard to explain, but the earpads seemed to have warmed up the bottom end a bit without actually adding more bass. I did notice a slight reduction in bass impact, as if the upper bass and lower mids now had the same warmth the low end did (i.e. less impact by addition, not subtraction). The soundstage had an interesting change - I felt that it shrunk noticeably, but everything got smaller sounding as well (as opposed to the soundstage shrinking but everything staying the same size, meaning the sound is more congested). I wouldn't call this a bad thing or a good thing - I think it's about preference.

Changes noticed with EQ off: The sharpness of "SSS" and "CHH" were smoothed out to the level of the rest of the treble, which in my opinion is a big win here. Unfortunately for me, the overall treble was still quite hot and glaring overall, just not in any particular spot. I went from occasionally wincing intensely to always wincing moderately. The heat in the treble did interact well with the "wide low end" the pads imparted (described above). This might be the answer people are looking for - just not me.

Changes noticed with EQ on: This is actually my least favorite sound of them all. The treble reduction in the pads with the treble reduction in the EQ made everything in the upper octaves sound distant, putting unflattering emphasis on the "wide low end" the pads imparted. None of the frequency range sounded good with both the pads and EQ on.

I admire what Dekoni is trying to do, but man, I've had such awful luck with them. Out of the 6 pad sets I've tried, only 2 worked well - the sheepskin leather Fostex TH50RP pads (at half the price of the headphones), and the fenestrated sheepskin pads on the HD600 (but not the HD650). But this experience makes me consider swapping the pads out to stock and seeing if they are really better after all. I'm scared to try Focal Dekoni pads based on what their FR graphs show (and how off their FR graphs seem to be from reality as it is).

Rumour has it that the reason the HD700 is a sack of horse crap is because of the pads introducing all sorts of reflections, and Dekoni is working on HD700 pads. I really really hope they knock it out of the park with them and finally make a pad that's a must-purchase.

 

[Arthur Li]

Removing the stock dust covers increases reflections - which is desirable when listening to orchestral recordings. For other genres of music, it's better to keep the dust covers on, especially for un-modded HD800.

 

[tomb]

Well, I have had the fenestrated sheepskin pads on a 650/6XX for a while now and they're wonderful - best upgrade to the 650s ever, including any cable mods you might try (IMHO). Based on that experience, I was excited in purchasing and trying the fenestrated sheepskin pads on my stock-block HD800.

FAIL - big time.

Not only were the pads less comfortable, the sound was horrible - worst with the Senn cloth cup out, but still intolerable with the cloth cup back in. As for comfort, I lost the "cool" feeling that I get every time I put on the 6XXs. For some reason, the foam seems different and so does the sheepskin on the HD800 pads. Maybe it's an effect of the much larger pads, but even the fenestration holes are less numerous and much larger than on the 6XXs. That makes the foam easily visible (cream color) through those holes and cheapens the appearance. it's probably psychological, but the skin seems different, too, and gave my ears a burning feeling, rather than the soft cool I get on the 6XXs. (Maybe it was the fabric screening on the back side of the pads, too.)

As for sound - uh-oh. I came to the conclusion that there's a reason Sennheiser made their pads so thin and with openings so large. They (Senn) want you to get your ear completely inside and behind the pads. This gets you closer to the driver and probably minimizes any reflections that may take place inside the can. With the right amp, my stock HD800 is detailed and sweet.* With the Dekoni pads, they're harsh and wonky - terribly so. I believe this is directly because of the additional thickness and the attached screen fabric on the back of the pads. It forces your ear to stand-off from the Senn drivers, the exact opposite of what Senn intended with the design, I believe.

After my wonderful experience with the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin 650 pads, this was a severe disappointment. I'm returning the pads. JMHO and YMMV …


* ECP Audio/Beezar Torpedo III (T3) or T4 headphone amplifier.

 

[thefitz]

Yeah, not a whole lot of love for the HD800 pads.

They did drop the HD700 pads... and if you look at the FR graphs, the HD700 "spike of death" was actually made much worse. There are no words...

 

[shyamwanne]

Has anyone tried any of their pads with the HD820 yet?

The HD820 has a different mounting mechanism than the HD800, so they do not fit. The HD820 simply presses into the ear cups...it's a shockingly simple system. I know this because I also own the HD820.

As you may know from my previous post I greatly prefer the sheepskin pad with Dekoni dust cover on my HD800S, removing the original dust cover. I know many hear find it brightens the sound and adds too many reflections. I could see this being the case for some people depending on their system. However, my experience has been it just adds detail to the sound. I can hear things with the Dekoni sheepskin pads and dust cover, removing the original dust cover, I simply can't hear with the stock pads, other Dekoni pads, or with the stock dust cover in place. So I get more 3D presentation, and can hear individual instruments like never before. I even took my headphones to a HeadFi meet and had others try them on a friends super high end system, and everyone prefered my headphones with the Dekoni sheepskin pads. I am not using the stock cable though. I am currently using a PlusSound pure silver/gold cable which also greatly increases detail in the sound. Though I also have an upgrade Plussound copper cable, silver Labkable and Norne Audio silver cable too....so you can tell I like detail, ha ha ha

That said, the original pads on the HD820 are much more similar to the Dekoni. They are thicker like the dekoni, and have sheepskin (or leather) on the outside. The interior of the pad is still cloth. As I am a fan of the Dekoni Sheepskin I contacted Dekoni asking about a replacement for the HD820 and they said they were working on one now.

In the meantime I have experimented with removing the interior dust cover, and with the HD820 I do hear too much reflection...possibly because its a closed can. So I put the original dust covers back in and prefer the sound. So I am still very excited to get a Sheepskin Pad on the HD820 and see if their stock dust cover reduces reflections enough for my taste.

For reference: I am using the Eddie Current 'Studio' headphone amplifier.