[Kabeer]

So,

My ears dislike supra aural pads (ear pinnae hurt after 20 mins), so I want to convert my supras (HP-50S and maybe others) to Circumaural.

I would probably make my own pads. I know that there would be general loss of bass going to circumaural, so I was wondering if there were any design tips that would mean there would be practically no loss?

a) Also what are the drawbacks to using faux leather rather than real leather?
(and would nappa leather be a good choice?)

b) Since a circum pad would have a larger diameter, the pad would extend more than the cup/baffle diameter. Would this be an issue?

Thanks.

 

[bjarnetv]

by making them a hybrid, there shouldnt be any big audible difference (supras inside circum).
you would still have pads slightly touching the ears, but the circum pads would take most of the clamping force, removing the strain on the ears.

faux leather doesnt breathe, and becomes sweaty quite fast.

 

[apatN]

It doesn't necessarily changes the bass in quantity. It is all about finding the right match.
I guess I would get some Beyer or GS1000 pads and start experimenting. Also the MS1000 in my link is clickable.

 

[bjarnetv]

but this is an ortho he is talking about, so anything other than leather pads would mess up the sound

when i added the circum leather pads on top of the old T30 pads, the bass rolled off at 30hz instead of 25, but due to the added distance from the ear to the driver i gained quite a bit of headstage.
the same happened with my htx7 SFIs, so i guess as long as you have a small "doughnut" of foam or leather inside the circum pad, to reduce the amount of air, the sound wont change too much.

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjarnetv /img/forum/go_quote.gif but this is an ortho he is talking about, so anything other than leather pads would mess up the sound when i added the circum leather pads on top of the old T30 pads, the bass rolled off at 30hz instead of 25, but due to the added distance from the ear to the driver i gained quite a bit of headstage. the same happened with my htx7 SFIs, so i guess as long as you have a small "doughnut" of foam or leather inside the circum pad, to reduce the amount of air, the sound wont change too much.

Hi bjarne,
Ok so real leather it is.
Im gonna try and make the whole pad from scratch....
So design a "supra" circum hybrid pad thats all one pad only....hmm
Iv got fibreloft polyfill (the markl fibrefill), would that do?

Do I still need my ears exerting pressure on the supra section?
I was thinking of making a Denon D2000 style pads (thick and wedge shaped, to angle the driver), with a supra section inside it...

Also since the circum pad will be bigger, do you think the parts that wont be supported by the HP-50S baffle will be fine without anything supporting it...

(time to find some leather...know of any good cheap sources? im in London UK)

 

[bjarnetv]

the supra pads would only have to barely touch i think.
as for what to fill the pads with i have no idea, but it would probably need to be quite dense, judging from the t50rp pad revision.

i have been thinking of making some pads for my own hp50, but i would probably make a new baffle out of a plastic disc or some thin metal, then add the stock pads and the custom pads on top.

 

[Kabeer]

Looks good. Ok I guess i'll have to hunt down some memory foam (smeggy uses that stuff).

What would you think If I had the same as above, except minus the add-on baffle. And the Supera-circum pads were all one piece?

And aPatn, thanks for the link as well. But yah I think my pads need to be fairly sealed.

 

[bjarnetv]

it would probably work out ok, though i suspect the circum pads would be pushed back past the baffle without some kind of support behind them, making the supra pad press harder on the ears.

it would also be harder to adjust the size and shape of the supra pads later, if they were combined with the circum pads.

 

[Vaughn]

Hey Kabeer,

I did something similar to this with some SFI ortho's I made. I used a pleather circumaural pad but made a small foam ring that was placed inside it. As Bjarnetv states the outside pad is creating the seal and relieving the stress on the head and the inside pad touches the ear but doesn't really rest on it. This ring decrease the volume between the driver and the ear and seemed to help the bass. If you try this I would experiment with different densities of foam for the ring. I used some 1/2" Sonic Barrier foam I had on hand, which worked well as it has an adhesive layer on the back. Good luck!

 

[Kabeer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaughn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Kabeer, I did something similar to this with some SFI ortho's I made. I used a pleather circumaural pad but made a small foam ring that was placed inside it. As Bjarnetv states the outside pad is creating the seal and relieving the stress on the head and the inside pad touches the ear but doesn't really rest on it. This ring decrease the volume between the driver and the ear and seemed to help the bass. If you try this I would experiment with different densities of foam for the ring. I used some 1/2" Sonic Barrier foam I had on hand, which worked well as it has an adhesive layer on the back. Good luck!

Hi Vaugh,

Thanks, this method does seem good. But I cant find any decent looking circum pads anywhere.....
Or do you think If I make a D2000 esque reproduction out of real leather with would be better?

 

[Vaughn]

The replacement pads for Beyer phones would probably work well, I think if you do a search here you will find a link to the U.S. supplier. They come in pleather, leather, velour, etc. The leather or pleather would work well for orthos.

On the other hand, earpad construction is one of the DIY areas I haven't explored yet and it could be interesting!

 

[Kabeer]

Whats a better stuffing for pads?
Sponge or Fibrefill (fibreloft fibrefill)?

I am creating circum pads, i want them to be sealing, and soft.