Earpads for Sennheiser HD420 SL

[tom_s252]

Hi all,
I've just picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD420 SLs on eBay, and I'm having trouble tracking down some replacement earpads. Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[tom_s252]

Anyone?

 

[tom_s252]

No?

 

[amartignano]

Pitily, replacement earpads for the HD420 and HD420SL are no longer made.
But, in thoery, the only part of the earpads that can get ruined, is the black foam under the yellow pads made of woven. The yellow pads should be ok. For the black foam, you can replace it with the HD410SL pads, still available. I've made so for my HD420 and it's ok.

Andrew

 

[tom_s252]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amartignano /img/forum/go_quote.gif Pitily, replacement earpads for the HD420 and HD420SL are no longer made. But, in thoery, the only part of the earpads that can get ruined, is the black foam under the yellow pads made of woven. The yellow pads should be ok. For the black foam, you can replace it with the HD410SL pads, still available. I've made so for my HD420 and it's ok. Andrew

Thanks

Anyone else out there with HD420SL experience?

 

[sgrossklass]

That would probably be me then. I guess the foam has already been replaced by now.

I used some from a sound card's packaging when I got my HD420SL. The earpieces are smaller than the HD420's, and it's a much lighter and more minimal construction in general. (I must say, however, that having these on makes for some fairly geeky looks on my part, or should I say even more so than normally.) Efficiency is not too great, and at 600 ohms they're not the most sensitive to begin with, but sound wise they're not half bad - many a current entry-level offering has a far less balanced sound than these. (Due to the close proximity of the drivers to the ears, soundstaging pretty much is of the "3-blob" variety though.) These were the predecessors to the later HD480, I guess.

I stumbled across this thread because today I wanted to check out how loud a SB Live! 24-Bit would drive them - the answer being plenty loud enough, btw - and then wondered whether I had already posted my latest Shibatch Super Equalizer 0.03 settings here yet. These cans sound surprisingly "grown-up" with a bit of EQ, like this:
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Normally the 420SLs are my "radio cans" for shortwave and other fairly low-fi applications - no amp hiss on these. I just gave the spring contacts a bit of contact cleaner again, that helps against the occasional intermittency (the old steel cable was better in keeping contact, I guess the springs aren't as tight as they could be).

 

[tom_s252]

Hi

Thanks for that belated reply, sgrossklass.

I was eventually recommended Sennheiser part number 50757, the foam for HD433, which I duly ordered and inserted into the yellow cloth pads on my HD420SLs, and lo and behold it works perfectly! I now have a fully functional, and rather tasty sounding, pair of retro 80s Sennheisers

Thanks to all for the friendly and helpful advice; if my experience can be of help to anyone else, so much the better

 

[BIGHMW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom_s252 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Thanks for that belated reply, sgrossklass. I was eventually recommended Sennheiser part number 50757, the foam for HD433, which I duly ordered and inserted into the yellow cloth pads on my HD420SLs, and lo and behold it works perfectly! I now have a fully functional, and rather tasty sounding, pair of retro 80s Sennheisers Thanks to all for the friendly and helpful advice; if my experience can be of help to anyone else, so much the better

I too, used some HD433 pads (after trying the HD410 pads with little success, they were too small) with my vintage HD420 headphones, and now I am just waiting for the replacement headband (the original headband is no longer available so I ordered its replacement) to come in and I will have a fully revived set of HD420's to use on my home hi-fi!!!

 

[broh]

How does one go about removing the yellow ear pads?
 
Clyde

 

[MandoBear]

Removing HD420SL earpads is relatively easy - the fabric pad is edged with a PVC-rubber strip which grips the hard plastic edge of the earpiece module.  Just gently ease the strip off at one point and carefully work your way around.  The only thing I'd say to be particularly careful of is if the PVC edging has become a bit brittle with age.  Refitting is a reversal of the above procedure.
 
Wearing my 420SLs as I type this, in fact - through a Mr. Nixie valve heaphone amp - not a bad combination!

 

[John Style]

Thanks. The instructions on replacing the pad were useful.