Hi all, I'm a long time lurker so this is my first post. Firstly, thanks to the Head-Fi community for the useful information and tips I've read.
Thanks to this thread and the reviews I jumped on a pair of TH-X00s during the February drop. I was a bit nervous as it's the most I've invested in a pair of headphones but I'm so glad I did as they sound super!
As a spectacles wearer I personally find the stock pads uncomfortable. They sit as much on my ear as around them, pressing the top of my ears against the spectacle frames. They're fine without spectacles but I need to listen whilst wearing spectacles.
I tried some Brainwavz pleather angle pads as they're affordable. The bass is reduced and they seem overly bright, as others noted I think. To my ears the mid-range sounded recessed and slightly hollow and the treble very hollow and somehow 'thin' despite being strong in quantity. Apologies if that sounds weird/not sufficiently descriptive, it's as close as I can get. The soundstage did feel more spacious though.
I find the angle pads much more comfy than stock when wearing spectacles so after reading this and other threads/forums I thought I'd try stuffing a strip of foam around the inside edge of the angle pads, theorising it might soak up the excess treble energy and this, surprisingly, works for me. The hollowness is gone and treble more balanced and natural. Midrange is restored, bass partially restored and sufficient for me, and the soundstage still feels a bit more spacious than stock.
Sounds a little mad I know so please don't bash me too hard if you disagree
My gut feeling is the stock pads still sound better overall - I've not properly compared yet - but the sound is close enough and still highly engaging to my ears. I also managed to get some of the Denon D2000 plastic ring mounts (POM plates) so I can always swap back to stock pads when the mood swings.
The foam used is protective foam that came with a mobile phone screen protector, so nothing fancy let alone acoustic, but it cost nothing so I gave it a try.