Gel Pad Mod for ATH-M50

[Nooks]

Hello head-fiers!
This is my first thread ever here, so nice to meet you guys

 
 
I always take my M50 anywhere on the go, being able to carry decent sound on the go was a big plus for me.  However, I was not satisfied by its sound isolation.
 
Now I don't know whether I should be calling this a mod, as it's just a simple replacement of the earpads, but I was cleaning my David Clark's H10-13.4 aviation headset and noticed that the earpad size of the headset is somewhat similar.  Out of curiousity, I've taken the earpads off my aviation set and stuck them onto my ATH-M50.  I struggled to put it in at first as the material doesn't stretch as much, but after fitting it all the way, it was a perfect fit.
 
I straight away noticed the increase in noise isolation compared to the stock pads due to the gel pad's larger density, and obviously the decrease in leakage too.  Base sounds slightly stronger with better sealing, but that could just be my imagination.  The pads that I used are from http://www.davidclark.com/Store/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=14 .  I highly recommend this if you listen to your music in places which requires you to be quiet.  I'm guessing this gel pads would also fit Beyer's DT250 and Roland RH-300, but from what I remember RH-300s had bit of open slots in them so I don't think it'll do much in terms of noise isolation...

 

[SONIC BOOM]

welcome too head-fi

 
I am going too have too try this, thanks for the heads up.

 

[manufn619]

@Nooks
 
How do the gel pads feel? i never wore a pair.
 
Also, can you comment more on the sound.
Do they still sound like the stock or is the signature all messed up.
 
My pads on the m50's are really starting to die. lol
 
Its this or the 840 pads cause thier on sale at sweetwater.
 
thanks man really appreciate this!

 

[Dyaems]

how do they fare against the stock pads in terms of comfort?

 

[fabio-fi]

Is there a possibility that they fit ultrasones right? 

 

[Nooks]

Quote:

Is there a possibility that they fit ultrasones right? 

Sorry man, I'm not 100% sure if they do as I've never owned a pair before, but I guess the HFI series look awefully similar to the M50 size wise yeah?  I guess you can try...
 
 
Quote:

@Nooks
 
How do the gel pads feel? i never wore a pair.
 
Also, can you comment more on the sound.
Do they still sound like the stock or is the signature all messed up.
 
My pads on the m50's are really starting to die. lol
 
Its this or the 840 pads cause thier on sale at sweetwater.
 
thanks man really appreciate this!

As for the sound, it was like Bass+, and soundstage seems to be a little wider as the gel pads are thicker than the stock ones.  I can't, or shouldn't comment too much on the sound as everyone has a different perspective on what a "messed up" sound would be like, but yes the sound feels different to my ears. 
 
As for the comfort, the material on the outside of the gel pads are made of silicon rubbery stuff and is definitely a different feel to the pleather pads.  They do not squish up like the stock pads as well, just imagine that the pads are filled with jelly if you know what I mean lol.  They are comfortable to wear, afterall, they came from the flight headset which I occasionally wear for long hours depending on destination.  I guess it's inside a plane so the temperature is optimum rather, so I don't sweat up in it, but you may find summer days a little bit hot for these as they seal really well.
 
Oh, and the gel pads are extremely durable.  I guess David Clark didn't want pilots all around the world complaining that they have ooze coming out of them during in flight

I've been using them for 3 years almost everyday before I changed my headsets, but I never had a single breakage problem with these.
 
If you don't want anything to change, then I'd go with the 840 pads (You're talking about the SRH840 yeah?  I didn't even know they fit!), but if you want better noise isolation then the gel pads would do the job.
 
I'm guessing this also answers Dyaem's question too.
Cheers

 

[Mikeybikey96]

Anyone willing to post their Ath M50 with replacement Gel Pads?

 

[pc27618349]

Hi all,
 
I tried this mod out and it works really well. I ordered the David Clark gel pads from eBay with the same part number as the link in the first post.
 
When I first got them and tried to put it on, it was an EXTREMELY. TIGHT. FIT. I really don't want to take them off again. They also (some probably take this knowledge for granted, but I'm not very experienced) don't have foam pads on top of the driver (look at your stock M50 pads - they have a screen/foam pad that stretches across the ear pad).
 
They isolate outside sound MUCH better than the original pads. This pleased me. It rivaled the isolation provided by in-ear canalphones.
 
Soundstage wise, they didn't do much to the soundstage. They're about the same size as the stock pads (maybe a little thinner width-wise, actually).
 
 
But they affected the sound a lot - my headphones have gone through about 15-20 hours of burn-in to loosen up the driver and it showed up in the bass. When I first got them, the bass was really tight and miniscule but after burning in the bass loosened up considerably.
 
However, the new gel pads seem to encourage the low to mid midrange frequencies to the point where the highs and lows were overpowered completely. When I first put them on my head with the gel pads, I thought the lows and highs had suffered. 
 
To remedy this, I had to cut off the pads from the stock M50 pads (T_T) and push them between the driver and the pads. There's quite a bit of space in there so they fit snugly between the driver housing and the pads themselves. After this, the mids were cut down considerably and everything is a lot more balanced. They still poke out more than they did with the original pads but it rounds out the sparkly highs of the M50s quite well, in my opinion. The isolation and larger mass of the gel pads also isolate the bass and thus the lows are a little more solid and supported than they was before. Not a major difference in the lows, however.
 
 
 
 
tl;dr: Extremely tight fit, no change to soundstage, make sure to take foam filter from original pads and put them on the gel pads to prevent the mids from resonating to overpowering levels.

 

[wrbush31]

I am ordering these pads right now.  I'll do some experimenting and if I find anything earth shattering, I'll post about it.
 
At the least, maybe a picture or two.
 

 

[SNSDluv]

Hey guys,

Can the gel pads be stretched to circular shape? I am considering buying it on my 700promk2