[UntilThen]

When I had an equalizer, the way I eq it is to make it smile. Don't you think it looks happy?

 

[UntilThen]

It was the best of times and the worst of times.... why didn't I have Grados back then?

 

[pk4425]

Got my mitts today on the AliExpress velour pads that look like the Dekoni or Beautiful Audio pads, but at a whopping price of $9 with shipping. Initial impressions on my 325x, following up @elvergun and @jsk ksj:

• They fit -- Very well. A bit snug to get the vinyl over the driver cups, but not that bad.
• They are very very comfortable -- Super comfortable. Way more comfy than any stock Grado or Geekria pad. Not even close.
• Like having pillows on your head -- Pillows around your head and over your ear. These turn Grados into over-ears.
• Sound varies depending on distance of drivers to the ear, needs to be played with -- This is one of my problems. I think the distance is almost too far. These are WAY deeper than even the Geekria G "bowl" pads. There are two negative effects. One, you need to increase the volume. Not a biggie, especially with a can this easy to drive. Two, it makes the sound somewhat hollow due to the distance. Not awful, like sound echoing in a cave. But it's not the same as the stock or the Geekria G pads. You still get the expanded soundstage and nice detail with these that the Geekria G "bowls" deliver compared to stock. I think the bass and treble balance doesn't really change that much with these, though. It's just a more hollow sound, probably due to the significantly increased distance from your ear to the driver.
• More sibilance? -- Without question. This is my biggest initial problem with these pads. The increased sibilance is noticeable -- and annoying -- on a lot of tracks. The "S" in some songs sounds is so bad it resembles a bike tire with a cut tube. SSSSSssssssssssss ...
• That vinyl on the back is thin. Repeated pad swapping might result in tearing? -- No problems so far.
• The dog is looking at them with a jealous eye.... -- I own cats. They like to scratch furniture, not chew pads. All is well.

Early days. I'll play with these a bit. If they don't work, no problem -- they cost $9, with shipping! Right now I like the sound of the Geekria G "bowl" pads best when compared to these AliExpress velour and the stock F pad. But the comfort on these wipes the floor of the Grado stock and Geekria alternatives, even though my G bowls are loosening the more I use them.

Pad swapping is fun with Grados. It also changes the sound more than anything else, including EQ or amps.

 

[jsk ksj]

Mine are currently in "the drawer", but looking on the bright side, they are by far the least expensive thing in there

I have placed a book on top of them, hopefully reducing their volume over time. Will check in on them in a few weeks.

 

[Slade01]

Got my mitts today on the AliExpress velour pads that look like the Dekoni or Beautiful Audio pads, but at a whopping price of $9 with shipping. Initial impressions on my 325x, following up @elvergun and @jsk ksj:

• They fit -- Very well. A bit snug to get the vinyl over the driver cups, but not that bad.
• They are very very comfortable -- Super comfortable. Way more comfy than any stock Grado or Geekria pad. Not even close.
• Like having pillows on your head -- Pillows around your head and over your ear. These turn Grados into over-ears.
• Sound varies depending on distance of drivers to the ear, needs to be played with -- This is one of my problems. I think the distance is almost too far. These are WAY deeper than even the Geekria G "bowl" pads. There are two negative effects. One, you need to increase the volume. Not a biggie, especially with a can this easy to drive. Two, it makes the sound somewhat hollow due to the distance. Not awful, like sound echoing in a cave. But it's not the same as the stock or the Geekria G pads. You still get the expanded soundstage and nice detail with these that the Geekria G "bowls" deliver compared to stock. I think the bass and treble balance doesn't really change that much with these, though. It's just a more hollow sound, probably due to the significantly increased distance from your ear to the driver.
• More sibilance? -- Without question. This is my biggest initial problem with these pads. The increased sibilance is noticeable -- and annoying -- on a lot of tracks. The "S" in some songs sounds is so bad it resembles a bike tire with a cut tube. SSSSSssssssssssss ...
• That vinyl on the back is thin. Repeated pad swapping might result in tearing? -- No problems so far.
• The dog is looking at them with a jealous eye.... -- I own cats. They like to scratch furniture, not chew pads. All is well.

Early days. I'll play with these a bit. If they don't work, no problem -- they cost $9, with shipping! Right now I like the sound of the Geekria G "bowl" pads best when compared to these AliExpress velour and the stock F pad. But the comfort on these wipes the floor of the Grado stock and Geekria alternatives, even though my G bowls are loosening the more I use them.

Pad swapping is fun with Grados. It also changes the sound more than anything else, including EQ or amps.

Would you mind sharing the link to these? Thanks!

 

[jsk ksj]

Google "

Ear Pads Cushion Velvet Earmuffs For GRADO SR60/SR80/SR125/M1/M2/PS1000 Lossless "​

Will take you there.

Apparently the leather ones are poor.

 

[h8uthemost]

Got my mitts today on the AliExpress velour pads that look like the Dekoni or Beautiful Audio pads, but at a whopping price of $9 with shipping. Initial impressions on my 325x, following up @elvergun and @jsk ksj:

• They fit -- Very well. A bit snug to get the vinyl over the driver cups, but not that bad.
• They are very very comfortable -- Super comfortable. Way more comfy than any stock Grado or Geekria pad. Not even close.
• Like having pillows on your head -- Pillows around your head and over your ear. These turn Grados into over-ears.
• Sound varies depending on distance of drivers to the ear, needs to be played with -- This is one of my problems. I think the distance is almost too far. These are WAY deeper than even the Geekria G "bowl" pads. There are two negative effects. One, you need to increase the volume. Not a biggie, especially with a can this easy to drive. Two, it makes the sound somewhat hollow due to the distance. Not awful, like sound echoing in a cave. But it's not the same as the stock or the Geekria G pads. You still get the expanded soundstage and nice detail with these that the Geekria G "bowls" deliver compared to stock. I think the bass and treble balance doesn't really change that much with these, though. It's just a more hollow sound, probably due to the significantly increased distance from your ear to the driver.
• More sibilance? -- Without question. This is my biggest initial problem with these pads. The increased sibilance is noticeable -- and annoying -- on a lot of tracks. The "S" in some songs sounds is so bad it resembles a bike tire with a cut tube. SSSSSssssssssssss ...
• That vinyl on the back is thin. Repeated pad swapping might result in tearing? -- No problems so far.
• The dog is looking at them with a jealous eye.... -- I own cats. They like to scratch furniture, not chew pads. All is well.

Early days. I'll play with these a bit. If they don't work, no problem -- they cost $9, with shipping! Right now I like the sound of the Geekria G "bowl" pads best when compared to these AliExpress velour and the stock F pad. But the comfort on these wipes the floor of the Grado stock and Geekria alternatives, even though my G bowls are loosening the more I use them.

Pad swapping is fun with Grados. It also changes the sound more than anything else, including EQ or amps.

Nice post. I'm gonna get some G and L pads from Ali for like $10 total, shipped. I've never pad rolled with my grados. Always got the standard S pads and quarter modded them. So I'm interested in how the sound will be with these different pads.

 

[elvergun]

Mine are currently in "the drawer", but looking on the bright side, they are by far the least expensive thing in there

I have placed a book on top of them, hopefully reducing their volume over time. Will check in on them in a few weeks.

I took the foam out and cut around 5mm around the top.

 

[pk4425]

Would you mind sharing the link to these? Thanks!

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...st_main.5.2e381802sRH4Ex&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

 

[pk4425]

Google "

Ear Pads Cushion Velvet Earmuffs For GRADO SR60/SR80/SR125/M1/M2/PS1000 Lossless "​

Will take you there.

Apparently the leather ones are poor.

Yes. I got all-velour. Glad I didn't get leather. I'm sure the sound would be even more hollow and probably a lot more bassy.

 

[pk4425]

I took the foam out and cut around 5mm around the top.

I have a big, fat head. I'm going to let its natural girth crush the pads over time, so -- unlike the HD 600 family of pads -- these hopefully will sound even better soon.

They're not bad. I still like the sound with these Dekoni/Beautiful clones. I'm definitely experiencing "brain burn-in" here. Just different than the "Grado sound," with stock or G bowls. The comfort is off the charts, though. So nice compared to any Grado or third-party Grado pad.

Plus ... they were 9 effing bucks!

Pad swapping is so easy and affects the sound so much with Grados that it almost feels like I have four different cans with my four pads for the 325x -- Grado stock F open flats, Geekria S enclosed flats, Geekria G bowls and these AliExpress Dekoni/Beautiful bowl clones.

Now I'm even more attracted to trying ZMF pads with the Grado adapter. They're not as deep as these Ali clones, so hopefully there's less sibilance. Plus they make the fit over-ear like these, which is so lovely. But ... they're not returnable, and a $75 flyer is a bit more risky for my vise-like money clip than $9.

 

[jsk ksj]

I have a big, fat head. I'm going to let its natural girth crush the pads over time, so -- unlike the HD 600 family of pads -- these hopefully will sound even better soon.

They're not bad. I still like the sound with these Dekoni/Beautiful clones. Just different than the "Grado sound," with stock or G bowls. The comfort is off the charts, though. So nice compared to any Grado or third-party Grado pad.

Plus ... they were 9 effing bucks!

Pad swapping is so easy and affects the sound so much with Grados that it almost feels like I have four different cans with my four pads for the 325x -- Grado stock F open flats, Geekria S enclosed flats, Geekria G bowls and these AliExpress Dekoni/Beautiful bowl clones.

I was expecting them to be so much worse than they are !

 

[pk4425]

I was expecting them to be so much worse than they are !

Same! They're not Chuck Heston parting the Red Sea good, but they're a damn steal for $9!

 

[ruthieandjohn]

Yesterday, I received back my GS3000x from Grado after they replaced its gimbal that had come apart (see photo), and it is back delighting me with both its beautiful sound and beautiful looks. This reminds me to share here my comparison to the GS2000e that I posted in a review on 4ourears.com:

The GS3000x is sublime, detailed, spacious, and wide-spectrumed. I love it. When I started listening, I was getting more enjoyment out of the songs I chose than ever before.

I have a few Grados (PS2000e, GS2000e, PS1000, HP1000, GS1000i, GS1000, GH-1, GH-2, RS1e, RS1i, RS1, RS2e, RS2i, RS2, Hemp, GW100, Bushmills, HF1, HF2, HF3, SR325i (golds), SR80i, SR125, SR125i, and both their GR8e and GR10e IEMs, as well as both their HPA-1 and RA-1 amps).

I very much resonate with the “I can’t describe why” of reviewer Weldman. Side by side with the GS2000e, these GS3000e have more bass, a somewhat less bright high end, and a larger feeling of spaciousness, but both sound fabulous on certain test songs I listen to frequently. Yet the GS3000x gives a subtle, long-term, enduring excitement to the music, more so than the already perfect GS2000e.

What a wonderful 70th birthday present this was from my wife Ruthie, who said she was Never getting me another pair of headphones! The second photo shows them in their perfect form. Yes, that is a Chord Hugo with 2Go next to them…they deserve only the Best!

 

[elvergun]

Same! They're not Chuck Heston parting the Red Sea good, but they're a damn steal for $9!

I'm finding that these pads, like other Grado and aftermarket pads, work well with some models, and just okay with others.

I used the pads on my RS2e for a couple of weeks and then came to the realization that I prefered G pads on that model (the RS2e highs are just too sharp for the aliexpress pads). They work well on a 225 mod I have, but I didn't like how the headphone looked with them on. Now they are on my GW100x. I like the comfort and the sound is perfect (better than any other pad I've tried with this model).

I didn't enjoy the RS2e with Beautiful Audio pads either. I also didn't like the GS3000e with the BAs...until I cut 5-10mm around the top of the foam (reducing the distance between the driver and the ear). Now the BAs are the pads I use with the GS3000e, but I still don't like them on the RS2e .



Buy pads...experiment...modify...place in drawer if modification didn't ruin them...throw in trash or give to dog if modification ruined them...

...rinse...repeat...