[472837]

Hello.

I am the happy owner of a pair of Sennheiser HD700 headphones. I bought them second hand, and I believe that the earpads that were on them were not original - or at least I don't hope so - because they fell apart on the second day of use. The fabric simply unraveled at the edge, leaving the foam inside exposed.

This happened with me handling the headphones very gently, as the cable on them were about to fall apart, too.

At least the previous owner will send me a new cable, once he recieves it himself.

And now to my question:

Is it worth paying a premium for original earpads for the HD700's, or do the cheap ones from eBay do the job just fine?

 

[serman005]

I have not owned an HD700 before (I have numerous other Sennheisers, though). That said, it has been my experience over an array of owned headphones over time, that one of the--if not the--most cost-effective upgrade path for individual over-ear headphones is the optimization of the earpads. I have seen it time and again. Someone with HD700 experience will come along. I recommend that you buy the most highly recommended HD700 pads you can stretch toward--whatever those are. I sincerely doubt you will be disappointed.

 

[catscratch]

Swapping pads will make audible and measurable differences in sound. So I would recommend not cheaping out on them. The biggest factors are probably the quality of the seal you get, as well as the driver/ear distance, so using thicker or thinner pads as well as pads that don't seal as well will definitely affect sound.

 

[472837]

Swapping pads will make audible and measurable differences in sound. So I would recommend not cheaping out on them. The biggest factors are probably the quality of the seal you get, as well as the driver/ear distance, so using thicker or thinner pads as well as pads that don't seal as well will definitely affect sound.

I hear what you're saying, but It'd really annoy me, if it turns out that it was in fact the original pads mounted on the headphones, and that the new ones (costing ~ 60€) are equally crappy.

What I want to know is, if there are other people than me, who have the same experience about the stock pads being prone to breaking very easily.

 

[catscratch]

No experience with HD700 pads. I've been using HD600 and HD650 for about 15 years and the OEM pads generally last about 1-2 years (with heavy daily use). Never had a pad fall apart in all that time, but they will get dirty and the foam inside will compress over time, changing how they sound. I think the OEM pad quality is pretty good, honestly.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Hello.
I am the happy owner of a pair of Sennheiser HD700 headphones. I bought them second hand, and I believe that the ear pads that were on them were not original - or at least I don't hope so - because they fell apart on the second day of use. The fabric simply unraveled at the edge, leaving the foam inside exposed.
This happened with me handling the headphones very gently, as the cable on them were about to fall apart, too.
At least the previous owner will send me a new cable, once he receives it himself. And now to my question:
Is it worth paying a premium for original ear pads for the HD700's, or do the cheap ones from eBay do the job just fine?

I would say to buy the cheaper ear pads and try them, if you do not like them then go buy the factory ear pads.