[TMRaven]

Quote:

If you can optimize both, then there is no discomfort other than possibly the weight for some people.
 
Speaking of earpads, I find that the J$ earpads do inherently give more clamp because they are thicker, however the feel is nicer because they have ultrasoft foam and lambskin so it feels like two pillows rather than two rings of hard foam.

 
Yeah that's my main gripe about the velours.  They feel like two rings of hard foam.  I would stretch, but then I worry it might make it so the headphone gets looser and heavier feeling.
 
Squishy earpads with lots of give would be best, but then I start worrying about them deforming over time.

 

[preproman]

Has anyone washed their velours yet?  Did it make them softer?

 

[jerg]

Quote:

Clamp should really never be a problem, the headband is extremely easy to stretch.

The paradox though is that the more you stretch, the flatter the headband becomes (esp. in the middle part) so the less curvature it has, which means it inherently becomes less comfy for the head because the pressure distribution is less even.
 
 
 
 

 
Yeah that's my main gripe about the velours.  They feel like two rings of hard foam.  I would stretch, but then I worry it might make it so the headphone gets looser and heavier feeling.
 
Squishy earpads with lots of give would be best, but then I start worrying about them deforming over time.
 

I actually really dig Hifiman's stock pleathers nowadays, they have a finer foam than velours, I think it's actually a memory foam. The pleather material itself is also one of the best I've encountered, extremely soft, and resistant to hardening unlike most pleathers. The main gripe is that these stock pleathers are too damn shallow, if they had just made it as thick as stock velours, then I'd have much less incentive to get custom pads. Currently stock pleathers make my ears touch the hard drivers after I wear them for 3+ hours and the memory foam starts acting up.

 

[Happy Camper]

Has anyone washed their velours yet?  Did it make them softer?

I've washed my 701 and RS-1 pads in a softner. squeeze all the water out and let dry naturally.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

You guys and your headbands.  The real discomfort is in the earpads!

X2.

Dunno wth you guys are doing, but the headband shouldn't be putting any pressure on your head whatsoever. Its the shallow/firm velour that isnt the greatest. The old velours make comfort basically a 9/10.

 

[MattTCG]

I don't know what you guys are talking about. The he400 is now supremely comfortable for me. I accidentally found a weight reduction technique yesterday that reduced the weight considerably. I had taken the grills off to tinker with them and right by one of the drivers was Dr. Fang Bian. 

 He was actually working on one of my drivers. Once he finished, I put the he400 back on and they are now perfectly comfortable. 

 

[jerg]

Quote:

X2.

Dunno wth you guys are doing, but the headband shouldn't be putting any pressure on your head whatsoever. Its the shallow/firm velour that isnt the greatest. The old velours make comfort basically a 9/10.

Headband comfort is too subjective, because whether or not a hotspot develops depends on your skull shape, and there are a million variations of cranial shapes out there, the best that headbands could do is to average and approximate the curvature that will satisfy as many head shapes as possible.
 
But on top of that I must say HFM headbands by themselves are indeed under-padded. It is not disturbingly underpadded but is sufficiently so that it can encourage peeps to look into improving it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I dont think they need padding at all, as theres zero pressure exerted on my head. It's so even distributed, there's no need for padding. Plenty of comfy headphones without minimal padding. The most important thing is the pads themselves on the Hifimans, IMHO.

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I dont think they need padding at all, as theres zero pressure exerted on my head. It's so even distributed, there's no need for padding. Plenty of comfy headphones without minimal padding. The most important thing is the pads themselves on the Hifimans, IMHO.

Again, your experience with the headband is only with your own cranium. Others have differently shaped/sized craniums so they have different experiences (positive or negative), and the fact that these headbands are not supply padded means that it is easy (not always, e.g. with you) for a head that doesn't fit with its contours to develop pressure spots. Overpadding of headbands allows for accommodation of variations in heads because all that foam would conform around the head shapes regardless of what they look like.

 

[wje]

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I've washed my 701 and RS-1 pads in a softner. squeeze all the water out and let dry naturally.

 
Just make sure it is an unscented fabric softener.  The perfume smell will make your headphones smell all ghey and stuff for about a month.  Plus, some of the perfumes added to the fabric softeners may cause allergic reactions in certain people.

 

[wje]

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Thanks Wayne.  Did you remove the original HE-400 headband or just cover it with your new headband?

 
Nope.  The original headband is very hard to remove and I didn't want to muck things up, so I left it in place and just covered it with the sleeve and padding.  The leather sleeve and padding can be removed in 2 minutes by cutting the stitches and removing the modification.  So, the mid is 100% reversable.

 

[Marleybob217]

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Heh, after a lot more swapping and listening, I decided to abolish the HE500 + J$ combo, and instead opt for HE400 + J$ (these just sound so great together), while the HE500s are to continue with the Hifiman pleathers.
 
The reason is that I found HE500 treble to be a bit too bright (low-mid treble) with the J$'s much like with the velours. The HE500s just love the stock pleathers, make the treble *just right* and the overall timbre extremely realistic and unintrusive.
 
With HE400s that is no issue and instead its treble is fleshed out more with the J$'s it seems, in addition the lower end gains much more body and weight compared to velours which is tremendous because it makes their vocal presentation significantly better.
 
It's interesting because now HE400 sounds like a hyper-detailed, aggressive, slightly less refined HE500, instead of something that is clearly a level below in almost all aspects.
 
 
 
Edit: lol the HE400 bass just gets ridiculous (in a good way) with these pads, I can literally feel the bass notes in my neck and chest playing some Ronald Jenkees, and I ain't even crankin'. Note that the FR is still very balanced, there is no increased bass quantity, it just becomes a heck of a lot more tactile and physical. I think it is partially because of the distance that these pads are able to put the drivers away from the ears, while retaining a perfect seal.

I WANT THOSE PADS
 
SOMEONE SHOULD MAKE MORE OF THEM
 
you made me do this

 

[modulor]

Quote:

 
Nope.  The original headband is very hard to remove and I didn't want to muck things up, so I left it in place and just covered it with the sleeve and padding.  The leather sleeve and padding can be removed in 2 minutes by cutting the stitches and removing the modification.  So, the mid is 100% reversable.

Plus, it looks very clean and seamless!

 

[cheuh]

Do the J$ earpads make your ears sweat? Every pleather pad I've tried so far has made me sweat after listening for a few hours.

 

[modulor]

Quote:

I WANT THOSE PADS
 
SOMEONE SHOULD MAKE MORE OF THEM
 
you made me do this

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/350721/denon-d2000-d5000-md2000-md5000-appreciation-thread/2235#post_8592729
 
I came across this hybrid velour pad, from the FA-003.  Unfortunately, there isn't another version (like the FA-003 pleather being the same as the HM5 pleather) available, but I'm curious if anyone has tried it, as it seems to have pleather on the inner wall.  Probably wouldn't be that hard to convert some HM5 pads using some velour material - maybe even just replace the front edge that contacts the skin...