[nixkid]

I must be lucky or listen to the right kind of music. No sibilance at all for me except one part of one song where it's very obviously part of the recording.

There are a couple of songs that I use to test sibilance.  Songs that I couldn't tolerate on the DT990.  You can still hear it on the HE400 but its not nearly as bad as the DT990s.  

 

[Zalithian]

The only song in my collection where I can think of sibilance occurring is Pathosray - In Salicis Umbra at like 27 seconds. No clue about those pads.

 

[money4me247]

  Yeah, I was skeptical about how much the sound could improve but its definitely noticeable.  I may have to pull the trigger on the vegan pads.
 
It looks so seductive but $100 for pads is a lot to risk.  I want to hear more people's opinions but it seems very few people have tried them.

I wld personally put that extra $100 into improving your amp/dac setup. I doubt the vegan pads wld improve the SQ 10x more than the velour pads.

 

[manbear]

I wouldn't expect a level of sonic improvement commensurate with what you could get applying that same money to an amp or dac, but they'd probably sound different than any of the Hifiman pads due to the angling and different materials. They sure look sexy and comfy though. 

 

[money4me247]

  I wouldn't expect a level of sonic improvement commensurate with what you could get applying that same money to an amp or dac, but they'd probably sound different than any of the Hifiman pads due to the angling and different materials. They sure look sexy and comfy though. 

that's the thing i hate most about the a lot of audiophile-geared businesses... the ridiculous mark-up. these are earpads. a tiny amount of material & super easy to mass produce. they are seriously selling it for $100? is it made out of unicorn fur? that is ridiculous... I got a 24" LCD monitor for that price. I personally think that $50 for a pair of earpads (no matter what the material) is already pushing it.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

Hear hear! However, we're not forced to buy said $100 pads.

that's the thing i hate most about the a lot of audiophile-geared businesses... the ridiculous mark-up. these are earpads. a tiny amount of material & super easy to mass produce. they are seriously selling it for $100? is it made out of unicorn fur? that is ridiculous... I got a 24" LCD monitor for that price. I personally think that $50 for a pair of earpads (no matter what the material) is already pushing it.

 

[catspaw]

You are paying for the "luxury" of the item, no matter if it has luxury or not .

 

[nicholars]

I must be lucky or listen to the right kind of music. No sibilance at all for me except one part of one song where it's very obviously part of the recording.

 
When I said HE-400 are sibilant.... I did not mean that they are making sibilance, I meant that they emphasise sibilance which is already there because of the spiky treble. They might add a bit I do not know because I do not have a way of measuring it.

 

[money4me247]

  You are paying for the "luxury" of the item, no matter if it has luxury or not .

mmm... not really. you're just an idiot getting seriously ripped off.
 
They can probably make a batch of a few hundred earpads in china for a few bucks and wait for the few idiotic audiophile suckers that are willing to throw down a Benjamin for 2 pieces of foam & 2 scraps of leather - aka "the luxury of the item" - and laugh all the way to the bank after selling one, because I would say at least 95% of that price is pure profit.
 
Of course, if you make enough money that you can drop $100 and be too lazy to pick it up without worrying... then ya, I guess it doesn't matter.... I think the willingness for many audiophile consumers to throw tons of money at their hobby makes it really easy for companies to mark-up their prices higher & higher, because they actually end up only need a few customers to make a profit since most of the retail price is purely mark-up.

 

[nicholars]

It is making a product seem better by raising the price. Take a product a sell it for £30 or the same one for £100... To a lot of people the £100 version will be perceived as higher quality and would be more desirable.... But they are exactly the same... Simply making something expensive can make it seem more desirable / better than it really is. For example £100 ear pads or £200 cables.... They are not worth the money, but with good marketing, high prices  and gullible buyers they will sell.

 

[catspaw]

iPhone...

 

[nicholars]

  iPhone...

 
Yes a good example would be any apple product. Marketing and high prices. Extortionate cables are worse because they probably cost about £10-20 to make and sell for £200.

 

[nabwong]

I love my iPhone. Twice I had a problem and I walked in and they just replaced it on the spot without any questions. Last time I check, I couldn't do that with hmmmm.....any other phone brand. And I only paid $300 for it with a grandfathered unlimited plan.

By the way, I'm a PC guy but you'd have to pry my Iphone from my cold dead hands.

 

[nixkid]

  I wld personally put that extra $100 into improving your amp/dac setup. I doubt the vegan pads wld improve the SQ 10x more than the velour pads.

I would be buying them more for comfort than sonic improvement so my concern isn't that they won't improve the SQ enough...my concern is that they will make it worse.  If SQ doesn't change, I would be a happy camper.

 

[nixkid]

  mmm... not really. you're just an idiot getting seriously ripped off.
 
They can probably make a batch of a few hundred earpads in china for a few bucks and wait for the few idiotic audiophile suckers that are willing to throw down a Benjamin for 2 pieces of foam & 2 scraps of leather - aka "the luxury of the item" - and laugh all the way to the bank after selling one, because I would say at least 95% of that price is pure profit.
 
Of course, if you make enough money that you can drop $100 and be too lazy to pick it up without worrying... then ya, I guess it doesn't matter.... I think the willingness for many audiophile consumers to throw tons of money at their hobby makes it really easy for companies to mark-up their prices higher & higher, because they actually end up only need a few customers to make a profit since most of the retail price is purely mark-up.

Trust me, I don't want to spend $100 on pads but comfort is really important to me.  I'm looking for DT990 pro like comfort..when I wear those I feel like I have a pillow on my head. I looked throughout this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/572327/mission-replace-the-hifiman-ear-pads-with-other-brand-ear-pads/420 and it seems like the best non-modded alternative are the vegan pads. 
 
HM5 pads - cheap but inconsistent sizes.  Some people had trouble getting them to fit.  Concerned about the leather because I prefer velour.
 
Alpha Pads - apparently doesn't sound good on the HE400.  Also concerned about the leather and still a bit pricey at $60.
 
I made try the DT990 Pro pads on them.
 
If there are any other alternatives, I'm all ears.