[drwlf]

I loved the 400i, warm no, bright no, not to my ears. If anything it would be going towards bright as opposed to warm, but I couldn't say I felt it reached either extreme to any great extent. If you want to hear a dynamic driver do sub bass very well the MDR Z1R nails it pretty darn well and without an overbearing mid bass hump overtop as well (although it is elevated from neutral for sure).

Yeah, the latest tech from various manufacturers seem to have remedied problems with sub bass roll offs, good for us!

 

[mandrake50]

You're talking about stock Focuspads, not the A:s, as they're the ones with velour insides.

No I am talking about the Focus "A" pads. With almost a mesh material with it inside the pads. My description was off, admittedly, but the purpose of the design was accurate.
Thanks for making me re-read my post.

 

[drwlf]

No I am talking about the Focus "A" pads. With almost a mesh material with it inside the pads. My description was off, admittedly, but the purpose of the design was accurate.
Thanks for making me re-read my post.

Isn't it just velour excluding the outer ring?
Stock Focuspads have the pleather w/holes on the inside, velour against your ears and pleather on the outer-combo.

 

[Little Bear]

FWIW, I just bought a brand new 400i about a month ago, and the pads that came with it are pleather on the outside, velour or microfiber on the surface of the pads that contact your head, and perforated pleather on the inside of the donuts. These are the non-A pads. The "A" pads have velour where the perforated pleather is in the pic above.

 

[mandrake50]

FWIW, I just bought a brand new 400i about a month ago, and the pads that came with it are pleather on the outside, velour or microfiber on the surface of the pads that contact your head, and perforated pleather on the inside of the donuts. These are the non-A pads. The "A" pads have velour where the perforated pleather is in the pic above.

Yes I found the original pads for th 400i and they have the perforated pleather inside. The Focus A , however, is not velour in that section. I have three sets. Granted they are from a couple of years ago. I have them on both the 560 and 400i. It is difficult to photograph because that section is very much tucked under the outside of the pad on those. I have to roll the pad back and use a flashlight to even see it. I will see whether I can get a photo later.
I am not really sure whether the exact construction is important. Rather it is the effect on sound that is important. The A pads were on the original pre-order 560. Later they shipped with the Focus pads. So many reported that they liked the original pads better for their ability to attenuate the problem frequencies with the 560 that Hifiman bought them back for sale as the Focus A.

They do reduce some of the 3 to 6K peaks. I would suggest that anyone considering the 400i to be bright try a set of the Focus A pads. They are relatively cheap and are plug and play for the 400i.
I did misspeak, and am sorry if i mislead anyone. I will see if I can get something to open/roll back the pads to get a picture, but I doubt that will tell anyone what that material is. Though I am pretty certain that it is not velour. Way to stiff for velour.

 

[Little Bear]

Here's the link to the Focus Pad A. Is this what yours look like? They're all velour except for the outside pleather. http://www.hifiman.com/products/detail/173

 

[mandrake50]

As I mentioned...you cannot see inside/under the outer velour. There is a band of material under there that is most definitely NOT velour.

I looked at every picture they had and even tried to enhance them. You just can't really see the inside.

 

[Little Bear]

Sorry, guess I misunderstood. I thought we were talking only about the external materials. I didn't know there was any difference internally between the two pads.

 

[mandrake50]

Yes internally they are quite different. The Focus A has this mesh material and it covers another layer. Because the mesh is fine it is hard to tell what is underneath. With a strong flashlight it appears that the second layer is somewhat reflective AND it appears to be perforated. You can't tell by the pics though. They do easily show the material I was referring to.

Also, notice that the design is quite different. The focus pads have the perforated pleather that is almost vertical. Th "A" has the mesh that almost runs diagonally, or wraps under the velour. You almost need to tuck your ears under the edge of the pads.

 

[Little Bear]

Ah! Interesting. Perhaps tonight you'll have a couple of scotches, and dissect one of these pads with a sharp knife...

 

[mandrake50]

Scotch... perhaps. Dissect. nope.

 

[paradoxology]

Perhaps someone could start a separate thread in which a discussion of good scotches and bourbons that would be appropriate to enjoy as one listens to one's HE-400i? No dissections would be necessary, of course.

 

[DavidA]

Perhaps someone could start a separate thread in which a discussion of good scotches and bourbons that would be appropriate to enjoy as one listens to one's HE-400i? No dissections would be necessary, of course.

If you like scotch then head here: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/f...e-read-first-post-for-summary.813488/page-548.

 

[InsTwin]

I still think the Flat Hybrid HM5 pads work great on the HE400i, switched to them almost immediately and they are extremely comfortable while maintaining very close to the original sound signature.

The only downside is needing the rings out of a pair of HiFiMan pads.

 

[pbarach]

The dandruff-laden, hairy photos of various Hifiman pads were kind of gross. I did find pics of clean Focus and Focus-A pads on the Hifiman (and Amazon) websites. I don't think nausea is an intended effect of the pads