[davidsh]

Quote:

Switching between velour and pleather pads, I think I prefer pleathers. *puts on flame suit*
I'm not the only one am I?

I used to prefer pleathers regardless of the velours being supperior technically. I liked that the pleathers were more natural.

 

[GREQ]

Quote:

I used to prefer pleathers regardless of the velours being supperior technically. I liked that the pleathers were more natural.

OK, after a bit more genre jumping I don't think I can go back to pleathers now.
I suddenly noticed there is some 'honkiness' in some male vocals making them sound nasal - also the 'crunch' in electric guitars isn't quite as good. 
 
The pleathers were better for electronic music, but I'd rather keep the neutrality of velours and use an EQ necessary. 

 

[Clemmaster]

Vocals sounded congested with pleathers for me.
Velour are not comfy enough... The Alpha Pads do both comfort and sound signature extremely well.

 

[jerg]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/646812/hifiman-he500-he400-jergpad-mod-v2-0
 

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

Was there ever an official statement by hifiman in regards to the audible differences in the pads? Like was the leather sound the original sound signature they were aiming for?

 

[MickeyVee]

No, you're not the only one.  I've been using the velours for two months now and switched to the pleathers a few days ago.  Maybe losing some air but I find the sound a little more engaging / better slam and I prefer them from a comfort POV.  I may take a look into the Alpha Pads.
As far as vocals go.. I use my HD700 which absolutely smoke the HE500 (IMHO).  For dance stuff, the HE500's are awesome.
Flame On! 

 (OK, just watched Fantastic 4)
Quote:

Switching between velour and pleather pads, I think I prefer pleathers. *puts on flame suit*
I'm not the only one am I?

 

[Kendoji]

I definitely prefer the pleather too.

 

[OldSkool]

Yup. MickeyVee nailed it. ^^^
 
HD650 for vocals, HE500s for music. My preference also.
 

 

 

[Zoom25]

I wonder how the pleather and velour LCD-2 pads compare to the velour/pleather pads of the HE-500.

 

[disastermouse]

Yup. MickeyVee nailed it. ^^^

HD650 for vocals, HE500s for music. My preference also.



 

Weird. I find the HE-500 beats the HD650 in everything but sound-stage width and depth. Oddly, I can hear the distinctions in instruments better with the HE-500 as well.

 

[M-13]

Pleathers = Congestion for me. Sounds like it's creating a upper mid recession and the HE-500 suddenly loses some clarity across the entire frequency, including bass. There seems to be more bloat with the pleathers in the bass, but it's bad because it's uncontrolled bloat.
 
You pleathers guys can take off your flame suits and go see your audiologist for an earwax cleaning.

 

[h4mm3r 0f th0r]

Quote:

Pleathers = Congestion for me. Sounds like it's creating a upper mid recession and the HE-500 suddenly loses some clarity across the entire frequency, including bass. There seems to be more bloat with the pleathers in the bass, but it's bad because it's uncontrolled bloat.
 
You pleathers guys can take off your flame suits and go see your audiologist for an earwax cleaning.

i modded the pleathers for them to sound better using jerg mod... they sounded closed before but now they are okay...

 

[Andolink]

Quote:

Switching between velour and pleather pads, I think I prefer pleathers. *puts on flame suit*
I'm not the only one am I?

No you're not.  I tried both when I first got my HE-500 and the sound to me was about the same but the comfort of the pleathers was substantially better so it's been the pleathers ever since.  My only issue with either of the stock pads is they're not deep enough to keep my ears from coming into contact with the driver plate.  Soundwise I'm perfectly satisfied using the pleathers.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

I used to prefer pleathers regardless of the velours being supperior technically. I liked that the pleathers were more natural.

 
 
I always preferred pleathers. I thought the sound was noticeably smoother, and certainly they're more comfortable. Never understood the general preference for velours.

 

[davidsh]

At first, when I got the HE-500, I couldn't hear any greater difference between the 2 pads, but that has changed. The difference is substantial as of now.
 
For all those who actually prefer the pleather sound regardless of it being inferior to velours, you should really try some modding.
 
By the way, I just got a proper DAC (upgrading from the e17 as DAC), and I must say that it is a nice improvement. For some reason, the sound of the e17 has always annoyed me to some degree. One drawback, though. at the moment the volumes is BELOW 9'oclock, due to the output of the DAC being 2.5 V, I guess.