[cocolinho]

  In Europe I can't find the Vegan pads for less than €100. Puh-leaase..

I came to the same conclusion... cheapest I found is custom-cable in UK (£75)

 

[moriez]

  If you had to be precise about what changes velour vs Focus-A brings sonically, what would be it?

 
Still interested in hearing about this.
 
 

 
I came to the same conclusion... cheapest I found is custom-cable in UK (£75)

 
To put it politely, for that price I'm going to ignore the option of Vegans. 
 
I've contacted Audiophonics to hear if they will add Focus-A pads.

 

[BuLLeT_BaiT]

I've had a pair of Vegan pads for the last month and just got a pair of Focus Pad A's in today. After some quick comparisons, you can't really go wrong with either of them. Comfort wise both are great. I had no issues with the focus pad fit on my ears that some people have mentioned. The Audeze pads are even more comfortable and are like pillows on your head. Either is great for long term listening.
 
Sound wise the Audeze pads have incredibly natural and lush mids, They stand out and give the impression that the artist is in the room with you. However bass impact is slightly lacking. I added some bass ports, similar to the ones on jerg pads. This boosted mid bass quite nicely, however its still a tad less than I would like. The focus pad A's aren't as forward in the mids, but the bass hits much harder and deeper to my ears. Treble wise they are very similar with the Focus A's having slightly less quantity. 
 
The perfect pad would probably be a mix of both of these. But out of the two I'm leaning towards the Focus Pad A due to my preference for bass, and will probably sell off the vegans at some point.
 
I've also tried pleathers, velours, HM5's, Jerg pads and alpha pads if anyone wanted any other impressions.

 

[maul]

As you might know, with the vegans in particular it can be hard to get a good seal with the ring adapter, and some people have resorted to using tape or blutack. I wanted something cleaner - this is a quick solution I came up with: 
 

 
 
Get some sticky felt from Michaels or wherever, cut thin strips that are smaller in width than the edge of the adapter:
 

 
 
Remove the backing, then stick/fold around the entire edge of the adapter. It'll likely require more than one strip to go all the way around:
 

 
 
Don't have a final pic, but it's that simple. The extra height on the edge seals the pad quite nicely. This makes it a little harder to get connected btw, but it only took me a couple tries.
 
Anyway, if anyone wants a clean/easy method for achieving a better seal I recommend this -
 
Edit: Just saw the post above after I did this ironically. I do hear slightly less bass impact with the vegans compared to the focus pads, but they have better extension - ruler flat like I like it. The above seal mod could improve impact, though I love it with or without.

 

[Mist3rLao]

Surprisingly, all these TOTL HPs only made me realize how satisfied I am with the V281/HE500 combo... Don't get me wrong though, all of them are INCREDIBLE headphones!

 

[tassardar]

Revived my he500 again and running it balanced with a Hugo TT and Cayin iha6. Compared to my recent hd800s, it's still as enjoyable as when I first purchase them, and other then the larger soundstage afforded in the modern flag ship, there's really nothing much lacking.

 

[planx]

I too am someone who revived my HE-500s, actually they might have revived me! I haven't been active on HF for quite some time now as I sort of felt endgamed and felt no desire to upgrade, but after just browsing ebay and purchasing some black plate tung sols for my EF5 amp, my HE-500s are alive once again! With the Westinghouse it was a nice balanced sound, but with the Tung Sols things became a bit more intimate all around. Very satisfied! After slowly catching up with that the current trends and whatnot are, it seems like I may need to try Audeze vegan pads to replace my non-veloured Jergpads. And will be looking to upgrade my headbands to the newer Hifiman style. Much to do!

 

[illitirit]

Was curious if anyone out there in head-fi land has tested both focuspad a and non a earcups?
 
Is there actually a difference between the two?
 
My main concern is bass, which focuspad would give better bass?
 
 
 
I actually already own audeze vegan pads but after a while with them, im not happy with the bass.  Therefore, I want to try focuspads to see if it will make up the lacking bass.
 
 
Thanks for responses.

 

[moriez]

  Was curious if anyone out there in head-fi land has tested both focuspad a and non a earcups?
 
Is there actually a difference between the two?
 
My main concern is bass, which focuspad would give better bass?
 
 
 
I actually already own audeze vegan pads but after a while with them, im not happy with the bass.  Therefore, I want to try focuspads to see if it will make up the lacking bass.
 
 
Thanks for responses.

 
I don't have a direct answer but am curious to know if you find the Audeze lacking in quality or quantity? Or both?
 
After some digging I ordered Focus-A's yesterday for what I believe should smoothen the top and add bass a little. Hopefully all the rest remains untouched for the most part.
Based my choice on the underneath links and a few others impressions.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/711824/hifiman-he-560-impressions-discussion-thread/5610#post_10723660
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572327/mission-replace-the-hifiman-ear-pads-with-other-brand-ear-pads/465#post_10871798
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572327/mission-replace-the-hifiman-ear-pads-with-other-brand-ear-pads/495#post_11534624

 

[illitirit]

   
I don't have a direct answer but am curious to know if you find the Audeze lacking in quality or quantity? Or both?
 
After some digging I ordered Focus-A's yesterday for what I believe should smoothen the top and add bass a little. Hopefully all the rest remains untouched for the most part.
Based my choice on the underneath links and a few others impressions.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/711824/hifiman-he-560-impressions-discussion-thread/5610#post_10723660
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572327/mission-replace-the-hifiman-ear-pads-with-other-brand-ear-pads/465#post_10871798
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572327/mission-replace-the-hifiman-ear-pads-with-other-brand-ear-pads/495#post_11534624

 
 
The audeze pads to me just dont hit hard enough in the bass section.  With hifiman velour pads, the bass is thunderous compared to the audeze.  However, the audeze pads comfort wise are top notch.  
 
Mids and treble are also much better IMO vs velour pads.

 

[Floss99]

Thanks for the comparisons. I myself have tried the ZMF Lambskin (similar to the alpha pads but just a bit thicker) and the ZMF protein pads as well as both stock before finally settling on the FocuspadA's. I find them to provide the speed and impact of the HE-500 with great soundstage and just the right amount of treble for me.

Did you like the sound of the zmf pads with the he500? I am looking to buy a pair of he500's and already have the lambskin pads, would be great to hear some impressions from you!

 

[Aornic]

Did you like the sound of the zmf pads with the he500? I am looking to buy a pair of he500's and already have the lambskin pads, would be great to hear some impressions from you!

I did very much, however the clamp got a bit too tight for my liking as the ZMF pads are so thick. However I am stretching out (using the mount on box method) the HE500 so I'll try again once it's loosened up.

 

[SearchOfSub]

Anyone wanna trade HE500 for Audioquest Nighthawks for a half a year or so please PM me. Thanks,

 

[Floss99]

Hi everyone, what would you say is a reasonable price to purchase a used pair of HE500's? I just want to make sure I dont overpay if I do choose to purchase them.

 

[cocolinho]

stock in good conditions with no extra such as focus pads or new cables I would say USD400 is a fair price.