[Ethereal Sound]

I'm almost done with my jerg pads. Not to toot my own horn but I think I've done a darn good job. All that's left for me to do is find my darn needle so I can stitch these bad boys up!

 

[Thujone]

  I am considering trying the alpha pads on the HE-500 with some jergpad-style mods. I was looking at a comparison measurement Dan posted between the HE-500 pads (pleather) and the alpha pads here (thanks to jerg's post on reddit). The two main things I noticed were the elevated 1.5-4KHz range and the shift in the 7-10KHz spike to 8.5-12KHz with lower output as well. I find it to my tastes to EQ down the 7-10Hz spike seen in purrin's measurements. It just sounds more natural to me that way. So, based on Dan's measurements and the changes seen from the jergpad mod, I'm wondering if a combination of the two would work well...

You're gonna cut holes in the Alpha pads? Bold!

 

[Okamoto]

Hey Jerg, I just saw the new measurements. I see there's no more dip arround 6khz. I'm wondering if the back-vents have anything to do with it, or the mod without them already affects that.

 

[jerg]

  Hey Jerg, I just saw the new measurements. I see there's no more dip arround 6khz. I'm wondering if the back-vents have anything to do with it, or the mod without them already affects that.

No, the backvents don't have anything to do with filling up the 6kHz notch. A series of measurements was done behind the scenes with just the modded pads without backvents/tape, with backvents only, and with backvents/tape. Overall the bulk of measurable difference from stock is conferred from the core mods (damping holes and to a lesser extent velour top).

 

[bearFNF]

  I'm almost done with my jerg pads. Not to toot my own horn but I think I've done a darn good job. All that's left for me to do is find my darn needle so I can stitch these bad boys up!

Pictures or it didn't happen...

  In progress pictures are fine by the way

 

[hans030390]

  You're gonna cut holes in the Alpha pads? Bold!

 
I'm really considering it. I'll probably actually try it tonight. My Mad Dogs don't get a ton of head time anymore, so waiting a few days for spare pads isn't a problem. However, I am not sure if cutting holes in leather would cause long-term problems. I will have to do some research first. I am hoping the leather will lessen the need for the velour overly compared to the pleather. But, if not, the alpha pads are large enough that I think I might actually be able to get thin socks to fit over them, unlike the pleather pads.

 

[Ethereal Sound]

  Pictures or it didn't happen...

  In progress pictures are fine by the way

 
I'll definitely post some pictures as soon as I get back from a conference. I don't have a good camera so I guess itouch camera it is.

 

[Okamoto]

  No, the backvents don't have anything to do with filling up the 6kHz notch. A series of measurements was done behind the scenes with just the modded pads without backvents/tape, with backvents only, and with backvents/tape. Overall the bulk of measurable difference from stock is conferred from the core mods (damping holes and to a lesser extent velour top).

Glad to know. Thanks for the info.

 

[hans030390]

I went for it and tried the jergpad mod with the alpha pads. The only missing step is a velour overlay, though I'm not sure how necessary that would be on the alpha pads. I'm open to possible suggestions on alternative material. There are also no optional holes on the outside of the pads. So, that leaves us with holes cut in the bottom of the pads, double-sided adhesion, and vents. The pads were a bit tricky to get on. Once I trimmed down the "flaps," I had to use the vent foam and the double-sided tape to keep the pad flap on the mounting ring. It works well enough once it's all put together. I got a tiny bit of time to test them out.
 
The first thing I noticed when listening was how much more speaker-like the HE-500 sounded. I found this to be mostly positive, as it noticeably opened the sound up more (more air?). On the other hand, it seems as though it's more difficult to give the impression that something can be very close to you when music calls for it.
 
The modded alpha pads also give a "lighter" feeling to the sound than the jergpads. There is less low-bass kick and rumble, though the extension still seems to be there. I could be wrong, but I think there is less bass bloom with the modded alpha pads. Or maybe it's just less bass overall. I am not sure about the mids. Dan's measurements showed stronger mids, and that could very well be part of the reason behind the "lighter" sound.
 
Based on Dan's measurements, I was hoping the alpha pads would help most with the treble. I found myself wanting to EQ the 8-10KHz peak with the jergpads. So far, at least, the modded alpha pads pads don't seem to have made it worse. I am currently using less EQ with the modded alpha pads, but I haven't listened enough to truly make up my mind. I was also hoping the jergpad-based mods would help that dip in the treble. Music sounded pretty cohesive overall (more so than the stock pleather pads), but the dip was still apparent in SineGen. 
 
Anyway, I'll have to give them more time before making up my mind on them. The sound might be a bit too light for my tastes when compared to the jergpad, though I do like the more open aspect. Now, from a comfort standpoint, they are a lot better. It even helped distribute the weight better across my head, so the headband was more comfortable than before.

 

[hemipowered007]

Must, buy, alpha pads...they just look so comfy

 

[jerg]

Devised another mystery mod today, the sound improvement is very promising!
 
Edit: here's a photo
 

 
The goal is to diffuse sway backwaves that would otherwise bounce off the metal parts of the driver.
 
 
 
Edit:
 
I might make a separate thread about this potential mod, it could be yet another game-changer.

 

[bcpk]

Is there a spreadsheet for order shipment status for round 2, or am I jumping the gun?

 

[ThurstonX]

  Devised another mystery mod today, the sound improvement is very promising!
 
Edit: here's a photo
 

 
The goal is to diffuse sway backwaves that would otherwise bounce off the metal parts of the driver.
 
 

 
Hard to tell, but is that the metal "grid" wrapped in velour?  My interest is seriously piqued!  I just increased the back venting with the sticky foam on my modded pads.  One side was not open at all (bit of a dodgy job on the slicing and stitching, I think), and the other only partially open.  Easy enough, fortunately.  love Love LOVE these modded pads 

  <=== oh yeah, I also have red grills now.  A couple coats of Krylon Fiesta Red over the widest letter holder mesh I could find.  Looks pretty sharp, if I do say.  Passed the wife test  

 
Keep us posted!  Can't wait for your detailed impressions of the effect/improvement.

 

[brunk]

@jerg have you ran a frequency sweep yet and maintained linearity?

 

[jerg]

   
Hard to tell, but is that the metal "grid" wrapped in velour?  My interest is seriously piqued!  I just increased the back venting with the sticky foam on my modded pads.  One side was not open at all (bit of a dodgy job on the slicing and stitching, I think), and the other only partially open.  Easy enough, fortunately.  love Love LOVE these modded pads 

  <=== oh yeah, I also have red grills now.  A couple coats of Krylon Fiesta Red over the widest letter holder mesh I could find.  Looks pretty sharp, if I do say.  Passed the wife test  

 
Keep us posted!  Can't wait for your detailed impressions of the effect/improvement.

 
 
Here's my post on another forum about this:
 
 
Basically just a felt disc, with very specific cutouts so that the open portions of the driver are still open, and the magnet/steel portions are covered (bonded by double-sided tape). The intention is to damp away backwaves from the face when wearing the headphones. Subjectively the upper midrange gets a lot "clearer" sounding with this.

I got the idea to do this when I just did the whole foam disc thing on the driver, initially to tame the treble slightly, but it only partially tamed it and ended up sounding tizzy. At the same time though I noticed a completely separate effect - that the midrange sounded clearer and more open - which did not make much sense as I was covering up the drivers with the fabric, but it came to light that it could be reverberation-related, so I arrived at this.
 
Interestingly, the wooliness of the bass sounds quite diminished by this too. Not completely gone, at least not when A/Bed against my HE400. But it is a noticible improvement compared to before. The specific segment I test this with is the beginning section of 'If I Were You' by K.D. Lang. In my other usual bassy test tracks that improvement does propagate too.
 
 
 
 
 
 

  @jerg have you ran a frequency sweep yet and maintained linearity?
 

Frequency response doesn't seem to be changed. It has its effect on overall clarity, by getting rid of backwave reverberations introduced between the face and the driver grill surfaces. Definitely not a massive retuning ala the Jergpad mod, but it's a stronger improvement than the regrilling mod.