dstarr3
500+ Head-Fier
Yeah, for a while crin's EQ was the only one out there, I tried it once and it sounded like hot garbage to me. I was very happy when oratory finally posted his over the summer. So much better.
HifiMan HE6 V2 Adorama
- Thread starter Kevintj604
- Start date
I don’t eq so pad rolling is all I depend on (other than gear). I’m tempted to order your fav pads to see how they compare to the pads I already have. I thought I understand feq response and how they might sound but clearly, I do not. Just gotta find some time to systematically test but finding a block of free time seems to be a luxury at the moment 😭
Nope. All stock except for the pads. All my gear is stock too
bagwell359
Headphoneus Supremus
What are your main complaints? Do you avoid EQ, or just not interested, or have it? I really mean parametric, because fixed frequency EQ can't really solve the issues - even a 31 slider job.
No complaints. I don't have a strong position on EQ one way or another. I don't have some of the sophisticated software EQs out there and I tried out Equalizer APO with Peace mod to try modify the tonality of Focal Elegia when I had them. I used Resolves settings and it seemed to fix many of the issues for my ears but couldn't overcome the timbre issues I was hearing, which probably cannot be completely fixed by EQ anyways.
I like and appreciate all my headphones the way they are (strengths and warts and all) and if I can't find any redeeming value in the stock sound, I get rid of them. This coupled with my intuitive affinity towards wanting the least number of "nodal points" in my signal chain probably underlies my lack of activation energy to learn how to EQ properly.
bagwell359
Headphoneus Supremus
Excellent - when using EQ I confine myself to 6 settings, and never try to get it flat, just get it so that the transducer isn't marred by obvious issues, which allows it to be - to me - its best self.
If you do end up trying out the DCA Ether Angled, they seem to mate with no screens, or very open screens in a way that is better than either alone.
My other big mod for the OG HE-6 and 500 is the fuzzor mod, but that only has a fractional effect on either SE. As always the pads and the cables of HFM (not other brands re:cables) really are substandard and some after market pads and ANY OFC cables with low resistance have become de rigueur to me with the HFM round cups - and the "rubber tube" cables look and sound plain bad (this from a guy that was anti audiophile cables for 20 years prior).
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Thanks for the advice. Will take off the grill if/when I try the DCA ether angled. I have hart audio cable for convenience/cost effectiveness alone. I still haven't had the experience of cables making a big difference in sound and this is probably due to many factors. I keep an open mind about this. I never liked hd6xx until it reproduced a specific sound in a specific part of a music that I happen to know well that no other cans in my collection can replicate. It's amazing how realizing this small aspect transforms my impression of headphones when it's so easy to miss if you're not paying attention or don't know to look for
theangelboy
500+ Head-Fier
Thought I would give those pads a whirl, too. They arrived today and I did some listening and measurements to see how they stack up against the dozens of other pads I've tried on my HE6se V2. Some select comparisons are below.
Construction:
They are quite similar to Hifiman's own FocusPad, although they are slightly thicker (full dimensions below). Velour on the part touching the head, pleather around the outside, and perforated pleather on the inside walls of the ear hole. Pretty comfortable overall. Foam is slightly softer, but also less dense compared to the genuine FocusPad. I would expect it to wear out faster but, you can buy 3 pair for the same price as genuine ones, so I guess that's not really an issue.
Ali FocusPad Dimensions:
Outer diameter: 104.5 mm
Ear hole diameter: 62 mm
Thin thickness: 20 mm
Thick thickness: 29 mm
And now the real one for comparison's sake. Biggest difference is that it's thinner.
Genuine Hifiman FocusPad:
Outer diameter: 104.8 mm
Ear hole diameter: 60 mm
Thin thickness: 15 mm
Thick thickness: 23 mm
Subjective sound:
I started off the test by swapping them with the round velours that I was using and see what I noticed. Everything seemed "softer" and I found myself turning up my amp more. Bass seemed more less the same, maybe slightly less tight. Quantity seemed about the same before I turned it up. I noticed on a couple of songs that some lower treble was jumping out at me more (and making me turn down the volume back down). Imaging is good, typical for angled pads. Everything sounded pretty good and comparable to what I'm used to, but less focused, for lack of a better term.
Objective Sound:
I took some measurements on my homemade rig after I was done listening. Obviously, this isn't comparable to any other rig's measurements since it's a flat plate, etc., etc.
Stock PeliPad (red) vs. Ali FocusPad (green)
Similar, but improves the 1-3khz dip slightly and has a lot less energy at 4-5khz and 8-9khz.
Genuine HFM FocusPad (blue) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
This one is closer than the PeliPad, but still show less energy at 3-5khz. Pretty much the only major difference.
Genuine HFM FocusPad-A (pink) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
The FocusPad-A (the one with mesh/knit instead of perforated pleather in the earhole) is closer to the Ali knock off but still has a little more zing at 3-5khz.
HFM Round Velour (orange) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
This is my fave pad on the HE6se V2. To my ears it has a little more bass thanks to the slight recess at 300-800hz (I normalized it here to show what my ear hears, roughly), less of a dip at 1-2.5khz, and a little extra energy at 4-6khz. I'm guessing this is what the "softer" sound that I was hearing since that 4-6khz is in the ear gain region and it would take a step back. The larger dip on the Ali pad at 2khz might also contributed.
Generic non-angled sheepskin leather pad (red) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
For good measure, I compared it to a solid leather pad since a good number of people here have leather pads. This isn't representative of other pads in detail, obviously, but most solid leather pads I've tried have similar aspects to varying degrees of severity. Basically, the Ali pad won't sound anything like a real leather one. The genuine leather pads almost always have a bump at 800-1.25khz, which to my ear means there is less bass (if you EQ up the bass anyway, this wouldn't matter though), does a good job raising the dip at 1-3khz though. And for some reason, most leather pads show a dip at 7khz specifically which takes some of the bite out of the treble compared to non-leather pads.
Conclusion:
The knockoff FocusPad from Ali express is a decent pad, especially if are looking for something similar to stock but you find the 3-5khz region problematic with the stock PeliPad. Additionally, If you adjust your volume relative to this region you might also turn it up more which would increase the perceived bass thanks to the loudness curve. For me, it's not going to take my velour's spot as my go to pad for the HE6se V2 at least, but I have plenty of other Hifiman headphones to try it with. Maybe the HE-500 would be good since I really like the FocusPad-A on that one.
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Holy crap! Thanks for the post! Based on your graph, it looks like pali, focus, and focus a pads all sound very similar. It is clear that there is a disconnect in my assessment of sound sig and freq response. This is not the fr I would’ve expected to see. I sure I’m not turning up the volume a lot to create increased sense of bass as I’m not a loud listener and I also have a second pair of he6 that I tested briefly with palipads. One thing I can say for sure is that I don’t get as of a good seal with pali pads compared to the Ali express ones. I agree that the sound can be a bit dithered/softer compared to something like pali pads that makes the sound a bit more sharp/intense but also makes it thinner to me. Perhaps it’s not the bass response but I definitely feel more air pressure hitting my eardrums with the cheap Ali pads than with the Pali pads. I’m certain I’m not imagining this. It’s also hard for me to believe that this increased sensation of impact may be purely due to my interpretation of the sound occurring in my brain. This is truly fascinating and thanks again for your detailed assessment!Thought I would give those pads a whirl, too. They arrived today and I did some listening and measurements to see how they stack up against the dozens of other pads I've tried on my HE6se V2. Some select comparisons are below.
Construction:
They are quite similar to Hifiman's own FocusPad, although they are slightly thicker (full dimensions below). Velour on the part touching the head, pleather around the outside, and perforated pleather on the inside walls of the ear hole. Pretty comfortable overall. Foam is slightly softer, but also less dense compared to the genuine FocusPad. I would expect it to wear out faster but, you can buy 3 pair for the same price as genuine ones, so I guess that's not really an issue.
Ali FocusPad Dimensions:
Outer diameter: 104.5 mm
Ear hole diameter: 62 mm
Thin thickness: 20 mm
Thick thickness: 29 mm
And now the real one for comparison's sake. Biggest difference is that it's thinner.
Genuine Hifiman FocusPad:
Outer diameter: 104.8 mm
Ear hole diameter: 60 mm
Thin thickness: 15 mm
Thick thickness: 23 mm
Subjective sound:
I started off the test by swapping them with the round velours that I was using and see what I noticed. Everything seemed "softer" and I found myself turning up my amp more. Bass seemed more less the same, maybe slightly less tight. Quantity seemed about the same before I turned it up. I noticed on a couple of songs that some lower treble was jumping out at me more (and making me turn down the volume back down). Imaging is good, typical for angled pads. Everything sounded pretty good and comparable to what I'm used to, but less focused, for lack of a better term.
Objective Sound:
I took some measurements on my homemade rig after I was done listening. Obviously, this isn't comparable to any other rig's measurements since it's a flat plate, etc., etc.
Stock PeliPad (red) vs. Ali FocusPad (green)
Similar, but improves the 1-3khz dip slightly and has a lot less energy at 4-5khz and 8-9khz.
Genuine HFM FocusPad (blue) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
This one is closer than the PeliPad, but still show less energy at 3-5khz. Pretty much the only major difference.
Genuine HFM FocusPad-A (pink) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
The FocusPad-A (the one with mesh/knit instead of perforated pleather in the earhole) is closer to the Ali knock off but still has a little more zing at 3-5khz.
HFM Round Velour (orange) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
This is my fave pad on the HE6se V2. To my ears it has a little more bass thanks to the slight recess at 300-800hz (I normalized it here to show what my ear hears, roughly), less of a dip at 1-2.5khz, and a little extra energy at 4-6khz. I'm guessing this is what the "softer" sound that I was hearing since that 4-6khz is in the ear gain region and it would take a step back. The larger dip on the Ali pad at 2khz might also contributed.
Generic non-angled sheepskin leather pad (red) vs Ali FocusPad (green)
For good measure, I compared it to a solid leather pad since a good number of people here have leather pads. This isn't representative of other pads in detail, obviously, but most solid leather pads I've tried have similar aspects to varying degrees of severity. The genuine leather pads almost always have a bump at 800-1.25khz, which to my ear means there is less bass (if you EQ up the bass anyway, this wouldn't matter though), does a good job raising the dip at 1-3khz though. And for some reason, most leather pads show a dip at 7khz specifically which takes some of the bite out of the treble compared to non-leather pads.
Conclusion:
The knockoff FocusPad from Ali express is a decent pad, especially if are looking for something similar to stock but you find the 3-5khz region problematic with the stock PeliPad. Additionally, If you adjust your volume relative to this region you might also turn it up more which would increase the perceived bass thanks to the loudness curve. For me, it's not going to take my velour's spot as my go to pad for the HE6se V2 at least, but I have plenty of other Hifiman headphones to try it with. Maybe the HE-500 would be good since I really like the FocusPad-A on that one.
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@theangelboy
Nice pad writeup. I have OG 400, OG 500 and 6SE V2 and my preference is OG velour on both 400 and 500 but I didn't find I liked them as much on the 6SE.
Those Velours just slam the most to my ears and just boost soundstage and imaging qualities to the max.
But for some reason, wasn't feeling it the same on the 6SE. I really like stock Pali pads for these. I want to try it again though.
It is weird to me because I love those stock velours on the other two.
The Alipad is a nice quality pad, but it just warmed up the tuning a little too much for me.
I could see where others like them but for me I like that more open and airy treble.
@NascentAP You are totally right that the Alipads give a nice and even seal. The pali pads might be giving you trouble because they are angled. I have them rotated a bit and you may find that by playing with rotation that you also get a better fit should you decide to give them another try at some point.
Nice pad writeup. I have OG 400, OG 500 and 6SE V2 and my preference is OG velour on both 400 and 500 but I didn't find I liked them as much on the 6SE.
Those Velours just slam the most to my ears and just boost soundstage and imaging qualities to the max.
But for some reason, wasn't feeling it the same on the 6SE. I really like stock Pali pads for these. I want to try it again though.
It is weird to me because I love those stock velours on the other two.
The Alipad is a nice quality pad, but it just warmed up the tuning a little too much for me.
I could see where others like them but for me I like that more open and airy treble.
@NascentAP You are totally right that the Alipads give a nice and even seal. The pali pads might be giving you trouble because they are angled. I have them rotated a bit and you may find that by playing with rotation that you also get a better fit should you decide to give them another try at some point.
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theangelboy
500+ Head-Fier
Yes, there are tons of factors that play into precieved bass with tons of names trying to describe them (slam, impact, thump, depth, speed, etc) and depending on your ear these different factors have a different weight on what makes up "bass".
There are also how other parts of the frequency that can change this as well. For example, if a headphone has a 3khz dip that's too pronounced, the bass sounds muddy to me. It's weird because 3khz isn't anywhere near the bass region, but it's how my brain hears things. So there absolutely could be a change to some other part of the frequency that's changing the bass feel for you. Also, like you mentioned, pad seal can be a big factor too.
theangelboy
500+ Head-Fier
Yeah, it's interesting how much pad preference varies from person to person with the HE series cans. I love leather pads on my HE-400 but really disliked how overly warm they make things on the 500 and 6se. I really don't care for the FocusPad-A on anything expect my 500. I hated that pad on my 4XX, for example.
The 6se has the most, well, everything out of the box (detail especially), so maybe you don't feel like it needs any boost from the round velour? Anyhow, it's always fascinating to me how different tastes can be with the same headphone!
I'm starting to think this may be the reason. I recently came across this he6sev2 review where the reviewer put his pads on in an inverted fashion to create an even fit and not angled. I thought it was a cool thing to try and was planning on it with my ali pads but will try it with pali pads as well.
Also, absolutely agree 100% about how we interpret sound and use subjective language to define them.......like warmth to me may be different than for someone else. I get the impression that most people associate warmth with bass or lower freq regions but to me, the high frequency sizzle of a gentle and continuous cymbal hits can also contribute to the sense of warmth like in many jazz recordings. However, having given a bit more thought and listen just now with my he6 with the ali pads, this feels like increased physical sensation rather than sound interpretation but who knows. All our experiences in totality are really just interpretations by our brain. Again, fascinating, including the divergent pad preferences and mods for this headphone as you mentioned
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johnnywelk
New Head-Fier
Are the velour pads that everyone loves round and flat? I ordered some from Hifiman's website, but the ones I recieved are angled and flat on the top like the velpads. So I figured I would keep them and use the rings on another pad and ordered another pair of the $10 velours from Hifiman's Ebay, only to get another pair of angled pads. Did they stop making the donut-looking ones or am I having really bad luck?
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