[macisgr8]

I've been using the 225's for three weeks now and the stock foam pads are stiff and "hard foam-like". And if the more comfortable option would "soften" the "in your face" sound quality, that would be a good thing!

 

[humanflyz]

The bowl pads will gradually soften as your body's natural oil greases them up. By then, the pads will exert less pressure on your ears, and the fact that they now make the drivers closer to your ears will also decrease any perceived shrillness and thus "soften" the sound somewhat.

From my experience using the SR225s, a very important thing to do is to bend the headband so they fit your head. To me, that helped increase comfort the most. Don't worry about breaking the headband, because it's very flexible. If that doesn't help, then you can try using the comfy pads. They won't sound as good as either the bowl or flat pads, but you can cut a quarter-sized hole in the center to expose the Grado drivers.

And if you still don't find the Grados comfortable, you can try going to Headphile's website and ordering some C-Pads, which greatly increases the comfort of the Grados while improving the soundstage.

 

[Jahn]

for now, flip em. pop the pads off and stick em back on by using the other side of the hole. Also, look into bending your headband out a bit - it's metal, it won't break!

 

[blessingx]

There's subtle adjustments, but besides making and old school Headwize sock mod, Headphile's C-pads are the way to go.

 

[kramer5150]

Reverse bowls. I didnt care for the fit/feel on my ears. It always felt as if the pads were shifting around and hence I could not git a consistent fit from session to session. The mesh plastic grilles would sometimes bottom out on my ears, and it made for a wierd fit / feel.

HD414 pads. I tried em on my MS2 and yes they are very comfey, but they seem to squash the soundstage and bass seems to escape. Very wierd. So... you might want to try those before doing anything irreversible to your cans.

wash the bowl pads on hot soap water. blot dry with a paper towel. I use johnsone baby shampo. The baby oils in the shampoo work the foam loose so its soft. Lather rinse repeat.

next step from there is cpads.

Garrett

 

[kwitel]

my advice? (on top of all the good suggestions above...)
persevere!
Bowls are like when your mom used to make you wear an itchy wool sweater in grade school, and you kinda forgot about it in the afternoon? ( or maybe that was just me

)
Bowls IMO are the ONLY way to listen to the 225/HF-1; the longer you wear em the more comfortable they get. I swear I dont even know theyre on my head anymore (except after about 2 hours or so)-although id like to try those C-Pads one of these days...

Do the C-Pads really increase the soundsatge? Ill do anything for a little more of that!

 

[scratchyvinyl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by macisgr8 I've been using the 225's for three weeks now and the stock foam pads are stiff and "hard foam-like". And if the more comfortable option would "soften" the "in your face" sound quality, that would be a good thing!

I prefer the sound the flats give with my SR225s. They tame the highs a bit and overall punches up the sound. However, what little soundstage there was is even more collapsed with them. But you might not prefer the flats since they're even more "stiff and hard-foam-like." I still find them comfortable (matter of fact, I find all of the pads comfortable to me). You just have to bend out the headband enough to lessen the tension the drivers apply to your ears.