Heyy has anyone ordered the dekoni earpad for esp950/esp95x from drop??
So I got my Dekoni pads in yesterday. Which was a surprise, because the Drop page said they wouldn't ship till 11/22? My review will be a mixed bag - depending on your sensitivity to treble, you may or may not like them.
My previous setup - I was using cheap Chinese pads found on EBAY for around $12. I think they're great value, though at least one person on this thread has bashed them. I got a better seal with them than the velour, and more bass as a result. I'm also using a Stax SRM 717 which boosted bass a TON and treble to a lesser extent. I was hoping for a shade more treble and was debating using an equalizer of some sort to get my ideal tonal balance, since I was sooo close to perfect.
My initial feedback was all bad. One of my pads is defective. The flap which slots into the headphone is oddly shaped and sewed in wrinkled. It was hard to install and looks bad. I've contacted Dekoni to see about getting a replacement, not sure if I should go through them or Drop. I'll advise.
The good pad looks much better than the Chinese pleather pad, and seals better as well. It started out less comfortable, since though they're the exact same thickness, the Dekoni foam is denser. So I feel clamp force, where the cheap Pleather pads had none. We'll see if I get used to it.
The first 2 songs I listened too had me wanting to throw these in the garbage. The songs were treble heavy, and I caught some sibilance. After hours of listening, my ears got used to the treble, and I realized the sibilance is infrequent. I was debating if my setup is now slightly V-shaped but I've decided the tonal balance is now arguably close to dead neutral. Listening to Mumford and Sons' "Picture You" - I realize the bass is still strong and borderline more than I can enjoy. These might produce slightly less bass than the cheap pads, but it's a hair. Listening to Fleetwood Mac's "You Make Loving Fun" - the treble energy was borderline out of control with all of the cymbals and triangles? With the right song, the treble has JUST the right amount of sparkle. But on songs that expose sibilance, like anything by Loreena McKennitt - these pads might be a bit too much.
Hopefully I'll get a replacement for the defective pad, and as they get shipped back and forth - I'll go back to the cheap pads and report back on whether or not I prefer the more laidback tonal balance those offer. I'm kind of surprised at the change in sound, it's really required some brain burn-in to adjust over the last couple of hours. I've kicked down the volume 2 notches compared to what I used to have.
Of course, your mileage may vary with a different amp and energizer. I have a Sabaj D5 DAC/Amp feeding my Stax SRM 717.
The L700 I felt was all technical ability, no soul. As a friend of mine said about audio experiences....God speaks to us all, but we all understand in different languages.
