[nc8000]

My stock HE-500 pads are shallower than the stock pads on my former HE-4 by several mm. I got 4 leather pads and they seem identical and feel deeper than the HE-500 by enough that the driver cover pressing on my ear feels less but the difference is probably no more than 1 mm and I'm almost certain that they are shallower still than the HE-4 pads but can no longer confirm. It could also be that the construction of the driver cover is different and that the HE-4 does not have the central crossbar that the HE-500 have

 

[sillysally]

Comparing the cloth pads that came with my HE6's and the new leather pads there is no question the cloth are thicker, however the ring clip on the leather is a little thicker than the ring clip on the cloth.
 
Here is something to try, put one leather pad and one cloth pad on top of each other and compress. The harder you compress the two pads the more the softer leather pad will compress, there by compressing your outer ear inward until the cup plate is setting next to your inner ear. Of course all of this is depending on how much presser the headband is applying to the ear cups.
 
My guess why Fang went with the closer to your ear design is to give the impression of a louder sound and a little wider sound-stage at the cost of loosing the depth and inner detail. But as I said this is all dependent on your amp, DAC and source.