[CKS0923]

  I tried the Brainwavz HM-5 pleathor pads on the HP50.  They sounded awful...just completely washed out the low end.
 
I sold my HP50 due to comfort issues and the fact I couldn't stand the adjustment system, which telegraphed noise into the cups every time I shifted around in my chair.

 
 

 
I too have comfort issues with the HP50. I have not used them at all for several months now.  The most comfortable headphones that I own are my Sennheiser 598 SE followed by (in no particular order) Shure 1840,  Audioquest Nighthawk(original), and Beoplay H6.  The first three are open.  The Beoplay are closed. They all sound great. I highly recommend the Beoplays if you need a closed pair.  My Shures are new (arrived yesterday) and I am loving them.  They (and the Nighthawks) are more expensive though. I ordered the Shures after listening for a few hours to my husband's 1540s which are closed.  I wanted an open pair and I never get the same exact phone that he already has   Plus, he wouldn't give his to me, lol.
 
My complete headphone list is in my profile.  I see that you are considering the Mezes.  My husband has a pair and I have tried them.  They were uncomfortable to me but he likes them.  I have problems with phones that have too much clamp (for me).  The clamp and the feel of the pads were the problems for me with the HP50. The headband was fine... some people don't like it.
 
I did try the Brainwavz HM-5 pads on the HP50 and as Kerry56 said, the sound was completely ruined.  Horrible. Looked pretty bad too.  I would not suggest buying another HP50 just to try different pads.

Thank you both for sharing your experience with the replacement pads. I thought I read a thread about increasing the thickness of the OEM pads and I thought that idea sounded interesting. I do realize with the wrong pad, the sound can be off. Also, I found the HP50 especially sensitive to the pads, even the OEM pads! When I still had it, I can have the headphones sit slightly off my ears, or make the headband a bit loose, and the sound would be veil!
 
mbwilson111,
It's interesting that I am also currently using the 598 SE at home, and the reason for selling the HP50 was exactly because of the comfort of the 598. Also, for my need, I find the 598 sounded relaxing enough and I like the fact that I can wear them all day long. However, I find myself needing a pair of closed can from time to time, and the few closed cans I've tried/ own (momentum, M2, UE6000, SONY H.ear MDR-100, PSB M4U1) just seemed to be lacking characters from the HP50. I am also quite sensitive to clamping force (I wonder if that's because I wear glasses.), so this also limits the choice I have. I've also read about some people having comfort issues with the Mezes, so I'll definitely want to try to audit them in store. I have also read about the H6, and comparisons between the H6 and the NAD. The next thing will be trying to find a place to audit them!

 

[RenEh]

I just bought a pair of these and they blow the Sennheiser HD598's that I bought on a whim out of the water.

They're much more detailed and I can listen at much lower volumes with them. Everything is clearer and cleaner as well.

Anyways, I don't know if this was stated or not, but you can just use a monoprice audio cable and an exacto knife on the cable so that it will fit on to these headphones. I use a 15 foot cable in the bedroom when the wife is sleeping so that I can still watch TV.

 

[Topspin70]

I just bought a pair of these and they blow the Sennheiser HD598's that I bought on a whim out of the water.

They're much more detailed and I can listen at much lower volumes with them. Everything is clearer and cleaner as well.

Anyways, I don't know if this was stated or not, but you can just use a monoprice audio cable and an exacto knife on the cable so that it will fit on to these headphones. I use a 15 foot cable in the bedroom when the wife is sleeping so that I can still watch TV.

That's the beauty of cans using standard jack cables. Wish more were designed the same way. So much more convenient and flexible. The only one I know is the Marshall Major II which I have, but hardly something for serious listening.

 

[MayorDomino]

Re-bought these, £90 new was to good to pass up, comfort issues solved with cheap ebay beyer headband cover and a bit of foam in pads.
Still the best sounding unamped headphones you can buy IMO.

 

[mbwilson111]

I have been able to finally enjoy my hp50s after owning them for almost a year. The stock pads were hurting me. I found that the msr7 replacement pads will fit and are slightly bigger. Enough to make a difference for me. There is still a bit more clamping force than I like and if I try to loosen it too much I lose bass. So, while I will never be able to wear them for hours and hours, I can wear them for and album or two now. The other thing that was bothering me was the creaking of the plastic on both cups. It was so annoying that I could not enjoy the music. I remembered someone posting a fix for that and was able to find it. It works! Both cups needed to be done. No more creaking! Here is the post I found: (be sure to click on the link to the entire series of photos. Be careful and do everything exactly as described)

The creaking was driving me nuts! So I decided to analyze the problem. And in the process I found a simple fix, just adding a small piece of electrical tape...

I took some photos with my iPhone, somewhat documenting the process, see this gallery:
http://www.head-fi.org/g/a/1042689/nad-viso-hp50-creak-removal/




My process in words:
1. I removed the earpad - four metallic screws appeared.
2. I unscrewed the four metallic screws and gently removed the plastic part with the driver attached to it. There was a piece of loose black foam behind the driver - I put it aside.
3. The secondary black cover piece could be removed (not screwed in, but may not come off without some fiddling).
4. Four black screws appeared - unscrewed them.
5. Now I could see the hinge mechanism, which seemed to be the source of the creaking noise.
6. With some trial and error I determined that the creaking noise came from the encircled plastic parts rubbing against the last removed plastic piece (the one attached with four black screws).
7. I added a small piece of electrical tape to the problem area and the creaking noise was gone!
8. I put the parts back together again in the reverse order. When you get to the point of putting the loose black foam back in, note that the cord goes on the backside of the foam (towards the outside of the ear cup) and that the side with a circular indentation faces the driver.

Note the little self-adhesive foam pad in one of the photos. I bet that is there to prevent the hinge from scraping against the black piece of plastic! But the two encircled pieces of red plastic apparently also needed some kind of "padding".

I hope this is of help to others experiencing the same problem...

 

[tripside]

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD598 that I barely use because they are open back and I listen to mostly music en route or at work. I am looking for something portable and closed back.

So does anything beat the NAD VISO HP50 at $149 ( for the red variant)? Based on reviews , the VISOs were a good buy even at their original price of 299$. The only drawbacks being the comfort issue that some users faced and the 'dorky' headbands. Are they better than anything else in this price range? How do they stack up against any new entrants around the $300 mark?

 

[s4tch]

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD598 that I barely use because they are open back and I listen to mostly music en route or at work. I am looking for something portable and closed back.

So does anything beat the NAD VISO HP50 at $149 ( for the red variant)? Based on reviews , the VISOs were a good buy even at their original price of 299$. The only drawbacks being the comfort issue that some users faced and the 'dorky' headbands. Are they better than anything else in this price range? How do they stack up against any new entrants around the $300 mark?

there are a couple of new headphones that match or surpass the hp50's around $300, for instance the meze 99 classics are very well build, easy to drive, might be considered portable and definitely sound great for the money. also, the oppo pm3's offer closed back, portability, and also planar characteristics, and they are sometimes available for the same price. but for $150, i can't think of any headphones that would match the hp50's.

 

[mbwilson111]

there are a couple of new headphones that match or surpass the hp50's around $300, for instance the meze 99 classics are very well build, easy to drive, might be considered portable and definitely sound great for the money. also, the oppo pm3's offer closed back, portability, and also planar characteristics, and they are sometimes available for the same price. but for $150, i can't think of any headphones that would match the hp50's.

The Mezes are great. So comfortable and wonderful sound signature. If you think the look of the 99 Classic (wood cups) for en route to work, you might prefer the look of the 99 Neo in black and silver. They cost less because of not using the wood and sound equally great. I have the Neo but have listened to my husband's Classics. You can read many detailed reviews of both on this site.

 

[dakanao]

I have a pair of Sennheiser HD598 that I barely use because they are open back and I listen to mostly music en route or at work. I am looking for something portable and closed back.

So does anything beat the NAD VISO HP50 at $149 ( for the red variant)? Based on reviews , the VISOs were a good buy even at their original price of 299$. The only drawbacks being the comfort issue that some users faced and the 'dorky' headbands. Are they better than anything else in this price range? How do they stack up against any new entrants around the $300 mark?

At that price, the Philips Fidelio L2 and Beyerdynamic DT 150 (with DT 100 velour pads) are clearly better sounding imo.

 

[mbwilson111]

At that price, the Philips Fidelio L2 and Beyerdynamic DT 150 (with DT 100 velour pads) are clearly better sounding imo.

I love my DT150s but they are far from portable! I might try the pads you mentioned if it does not change the sound. I would just do it for comfort.

 

[dakanao]

I love my DT150s but they are far from portable! I might try the pads you mentioned if it does not change the sound. I would just do it for comfort.

They work fine and sound good straight out of my laptop and iPad headphone jack. I notice little difference when amped.

The DT 100 velours tame down that excessive bass response a bit.

 

[tripside]

At that price, the Philips Fidelio L2 and Beyerdynamic DT 150 (with DT 100 velour pads) are clearly better sounding imo.

I've heard good things about the Fidelio. I also like the way they look. They can be had for $105 right now. Putting price aside, how do they sound compared to the VISOs?

 

[mbwilson111]

You might also like the Beoplay H6's and would be excellent for your purpose. Not sure what the current price is for you.

The Philips Fidelio L2s are beautiful and meant to be very good for portable use I have not heard them but they have been on my wish list a few times... I just have too many headphones now and don't think I need to add them to what I have.

Personally I would not take my DT150s out of the house...have you seen pictures of them?

 

[dakanao]

I've heard good things about the Fidelio. I also like the way they look. They can be had for $105 right now. Putting price aside, how do they sound compared to the VISOs?

Better in every single way imo.

More clarity, smoother (even though they're clearer sounding, they're smoother through the uppermids and highs as well) better timbre, slightly tighter bass, more forward mids (the NAD seemed a bit distant sounding to me)

 

[mbwilson111]

I've heard good things about the Fidelio. I also like the way they look. They can be had for $105 right now. Putting price aside, how do they sound compared to the VISOs?

Wow... amazing price. £170 here. Get them and tell us what you think. I do enjoy the sound of my NADs but have fought with the comfort for a year. Plus they had to be taken apart to to the tape fix for the creaking cups. I have posted a few pages back about that.

I wonder why there are two listings for the L2... one listing is the one you saw and another is $187..maybe you should grab that deal for $105...I would if I was still in the states...

If you hate them you can send them back.