[Nolbert0]

Regular brainwavz are oval. Any earpads that are bigger spin in the cup. I find moving earpads on headphones really uncomfortable and detracts from the listening experience. I finally settled on these (95mm, non angled sheepskin) for my K245:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32952117215.html

p.s. I haven't tried the brainwavz with K245 - Out of curiosity, what material pads did you settle on?

 

[Mad Max]

regular pleather, I stay away from real leather because that's how I roll

 

[Nolbert0]

regular pleather, I stay away from real leather because that's how I roll

U mean that's how you pad roll!

...I'll see myself out

 

[Precaud]

For $49 I couldn't resist ordering a pair of K245's. They'll replace my old Gradu's Grado's for portable use.

 

[Precaud]

Got the K245's, these things are fantastic. No glaring faults, really. They put many much more expensive cans to shame. Through my good amp I'd back off on the bass just a tad, but from a portable device these should be killer. Way better than the $49 sale price.

 

[kman1211]

Got the K245's, these things are fantastic. No glaring faults, really. They put many much more expensive cans to shame. Through my good amp I'd back off on the bass just a tad, but from a portable device these should be killer. Way better than the $49 sale price.

These are excellent values, the build doesn't feel $49 either. I also got the K275 and interestingly I like it more than the K245, the closed one focuses more on the midrange and just does something addicting to the vocals whereas the open is smoother in it's overall response, more laid-back, and has more of a warm tilt.

 

[Precaud]

Yes, the build quality feels good, although the enclusures ring like a bell right in the heart of the midrange when tapped or even when the cable is rustled. The cable isn't microphonic, but the headphone enclosures sure are! Surprisingly, I don't hear any audible resonances in that tonal region.

What I found last night is the excessive bass SPL causes listener fatigue. The old 80Hz "shelving" style of bass tone control would probably deal with this perfectly. But I think velour pads of the same thickness (height) would also do the trick. Has anyone experimented with that?

 

[Precaud]

Bump and reframing the question. Has anyone replaced the pads on your K245 and experienced a toning down of the bass SPL? If so, what pads?

I looked at some generic 95mm velour pads on eBay and these look like possibilities:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Super-T...er-Velour-Velvet-Perfect-Combine/174350674404
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thick-Velo...dynamic-AKG-Sony-Denon-Headphone/254660519678

 

[slapo]

Bump and reframing the question. Has anyone replaced the pads on your K245 and experienced a toning down of the bass SPL? If so, what pads?

I looked at some generic 95mm velour pads on eBay and these look like possibilities:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3D-Super-T...er-Velour-Velvet-Perfect-Combine/174350674404
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Thick-Velo...dynamic-AKG-Sony-Denon-Headphone/254660519678

I think I bought the latter but for Beyerdynamic Custom Studio and the foam in there is way, way too airy. The treble shot through the roof, so I'd avoid those.

I had good experience with these pads on the K245:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32954666357.html - the best alternative pads I've found so far, being more comfortable than stock pads, but sound is basically unchanged.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33057605882.html - a slight treble boost and a slight bass reduction, details about the same as with the stock pads and the pads right above, but a bit more comfortable than either of the two.

These I'd probably avoid:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32967593057.html - boost bass a fair bit, slightly boost treble, but increase ear to driver distance, and some minute detail seems to be lost as a result.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10000339305053.html - pretty much the same as the pads right above with a stronger treble boost.

 

[Precaud]

I think I bought the latter but for Beyerdynamic Custom Studio and the foam in there is way, way too airy. The treble shot through the roof, so I'd avoid those.

I had good experience with these pads:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32954666357.html - the best alternative pads I've found so far, being more comfortable than stock pads, but sound is basically unchanged.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33057605882.html - a slight treble boost and a slight bass reduction, details about the same as with the stock pads and the pads right above, but a bit more comfortable than either of the two.

So those sound changes are with the Beyers?
I take it you don't see velours as a solution for the K245 bass problem.

 

[slapo]

So those sound changes are with the Beyers?

Only with the pads in the second link you shared.

The rest of them were with the K245. I've updated that post to be clearer.
It's similar with the K275, too, although there, I find a bit of extra sub-bass nice to have and I use them with the Brainwavz Sony MDR-CD900ST pads: https://www.brainwavzaudio.com/products/sony-mdr-7506-earpads .

I take it you don't see velours as a solution for the K245 bass problem.

It might be, but I found the foam quality to be rather problematic with inexpensive velour pads and I don't think there are many better quality ones that are 95mm in diameter that aren't too thick.
Maybe the micro suede Brainwavz for Sony MDR-CD900ST or the ones for Audio-Technica M-series would work.

 

[Precaud]

OK, thx for the clarification.

I did some experimenting last night, and only a teeny amount of pad leakage is needed to make the bass palatable. Just inserting a pencil under one spot is even too much. A 50mm transducer driving a small-volume 50mm cylinder is a touchy thing to tune...

Has a K245 teardown been done yet? I haven't seen one.

 

[kman1211]

OK, thx for the clarification.

I did some experimenting last night, and only a teeny amount of pad leakage is needed to make the bass palatable. Just inserting a pencil under one spot is even too much. A 50mm transducer driving a small-volume 50mm cylinder is a touchy thing to tune...

Has a K245 teardown been done yet? I haven't seen one.

Not a full tear down. But this is what inside the K245’s cups look like. The K275 looks quite different inside. Will post pics of it later. The drivers are of decent quality, I do think a modded K240 Studio is capable of sounding better than a modded K245 as I personally think the K240 has better drivers and when modded handles the mids and treble better, bass will always be a little weak compared to the K245’s though. Stock the K245 is better without question.

 

[Precaud]

Thx for the pic. Not much space behind there. Your edited post answered my followup question

As the pads compress, the excess bass will only get worse...

 

[kman1211]

Thx for the pic. Not much space behind there. Your edited post answered my followup question

Nope not a whole lot to work with, AKG's tend to be a little more annoying to mod and tear down than say Beyers or Senns. Also the pads seem to be softer and less dense on the K275 at least on my pair. I find it more comfortable due to this. The drivers do seem to be some sort of Chinese OEM drivers with that AKG filter plastic paper stuff (on the rear vents) they tend to use on their headphones.

This is the K275’s. The back capsule thing is glued on.