A positive change? Could you go into more detail if you can?
I think the V2 pads increase the overall liveliness or vividness of the V1, also the sense of intimacy of the music by bringing the mids/upper mids a bit more forward, but at the expense of some soundstage width. There's a sense of distancing from the instruments with the V1 pads (perhaps what
@vc1187 is calling "softness") that is significantly reduced by the V2 pads (hence the feeling of more intimacy, and closeness, which I suspect some translate as "transparency"). Some also say that this sense of immediacy makes imaging much better on the V2 pads, but I have not personally noticed that... I have to confess, my remarks are not the result of some careful and painstaking head to head comparison of the two pads... I am just noting the differences of sonic impact of the v2 pads as I experienced and remember them the first time I did the swap.
Also, while I do realize and respect why some people may prefer the new changes, I personally saw the increased liveliness, forwardness, or "transparency" of the V2 pads, mostly as differences rather than as "improvements." I upgraded to the new pads out of curiosity, in order to find out what the new hype about the V2 and its pads were all about, but not because I particularly disliked the old pads and their sound signature... (It was more like responding to the peer-pressure generated by the hype of the V2, rather being driven to those pads because of something I personally disliked about the V1 pads)...
I am normally too lazy to make a habit of swapping pads back and forth... If that were not the case, I could easily imagine preferring and using V1 pads for some particular songs and the V2 pads for others. This does not mean that I necessarily hate the V2 pads... I simply consider them as offering a flavor and sound signature that are different from those of the V1 pads, but not necessarily always "better" (for all musical content)
I also think in considering what is taken to be the flaws or the weaknesses of the V1, one always has to take the stock cable into account (as one has to for the stock cables of the V2.) I replaced the V1 stock cable with a Norne Audio silvergarde S cable, long before getting the V2 pads, and the differences were so significant that I have never gone back to using the stock cables since then., I have also tried a Norne Audio Draug v3, and Zoetic cables on it: They all do a great job bringing enhancements to the table that are lacking in the stock. Incidentally I have come to consider Hifiman stock cables suspect as a result.