[RPGWiZaRD]

I would give 9.5 to Q40 and HTF600 maybe 8.2. They do leak some as they don't appear to be fully closed, the openings are small so it doesn't leak at lot, but yea there's some, not sure how much of an issue at normal listening volume in an office, leaving them on a table at normal/slightly loud listening volume while the cups are lying against each other I hear them faintly in a quiet room up to about 3~4 meters away.

 

[BadhairCut]

Hmm, I think I'm leaning towards the Panasonic's due to the dirt cheap price, and I wouldn't be using an amp. Would you say the Q40's leak more or less than the Panasonic's?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Hmm, I think I'm leaning towards the Panasonic's due to the dirt cheap price, and I wouldn't be using an amp. Would you say the Q40's leak more or less than the Panasonic's?

HTF600 leaks more and barely offers any isolation from outside noise too. Q40 has noticably better isolation from outside noise but it lets out a bit more than it lets in I'd say. It still beats HTF600 both ways but there's more drastic difference regarding how good they isolate from outside noise.
 
Q40 still sounds good ampless too but improves noticably by amping too which HTF600 doesn't but HTF600 has a bit better price/sound quality ratio though, if I was to put a pricetag based only on sound quality they deliver then the HTF600 would be like 90~$100 (3x its price) can and Q40 $150. HTF600 sounds quite muddy/smooth and a little warmer and less detailed in comparision to the Q40 which has a very neutral sounding balance despite it offers a boosted bass response, the way it handles the bass so well doesn't make it seem like a typical bassheavy can despite it is because unlike HTF600 the bass doesn't bleed into mids whatsoever, I can even boost the bass on ZO2 amp or use EQing to Q40 and there will still be very little/no noteworthy amount of bass bleeding into mids. The Q40 definitely wins by a huge amount with all headphones I've heard so far when it comes to being able to output headpounding bass ala XB500-style (with a very little help of amp bass boost or EQing) but still stays so controlled and doesn't bleed into mids.

 

[BadhairCut]

Cool, thanks for all the info, you've really helped me out trying to figure out what I'm looking for.
 
 

 

[Noobpwner]

Ordered some 770 pads, hopefully they'll help out with the comfort issues. Other than that they're still sounding epic.

 

[jupitreas]

I recently bought these as well. I'm very impressed, I think it is about on the same level as the KRK KNS 8400 value-wise. The bass is very well done, it is so physical and impactful without affecting the mids and treble all that much. I actually find these to be somewhat bright (well, probably neutral is a better word) after getting used to the physical bass impact. I'm using the 770 pads with them and they alter the sound slightly, by giving the treble a little more sparkle. The change is not huge but it is actually a subtle improvement that improves the neutrality of this otherwise quite bass-heavy can. The 770 pads balance them out just enough, without losing the cool bass. 
 
I bought them after also trying the Shure SRH940 and Ultrasone PRO 900. I can honestly say I prefer the Q40 over these much more expensive headphones. It doesn't have any glaring faults like those two high-end closed monitors. It handles pretty much all music styles well and it is not fatiguing to listen to. Great stuff. My only concern is build quality - that tiny little exposed cable is a very bad design decision (although it looks somewhat cool in a retro way).  

 

[jupitreas]

Here are some photos I took of the M-Audio Studiophile Q40

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

I wonder how the leather vs velour DT770 pads compare like soundwise, I definitely wouldn't want any more treble compared to stock. When I stuffed paper underneath the stock pads to make them deeper it actually tamed the peak around 8kHz slightly which I found welcome. Without doing that I might have had to lower the 8kHz slider one step but not now, it's suitably bright for my taste after putting the paper underneath the pads and it had some holes on the underside of the pads which also got covered which might also have to do with the very slightly tamed brightness.

 

[jupitreas]

With the stock pads, I find them a little too dark, IMO the Beyer velours add a welcome sparkle to the treble. But then again, I'm a big fan of the Beyerdynamic DT880 and 990 sound. I like for the treble to be nicely emphasized and airy.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

With the stock pads, I find them a little too dark, IMO the Beyer velours add a welcome sparkle to the treble. But then again, I'm a big fan of the Beyerdynamic DT880 and 990 sound. I like for the treble to be nicely emphasized and airy.

I prefer the highs to be neutral~very slightly recessed as I like a very slight warm sound and dislike V-shape sound (I prefer mids a very tiny bit higher elevated than highs), I boosted also 500Hz especially a bit on the EQ to increase the warmth sound of it. The Q40 is still the headphone with the most sparkle in the highs that I've kept and didn't sell after 1-2 weeks of use. (others I had to boost tiny bit in the highs, Q40 is good like it is for me, what I'd concider neutral).
 

 

[jupitreas]

I should perhaps mention that I listen to headphones on very low volume levels, and this is where V-shape sounds more neutral (due to the Fletcher-Munson curve). Either way, I am quite impressed with the neutrality and quality of the treble on the Q40...
 
Quote:

I prefer the highs to be neutral~very slightly recessed as I like a very slight warm sound and dislike V-shape sound (I prefer mids a very tiny bit higher elevated than highs), I boosted also 500Hz especially a bit on the EQ to increase the warmth sound of it. The Q40 is still the headphone with the most sparkle in the highs that I've kept and didn't sell after 1-2 weeks of use. (others I had to boost tiny bit in the highs, Q40 is good like it is for me, what I'd concider neutral).
 

 

 

[morocco711]

can you guys post a few pics with the q40s on your head bc ive seen no pics of them like that and i dont want to buy the q40s just to find out that their bulky or not...
 

 

[NatetheGreat]

These were really uncomfortable for me, not to  mention the round earcups are huge and dont fit the natural shape of your ear.

 

[josheil]

Does anyone know HOW TO remove and replace the pads? I have replacement pads that I want to try and it says just to use a dull/blunt knife to lever the current pads of but I attempted to do so and am afraid to break them.. Has anyone done this before/know how to? Ive never don this before.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Does anyone know HOW TO remove and replace the pads? I have replacement pads that I want to try and it says just to use a dull/blunt knife to lever the current pads of but I attempted to do so and am afraid to break them.. Has anyone done this before/know how to? Ive never don this before.

 
It's really enough to pull them off without using any additional tools. Easiest is to grab it with the thumb on the outer side + index (pointy?) finger from the inside and pushing it a bit from the inside and just drag it off and then it will easily come off after that.