[manveru]

Quote:

Well, I would not say all of the echo is gone.  It is still there on some songs.  I think I might try some of the other mods out there to see if I can get the sound a little more to my liking.
 
Still, for the price, I have been very happy with them.

 
Hm, I always suspected that sound came primarily from the cups. At least the pads can help a little though.
 
Anyways, if you do anymore modding, please report your findings. 

 

[Noisesupressor]

I received mine today in the mail and I have the same setup except for the Velour Pads. My initial impression are very positive, I will make sure to write a review once they are fully burned in. Also, I don't find the clamping force to be excessive. I mean, yes, they clamp on to your head, but it is not like you are putting your head in a vise. 
Quote:

Digitech Pro Monitors (w/ Logo Removed) + Brainwavz 1.3m HM5 Cable + Shure HPAEC940 Velour Pads = I can't believe all this all can be had for $100 USD!
 
Love them! 
 
 

 
..

 

[LFF]

Quote:

Digitech Pro Monitors (w/ Logo Removed) + Brainwavz 1.3m HM5 Cable + Shure HPAEC940 Velour Pads = I can't believe all this all can be had for $100 USD!
 
Love them! 
 
 

 
..

Too awesome...especially for the price!

 

[kingpage]

Quote:

Well, I would not say all of the echo is gone.  It is still there on some songs.  I think I might try some of the other mods out there to see if I can get the sound a little more to my liking.
 
Still, for the price, I have been very happy with them.
 
..

 
Ever thought the echo is in the recording itself?

 

[manveru]

Quote:

Ever thought the echo is in the recording itself?

 
I think it's definitely the headphones. I've listened to the same songs on different headphones, both closed and open, and the recordings don't have that sound to them. It's really weird-sounding too. I found it quite noticeable at least.

 

[BloodyPenguin]

Quote:

 
Ever thought the echo is in the recording itself?

I am sure the echo effect comes from the original recordings, just that the Fa-003/HM5/Jaycars seem to accentuate the reverb a little more than other headphones, at least that I have tried.
 
It is not overwhelming, it is not intrusive, it is just there.  Like I said though, the Shure Velour Pads have helped to tone it down a little.  Still love these headphones for what they are.  They are my main listening pair at the moment. 
 
..

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

I think it's definitely the headphones. I've listened to the same songs on different headphones, both closed and open, and the recordings don't have that sound to them. It's really weird-sounding too. I found it quite noticeable at least.

 
I would have to agree with this. There's something about my HM5 that just sounds...odd. I just wish I was better at being able to pinpoint exactly what it is about them that sounds weird. I'm not sure I would label it as reverb, though that doesn't sound too far off. It could be the slight bump in the 50-200Hz range relative to the rest of the spectrum, the dip around 300Hz, or the rough/peaky treble with a dip before 10KHz (all according to measurements purrin made). But I've heard headphones that measure worse that still don't sound as odd to my ears even if I can tell they aren't as neutral or balanced as the HM5 overall. I've even poked around with mods without much luck. *shrug*

 

[manveru]

Quote:

I would have to agree with this. There's something about my HM5 that just sounds...odd. I just wish I was better at being able to pinpoint exactly what it is about them that sounds weird. I'm not sure I would label it as reverb, though that doesn't sound too far off. It could be the slight bump in the 50-200Hz range relative to the rest of the spectrum, the dip around 300Hz, or the rough/peaky treble with a dip before 10KHz (all according to measurements purrin made). But I've heard headphones that measure worse that still don't sound as odd to my ears even if I can tell they aren't as neutral or balanced as the HM5 overall. I've even poked around with mods without much luck. *shrug*

 
I'm not sure what I have in mind is related to frequency response. "Reverb" maybe isn't precisely the right word, but yeah it's not too far off either way. It's been described as a "cavernous," "tunnel like," "well like," or "hall like" sound. My suspicion since I first started noticing it was that it was some sort of cup resonance or something akin to that (I'm not sure what the exact technical term would be). All the closed headphones I've heard have this "cup coloration" to some extent, but it just seems top be unusually strong and with longer than average "decay" on these headphones. Add to this the fact that the sound in the center is kind of hollowed out and sounds more distant than sounds that come from more either the left or right (that's what I felt anyway). I guess if you think about, what with the way the cups are shaped and how deep the pads are, the drivers really do sit in a cave/tunnel shaped space...
 

 

[nc8000]

If you look at the innerfidelity charts for frequency isolation you will see that some frequencies are actually made louder by the FA-003, and I think it was in the 2-400 hz range

 

[Lorspeaker]

Quote:

 
I'm not sure what I have in mind is related to frequency response. "Reverb" maybe isn't precisely the right word, but yeah it's not too far off either way. It's been described as a "cavernous," "tunnel like," "well like," or "hall like" sound. My suspicion since I first started noticing it was that it was some sort of cup resonance or something akin to that (I'm not sure what the exact technical term would be). All the closed headphones I've heard have this "cup coloration" to some extent, but it just seems top be unusually strong and with longer than average "decay" on these headphones. Add to this the fact that the sound in the center is kind of hollowed out and sounds more distant than sounds that come from more either the left or right (that's what I felt anyway). I guess if you think about, what with the way the cups are shaped and how deep the pads are, the drivers really do sit in a cave/tunnel shaped space...
 

 
ya...good description...love it when its ambient/choral music. i found a replacement for this 003 in the philips uptown..similar soundsig..but less.. cuppy..

 

[manveru]

Quote:

ya...good description...love it when its ambient/choral music. i found a replacement for this 003 in the philips uptown..similar soundsig..but less.. cuppy..

 
That's true, it can actually kind of work for certain types of music.
 
003 and Uptown similar soundsig? Maybe a little in some areas, overall though I wouldn't really think so.

 

[hans030390]

Quote:

 
I'm not sure what I have in mind is related to frequency response. "Reverb" maybe isn't precisely the right word, but yeah it's not too far off either way. It's been described as a "cavernous," "tunnel like," "well like," or "hall like" sound. My suspicion since I first started noticing it was that it was some sort of cup resonance or something akin to that (I'm not sure what the exact technical term would be). All the closed headphones I've heard have this "cup coloration" to some extent, but it just seems top be unusually strong and with longer than average "decay" on these headphones. Add to this the fact that the sound in the center is kind of hollowed out and sounds more distant than sounds that come from more either the left or right (that's what I felt anyway). I guess if you think about, what with the way the cups are shaped and how deep the pads are, the drivers really do sit in a cave/tunnel shaped space...

 
Not sure. Purrin also did CSD plots for the FA-003, but I'm not nearly good enough with matching what I hear to plots like those to be able to pinpoint what makes them sound odd to my ears.
 
LFF, since you're very familiar with the FA-003 and have good ears, maybe you have some insight into what might be making this headphone sound off to certain people...?

 

[manveru]

Yeah I saw those. I don't really have the experience needed to correlate the plots to exactly what I'm hearing either...

 

[Greeni]

I found that they need a lot of run-in time, but even after it is done the treble region left much to be desired. I am not sure if it is premature roll-off or something else, but the treble lacks extension and sparkle. Try it with brass instruments it come off as overly softened and the bite missing for realism. Cello sound much better than saxophone. Also clarity and details fall short of the best I heard in this price range, or even lower price range. They are good in rendering a full, organic sound to vocals and bassy instrument but the compromise are also obvious to me.

 

[manveru]

Quote:

I found that they need a lot of run-in time, but even after it is done the treble region left much to be desired. I am not sure if it is premature roll-off or something else, but the treble lacks extension and sparkle. Try it with brass instruments it come off as overly softened and the bite missing for realism. Cello sound much better than saxophone. Also clarity and details fall short of the best I heard in this price range, or even lower price range. They are good in rendering a full, organic sound to vocals and bassy instrument but the compromise are also obvious to me.

 
I feel similarly. I'm not sure they're rolled-off or anything like that, but I think the overall balance is actually just a little bit dark. They do produce the most realistic timbre for cymbals that I've heard though. Cymbals do not sound "sparkly" or "shiny" or anything like that at all in real life. Maybe some brilliant finish cymbals do, but not to the degree that some recordings have them exaggerated with EQ or whatnot.