[Mr Portable]

i have no personal experience with it but based on the comments of 440 owners who went with the 840 pads, the 840 pleather pads are softer - thus making for a better seal (isolation is improved) and since isolation is improved the bass is also slightly improved.
 
plus these are softer than the stock 440 pads. 
 
before you shell out $20 though try out the earpad mod i linked to a few posts back - it really helps my ears kinda stick out and the mod is a godsend.
 
oh and for everyone wondering if it is worth it to cut open your 440s - yes it is, my 440s have been getting way more head time now because of the decreased weight and the earpad mod.
 
i listen to a lot of jazz and rock and classical - DMB and Bill Evans (FLACs with a good DAC) are wonderful on the shures - and i have yet to find a closed (or open) set of headphones under $100 that provides this much clarity and articulation. my PX100s (i have Mk1 and Mk2), superlux 660s, and iems don't give me that "live" sound.
 
the drivers are simply too good for the money. Shure went out of its way in its first venture into the full-size headphone market to make a good impression - the build quality is questionable, but the drivers are good.
 

 

[KimLaroux]

 
Quote:

yep, sliced right through it. you have to be careful though, cut on the side opposite of where the wire sticks out.
 
about the 940 pads - are they shallow? my ears (before the ear pad mod) were always touching the thin cloth covering the driver and it was really irritating. seeing that the 940 pads are velour, they may end up bringing my ears closer to the driver than before.

That depends how used your current pads are. I used mines for two years so they became hard and compressed. Comparing the old pads with the new 940's pad, yes the 940's are deeper, but not by much. The 940's also have an additional layer of foam behind the "thin cloth", so they are more comfortable if your ears touch the bottom.
 
If you really want more depth, then I would recommend you add something between the cushions and the grill. The problem with this mod though is that it makes the cushions harder, and since it pushes the cups apart, you get more clamping force. It also adds weight to the already heavy thing.

 

[KimLaroux]

I ordered the Sennheiser HD650 headband pad (PN 88597) at the end of January. It's been Back Order at Sennheiser Canada ever since, and I received it today. Took 6 months to get my hands on this thing.
 

 
But I think it was worth it. I paid 20 CAD for it. It weight less than 5 grams, and it's super soft. I can't wait to hack this onto my SRH440 and see how the comfort improves.
 
And hopefully, it'll look better than it does now.
 

 
If I was Sennheiser Canada, I would have ordered a bunch a stocked the rest. So for fellow canadians who want to get their hands on this pad, now would be a good time to drop sennheiser canada a call.
 
Note to self: My SRH440 weight 329 grams right now. Let's see how this improves once I get rid of the stock head band.

 

[KimLaroux]

I have done the practical side of the hack, now all that's left to do is aesthetics. I think I'll reuse the pleather to cover the top of the headband.
 
I disassembled the headband in it's smallest parts. 
 

 
While I was there, I noticed that the metal strip was bent awkwardly, so I straightened it. I also studied the "clicks" of the adjustment, then solidified it. It's just a small plastic finger riding on bumps. Stuffing pieces of rubber behind the fingers made them stronger, and so the headband now holds it's size.
 
I reassembled the useful parts. Note that everything not attached to the headphone in the following picture is useless.
 

 
I used double faced tape to mount the Sennheiser pad directly to the metal band.
 

 
The headphone now weights 271 grams. That's 58 grams less. The Sennheiser pad is ridiculously comfortable. Coupled with the SRH940 velour pads, this headphone is now more comfortable than the AKG Q701 by a clear margin.
 
These pictures are from 2 days ago. Today I solidified the pad with a few drops of hot melt glue, after a few hours of testing confirmed the position was good. Very satisfied with this mod so far.

 

[KimLaroux]

I just finalized the project. After using the headphones for a month, I concluded that it was gonna stay that way. It was time for making it pretty.
 
So I trimmed the pleather from the stock headband and stitched it to the small ledges of the HD650 headband.
 

 
I placed double faced tape on the metal band to hold the pleather in place, so it doesn't slide on it and creases. It took me a few hours just to hand sew the pleather to the small plastic ledge. I had to use a separate needle just to pierce the plastic, and a pair of tweezers to fold the edge of the pleather back under itself. I think the end result was worth it.

 

[BleaK]

Very nice!
 

 

[Wiidlund]

Quote:

I just finalized the project. After using the headphones for a month, I concluded that it was gonna stay that way. It was time for making it pretty.
 
So I trimmed the pleather from the stock headband and stitched it to the small ledges of the HD650 headband.
 

 
I placed double faced tape on the metal band to hold the pleather in place, so it doesn't slide on it and creases. It took me a few hours just to hand sew the pleather to the small plastic ledge. I had to use a separate needle just to pierce the plastic, and a pair of tweezers to fold the edge of the pleather back under itself. I think the end result was worth it.

Looks really nice! I bought the srh840 but returned them due to the horrible headband, but I´m thinking of picking them up again and try this mod. Is the headband fully adjustable, it looks like the 650 pads are in the way? Was it a hard mod?  I have never ever tried to mod a headphone before and must confess I´m a bit nervous I might be in over my head..

 

[KimLaroux]

The headband still is fully adjustable. The HD650 headband pad is held in place my double faced tape and stitching I made to a band of pleather I salvaged from the original padding. This I would say is the "hardest" part, though all it takes is time and a fine attention to details. Both ends of the new padding are sticked to the lower plastic parts using double faced tape. When the headband needs adjustment, just pull to detach the tape. It's plastic on plastic, so you're not damaging anything my pulling the tape off.
 
There's nothing "hard" about this mod. You just need to use your brain and think before doing something. Think if it's the best way to do it, if there could be a better, easier, more solid way... Think of all the steps necessary to get from A to Z, and visualize the order in which you do them so you don't have to destroy something to come back a few steps. Think what could go wrong (Like pushing a needle trough the cable), and of what can be done to avoid it. Then it's just a question of taking your time and making it.
 
Think, and then Make. Not the other way around.

 

[Wiidlund]

Thanks you so much! I'll give it a go. I found a dealer in Sweden (where I live) that sells the 650 headband so I'll order it later tonight.