[2wheelfan]

I haven't seen a dedicated  effort on the forum to quantify earpad size for our favorite 'over ear' headphones.  Because headphone comfort aka ergonomics are perhaps almost as important as sound signature for those of us who like to listen for long sessions in particular, maybe overdue to establish ear pad hole size for our favorite headphones.  Results should have relevance for us with bigger ears and maybe those with smaller ears that prefer a snugger fit within the ear pad.  There is copious speculation on the forum about comfort, so this a modest effort to quantify some differences which clearly exist between the over-ear headphones we love. 
 
Please help and post your headphone ear pad sizes to help populate this thread to be used as reference.  Many thanks for your support.
 
I will start with posting what little information I have on the subject. Please note...two dimensions are provided when ear pad hole size is assymetric and not round.
 
Sennheiser Momentum:
Width: 34mm
Height: 52mm
 
Senneheiser HD598 HD555:
Width:40mm
Height:70mm
 
Beyerdynamic DT-990 Premium 600 ohm (what I own)
Round Pad
Hole diameter at earpad outside edge/entry: 68mm
Hole dia. near driver: 56
Pad depth...distance outside to driver (uncompressed): 24mm
 
 
In particular, I am interested in the ear pad hole size of the popular Sennheiser HD600 / HD650 which is perceived to be slightly bigger than the HD 598.  Could someone with these great heaphones, post the ear pad dimensions?
 
Also am interested in various AKG and Denon models and many others.  Hope this helps others...

 

[vid]

Size of the hole, in millimeters, at the bottom of the pad. All pads were round.
 
Beyerdynamic DT 990 (1980s, cloth pad): 51
AKG K 250: 55
AKG K 241: 56
Sennheiser Unipolar 2000: 64

 

[2wheelfan]

I wanted to include Streetdragon's anecdotal comparison between two popular Sennheiser headphones...HD558/598 and HD600/650.
 
His words:
 
After visiting the shop today i have determined that the HD558 and HD650 earpad openings are almost identical in size. The shape of the earpads are slightly different though, the HD650 is a bit narrower near the base of the earpad, while the HD558 one did. Overall it is safe to say that they are both very large. not sure about the HD600 though.
the momentum earpads however were very small in size compared to these 2.
 
 
Streetdragon's interpretation is a bit different than the reviewer in the following link.  Further, the ear cup housings of the HD600/650 appear bigger than the HD598/558/555....but ear cup housing size may not be directly correlate to ear pad hole size...apparently not according to  Streetdragon's findings.
Counterpoint:
[size=medium]http://www.headfonia.com/hd600-and-hd598-comparison/[/size]
 
 
There are a lot of HD600/650 owners on the forum.  Could somebody post ear pad hole dimensions for the HD600/650?   Dimensions for the HD598 are posted above.  That way we can determine which headphone has more size within the earpad cup...although the HD558 ear hole may have a slighlty different shape according to Streetdragon.
 
Many thanks.

 

[2wheelfan]

Streetdragon provided dimensions comparing two of the most popular Senheisser headphones. This puts to rest conjecture about whether the HD598 has more or less room in the ear pad cup compared to the venerable HD 650..  One notable dynamic...ear cup shell size clearly does not correlate to how much room is in the ear pad cup hole.  If you look closely at the picture comparison, you will note the HD 600/650 ear pad ledge is 'wider' around its periphery where it contacts the head and face.  This wider touch down area  reduces hole size slightly.
 
In fact, the actual hole size of the HD598 is bigger than the HD 600/650...and another unexpected result is...the ear hole is 'deeper' in the HD598.  For all intents the dimensions for earpad hole size between 5 series and 6 series Senneheisers are close in size...but 5 series ear pad holes are clearly deeper which may matter for those with ears that stick out from the head a bit.
 
Hope this helps...it clearly does for me as I am considering both headphones...
Thanks again streetdragon for your support of building our data base.
 
Inexplicably, I am unable to attach a picture to this thread...I presume due to my low post count...ridiculous. 
For those interested...click on the link of the Stenheisser picture comparison:
 
[size=medium]http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll131/Fixie1time/HD558versusHD650EarpadSizeComparison.jpg[/size]

 

[money4me247]

Sony MDR-1R earcup dimensions: 60mm height, 40mm width, and like ~12-22 mm deep due to angled driver (Courtesy of Rasmutte)
 
 

 
Like 60mm height, 40mm width, and like ~12-22 mm deep due to angled driver.
 


http://www.head-fi.org/t/625015/sony-has-new-headphones-mdr-1r/1770#post_9103711

 

[Kerry56]

Creative Aurvana Live! 
These have an odd design in the interior with the lower end much narrower than the top.  Dimension at the widest spot is 40mm, and vertical dimension is 50mm.  Depth is 22mm.
 
AKG 240 Mk II
Velour pad:  Round interior, 50mm.  Depth approximately 24mm.
Pleathor pad:  Round interior, 56mm.  Depth unknown since I don't have them installed, but they seem slightly thinner than the velour pads.

 

[streetdragon]

well actually in my statement that you quoted and bold, i actually made a typo in there XD "the HD650 is a bit narrower near the base of the earpad, while the HD558 one did not." <- forgot to put the 'not' in there

also the earpads of the HD558 will soften a lot over time, therefore losing about 0.1 inches of depth all around.

hmm... ah MS1i w/ stock G-cush earpads. Hmm does anyone really need measurements for this...? 

 
anyway, higher quality version of HD558 and HD650 pics:




hope this helps

 

[BruinAnteater]

Here are my measurements:
 
 
Sennheiser HD650
Outer Height - 115mm
Inner Height - 68mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 88mm
Outer Width - 85mm
Inner Width - 44mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 63mm
Depth - 23mm
 
Sennheiser Momentum
Outer Height - 93.5mm
Inner Height - 52mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 58mm
Outer Width - 70mm
Inner Width - 36mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 43mm
Depth - 20mm
 
Sennheiser PX360
Outer Height - 85mm
Inner Height - 52mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 60mm 
Outer Width - 80mm
Inner Width - 42mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 55mm
Depth - 23mm
 
Sennheiser HD429
Outer Height - 100mm
Inner Height - 59mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 75mm
Outer Width - 80mm
Inner Width - 38mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 58mm
Depth - 18mm
 
The "inner inner" measurements are probably the least accurate, but still accurate enough to give you an idea of how your ear will fit INSIDE the cup of the headphone. I have normal, maybe big ears, if I dont "wiggle" my ears inside of the cups, except for the 650s, they's all "grab" at parts of my ear. However, once I can my ears INSIDE the headphones, only the Momentums still manage to grab my ears a bit, and as you can see by the measurements they are generally the smallest ones of all my pairs, but they are also some other newer ones, so perhaps the pads just need to break in a bit more,
 
I wanted to take pictures comparing the general sizes, but couldnt really get it done very well.

 

[streetdragon]

Quote:

Here are my measurements:
 
 
Sennheiser HD650
Outer Height - 115mm
Inner Height - 68mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 88mm
Outer Width - 85mm
Inner Width - 44mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 63mm
Depth - 23mm
 
Sennheiser Momentum
Outer Height - 93.5mm
Inner Height - 52mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 58mm
Outer Width - 70mm
Inner Width - 36mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 43mm
Depth - 20mm
 
Sennheiser PX360
Outer Height - 85mm
Inner Height - 52mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 60mm 
Outer Width - 80mm
Inner Width - 42mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 55mm
Depth - 23mm
 
Sennheiser HD429
Outer Height - 100mm
Inner Height - 59mm
Inner Inner Height (inside pads) - 75mm
Outer Width - 80mm
Inner Width - 38mm
Inner Inner Width (inside pads) - 58mm
Depth - 18mm
 
The "inner inner" measurements are probably the least accurate, but still accurate enough to give you an idea of how your ear will fit INSIDE the cup of the headphone. I have normal, maybe big ears, if I dont "wiggle" my ears inside of the cups, except for the 650s, they's all "grab" at parts of my ear. However, once I can my ears INSIDE the headphones, only the Momentums still manage to grab my ears a bit, and as you can see by the measurements they are generally the smallest ones of all my pairs, but they are also some other newer ones, so perhaps the pads just need to break in a bit more,
 
I wanted to take pictures comparing the general sizes, but couldnt really get it done very well.

Is your pair of HD650's relatively new? Just wondering if the earpads are still new and firm on yours and therefore having a bigger earhole size. The shop's unit seems pretty beat and well used.(squishy earpads and chipped paint)

 

[2wheelfan]

Just want to say thanks to everybody that has helped put the 'Size Matters' database together.  This should really help prospective owners understand the nuanced differences in ear pad size for the headphones we all like. 
 
I hope those that own Denon's and AKG's and Sony models will provide their ear pad dimensions as well.
 
Thanks again everybody!

 

[BruinAnteater]

Quote:

Is your pair of HD650's relatively new? Just wondering if the earpads are still new and firm on yours and therefore having a bigger earhole size. The shop's unit seems pretty beat and well used.(squishy earpads and chipped paint)

 
Actually they are over a year old. The pads are very much broken in, however they dont get the same kind of use that they'd probably get at a shop.

 

[money4me247]

Courtesy of GN3RAL KARL
 
This is the AKG K550.
 
Please note that the aspect ratio is slightly off because photos are shot at my point of view = Near bird's eye view.  I have provided measurements in numbers under photos though.
 

 
Diameter of earpads - 4.3" [converts to 109.22mm]
 

 
Diameter of cups - 2.375". [converts to 60.325mm] Depth of cups - 0.813" (13/16 of an inch) [converts to 20.6502mm]
 


 
Diameter of outer shell - 4.313". [converts to 109.55mm] Height of phone - 7.63". [converts to 193.802mm]
 

 
These are photos of the plastic piece cutout that held on to the pads when removing for the first time (first photo at 4 o'clock, second at 5:30).  After removing the pads and inserting them back on, the pads can freely rotate on the cups.

Edited by GN3RAL KARL - 3/5/12 at 5:33am

 

 

[Beagle]

Thank you GENERAL KARL.

 

[conquerator2]

HE-6 (or Hifiman in general) measurements with the deeper grayish black velours
depth - 18 - 20mm - should be same for back/rear
length/width - 60 mm (pad diameter)
 
The black velour pads are slightly different
depth - 10 - 12mm
length/width - 65 mm

 

[bhupalartha]

I am Also interested in looking for the earcup dimensions, as I do have big ears ..!!