Somic EFi-82 MT: Believe the Hype

[Xprime4]

I had spair m-50 pads laying around so i tried them on the somic.
 
They fit nicely, i wasn't expecting that since they are oval (like 840) but most important they now are alot more confortable
The stock one are poorly designed, they could have sold the headphone alot higher if they would come with pretty much any known pads
 
 
Anyone compared the 840 to the m-50 pads? are they worth the 50% of the value of the headphone investment?
The highs are now there, something that was clearly too much tone down but stock pads.
 
I'm starting to dig those alot more

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

I had spair m-50 pads laying around so i tried them on the somic.
 
They fit nicely, i wasn't expecting that since they are oval (like 840) but most important they now are alot more confortable
The stock one are poorly designed, they could have sold the headphone alot higher if they would come with pretty much any known pads
 
 
Anyone compared the 840 to the m-50 pads? are they worth the 50% of the value of the headphone investment?
The highs are now there, something that was clearly too much tone down but stock pads.
 
I'm starting to dig those alot more

M50 pads...
 
yeah...no.
 
I tried them, believe me. It just doesn't work quite right.
 
Here's why.
 
The 840 pad is much larger than the M50 pad, and as such, it completely engulfs your ear. This puts your ears closer to the driver and increases treble response. The M50 pad, however, lets some of your ear rest on the pad, stopping this from happening.

 

[Xprime4]

ok I order some 840 pads and i'll remove the dampening stuff you tell me in pm.
 
 
i couldn't keep my dt1350 as i had problem getting them seal over my ear. I'm already few hours into the somic and i'm starting to appreciate them alot more. I even tought they were fake at first since they were so unbalanced  They now can't leave my ears, so that's a good sign
 
 
edit: I did an a/b test with both the somic and the m-50 with the stock m-50 pads and some remplacement pads i just got in the mail today.
I regret saying they had a sound signature near the m-50. The soundstage on the somic make the m-50 sound so congestionate (I'm french canadian btw)

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

ok I order some 840 pads and i'll remove the dampening stuff you tell me in pm.
 
 
i couldn't keep my dt1350 as i had problem getting them seal over my ear. I'm already few hours into the somic and i'm starting to appreciate them alot more. I even tought they were fake at first since they were so unbalanced  They now can't leave my ears, so that's a good sign

Yeah, burn in treats them well.
 
Without the dampening material, I found the treble to actually be a bit too much with the 840 pads. I quickly put it back in.

 

[Xprime4]

did you remove the stock damping stuff on the somic or you just add the 840 dampener to the stock one?
I feel asleep with those again last night instead of giving them pink noise all night long. Hard to not touch them

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

did you remove the stock damping stuff on the somic or you just add the 840 dampener to the stock one?
I feel asleep with those again last night instead of giving them pink noise all night long. Hard to not touch them

I've tried both, but I liked it better with both dampeners on.
 
Experiment both ways, see which one you like best.

Both sound nice, but the 1 dampener-version has less bass and more treble (a bit too much for me).

 

[Xprime4]

They are breakin' nicely
 
I'm in love with the soundstage. I tried different music genre yesterday and i was astonished by the field of depth.
 
Male and female voice are both are the clearest i've heard from headphone. I'm reccording music myselft with basic studio equipment and this is the first time i can actually see all the reccording  imperfection that easely. It just doesn't forgive poor mixing and reccording.
 
I absolutly love the bass thump that can't be picked by the m-50 in adele's rolling in the deep. A/B test just makes the m-50 fall short in every aspect and i tought they were great headphone for the 150$ i paid them 3 years ago. If only i knew
 
I'm currently looking at he-400 to replace the dt1350 i couldn't keep because of confort issue. I'm affraid i won't be able to see the 360$ difference in price tag.
 
Thanks alot Cash for that discovery!!! I was expecting alot from your review and i must admit i'm getting more than what i expected and the 840 pads aren't even in yet.
 
They might have a good 30 hours of break in time. 20 hours on pink noise and 10 hours on lowend sine wave to make the suspension as loose as it can get.

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

They are breakin' nicely
 
I'm in love with the soundstage. I tried different music genre yesterday and i was astonished by the field of depth.
 
Male and female voice are both are the clearest i've heard from headphone. I'm reccording music myselft with basic studio equipment and this is the first time i can actually see all the reccording  imperfection that easely. It just doesn't forgive poor mixing and reccording.
 
I absolutly love the bass thump that can't be picked by the m-50 in adele's rolling in the deep. A/B test just makes the m-50 fall short in every aspect and i tought they were great headphone for the 150$ i paid them 3 years ago. If only i knew
 
I'm currently looking at he-400 to replace the dt1350 i couldn't keep because of confort issue. I'm affraid i won't be able to see the 360$ difference in price tag.
 
Thanks alot Cash for that discovery!!! I was expecting alot from your review and i must admit i'm getting more than what i expected and the 840 pads aren't even in yet.
 
They might have a good 30 hours of break in time. 20 hours on pink noise and 10 hours on lowend sine wave to make the suspension as loose as it can get.

No problem! I'm glad you're liking it! I know that they help me a lot with my mixing. My newer tracks have a lot more of an egalitarian sound (less thumpy, more punchy).
 
Just wait until you get the 840 pads. They are so comfortable.
 
I was able to get the Philips Citiscape Uptown pads on them, and I'm liking that a good bit more than the 840 pads, but they aren't sold anywhere it seems. I'd give pics, but I'm home for the weekend and my headphones are not (father-son bonding time just doesn't happen with the EFis in the house.)

 

[Xprime4]

anyone tried amplifying these? I was thinking about an e17

 

[NinjaCat]

I tested the M50s and the Somics with/without the amp. I can say with an amp that there isn't that much of an improvement with an M50, but for the Somics the sound is more aggressive and clear

 

[NinjaCat]

Tried taking out the dampening material, but put it right back on because while there's more treble it sounded thin to me.

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

Tried taking out the dampening material, but put it right back on because while there's more treble it sounded thin to me.

I agree.

You can try poking holes in it if you wish, or poking holes into the white dampening that surrounds the diaphragm (you won't hurt anything.)

 

[Kierkes]

I'm gonna hop on here. I actually just ordered the HA-S500's for purposes that I will remain annoying mum about (although if you're familiar with this purpose in any way, you'd know what it is and why I'm remaining annoyingly mum). That said, I've blown my budget for a bit of time, but I certainly would like to stay in the loop about the EFi-82 MT's. They seem more my cup of tea, but again, I'm going to mumly try out the S500's and see whether I feel like going for something bigger and more neutral. MUM

 

[CashNotCredit]

Quote:

I'm gonna hop on here. I actually just ordered the HA-S500's for purposes that I will remain annoying mum about (although if you're familiar with this purpose in any way, you'd know what it is and why I'm remaining annoyingly mum). That said, I've blown my budget for a bit of time, but I certainly would like to stay in the loop about the EFi-82 MT's. They seem more my cup of tea, but again, I'm going to mumly try out the S500's and see whether I feel like going for something bigger and more neutral. MUM

I am not familiar with your purpose...but the EFi-82 MT and the HA-S500 are both excellent headphones, but have exceptionally different practical applications.

Sound-wise...the EFi smokes it out of the water, but it's only practical to use it at a desk in a quiet environment.

Seeing that I don't go out much (xD), I prefer the EFi, but I can obviously see how someone who takes their headphones on-the-go would prefer the HA-S500.

 

[Xprime4]

I got the 840 pads yesturday and i had little listening time with them.
 
Everything is more balanced now and the soundstage is even wider. I just don't sound like 65$ (20$ pad mod) headphone, i wish a had a reference level headphone to compare them.
 
why aren't they getting more attention? Did people received them and test them?