[SonicGoat]

  i have found a neoprene rubber gasket behind the pads does wonders to help the comfort without changing the sound at all.  i have settled on the Alpha Dog pads which are the apex of comfort and have a great seal but they do boost the bass and cut the highs quite a bit.    This might be good for using in noisy environments though.

Thanks for the suggestion. However — a part of me is apprehensive of tinkering with my 7520s. When it comes to tools, I’m more inept than an armless drunkard. I’m also worrisome any modification would alter the sound for the worse. 
 
I, do, have a bigger problem on my hands. Why did I not return the 1Rs today? Today marks 30 days since I took receipt of them — from what I know, the return package has to be postmarked within the 30 day window for a full reimbursement. I’m now gonna take a small bath selling them, unless Amazon is flexible with their return policy. 
 
I’m listening to the 7520s and they sound so great. The vocals are so clear, as if someone took a wipe to the sludge covering them in many of the other headphones I’ve tested. From a comfort standpoint, they are not bothering me tonight. There is room for improvement here, but I could live with how these feel. I also like that (allegedly) Mark Knopfler and David Gilmour use these, I love both their music. Sound-wise, the P7s (if Best Buy doesn’t send me another phone case) may be a worthy challenger, but the 7520s have the edge in comfort based on how I recall the P7s feeling.

 

[groovyd]

simple neoprene sheet and cut a ring out of it about a 1/8" wide the shape of the pad and stuff it between the pad and the headphone on the inside.  No glue or modification at all to anything.  Works very well to increase comfort without changing tone and once you fit them in they don't come out and are essentially invisible just puffing up the pads an extra 1/8".  I am now re-settled on the Beyer pads instead of the Alpha Pads as they provide a more even fisted neutral response while still offering great comfort.

 

[Sappy]

  post #1524
 
Beyerdynamic DT-250
 
So far these are the winner for me.  Glad I didn't sell them before even trying them.  Just that they came in at the same time as the Alpha Pads and got quickly pushed aside.  I do think these might be the best option so far all things considered.

The Beyer 250 pads don't have any cloth infront of the driver, right? don't know how much I like it. I like your idea with the neopren ring inside the stock pads. where did you put in? stuffed into the pads or on the driver putting the pads on afterwards? don't know if that works but I like the idea. anyone from Europe wants to buy my alpha pads? they have a slight cut and glue to make them tighter but that should be reversible.

 

[groovyd]

  The Beyer 250 pads don't have any cloth infront of the driver, right? don't know how much I like it. I like your idea with the neopren ring inside the stock pads. where did you put in? stuffed into the pads or on the driver putting the pads on afterwards? don't know if that works but I like the idea. anyone from Europe wants to buy my alpha pads? they have a slight cut and glue to make them tighter but that should be reversible.

i think not having cloth is actually preferred for me.  These are kept in their bag when I am not wearing them and I don't think the driver cares about a little dust, they are plastic by the way.  A puff of air and they are clean again.  For the neoprene ring cut it to match the footprint of the cup itself ( i traced around the cup onto a piece of paper and then cut the neoprene from the paper with a 1/8" width of the gasket all around).  First put the pads on the earphones and then just stuff the ring on the inside between the pad and the headphone.  There is a nice space for it actually and once it is in it doesn't come out in fact you don't even see it, just it gives another 1/8" of padding.  I used 3mm thick neoprene sheet but you could go even thicker i think.  Would be great if someone could cnc a simple metal die and stamp out these things for everyone it would solve the 7520's biggest problem.

 

[Rally AK]

I've been having the same fitment issues as some of the other folks on here and decided to try out groovyd's spacer idea.

I started by picking up a couple foam sheets from our local Jo-Ann's sore. They had 2mm and 6mm thick sheets for about ¢.85 a piece. I grabbed both because I wasn't sure which would work best but wound up using the 2mm, 6mm was too thick.

I pulled off one pad and used the headphones as a template to trace out the shape I needed. Next I drew the inner circle by eye and cut out the center leaving about a 3/8" inch foam ring. Then I used the first ring as a template for the second.

The new spacer fit inside the pad perfectly.

Putting the new pad on took some finesse but wasn't too bad. Here's the finished product.

The left side has the spacer in it, the right side is stock.

This mod worked out great. Initial thoughts are that 2mm is just enough to relieve some of the pressure the headphones were putting on my ears. I'll be doing some extended listening tonight and if I need more space I'll add another layer of rings to each side.

I'd recommend this mod to anyone having the same fitment issues. It's super easy to do, only took about 30 minutes, cost less then a buck and most importantly the sound didn't change at all.

Thanks for the idea groovyd!

 

[starfly]

Hmm, I might try that too if it doesn't affect the sound at all. Thanks for the pics!

 

[groovyd]

yes, nice work.  i did the same thing except it looks like you put the spacer on the outside between the skirt and the pad?  I inserted mine from the inside of the pad between the pad and the dust cloth.  also i made my spacer slightly narrower between the ID and OD really only needs a few mm width.  Am thinking 4.5mm thick neoprene is optimal, 3 is a little thin and 6 too thick.  It makes the 7520 comfortable without changing the sound but still not as comfortable as the Beyer pads.  The Beyer pads seem to also not change the sound too much but I would like a few others to try both and tally in on their experience between stock, stock+spacer, and beyer.  unfortunately the 7520 has brought me a stack of earpads i will never use and they mostly were not cheap at all.  would have been nice knowing the best solution up front.

 

[Eugguy]

Damn it...gotta try the Beyer 250 pads now...just picked up a pair on Amazon Prime. 

. Let's see...it should be a win because I LOVEEE velour...I have velour on all my Full-Sized Headphones...HD600, LCD2.2, HD8, and now the 7520...just so velvety and cozy...

 

[Rally AK]

  yes, nice work.  i did the same thing except it looks like you put the spacer on the outside between the skirt and the pad?  I inserted mine from the inside of the pad between the pad and the dust cloth.  also i made my spacer slightly narrower between the ID and OD really only needs a few mm width.  Am thinking 4.5mm thick neoprene is optimal, 3 is a little thin and 6 too thick.  It makes the 7520 comfortable without changing the sound but still not as comfortable as the Beyer pads.  The Beyer pads seem to also not change the sound too much but I would like a few others to try both and tally in on their experience between stock, stock+spacer, and beyer.  unfortunately the 7520 has brought me a stack of earpads i will never use and they mostly were not cheap at all.  would have been nice knowing the best solution up front.

Thanks, yeah I put the spacer between the skirt and pad so it sits right against the cup. I'm not sure if this is the best placement though because putting it there also pushes the dust cloth out and my ears still rest against the cloth. I think your idea of putting them between the pad and dust cloth is better and plan on trying that next. Where did you find neoprene? I couldn't find any at the local fabric store.

 

[groovyd]

 
Thanks, yeah I put the spacer between the skirt and pad so it sits right against the cup. I'm not sure if this is the best placement though because putting it there also pushes the dust cloth out and my ears still rest against the cloth. I think your idea of putting them between the pad and dust cloth is better and plan on trying that next. Where did you find neoprene? I couldn't find any at the local fabric store.

amazon

 

[Mike F]

I hope I'm allowed to talk about how the 7520 sounds in it's original form, or has this become a 7520 modding thread?
 
Something occurred to me recently which may already have been mentioned or discussed here, but if so I've missed it. I was thinking about the fact that the 7520 is not infrequently criticised for having a sibilant treble. This is something which is not experienced by all listeners, nor is it present all of the time, but nonetheless it has been enough of an issue for some people to look elsewhere for a good closed back.
It occured to me that exactly the same criticism is made often of the HD800! Both headphones are otherwise almost universally praised but both are sometimes criticised for a toppy or sibilant treble - the dreaded 6kHz peak!
 
I wonder whether if this really is a fault, or whether, given that both headphones are made to be a accurate as possible and are renowned for their clarity and lauded as mixing tools, the treble 'spike' is just a function of what's on some recordings and the headphones are just faithfully, even brutally, accurate to the source. They certainly don't make bad recordings sound good as some headphones do, but that's not a good thing IMO. Any thoughts?

 

[groovyd]

yes, i think that is true.  headphones that go up to 40k certainly have no trouble reproducing 6k accurately.  even if the fr has a relative peak there if what you hear is siblance then it was always there in the recording and 7520 isn't going to hide it.

 

[starfly]

  I hope I'm allowed to talk about how the 7520 sounds in it's original form, or has this become a 7520 modding thread?
 
Something occurred to me recently which may already have been mentioned or discussed here, but if so I've missed it. I was thinking about the fact that the 7520 is not infrequently criticised for having a sibilant treble. This is something which is not experienced by all listeners, nor is it present all of the time, but nonetheless it has been enough of an issue for some people to look elsewhere for a good closed back.
It occured to me that exactly the same criticism is made often of the HD800! Both headphones are otherwise almost universally praised but both are sometimes criticised for a toppy or sibilant treble - the dreaded 6kHz peak!
 
I wonder whether if this really is a fault, or whether, given that both headphones are made to be a accurate as possible and are renowned for their clarity and lauded as mixing tools, the treble 'spike' is just a function of what's on some recordings and the headphones are just faithfully, even brutally, accurate to the source. They certainly don't make bad recordings sound good as some headphones do, but that's not a good thing IMO. Any thoughts?

Well, one of the most common things people say about the 7520 (including myself) is that it's very clear and revealing. So that means it also reveals the flaws in a recording. IMO sibilance is more of a recording flaw than a headphone/speaker flaw. A good recording engineer should be able to tweak the levels on a recording to eliminate any sibilance.

 

[Rally AK]

Has anyone seen a frequency graph/data sheet for the 7520 similar to the ones found on headphone.com or innerfidelity? It would be interesting to see if there is a measured peak at 6k.
 
I know it's apples to oranges but if the upper range of the 7520 compares to the 7509HD or Z1000 there shouldn't be a peak there.
 
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=2371&graphID[]=3381&scale=30

 

[dudlew]

I usually stay out of these discussions because of lack of experience with other headphones.... I just dont get the chance to demo like I would love too.... So the 7520 is the most expensive  and the best can I have heard. But all things said.... I dont hear any sibilance. To me its clean and clear. I dont think the midrange is as upfront or as detailed as the 1R, but as a whole its a lovely can. I usually listen to it straight out of my ipod and enjoy it that way. It sounds a bit better with the PA2v2 attached, but I can and do enjoy it straight. I would love to hook this thing upto a first class system and see what it can do, but that will have to wait until I travel to the US one day I guess.