[xkonfuzed]

I got everything laid out, going single ended. I've got the spacer clearanced and ready to paint and glue. Going balanced would take away from the design of the cans, ease of use, lightweight, not be a cabling pain in the ass. A single connector is so much easier and... I'm lazy. oh, I swapped the pads from my DT990s and they fit well. The stock 990 silver pads have a smaller ID than the Sonys but the Sonys are soo damn mushy that they don't retain much shape. I think I might try the Dekoni memory foam pads for the 990s. Now I just gotta make sure I love these cans before modding them. 

How do the Beyer pads change the sound?

 

[henriks]

I took the beyer pads of, the light feel is gone... Sound description is not my departement (o;

 

[thesmokingman]

How do the Beyer pads change the sound?

 
 
It's hard, I haven't had a whole lot of time with them. What I noticed first was that stock, the ear pads are not comfortable even though the headphones are light as a feather. The stock pads didn't shape to the curvature of my head well and they compressed too easily making my ears touch the driver cover, this is something I'm not used to with the MDR-F1. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't really like that feeling. The earpad's feel itself is fine, comfy but I didn't love the feel of the fabric used on the driver which is too scratchy. Sound wise there's a caveat, it's hard to enjoy it when my ears are annoyed by the rubbing from the driver. The DT pads are firmer and more grippy, they also add much clearance between my ear and the driver much like the original F1, so my ears don't touch the driver anymore. .All that said, I don't think the 990s pads detracted from the sound much if at all. And because my ears no longer rub the driver now, comfort is increased removing another distraction from the listening experience. Thus it's hard for me to separate the sound from the comfort. I wouldn't go back to the stock pads if you asked me.
 
I ordered Dekoni 990 memory foam pads. They are very similar to the Z7 earpads in concept which are about as comfortable and pleasing as any earpads I've ever used before. Crosses finger... that they add a synergistic effect here.

 

[thesmokingman]

Oh man, a few minutes ago after writing the above, the Dekoni pads came. Thank you to Amazon sameday and USPS Sunday deliveries!
 
It feels like wearing the MDR-Z7s now, but without the hot ears the or downsides of the complicated 'ness of the Z7. The Dekoni pads deform to the shape of my head. The internal dimension is larger than the stock 990 pads. So far, I think this is it for earpads on the MA900s, for me at least. Check out the pics. Hmm... I think that since my ears are most definitely never touching the driver again, that I can replace the thick padded driver cover with something more acoustically transparent. I've got plenty of grill mesh laying around...
 
 





 
 
Oops forgot one more pic with the Dekoni mesh removed.
 

 

[xkonfuzed]

Appreciate your feedback. 
 
I once tried swapping the DT880's pads into the MA900's but they didn't fit properly, although my terrible pad-swapping skills are to blame here, but your post gave me somewhat of an incentive to try that again. 

 

[thesmokingman]

  Appreciate your feedback. 
 
I once tried swapping the DT880's pads into the MA900's but they didn't fit properly, although my terrible pad-swapping skills are to blame here, but your post gave me somewhat of an incentive to try that again. 

 
 
The Dekoni pads are fabric so they mold to the pad rings much better than the plasticy Beyer pad rings.
 
Check it out. Modded the MA900. It was a compromise of form for function. I also didn't have any dark grey based paint so I used what I had on hand, a pearl black metallic. Next time out I might pick up a more matched paint. This didn't take too long either.
 
 

 

[DangerClose]

  Oh man, a few minutes ago after writing the above, the Dekoni pads came. 
 

 
 

 
Bigger isn't necessarily better for sound, but I did laugh out loud when seeing that size comparison.  
 
Normally I'd think thick pleather like that would make the sound less light and airy, but MA900 has huge holes on the side, so maybe it's less likely to alter it much.

 

[thesmokingman]

   
Bigger isn't necessarily better for sound, but I did laugh out loud when seeing that size comparison.  
 
Normally I'd think thick pleather like that would make the sound less light and airy, but MA900 has huge holes on the side, so maybe it's less likely to alter it much.

 
 
Yea, the sound for me isn't much different but the comfort improvement is huge. They still have their freakish positional imaging and bass seems a lil better, I assume because there's an actual seal around the ear. I also found that my hair sometimes gets caught in the adjustment mechanism of the headband which is annoying and sometimes painful. Black electrical tape cut into strips seems to work well to prevent this. I had some blue plastic painters tape but I took it off since its really unsightly, ran out of electrical. The ma900s though look decidedly more upscale with the dekonis. They don't look out of place next to the Z7 imo.
 
 
 

 

[Sp12er3]

   
 
Yea, the sound for me isn't much different but the comfort improvement is huge. They still have their freakish positional imaging and bass seems a lil better, I assume because there's an actual seal around the ear. I also found that my hair sometimes gets caught in the adjustment mechanism of the headband which is annoying and sometimes painful. Black electrical tape cut into strips seems to work well to prevent this. I had some blue plastic painters tape but I took it off since its really unsightly, ran out of electrical. The ma900s though look decidedly more upscale with the dekonis. They don't look out of place next to the Z7 imo.
 
 
 

nice... unlike you, I don't mind if my ear touch the inner part of the cup, I've felt it daily using my MA100 and SR60 for years, have to ask, does it affect ventilation? do you feel sweaty using a pleather compared to the velour?.
Will consider a replacement pads when the times call for it

 

[thesmokingman]

  nice... unlike you, I don't mind if my ear touch the inner part of the cup, I've felt it daily using my MA100 and SR60 for years, have to ask, does it affect ventilation? do you feel sweaty using a pleather compared to the velour?.
Will consider a replacement pads when the times call for it

 
 
The memory foam and pleather does feel warmer than velour. But it's not that bad, even though they are warmer I don't feel hot and sweaty. That's probably due to the open air design (luckily). My Z7's on the other hand can get damn toasty so I am using the ma900's when its warm out. I get an hour or so each night to myself after the kids are asleep so I sit outside with a beer. Now I can chill during that time w/o having to pause to let my ears cool off.

 

[Sp12er3]

yeah, one thing I wouldn't trade MA900's characteristic of is it's comfort area, as It's the one thing many just doesn't seem to best yet. Will try to look more into possible secondary pads! thanks for the info.

 

[FlyinMN]

Oh man, a few minutes ago after writing the above, the Dekoni pads came. Thank you to Amazon sameday and USPS Sunday deliveries!
 
It feels like wearing the MDR-Z7s now, but without the hot ears the or downsides of the complicated 'ness of the Z7. The Dekoni pads deform to the shape of my head. The internal dimension is larger than the stock 990 pads. So far, I think this is it for earpads on the MA900s, for me at least. Check out the pics. Hmm... I think that since my ears are most definitely never touching the driver again, that I can replace the thick padded driver cover with something more acoustically transparent. I've got plenty of grill mesh laying around...
 
 





 
 
Oops forgot one more pic with the Dekoni mesh removed.
 

Thanks for the tip! I ordered the Dekoni pads immediately after reading your post. These make the the MA900's perfect for me. Much better fit for my bald head and the sound seems the same but more pleasurable with the better fit.

These are great pads, fit perfect and easy to put on. Like they were made for these cans.

I've been enjoying these headphones for about a year and a half and this is a nice upgrade and worth the price. Nice packaging too. Neat branding.

 

[thesmokingman]

Cool, glad you like the pads. Besides the comfort, they really do make the 900s look just right. The stock pads give a somewhat anemic look.

 

[KepinCemit]

Inspired by @thesmokingman 's post
 
I used brainwavz pleather pads (non angled) on mine
 
Not sure if placebo effect only or real, but I think the upper mids - highs are more pronounced using this pads vs the stock pads
 
 
Btw, used the brainwavz pads simply because it's the cheapest after market I can find here in Indonesia, only about $18 shipped to my place.
 
 
 

 
 

 
 
Oh, have also asked a friend to mod the cable to be detachable

 

[Sp12er3]

Inspired by @thesmokingman
's post

I used brainwavz pleather pads (non angled) on mine

Not sure if placebo effect only or real, but I think the upper mids - highs are more pronounced using this pads vs the stock pads


Btw, used the brainwavz pads simply because it's the cheapest after market I can find here in Indonesia, only about $18 shipped to my place.











Oh, have also asked a friend to mod the cable to be detachable

oh, I also live in Indonesia... Where do you find one store selling it? Id be glad if you send the link to me... My MA and M40x might need a new replacement