[roma101]

I have the stock pads on them, thankfully (I'd rather have more isolation and more bass). So far I am still getting to know them, but from what I can tell off the bat is that they have a good sense of balance across the board and are very musical for studio monitors. They are also very neutral to my ears. Detail level is pretty good and so is the instrument separation. This is the first portable circumaural I've encountered that can rival the HD25 in terms of isolation - that's a huge plus in my book!

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

I have the stock pads on them, thankfully (I'd rather have more isolation and more bass). So far I am still getting to know them, but from what I can tell off the bat is that they have a good sense of balance across the board and are very musical for studio monitors. They are also very neutral to my ears. Detail level is pretty good and so is the instrument separation. This is the first portable circumaural I've encountered that can rival the HD25 in terms of isolation - that's a huge plus in my book!

 
I actually replaced the stocks with the ovals, again! And I must say the sound improves so much, the amount of detail went from good to freaking excellent. The imaging and soundstage went from ok, to excellent. I actually don't notice much difference in isolation, might be +-1 db more or less. 
The sound is also more bright, so I placed a very thin piece of paper in front of the driver to make them sound much smoother.
I highly recommend buying the oval earpads, even if you don't like them, take them off!

 

[apejong]

@Marleybob217:
 
I've been listening to my GMP's for a couple days now, and am interested in changing the pads.
Where did you get these "ovals" you talk about?
And can you maybe explain how this would improve the sound so dramatically?
 
(this is my first 'real' pair of headphones, i'm no expert, and can't find any replacement parts on the Germanmaestro website...)
 
Thanks.

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

@Marleybob217:
 
I've been listening to my GMP's for a couple days now, and am interested in changing the pads.
Where did you get these "ovals" you talk about?
And can you maybe explain how this would improve the sound so dramatically?
 
(this is my first 'real' pair of headphones, i'm no expert, and can't find any replacement parts on the Germanmaestro website...)
 
Thanks.

Just follow this link for the pads:
http://www.german-maestro-shop.de/epages/61902279.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61902279/Products/%22Ohrpolster%2041-6050%22
 
Why and how do the oval pads change the sound so drastically:
Mostly because the stock pads leave no room between your ear and the driver/foam. The outer ear is pressed to the foam and the leather of the pads is pressing to the sides of the ear, or maybe even covering some of the helix/lobe of the outer ear.
 
So the sound does not get to bounce of the outer ear into the inner ear, which does happen in real life all the time.
When you change to the oval pads there is room between the foam and the outer ear, and there is room between the outer ear and the pads themselfs. So you can imagine how this translates into a much more natural sound. So because there is sound bouncing from you 'earshell'  you'll find that you hear much more detail, especially in the upper region, also the soundstage increases drastically.
 
However, the highs get a big of a boost, so that's why I placed a very thin piece of paper in front of the driver, to smooth over these highs.
With this simple mod the sound is not sibilant, it's actually a bit less sibilant than with the stock pads (haven't done a direct AB comparison) plus you don't lose any detail.
 
And Acix I was wondering if you have tried the velvet pads? I notice german maestro sells two of them.
I'm really curious about trying these since I liked the oval upgrade so much, and I love the feel of velvet!

 

[kkl10]

Marleybob217, since you own those two earpads could I ask you to do a little experiment?
 
Could you wear the headphone with the two earpads put on?
The oval pads on top of the stock ones like this----
 

 
Not actually fixing the oval earpads on the frame, the clamping force should take care of maintaining the earpads in place.
You could also try the other way around for a warmer sound - the stock earpads on top of the ovals.
 
And then tell how it sounds?
 
I would apprecciate it!
Thanks!

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

Marleybob217, since you own those two earpads could I ask you to do a little experiment?
 
Could you wear the headphone with the two earpads put on?
The oval pads on top of the stock ones like this----
 

 
Not actually fixing the oval earpads on the frame, the clamping force should take care of maintaining the earpads in place.
You could also try the other way around for a warmer sound - the stock earpads on top of the ovals.
 
And then tell how it sounds?
 
I would apprecciate it!
Thanks!

 


Yeah I could do it when I get home, but why? Haven't you done this already?
Or did you find this picture online somewhere?
 
Since this is an experiment, what is the hypothesis? What is the goal?

 

[Marleybob217]

Quote:

Marleybob217, since you own those two earpads could I ask you to do a little experiment?
 
Could you wear the headphone with the two earpads put on?
The oval pads on top of the stock ones like this----
 

 
Not actually fixing the oval earpads on the frame, the clamping force should take care of maintaining the earpads in place.
You could also try the other way around for a warmer sound - the stock earpads on top of the ovals.
 
And then tell how it sounds?
 
I would apprecciate it!
Thanks!

 
 
Because I have the stock pads on, and a thin piece of paper I just did this test in reverse, put the stock pads on top.
And the sound was pretty bad, There was a big loss on detail and volume, especially in the upper regions, but it was way sibilant nonetheless.
It also sounded really artificial, and metallic. If I would stack the pads in reverse I'm sure the sound wouldn't sound much better.
 
So, what was the hypothesis and goal of this experiment?

 

[Acix]

Quote:

And Acix I was wondering if you have tried the velvet pads? I notice german maestro sells two of them.
I'm really curious about trying these since I liked the oval upgrade so much, and I love the feel of velvet!

 
 
The velvet pads are comfy, but they roll of the bass on the 8.35 and they're not sounds refined as the oval ones.

 

[kkl10]

Quote:

 
 
Because I have the stock pads on, and a thin piece of paper I just did this test in reverse, put the stock pads on top.
And the sound was pretty bad, There was a big loss on detail and volume, especially in the upper regions, but it was way sibilant nonetheless.
It also sounded really artificial, and metallic. If I would stack the pads in reverse I'm sure the sound wouldn't sound much better.
 
So, what was the hypothesis and goal of this experiment?

I see...
 
Since I'm interested in the 8.35D, I just wanted to know if doublepadding it would improve the sound the same way it does on the GMP 450 Pro, on which I've tried. Seems like it doesn't...
It should be done without the piece of paper on (nor any other prior mod), but I think that it wouldn't change to much anyway.
The drop in volume was expected, but I'm surprised that you didn't found a huge bass bloominess and mudiness (assuming that you actually achieved a good fit and seal between the earpads which is critical, doublesided adhesive tape could help).
Oh well, they're simply different headphones acoustically, I guess...
 
I didn't say what should be the sonic goal of the experiment because I just wanted to hear your raw unbiased impressions and because I didn't really know how the 8.35D would deal with it...
 
It must be as good as it can in stock form then.
Thanks for trying!
 
Another question to the GMP 8.35D owners, does this headphone have the typical echo and reverb of most closed headphones?
Can you hear the box/enclosures? I find these kind of detrimental sonic artifacts very annoying...
The major sonic benefit of doublepadding the GMP 450 Pro is precisely cleaning up the sound from these distortions resulting in a much more transparent and clean sonic experience.
 
I've read that the M50 doesn't have this kind of artifacts because the interiors of it's enclosures are acoustically well treated but I never heard it... I would like to know how the GMP 8.35D fares in this regard...
Acix, could you give me a word here? You've heard the M50 haven't you?
 
Thanks!

 

[roma101]

TBH I haven't heard any bad artifacts due to to the enclosures of the GMPs. Ironically I have M50s on my head and the GMPs right next to me. To my ears the GMPs are more neutral and balanced. Hopefully someone else can shed some light here on resonances in the GMPs.

 

[Marleybob217]

I see...

Since I'm interested in the 8.35D, I just wanted to know if doublepadding it would improve the sound the same way it does on the GMP 450 Pro, on which I've tried. Seems like it doesn't...
It should be done without the piece of paper on (nor any other prior mod), but I think that it wouldn't change to much anyway.
The drop in volume was expected, but I'm surprised that you didn't found a huge bass bloominess and mudiness (assuming that you actually achieved a good fit and seal between the earpads which is critical, doublesided adhesive tape could help).
Oh well, they're simply different headphones acoustically, I guess...

I didn't say what should be the sonic goal of the experiment because I just wanted to hear your raw unbiased impressions and because I didn't really know how the 8.35D would deal with it...

It must be as good as it can in stock form then.
Thanks for trying!

Another question to the GMP 8.35D owners, does this headphone have the typical echo and reverb of most closed headphones?
Can you hear the box/enclosures? I find these kind of detrimental sonic artifacts very annoying...
The major sonic benefit of doublepadding the GMP 450 Pro is precisely cleaning up the sound from these distortions resulting in a much more transparent and clean sonic experience.

I've read that the M50 doesn't have this kind of artifacts because the interiors of it's enclosures are acoustically well treated but I never heard it... I would like to know how the GMP 8.35D fares in this regard...
Acix, could you give me a word here? You've heard the M50 haven't you?

Thanks!

Yeah the sound just didn't improve in any way with the double pads. Everything sounded muddy and weird with added sibilance!
And to answer your question: I don't feel like I'm listening to closed headphoneswith the 8.35Ds.
Very good soundstage, no resonating housing or colouring of the sound. It's sounds pretty open, but with more p.r.a.t. than something like the hd650. I think this is pretty much the perfect headphone. Atleast for the price! I think the 8.35D complements the 4.35 really nicely.

 

[Marleybob217]

I really want to do a recable on the gmp 8.35D. The coiled comes in handy when playing the drums, but I use them 99% of the time when commuting and during work. Especially during the commute, when I'm running from bus to train the coiled cable is a pain in the ***.
 
So I opened up the headphone to see how hard a recable would be, and I took photo's so I could share it with you guys, the internet!
 
 
 

 

 
 
Especially the foam in the earcup really surprised me, most headphone companies don't do this, for instance the beyerdynamic DT770 doesn't (It has bad resonance issues, and a really bloated bass). So good job german maestro!
 
The cables look pretty neat and tidy, so recabling it should be do-able!

 

[roma101]

My pair is recabled and it's a blessing on the commute! I was not the the one who recabled them though so I can't give you any input on that aspect, but I can confirm that it is do-able indeed and makes a big difference portability-wise.

 

[kkl10]

Thanks for those pics Marleybob!
I always wondered how the interior of the cups and the drivers of the 8.35d would look like.
 
How's the driver support fixed to the cups?
I don't see any screws nor locking system... is it just glued or sord of fitted tightly into a slot in the cups?
And what's the diameter of those drivers? they look identical to the GMP 4x0 series but it probably doesn't mean much...
 
It would be interesting to see, if you have the oportunity, a picture with a clear view of the raw interior of the cups without any foam or acoustical dampener (if there is anything besides that foam, of course).
 
Good luck to your recabling.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

I see...
 
Since I'm interested in the 8.35D, I just wanted to know if doublepadding it would improve the sound the same way it does on the GMP 450 Pro, on which I've tried. Seems like it doesn't...
It should be done without the piece of paper on (nor any other prior mod), but I think that it wouldn't change to much anyway.
The drop in volume was expected, but I'm surprised that you didn't found a huge bass bloominess and mudiness (assuming that you actually achieved a good fit and seal between the earpads which is critical, doublesided adhesive tape could help).
Oh well, they're simply different headphones acoustically, I guess...
 
I didn't say what should be the sonic goal of the experiment because I just wanted to hear your raw unbiased impressions and because I didn't really know how the 8.35D would deal with it...
 
It must be as good as it can in stock form then.
Thanks for trying!
 
Another question to the GMP 8.35D owners, does this headphone have the typical echo and reverb of most closed headphones?
Can you hear the box/enclosures? I find these kind of detrimental sonic artifacts very annoying...
The major sonic benefit of doublepadding the GMP 450 Pro is precisely cleaning up the sound from these distortions resulting in a much more transparent and clean sonic experience.
 
I've read that the M50 doesn't have this kind of artifacts because the interiors of it's enclosures are acoustically well treated but I never heard it... I would like to know how the GMP 8.35D fares in this regard...
Acix, could you give me a word here? You've heard the M50 haven't you?
 
Thanks!

 
 
The 8.35 are perfect in this regard, very transparent and clean sounds...I think this is a big part of what makes them so unique, with the oval pads the 8.35 the sound is much like an open hps. About the M-50, what I remember is bass emphasis, and some treble resonance that come and go, probably a spike in the upper mid/ lower treble. Maybe Roma101 can give you more details, and a better assessment about the differences.