Are the 009 earpads difficult to replace? Do you have to disassemble anything to do it?
The 009 pads when installed are between 2 metallic disks that are held together by 6 screws that press the pad's leather flap between them.
1. First you need to get the dust screen out. It has a plastic reinforcement ring for the outer perimeter, and the cloth is tensioned on that. Just put your finger under the pad until you feel the edge of the dust screen, then bend you finger to bend the screen, until it comes out. It will bend in about 90 degrees but it's quite flexible and you can restore it.
2. When the dust screen is out, you see the metallic grill that protects the drivers. You can try the headphones without the cloth grill. It will sound more open and more clear in the treble, but quantity will be too much. [If you are after modifying the treble characteristics, at this point you can experiment with different kinds of cloth for the grill.]
3. Slightly lift and pull away the pads with a finger. That will reveal the screws that hold the metallic disks together. Loosen the 6 screws so that the disks come 2-4 mm apart. Start with one, then move to the opposite one etc, i.e. go around the perimeter several times and do one rotation on the screws the first time.
Once the screws are loose, put your finger under the pads, and pull it out until the circular flap comes out from between the two disks. Do that on the circumference and the pad is off.
[ Mods time. After the pad is off, secure the screws again temporarily so that the 2 disks are not loose any more. For testing, it is enough to change the pads and then just press them against the driver and carefully put it on your head. It does sound slightly different when the pad is fully assembled, but it's really close and much better for testing than to assemble/disassemble the pads so many times.]
To assemble, do the reverse steps:
1. loosen the screws again so that the disks are 3-4 mm apart, then
2. insert the pads's flap into the gap, going through the circumference. After it's on, pay attention to the orientation of the pads, and the position of the masking plastic strips in the bottom of the drivers where the opening for the cable is (you will see on the spot what I am talking about).
3. After everything is in position, secure the screws, starting with one but don't tighten it yet, then secure the opposite side, and so on, jump always to the other side, just like when you are assembling a car wheel. This is to get the pressure even.
4. After the pad is on, reinsert the dust screen. This is the most tricky part
. I usually lift the pads with one hand, and push one edge of the dust grill in place. Then I bend the grill and push the edge which is about 90-120 degrees from the previous spot. The remaining edge is quite much bent by this time, but don't be afraid of just pushing it into place. It slides on the metallic grill to go under the pads. After it's pushed in, go around the circumference of the grill and even out the plastic reinforcement.
