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Oct 24, 2009 at 7:24 PM Post #12,031 of 24,807
The new pads are made of artificial leather, just like the old ones, but they are noticeably thinner, I suppose they have the same thickness as your 404LE pads. The cloth changes the tonality compared to the foam of the old pads, but the character of the sound remains the same - pretty much as if you would alter a bit the position of the bass and treble knobs of an integrated amplifier. The new pads themselves, on the other hand, result in a less linear tonal modification which is as big or almost as big as the change induced by the cloth; being less linear and perhaps also for other reasons which escape me, the tonal change induced by the new pads results in a sound that seems a bit different in character - comparatively more shut in mids, maybe less snappy in the mids, less spacious, cohesive or expressive, I don't know, I'm not so sure now of a detailed comparison done from the memory. The main idea is, as I wrote in my previous post, less music - and of this I am sure, I couldn't forget the difference. Of course, all IMHO, in my system, etc.
 
Oct 25, 2009 at 6:19 AM Post #12,032 of 24,807
Quote:

Originally Posted by kh6idf /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Don Quichotte,

Are your new 303 pads made of 'artificial leather' like the old ones? I assume only the 404LE pads are real leather which is why I ordered them instead of the new 202 pads.

If they are artificial leather, I would think they wouldn't change the sound much unless they were a different thickness or shape. The biggest difference would be in the dust protection material.

I would have liked to get a full thickness 202 pad made of real leather, these 404LE pads are thinner and place the ears closer to the drivers. In fact the outer edges of my ears touch the dust protection cloth now, but it is not irritating as the cloth is soft and not scratchy.


Build a spacer or wedge to hold the leather ear pad out further.
 
Oct 25, 2009 at 12:26 PM Post #12,034 of 24,807
Quote:

Originally Posted by bralk /img/forum/go_quote.gif
We have to be honest about this:

The new pads are stinkers


cheers


Tom


Perhaps it's my English, but I interpret this as you are skeptical. Which I'm perfectly fine with. I just want to remind you and everyone else who find my impressions rather hard to believe that several people, Spritzer included, reported major sound differences as a result of the Omega 2 pads getting worn out in time. If flattening the old pad could result in a significant sound difference (which in the case of my 303's I have not noticed - neither the pad getting flatter over time nor the sound changing, but perhaps the Omega pads wear out faster, I don't know), then it's not hard to imagine that a thinner new pad can also change the sound somewhat. In my system and to my ears, this change is for the bad, that's all.

What I really cannot understand at all, and should I just read it I'd find it hard to believe too, is the sound difference that a simple, small gap between the frame of the woven cloth and the old pad (foam removed, cloth installed instead) is capable of producing as compared to a good seal between the frame and the pad. If someone could chime in and explain it to me I'd be really grateful as I have tried hard to obtain a sound just in the middle between "with gap" and "with good seal" and I was totally unsuccessful.
 
Oct 25, 2009 at 3:52 PM Post #12,035 of 24,807
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Build a spacer or wedge to hold the leather ear pad out further.


I thought about doing that, but figured if they worked on the 404LE they would work on the 202. I think the sound is fine with the 404LE pads on the 202 as they are. Now that they are stuck down with that industrial-strength tape I'm not going to pull them off. If you hold the old and new pad side by side and compare thickness, it is not a big difference, but it sounds like all of the new pads, vinyl or leather, are slightly thinner.
 
Oct 26, 2009 at 4:30 AM Post #12,036 of 24,807
I have a voltage change questions for the gurus here. Managed to get a US voltage 717 which is working fine with my step down transformer to 120v. Wanted to change it to 230v but the guides on Head-fi does not seem to work?

I've tried changing the jumpers from 2,4,6 to 2,5 and 3,5. But that does not work somehow.

Any ideas?
DSC_3981.jpg

DSC_3982.jpg


In case the pictures are not clear, they colours from 1-6 is green, blue, brown, purple, nothing, white.
 
Oct 27, 2009 at 7:34 PM Post #12,037 of 24,807
Hey guys, I'd like to ask if 250€ shipped for a mint stax srm-323II is a good price?
 
Oct 28, 2009 at 3:18 PM Post #12,040 of 24,807
^ Yeah, that BIN price is way too high. One can always "Make Offer" though...
 
Oct 28, 2009 at 6:21 PM Post #12,041 of 24,807
Having been both buying and selling in the used market recently, this listiing is out of line because prices are definitely coming down., not going up. This seller either has no idea about what he is selling, or he is just hoping to snag someone who doesn't but thinks old stats are always valuable. Possibly he thinks this is a "pro" SRXIII, a rebuilt one did sell on ebay a week or so back, but it only went for under $285.00.
 
Oct 29, 2009 at 6:31 AM Post #12,045 of 24,807
he is very trustworthy, in terms of honesty, communication, and shipping the items, on time, as described

he's just a bit of a sleaze when it comes to flipping. worse, he has in the past created alt-accounts, in order to increase the going price


in the end, I ordered some cables from him. I can vouch for a good transaction. whether or not youre comfortable buying headphones from him is a different story, and comes down to how much you care about his behavior - quality should not factor into the decision
 
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