Just got my package a few hours ago. Unfortunately my shield design didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted. I'm going to email customer support to see if I can do an exchange. If not, I just don't like how it turned out so much I'm going to re-order them. My problem was I didn't give them the template, I just gave them the jpeg and hoped they 'got' what I wanted.... not the case.... I don't own (or otherwise) PS and I was impatient, could have asked a friend but nooooooo ....... *le sigh* Anyone know if you can exchange them?
Other than that, I'm LOVING the XL pads. It's a world of difference in comfort(!!!!!!!!!!!!!), soundstage(!!!!!), and balance(!!!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).. I'm gonna need a good break in period to get those memory cushions suited to my head. I've only had them on for about an hour, but I'm very familiar with these tracks. It's almost as if I upgraded my headphones entirely.
Not a different sound signature per se, but there's a more balanced sound, especially in the mids... I THINK the XL pads extend the bass a bit too unless that's my mind tricking me. There's smoother hump in the mid bass area too, I always felt like there was a dip in the mid bass right before the hump, but that's less obvious now. The highs are SUPER airy and again feel like more extended, they sound less peaky. Mids seem more natural by a large margin. They're still as lush, but they felt a tad restricted with stock pads. Still a little recessed but with the highs being less peaky, that might account for that the mids have a more natural feel to them. My C&C BH is on a shelf at the moment because I can't find my 1/8" interconnects since moving, and my FiiO LOD didn't survive my pocket so I'm just using my 2nd gen iPod Touch 32gb for a month now cuz my wallet hurts from buying JBL monitors.
I can't imagine how much more the BH pads open up the M-100 cans with the BH. Imaging and width are quite improved, it's actually scary. It adds to the detail since the sound seems wider.
Discomfort? Not even a consideration here... Clamp has been well burnt into my M-100s, so that said I could use a quick straighten for a second to loosen it up to accommodate for the extra few millimeters of extra pad - I may wait 10-20 hours to do that, to get the cushions flexed a bit to my face. Even without, I feel like I could wear these to sleep, my drivers are not pressing against my ears and my spacers are no longer a concern to tuck into my headphones to get the seal, they kinda just slip in thanks to the flat stitched surface over the dome-type surface of the stock pads.
The stock pads are fantastic and they've won awards and accolade all across the internet. I myself never felt the need to get a new headphone, which is why I left the site for a while (I know, I know), but for a lot of owners of M-100s or LP/2s, they would DEFINITELY benefit from a change in comfort, and a new sound. There's ALWAYS going to be a point of diminishing returns in this hobby; $20 to make it sound, and feel like you've just bought a new headphone from V-Moda ('M-110' ? haha)....... Worth it. (I'll copy/paste this all in the XL pad thread)
Thank you Val, you've reinvigorated my already superb M-100s with a simple pad change.
And the Coil Pro cable. What a nice accessory this is. I think it's fantastic. The 1/4" adapter is great, it's spring loaded, just takes a bit of pressure to get the threading together, and screws in tight, all on the source end of the cable. The M-100 (or any other compatible headphone) end fastens tight. It's no real guess work, simple L-twist mechanism to keep it from popping out during a solid brock out. Basically the ends aren't leaving what they're attached to without manually doing it. CoilPro is aptly named, especially the quality. Soft spring reliefs, the 1/4" adapter and the end it screws onto is entirely encased with gripy aluminum, the other end is half aluminum and plastic with the tab being plastic. Unless you plan on going to a rodeo with your headphones, the plastic tab that keeps it secure in your headphone won't snap off. The cable itself is long enough to even use on the go. Impossibly amicrophonic too, but I haven't been out with them, I just know dragging the coil across the edge of my desk is inaudible whatsoever. Still hear the drag off my shirt at the right cup, but compared to that kevlar SharePlay or SpeakEasy (even worse) it's non-existent. I actually have my SharePlay cable pretzel-knotted (can you tell I wasn't a boy scout?) around the back arm of the right cup to avoid theft and give me the ability to just stop my continue my music with a simple pull at my cup, and not fumble with retrieving the cable. That had another positive effect, it decreased my microphonics on the go quite a bit, but still the CoilPro straight down (I wouldn't dare do what I do to the SharePlay cable to the CoilPro) is clearly designed to be amicrophonic, likely for the studio, again, aptly named cable.
