[wallijonn]

tried the senn pads. imho, you're better served with the sock mod (see head-wize).

the reason why the bowls are uncomportable is because to get optimum sound the pad (at the rear) has to be over your earlobe. if you shift the pad back, so that it's not pushing in on your ear lobes, the pressure is somewhat alleviated. it'll be just a slight change in acoustics and soundstage.

i cut the holes in the senn pads. basically the pantyhose is now touching your earlobe and there's less pressure on the rear part of your earlobe. the soundstage changes because the angle of the transducers, due to less pressure, more closely follow the contours of your ears.

you can do better by going to a carpet place and buying $2 worth of 1" soft foam (about 2.5' x 1.5') and cut to whatever size you want.

actual shipping was $0.37 cents. anyone want free pads? they're, and it's, not even worth the postage.

 

[poorimpulsectrl]

I got mr sr60 pads from Goodcans as well. Bill's a great guy and I've done business with him many times.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch These have replaced the bowl pads on my RS-1 and HP-1. I've got a third pair that still doesn't have the hole cut. However, I did a quick listen and it seems to muffle the sound just a tad

Hirsch is correct. I picked up two pairs of the yellow pads and can confirm that the top end is slightly muffled with the pads as is. A small hole would be required to let some of the top end out.

I also notice that a hell of a stretch is required to get these things over the Grado drivers. I think that they might be being stretched too thin, and this might be muffling the sound.

Perhaps widening the inner circle area of the pad with a razor blade with make a better, less stretched fit and keep the pad at it's original thickness.

 

[flashbak]

sacd lover,
I really do like the sound and comfort of these pads on my 325's. However, I'm in complete agreement with Hirsch in the fact they they just sound too muffled to me without a hole cutout. I achieved very good results utilizing a silver dollar and an x-acto knife for cutting the center hole. Try the following:
1) Face the pad with the solid (no hole) side upward
2) Center a silver dollar into the pad and press down firmly using your opposite hand's thumb
3) Slowly and carefully trace around the silver dollar with an x-acto knife slowly rotating the pad as you proceed to cut though it. The result looks pretty darn good, and achieves that flat donut pad sound with a much improved comfort factor!
Thanks for relaying this wonderful suggestion!

 

[sacd lover]

Flashback, thanks for the heads up. I have read Hirschs post and received similar imput from others stating the same. It looks like I will be doing some cutting tonight. Also, thanks for the clear, consise instructions.

 

[stymie miasma]

Nice thread guys - thanks! One question though:

How does comfort compare b/w Grado comfies (with a hole cut out) versus Senn yellows (with a hole cut out)? Is the Senn foam less abrasive than the Grado foam, and does it comply to the contours of your ears any better?

Cheers

 

[wallijonn]

i've found something much better. you'll have to go to a foam place and ask for 'memory' foam. a 2'x2'x1" piece should cost you about $10. then cut a 3" round and put a 2" inner hole. a little dremel action (i'd just rather glue on a 2" I.D. x 1/4" plumbing gasket) and presto - VERY SMOOTH & SILKY head pad. i may be doing them on a $ basis

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Glueing pads onto RS-1s?!

Maybe I don't get it...

Biggie.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

To make the hole I put the cutoff end of a papertowel roll inside the opening of the pad and then cut around using an exacto knife. My knife is pretty dull though so I touched it up later using small scissors hehe. Just incase you don't have a silver dollar lieing around.

Biggie.

 

[wallijonn]

Notorious, if you were referring to may last post, re:-2, then let me explain:

take a clear plastic washer/gasket (it looks like a straw hat from the front). cut in half (vertically). now insert into foam, and glue the washer into the foam. when you slip on the foam pad, the washer will fit in the 2" x .25" gap that now holds the present bowel pad. instant lock. the pad won't come off or move around.

 

[sacd lover]

Somehow I visualize headphones the width of my shoulders. Do you have any pictures?

 

[wallijonn]

look at the pictures in my current grado mod thread: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=20570 (hope you have acrobat reader).

now try to recreate the Grado bowl pads, but make it out of smooth soft foam. the bowl pad is 3" x 1" with a 2" hole in the centre. if you take your bowl pads off you'll see an inside lip which secures the pad to the frame. i'm saying that a plumber's washer, if glued at the same spot on the new foam, will secure it (since it's .25" high).

 

[Jap]

Quote:

Originally posted by wallijonn i've found something much better. you'll have to go to a foam place and ask for 'memory' foam. a 2'x2'x1" piece should cost you about $10. then cut a 3" round and put a 2" inner hole. a little dremel action (i'd just rather glue on a 2" I.D. x 1/4" plumbing gasket) and presto - VERY SMOOTH & SILKY head pad. i may be doing them on a $ basis

I am very intrigued by your idea. I too have found that pressing my SR-80 pads inward dramatically improves the sound. I will very interested in following the results of your research.

 

[Beagle]

I did some more listening last night and came to the conclusion that I was being hoodwinked by these yellow pads.

The actual sound was very pleasant, everything seemed to be there and the bass seemed more powerful and the upper mids and treble very smooth and uncoloured. The timbre of instruments and vocals seemed spot on, No harshness in the upper midrange. The sound seemed flat, from bottom to top.

However, I could not escape the fact that there seemed to be a veiling that was really bothering me on every recording I listened to. I could not put my finger on it because I could not detect a specific muffling of cymbals or things in the treble range. The timbre of instruments was the best I'd ever heard.

What I did establish was that I always wanted more volume. I kept turning of the volume a bit more, looking for something that was missing. And what was 'missing' turned out to be dynamics and clarity. Music just sounded too soft and relaxed. I cut a nickel-sized hole in one pair of yellows and that let in a bit more top but it was still too warm and fuzzy. Imagine you are watching a small jazz combo and someone puts a large tent tarpaulen over them.

Now, this kind of thing can be very appealing at times. But the truth hit home when I put the flat pads and bowls on the RS-1 and re-listened to the same music. The flats almost sounded bright, the bowls screeching, which proved to me that the yellows were absolutely taming the top (upper mid and treble). I mean, flats sounding bright? No way!

So I went to sleep last night with the last memory being the fine sound of some NAXOS jazz through the RS-1/flats, and realizing that this combo was the original design of the phone and it sounded good then and sounds good now. And the proof that the sound of a headphone is 80% pads. And everything is relative.

I'd be interested to see a graph with the response cuve of these pads. Not that I find graphs to have any significant meaning (in terms of what everyone hears), but it would be interesting to compare with what I seem to be hearing.

 

[dfarina]

Beagle
I agree 100% with your assessment of the Senn pads.The Senn pads just lost too much detail.What I ended up doing was the tape trick on the bowl pads,and very satisfied with the balance of the sound.I would be curious how the bowl tape mod pads compare to the flat pads???For those of you not familiar with the tape mod,just wrap some cloth(hockey) tape around the outside of the pad,the wider the tape,the more of an affect it has.I ended up using a 15 mm strip.