[trollchu]

The timbre and definition of the cymbals is crazy on these phones...

There are so few headphones that get cymbals right, and that's one of HD540's finer qualities. It's probably the quality that strikes me first whenever I return to my pair, the decay, the sizzle, the fact that they do it so smoothly; they're untouchable, they even beat out my Stax in cymbal reproduction.

 

[ArChaos]

IF I can get them in Australia it would be much better, the others I sent the link to are available here and fairly swiftly. OS shipping these days is slooooooooow. Even slower than OZ Post can be! One row of perfs is probably better than two, but the pads are cheap enough that I could experiment with blocking off both one row or all of them and listening for the difference. Are you saying that the pads with one row of perfs are actually a little thinner than the two perf versions? As in a larger ear cavity?
BTW, how thick are the foams that come with them?

These are the real pics of the ear pads we are talking about, one near the other, so you can get a real impression of their actual relative thickness.

 

[sennsay]

Righto, I've done the deed and bought two pairs of the single hole grey pads and asked for thinner foams if there is any choice. It'll probably be weeks before they arrive, they can only come from China. I may use one set for the HD430, on recordings of voice alone, they are stunning, as they were designed for that purpose in the studio.
Bought new pads for the Sony MDR-1R cans as well, also excellent headphones and a delight to listen to, really tuneful little beasties. At least these ones will only be a few days coming up from Melbourne.

 

[sennsay]

These are the real pics of the ear pads we are talking about, one near the other, so you can get a real impression of their actual relative thickness.

Good pics and thanks, BTW, they show me what I need to know quite well. I hadn't actually seen pads with perfs on the inside before, is it a BD thing? The Senn HD540s don't really need to lose any bass response through the holes, but it will be interesting to hear them all the same. You say you really rate the sound with these pads?

 

[sennsay]

There are so few headphones that get cymbals right, and that's one of HD540's finer qualities. It's probably the quality that strikes me first whenever I return to my pair, the decay, the sizzle, the fact that they do it so smoothly; they're untouchable, they even beat out my Stax in cymbal reproduction.

Agreed, very natural metallic timbre and never over-bright, or tinny, or spitty Tonal subtleties between the stick hitting or brushing over different parts of a cymbal are a delight.

 

[ArChaos]

Righto, I've done the deed and bought two pairs of the single hole grey pads and asked for thinner foams if there is any choice. It'll probably be weeks before they arrive, they can only come from China. I may use one set for the HD430, on recordings of voice alone, they are stunning, as they were designed for that purpose in the studio.
Bought new pads for the Sony MDR-1R cans as well, also excellent headphones and a delight to listen to, really tuneful little beasties. At least these ones will only be a few days coming up from Melbourne.

VERY, VERY annoying, Few weeks ago, I ordered again from this seller 2 more pairs of the thin pads model
Black1 and received the packet today. It turns out that he sent me two pairs of the Black2 model, the one with many rows of holes on the back side . It's the second time that he makes this mistake - the first time he took responsibility and sent me another pair of the Black1 FOR FREE (without asking to receive back the wrong one, of course).. I thought all in all he was a good seller - everyone can make a mistake here and there - but not TWICE...!!! and all that after the mail exchange with me on the subject...?!

I suggest you immediately SEND him a warning note , NOT to make that mistake again, and send you the right model - Black1, the pads with only one row of holes on the back side.

Of course I will also write him a note... After the incident with me, and after explaining him the importance of the differences between the two models, I supposed he will pay more attention to what he sends.

Under what eBay name did you buy from him ? I want to mention you too in my mail, to make sure he does not send you too the wrong model..

 

[sennsay]

I'll write to him and let him know that I ordered the Grey1 pads! The email after I ordered them showed the correct models, but that could be very different than when they are shipped out. Thanks for the warning. I don't have the info on me for my eBay name I rarely do eBay these days and it's all automatic when I get on there. I'll find it when I get home shortly and let you know if I'm in time.

 

[sennsay]

VERY, VERY annoying, Few weeks ago, I ordered again from this seller 2 more pairs of the thin pads model Black1 and received the packet today. It turns out that he sent me two pairs of the Black2 model, the one with many rows of holes on the back side . It's the second time that he makes this mistake - the first time he took responsibility and sent me another pair of the Black1 FOR FREE (without asking to receive back the wrong one, of course).. I thought all in all he was a good seller - everyone can make a mistake here and there - but not TWICE...!!! and all that after the mail exchange with me on the subject...?! I suggest you immediately SEND him a warning note , NOT to make that mistake again, and send you the right model - Black1, the pads with only one row of holes on the back side. Of course I will also write him a note... After the incident with me, and after explaining him the importance of the differences between the two models, I supposed he will pay more attention to what he sends. Under what eBay name did you buy from him ? I want to mention you too in my mail, to make sure he does not send you too the wrong model..

I've found the time to request that he sends the correct pads and why before they get sent, quoting your experiences as well. Let's see if he/they can get it right this time. I don't want to have to either send pads back or cover many small holes!

 

[ArChaos]

I've found the time to request that he sends the correct pads and why before they get sent, quoting your experiences as well. Let's see if he/they can get it right this time. I don't want to have to either send pads back or cover many small holes!

IMO, the main problem is not the holes on the back side but the thickness of the velour-the "one row pads" are significantly thinner than the others and their proportions are very close to these of the original Senns' velour pads. I definitely feel a difference in their sound, compared to the thicker ones. By the way, the thicker ones do not sound bad by themselves, but the thin ones sound better and closer to the original.

 

[sennsay]

IMO, the main problem is not the holes on the back side but the thickness of the velour-the "one row pads" are significantly thinner than the others and their proportions are very close to these of the original Senns' velour pads. I definitely feel a difference in their sound, compared to the thicker ones. By the way, the thicker ones do not sound bad by themselves, but the thin ones sound better and closer to the original.

Cool. I am in correspondence with the seller himself and he is making sure that the senders pack the correct items, he asked that I send him a photo of the Grey1 pads and so I did. Hopefully they also got the message about thinner rather than thicker foams. I am looking forward to hearing how they are with the Senn HD430s as well. They are in fact more detailed to a degree than the HD540s in the mids, more focused and so utterly transparent that I have been wide-eyed at times. However(!), the bass end is easily overloaded, so no tub-thumping here. Playing the final track of Two Men With The Blues (Willie Nelson and co), I was stunned at the detail of the drum solo at the end and the audience ambience. The sheer tonal details in the drum kit were simply lovely, with fine natural dynamic speed, if not the ultimate in weight.

 

[sennsay]

I have had a reply back from the seller saying that the factory say that this model is not suitable for these headphones, BeyerD only. Naturally I replied directly to the seller, mentioning that I have used pleather BD pads a couple of times and that as long as they are 100mm wide they will fit perfectly, plus I indirectly mentioned that you were using them as well ..... as long as they were the single perf pads! I also replied that they appear to be the closest to the original Senn pads and please to continue with the order. At least the seller communicates quickly and clearly, something I am grateful for.
So, in saying all that, what makes you think that these pads are closest to the original delicious things, in what ways ... bass openness, depth of soundstage etc? I mean, the original pads totally belied the fact that my head even existed, such was the extraordinary openness and depth of bass .. particularly on some synth music, waay down in my chest .. and countless times I would swear I could hear doors opening behind me 8-10' away, or other such noises. There would be nothing there, absolutely uncanny, sounds far away from my head. And all that was with the original steel cables!
The gear I was using over those years may have had something to do with it as well, probably a Trevor Lees valve preamp and my highly hot-rodded Silicon Chip headphone amp that was laced with both Black Gate and top class Nichicon caps, polypropylene output bypass caps and all Dale non-inductive resistors. I still have this amp, plus several other versions of it to this day, some 9-10 years later. Plus I was using a TRI TRV-88SE integrated valve amp as well in the later days until a few years ago, along with various integrated amps. I owned a pair of Senn HD650's at the time too (very expensive in those days, some $800-900NZ!) and I was happy to sell them and just keep the HD540 Ref1s, much preferring them.

 

[sennsay]

While I'm awaiting new pads for the HD540 Ref1s, todays task is to reform the HD430s .... IF I have enough materials!
Let's just call what came out of them nayasty! The outer foams in particular are brittle and crumbling away at the slightest touch. Drivers look excellent.

 

[sennsay]

Aaaand they're back. New foams, a clean and joined with the only pads I have spare, the Wang velours, not a preference but all there is. Initially I used my old steel cables, but the Mogami is purer and better balanced. Still no real bass out of these things, but what there is is clean and focused. YT videos and spoken word are the HD430's forte. The Wang velours are too thick, with smaller ear openings than perfect, but will do for now. Not a fan, especially for musical events, as they constrict image expansion and height, jamming the soundstage into a more mid-focused event, with a touch of fatigue, far from the HD540 Ref1s! However, as they are warming up a bit, they aren't sounding too bad on a recording of The Waifs live. I suspect the results may a little more preferable using a nice integrated amp with higher output impedance, instead of the Magni 3+ with an extremely low output impedance. Plenty of detail, it's just jammed up a bit with almost no stage height.

 

[sennhead540ii]

Good pics and thanks, BTW, they show me what I need to know quite well. I hadn't actually seen pads with perfs on the inside before, is it a BD thing? The Senn HD540s don't really need to lose any bass response through the holes, but it will be interesting to hear them all the same. You say you really rate the sound with these pads?

The black-color earpads 'look more like' the ones on my HD 540 II's. Is that what headphone is being discussed on this page now (HD 540's?) and as it relates to the best or most original match of the earpad thickness replacements? The single hole vs. the double? More clarification appreciated! I was friggin' cheap ($150 total) and let the ebay 540 II's go, when I could have had my replacement headband with the intact ridges to snap my one 'loose' or detached earcup into it. And maybe had a second pair if I could have replaced the non-working audio connection with a new connection, wiring, on that same pair I let slide. Stoopid me.

 

[sennhead540ii]

These are the real pics of the ear pads we are talking about, one near the other, so you can get a real impression of their actual relative thickness.

The ones on the left look like my 540 hd II velours. Mine are more worn down likely. Are those 'thinner' padding too than the grey ones pictured next to them? I can see the black ones look 'smaller' to me...