[nc8000]

For me the new leather pads are marginally deeper or compress less than the stock pads on my HE-500. Visually I don't detect any depth difference

 

[blankdisc]

my review of the new leather pads
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/572797/hifiman-new-leather-pads-for-he-headphones-mini-review#post_7771136

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

For me the new leather pads are marginally deeper or compress less than the stock pads on my HE-500. Visually I don't detect any depth difference

But your ears still touch the inner part of the capsule?

 

[nc8000]

Yes but it feels less than with the stock pads. When I had the pads of I found out what it is my ears touch. All the way across the top face of the driver protection there is a round metal bar welded running between the anchor points of the cup mounts. This bar sticks out perhaps 1 mm over the flat and this is what my ears touch. I'm almost sure this bar is not in the HE-4 and probably explains why the HE-4 pads felt deeper than the HE-500 pads

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Yes but it feels less than with the stock pads. When I had the pads of I found out what it is my ears touch. All the way across the top face of the driver protection there is a round metal bar welded running between the anchor points of the cup mounts. This bar sticks out perhaps 1 mm over the flat and this is what my ears touch. I'm almost sure this bar is not in the HE-4 and probably explains why the HE-4 pads felt deeper than the HE-500 pads

Looking the pads strictly from the outside the HE-4 pads still look several mm thicker. Their foam is also much firmer so it doesn't get squashed like the HE-500 or HE-300 pads. I think the ones on HE-4 must be early production pads as they are also very poorly made and are not round across the full spectrum of the pad.
 
I can now feel the metal bar you mentioned. I have missed it before as I touched below and above it while searching what makes my ears so uncomfortable. There's nothing I can do about that. Don't think even thicker pads would help.

 

[mrarroyo]

I have received the new pads and have yet to install them. Here are some pictures I took comparing them to a brand new velour pad.
 

 

 

[nc8000]

Are that the new replacement velour pads or an older one ?
I certainly don't see that difference between my leather pads and stock HE-500 pads

 

[Rebel975]

That's how my original velours and the new leather's look. The original velours are very noticeably thicker than the leather ones.

 

[nc8000]

Hmmm seems that there was a lot of variation in the thickness in the old velour pads then. The pads on my HE-4 were also significantly thicker than my HE-500 pads

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Hmmm seems that there was a lot of variation in the thickness in the old velour pads then. The pads on my HE-4 were also significantly thicker than my HE-500 pads

Yes, HE-4 pads are thicker than HE-300 and HE-500 pads and more sturdy so not as soft.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Are that the new replacement velour pads or an older one ?
I certainly don't see that difference between my leather pads and stock HE-500 pads

The velour pad I posted is a brand new one, it is the "third pad" included with the HE-500.
 
I just installed the new pads on the HE500. The new pads went in without any problems. The old pads were removed without any tabs being broken.

 

[SanJoseCanJunkie]

While I have been a solid supporter of velour pads all the way for as long as I can remember, amazingly these new pads are more comfortable for me than the old ones, and sweat hasn't been a problem yet.  However, the biggest victory is that the new ones don't creak like the old ones, which drove me CRAZY.  The build quality and feel is a huge step up, so certainly worth $20 just for that.
 
As for the sound, I didn't AB them much yet (installing the old ones is a huge PITA), but my initial impression is that there is a bit more treble, which on the HE5 is just a bit too much.  I have a little mod idea in mind (similar to the one that many ATH-AD1000 users with big ears like to use), but I will wait until I mess with them a bit to give a full report on that.

 

[justie]

compared to the $85 audeze expects for a pair of earpads i would say this is definitely better -.-

 

[sunneebear]

Accidental leather pad mod.

Because of the new leather pad being not only slightly thinner than the old velour pads but also softer, I wanted to see if a thicker leather pad had any effect on the sound. I cut a ring of foam about 3/8 in. x 1/2 in. x the diameter of the pad. I inserted this foam ring in between the leather pad and the cloth dust cover material. This did not raise the thickness of the pad as I thought it would but it keep the pads from being flatten any further when worn.

The treble became thinner as in less body or presence but the sound and imaging was pretty much the same. Not good. I decided to scrap the idea and chuck everything but then I thought what if I only padded the back half of the leather. This could help those who's ears are touching the reinforcing bar on the grill. So I cut the ring in half, put each half in the back half of the pads and it turned out pretty good. The sound did not change except for a more focused vocal and a more pinpoint center. Well slightly more but the good thing was there now is more clearance in the back for ears that touch the reinforcement bar.

This is how it looks.

The piece of foam. 3/8 x 1/2 x aprox 3-1/2 in.


What it looks like inserted.



The difference: without padding on the left and with padding on the right.

As you can see the difference is not really visible on the outside. The difference is it is now stiffer on the back half so it stay a bit fuller when worn.

Simple five minute mod that may help people that ears touch the insides.

 

[blankdisc]

just tried. Worked great! Thanks a lot!