Click to view our Accessibility Statement or contact us with accessibility-related questions
CamperIV
358
Feb 15, 2017
With so many X00 drops happening lately I think it's time for Massdrop to bring these back again. X00s have pretty bad pads which is a real shame for a 400$+ headphones.

There are some alternatives but they all alter the sound in some way
iSalehArt
11
Feb 21, 2017
CamperIVI was looking at the ZMF pads, but I emailed Dekoni Audio, and they confirmed that massdrop is running this drop again before the end of this month.
Can't wait! ^^
acolyte192
18
Feb 21, 2017
CamperIVDon't think these don't change the sound. At least the sheepskin ones do. They lower the bass on my E-mu Teak, and make the treble a bit less bearable. That's when you put them on without a ring. Since then, I have made a cardboard ring to decrease the bass loss. Now I have more bass, a bit too much maybe, or maybe I just mind the bass bleeding into the mids (not sure), and the sound is overall maybe a bit muffled, but not significantly. So, yeah, you can experiment, and if you have a lot of time on your hands, you could probably make them sound pretty close to the stock, but out-of-the-box they change the sound, at least for the E-mu Teak (I'm guessing that means the X00, too). Now I think this new batch will come with Dekoni's own rings which might bring the sound as close to stock as possible, but I'm not sure. I'd like to get my hands on one of those rings to try that out for myself.
CamperIV
358
Feb 22, 2017
acolyte192@acolyte192 Heya, thanks for your input. I'm aware of the sound change. I currently own the HM5 Sheepskin angled pads and they also needed some rings to make them sound better. Since I actually had plenty of time last week, I was experimenting with various materials for the rings to cut out. Long story short, cardboard was actually the worst so I recommend you don't use it and follow my pics below as an alternative.
I've tried everything really, from plastic (not on the pic), cardboard, thicker paper, foam, normal paper, to polyestyrene which proved to be the best:
search

search
It brought the low end back without distorting the mids or highs too much like the cardboard did. Definitely worth a shot. Also I've included the size parameters in case you want to cut out your own. This one copies the same shape of the stock plastic rings. #5 and #2 were the best to me, nut feel free to experiment.
It's made from those polyestyrene food boxes that you get when you order food on the go. EDIT: I just noticed I've made a mistake in the 2nd picture, it's supposed to say d=4cm, r=2cm would be also correct
acolyte192
18
Feb 22, 2017
CamperIVWow, thanks a lot for the detailed info! I'll definitely try. :)
Uzuzu
1431
Feb 22, 2017
CamperIVIt's because all of these earpad manufacturers follow the same, idiotic mistake. They don't use a slow, soft rebound foam and use foam way too stiff, ZMF included. It just kills the bass.
Dreams-Visions
50
Mar 15, 2017
CamperIVWhat thickness of styrene did you use? I see quite a few options on the market.
CamperIV
358
Mar 15, 2017
Dreams-VisionsI didn't exactly "buy" it based on thickness, but I just measured it and it's less than 1mm, seems like 0,8mm. The thicker ones on the picture are 1,5mm. Hope that helped
PRODUCTS YOU MAY LIKE
Trending Posts in Audiophile