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zep483
656
Nov 20, 2018
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JonnyModena
225
Nov 21, 2018
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moiphI do not want to steer you away from experimenting with pads. I do not want to deter you from scratching that curious itch at all. I have to say, however, that I have tried a number of pads with the Hifiman 400i, and tbh, none of them went without affecting the sound. I personally came to the conclusion that though they are not the very most comfy set of pads, the original ones retain the highest quality of "air" with this set, and that is my favorite attribute about them. So for me, changing pads resulted in unsatisfactory results.
Pads I have used:
Dekoni Fenestrated Lambskin - Look and feel wonderful, better than the original. The padding that covers the driver is double layered, meaning it is a good deal thicker than the original pad's padding. This resulted in a darker sound and a loss of detail. Do not confuse "darker sound" with "warmer sound". They are two different things.
Brainwavz Angled, Oval shaped (fake leather) - Had to stretch these around the plastic rings to the point where i thought they would tear. But they didn't. Comfort on these was absolutely astonishing. They changed the sound sig, and not in a bad way. The sound became more U shaped (to my ear). The bass raised quite a bit and reverberated more. It was much more full, but less defined. For fun upbeat songs, this really worked well. The mids sounded more recessed (I did not like this). The highs sounded more forward, possibly due to the mids sounding recessed. It sounded great in most cases on pop/r&b, lacking on acoustic, but not as balanced as with the original pads.
Brainwavz Angled, Oval shaped (velour) - Bass sounded louder, much less defined.
Brainwavz Circular shaped - I tried these in fake leather. Fit was decent, not perfect. Very comfy. I do not recall how they sounded exactly, just that I returned them the next day.
I tried another pair i found on Amazon by NewFantasia. Real leather, but were extremely stiff and uncomfortable. Painful even. Hated them. Didn't care to even think about how they sounded.
Again, try out your options. Each ear is different (even your own two, to a degree). And have fun while doing it. Hope my input helps.
zep483
656
Nov 21, 2018
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moiphJust to clarify, I have the HE4XX. For me fenestrated dekoni pads were basically indistinguishable from the original set in terms of audio quality, clarity, and sound profile. I switched to elite sheepskin because I liked the, very, very small change in sound profile that it had where it softened the highs a bit, and mellowed the headphone out. It does sacrifice a tad bit of "air" to do this as JonnyModena suggests; however, the sound stage actually gets a bit wider as well (so there's a give and take there depending on your preference). Nevertheless, for the HE4XX, I have to say that I enjoy both of the very, very subtle changes that the Dekoni Pads bring to the table, and they also add comfort and security on my (clamp; and a bit of room between my ear and the driver). So, while the 400i may have a change in sound signature that could be displeasing, this is not what I observed with the HE4XX.
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