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Headphone Ear Pad Material

99.1.116.49

This may be old news to headphone experts but I just realized that ear pad material has a fairly big affect on how headphones sound. I guess I knew that in theory but now I know it in practice. The ear pads on my HifiMan HE-500 headphones literally fell apart. I had pleather ear pads and replaced them with cheap ($10US) HifiMan velvet ear pads. The foam in the new ear pads is quite a bit firmer than the old ear pads.

The new pads have a more open sound with maybe a little less bass, or maybe the bass is less boomy. In any case, I think it's an improvement. I like a strong bass as much as the next guy but if there's a tradeoff between better bass or better midrange I'll take midrange any day.

I didn't realize it, but I guess there's an environment inside the ear pads (much like a room environment with speakers). I guess the new velvet ear pads are absorbent while the pleather was more reflective.

Follow Ups:

Very, very headphone-dependent ! - peppy m. 11:30:49 08/26/21 (0)
Some headphones come packaged with different types of earpads. In such cases, the manufacturer has tested both types and has determined that both types provide the best (albeit slightly different) sonic signatures.
Other headphones seem to need their stock earpads to sound their best.
For example: Research all of the various headphone websites and you will notice that it has been pretty much unanimously agreed (at least amongst "experienced" users) that Sennheiser's HD 580, HD 600, HD 650, and HD6XX headphones simply do not sound as good with any other type of aftermarket earpad. For these models, it is best to use the stock earpads that Sennheiser provides.
It all has to do with the way that sound is absorbed and/or reflected inside of the earcups, and into your ear canal. Changing the earpad style is exactly like changing the acoustic properties of a listening room designed for loudspeaker use.

Edits: 08/26/21 08/26/21 08/26/21

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