Thanks for the insight. I did not test that. Specifically, when I listen to them at the audio show. But if I get a chance to listen to them again, I will definitely test it.
Anyone tried the newer FiiO stuff? I don't see any reviews here but FiiO has a great history and I've personally never had an issue with reliability on their products even at a lower price.
Anyway, Brainwavz doesn't list any Dan Clark compatible pads, but I figure I'd measure them to see how similar the shapes are. Dekoni seems to have some that fit other models, but not the Expanse.
As an idea is it possible to spray or stick some kind of coating (that wouldn't cause contact dermatitis to the contact face of the stock earpads)? That way you can hopefully retain the intended tuning that stock earpads provide whilst avoiding contact dermatitis. Perhaps some other members here reading this would have some ideas? What about those sprays that waterproof jackets, perhaps if you're not allergic to the contents of that spray then that would create a barrier against the material in the pads that you are allergic too.Has anyone successfully replaced the earpads w/ anything else?
I've developed some sort of allergic reaction to the Expanse earpads and am hoping to find options other than selling them
I've replaced the pads on some of my older Sennheisers with some Brainwavz pads that don't seem to cause the same irritation... doctor said it was contact dermatitis. Not certain yet if it's the pad material or something else. I'm that guy that cut a slot into his earpads to allow his glasses to "pass through", so I already have a spare set of replacement OE pads
Yeah, good call...
If you do stick something on the contact surface try to limit it just to the contact surface because if you change the material on the inside of the cup then I'm thinking you could change the tuning of the headphone as the reflections/acoustics inside the earcup could be affected. You'd also want whatever you stick on top to be as thin as possible so you don't really want to change the thickness of the pads, which is one reason why I had the idea of the spray rather than any materials or anything. If that waterproofing spray for jackets makes jackets waterproof then maybe that will create enough of a barrier between the pad & your skin for instance.
Hello, it is an honor to ask you a question!
Let’s just say shaping the response of an open planar is a very non-trivial problem and that was part of the solution…
Hm, haven’t heard of this before but we use Alcantara synthetic suede, the stuff they use in cars. A little research showed that while rare there are some people who don’t tolerate it well. Best suggestion is to buy a sheet of lamb leather, back it with a two sided fabric adhesive and put it over the suede. One idea is to PM me and and I can send a pdf you could print to make a cutting template if you want to try this…Has anyone successfully replaced the earpads w/ anything else?
I've developed some sort of allergic reaction to the Expanse earpads and am hoping to find options other than selling them
I've replaced the pads on some of my older Sennheisers with some Brainwavz pads that don't seem to cause the same irritation... doctor said it was contact dermatitis. Not certain yet if it's the pad material or something else. I'm that guy that cut a slot into his earpads to allow his glasses to "pass through", so I already have a spare set of replacement OE pads
The pad material may well aid in the tuning of the headphone, and leather/pleather might feel more high end. Don't know though really, so DCA would have to answer.
Dekoni definitely make aeon pads. Can't be bothered to search their site to see if they do a velour one for it.
At what point would it start to impact the FR? As an example, the Sennheiser HD490 Pro offers two sets of pads, with different FR (confirmed by several reviewers). Is adding one layer of lamb leather on top of the standard pads significant? Or is it more the foam and foam density that matters the most?
)Because it's the flat surface that contacts the head there's very little effect, the only problem would be using a very loosely woven fabric that introduces significant leakage, but any leather or suede material would be fine.
@Mr Swing King was asking about replacement velour pads though, in terms of if/how the frequency response might be changed. (It's the other guy with the skin reaction problems that was talking about that layer of lambs leather).
Changing pads to another material or vendor would have major sonic impact. Pads are definitely part of the tuning.
I reckon the best usage for miniDSP EARS (I have one) is to use it for channel balancing all your headphones - so you can do a per channel EQ that brings both channels together perfectly from 20Hz-say 8000Hz. I would be a little bit careful though in assuming you'll get the same sound if you EQ all your headphones to the Expanse frequency response that you measure - this is particularly true for miniDSP EARS that doesn't have an acoustic impedance that accurately mimic real human ears - if you were to do the same process on GRAS which is more accurate to human anatomy then it's a bit more valid to EQ all your headphones to the Expanse frequency response and if you had a GRAS then you could expect them to sound quite similar, but using miniDSP EARS for the same process you're likely to hear bigger differences in sound between them once all EQ'd to Expanse. miniDSP EARS definitely excellent to be used for channel matching EQ though.
