Very large improvement in comfort and sound quality with the Elite Hybrid pads. Overall build quality, timbre and luxurious feel make the Dekoni Hybrid the end game pad for the HE4XX. I can wear them for hours and they're much more breathable than stock. Angled frontward, these pads conform marvelously to the head, while the velour they use on the face makes the stock pads feel like sandpaper. These are very, very soft. Changes in sound characteristics were quite marked. The outer ring of sheepskin keeps you a lot more isolated (a problem with the stock pads), while the inner fenestrated sheepskin ring absorbs wrongly reflected/deflected waves and gives you a sound that is more clear.
Highs were more crisp and immediate, clearing up any of those reflected waves before they have a chance to reach your ears. The high end was even better after installing these. The bass from these planars originally had a bit of a boom, which the Dekoni sucked right up and just let the low frequencies come through without coloration. Coloration and the lack of it, is the term that comes to mind (along with extreme comfort) when describing these pads, they don't add anything, they just take away junk that doesn't belong there. All that from foam ear pads.