I'm taking off a star because these are a pain to install. It took me like 5-10 minutes, although this is the first time I've changed a Hifiman pad.
I put them on an HE6se. There isn't much of a sound difference that I can notice, which is fine. They're not much more comfortable than the Focus pads, but with this headphone, I take what I can get.
I recently ordered the Elite Hybrid, to replace the factory Sundara ones - which were so soft my ears would touch the inside of the headphone and makes a crinkling sound when worn for a couple hours. The sound is great and they're much more comfortable since the they hold their shape better.
One unforeseen issue is that now I hear a clicking whenever I put my headphones on. I've since found out that this is the planar diaphragm flexing under the air pressure since these earpads make a much better seal. Obviously this is because of the design of the driver and it's completely harmless. I only hear it when I apply pressure (initially putting headphones on or adjusting) and it's non-existent during regular listening. Just wanted to put that out there if anyone else might be put off by the phenomenon.
Well built ear pads at a better than market price. I wish all ear pads were a bit cheaper though. Audiophile replacement ear pads are the iPhone cases of the Audio world. Too expensive for what they are, but we all grin and pay the premium :-)
The sound is good, and the pads are comfortable. They are a tiny bit smaller than the original pads (I can only tell because my ears touch the sides more, but besides that, I like them.
I've never been a huge fan of pad swapping due to how significant the sound change can be. I generally like to keep my stuff as stock as possible if I can help it. My decision to go with Dekoni instead really came down to the stock option just being a bad value. I have a pair of Hifiman Sundara and I love them. Due the horrible QC my pads on them quickly fell apart within the span of about a year. The more I tried to fix them the worse they got. Hifiman sells replacement pads but they are around $60 and I wasn't about to drop that kind of money to have the fall apart on me again. I looked into Dekoni's offerings and decided to settle on the Elite Hybrid pads based on the reviews claiming that the are the closest in sound to the stock Sundara pads. They are about the same price and due to Drop rewards I was able to snag them much cheaper.
Fast forward a week and it is time to put them on. The attachment rings on the Dekoni pads are very sturdy compared to the flimsy rings on the stock pads. This single difference is massive in how easy it made them to install. The leather portion of the pads are properly wrapped over the edge of the ring and aren't going anywhere. Contrast that with the stock pads where they were barely on and held there by weak glue. Needless to say when it comes to the durability and longevity of the Dekoni pads they are way ahead of the stock pads.
The materials used are nice too. They are thick pads and a little more firm and stiff than the stock pads. The velour on the Dekoni pads are different than stock but it doesn't change the feel. These pads are super comfortable. I think the firmness helps with the comfort and seal. I don't have any issues with them sliding or anything of the sort. They sit comfortable on my head and after a minute just melt away into the background as I enjoy my music.
Now the sound. My stock pads are so messed up there is no swapping back to them. There was a good week between my pads breaking and the new Dekoni pads showing up. Keep that in mind for what I'm about to say as I'm not constantly switching back and forth to a/b them. As far as I can tell these sound almost identical to the stock pads which is exactly what I want. There may be some minor nuances that I'm not able to really pick up on due to the time passing between pad swaps.
The conclusion is that if you are looking for pads that don't change the sound and also won't fall apart on you like the stock Hifiman pads then these are the pads to get. I'm honestly so impressed with these pads that I'm interested in Dekoni's other offerings.
Got the solid sheepskins for the he6se and they barely change the sound from stock which is good because the stock he6se is tuned well already. The look and feel nice as well if you are looking for a quality upgrade.
Got the Elite Velours for my 4XXs (mainly because i didn't want to pay for shipping and would rather put the cash towards a product...). Compared to the stock pads, these feel softer, more memory foam-ish, and a little plusher in the softness. In hindsight i think the sheepskin fenestrated would have been the way to go - but at 65USD (at a discount, and also no longer available) its a bit rich for my blood - these are punchy enough at 35 USD