Just got mine this week. I'm am struggling with them though. I just got these too retire my Sol republic air tracks. I have been disappointed I have to turn these basically all the way up when plugged into my phone. And there is basically no low end. What am I doing wrong :( this was supposed to be my first audiophile headphones and I'm kinda depressed
Jaglex13Try not plugging them directly into your phone. Audiophile headphones rarely sound that good when only powered by a phone. Try an amp, pad rolling, and burn in. Also, they are low budget open back headphones, it was to be expected that they don't have an awful lot of bass.
Jaglex13Turn your $99 HE-350 to $299 HE-400S for $20 with Boom 2 for Mac in the App Store (https://goo.gl/ee9k4d). I have the same struggle with my iPhone & I ordered this (https://amzn.com/B01A937I5M) tiny smartphone amp for portability & should arrive 9/27. I'll update with results.
Jaglex13From what I've heard and read so far burn in, an amp and Eq go a long way. Don't give them up already.
I'm using them with my Audioengine D1 and angled hm5 leather pads.
Jaglex13Try some memory foam pads like Dekoni memory foam pads or HM5. They will provide a better seal and make the bass more prominent. I put Dekoni pads on mine and I've very happy with the results.
N0gaiCool, they should be the same dimensions as the pleather ones. Is the leather soft and not too thick?
How is the sound with these leather hm5, do they influence it roughly in the similar way as the pleather mentioned in the reviews?
Thanks, I'll be waiting for them to be back in stock in GER or UK Amazon.)
Armstrong01Haven't recieved the headphones yet, so far I tried them with the MSR7's so I can't judge the sound.
Leather is soft enough I'd say. I really like them.
Armstrong01Well I could only judge them by how they press on my head and how they feel around my ears, for that they did well enough. I didn't do any highly scientific testing on the sound or anything.
N0gaiPad's replacement advice below, beware, super risky you'll just damage the plastic rings irreversibly if you use small pads like Brainwavz HM5!
Dude if you still haven't received the hdp, GL with the ring exchange to the leather pads:D
I was careful, yet broke my first ring in two places, cello taped it which didn't hold it at all with such extreme bend needed for it to fit inside. Didn't even try glue when I saw how much it needs to bend to get inside, even tho I tried to stretch the pads more. The second one I did it better, watched the angles on the plastic rings and finally put them inside. After that I noticed even the second one is slightly broken inside the pad.
Ring placement advice into aftermarket smaller pads (like Brainwavz HM5, mine were angled leather, yet the place for the ring seems to be made of pleather):
1) Stretch/work the pad first
2)! Plan so that the last bit going under the rim is the fatter/full plastic part, not the two split rings.
3) Keep stretching the pad in various directions while you feed the ring in.
4)! Feed the ring NOT in the deepest spot under the stitching, but feed it above the stitching, the pleather flat part will stretch more to the sides beyond the stitching than the stitched edge would. The ring wont simply fit inside properly if it's under the stitching connection somewhere. Needs to be above it, stretching the material before the stitch.
5)! After half of the ring is inside, control the furthest/highest bend of the ring with your fingers, support it/push on it so the bend is spread out over a larger area and not concentrated in one spot! The ring will brake at a surprisingly small angle bend, less than 45 degrees inside and it'll break.
Even though my rings broke, they still luckily function so far, only the pads are not flush against the cups in the places where the plastic ring is broken. Mind you, I broke only the narrowest inner parts of the ring, not the wider outer ring which still offers a little bit support. I might 3D print new ones if I find a shop that does that for cheap, here is a link from a previous comment:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1784520
N0gaiI managed to break one of mine twice before I even tried getting it into the HM5 pads (ugly red velour that I LOVE). I reinforced the broken portions with a piece of plastic that I cut out to match the size and shape that I needed and celo taped them in place. Seems to be working for now, but I don't dare take the pads back off now either since you can't really get replacements for the rings.
HeeftyYa the HM5 pads do not fit these headphones. You really have to bend and force the rings to make it work and even then it doesnt turn out super great, they look forced on. I just did that last night and snapped one of my rings too. I am going to try and put the old pads back on and see how it works still, and possibly buy a 3D Printer to make some new rings for myself.
I will most likely buy some Alpha Prime pads again to put on these since they will fit a lot better and are more comfortable.
EniGmA1987They go on. My rings were broken before I tried the HM5 pads and I got them on there with broken rings. I'm not saying it was easy or free from being absolutely sure it was going to break, but I got them on there. I'll never try taking the rings back out of the pads until I have a replacement though.
EniGmA1987IMO you dont need to buy a 3d printer, i broke both of my rings when i replaced the stock ones with brainwavz angled memory foams and if ever i need a new plastic rings i can just buy those hifiman replacement earpads they have those plastic rings too
Armstrong01So i was able to get the rings 3D printed at a local place (cost quite a bit to get printed at the optimal 100 micron resolution but it's totally a YMMV thing) and they work pretty well! Well, I only technically needed one but I printed two in case, glad I did because the tab on one broke. These are those rings being used with the Brainwavz Angled HM5 pads.
It works fine even though it looks like it'll initially never work. Just pull and stretch for at least around 2 mins and then turn it inside out to put them on. It should really require very minimal bending (these 3D printed rings using PLA aren't quite as flexible as the originals) as it still worked fine.
Yuyuko_SaigyojiEh how did you get to stretch them so much is beyond me, but ggwp, might try if I get them printed somewhere, but I'm afraid of breaking the stitching on the pads which are even more expensive. I wonder if my leather ones are less stretchy than pleather version. The dimensions are the same according to Brainwavz drawings.
Armstrong01I didn't pull against the stitching, I pulled sideways (horizontally) to just get the material looser than it initially is. And somehow I just got the ring in with minimal amounts of bending it. I don't know about any other pads that aren't the Angled Brainwavz hm5s though...
Armstrong01LOL. Broke one of mine too. Looking for someone to print them locally now based on your 3D model. Thanks BTW. Just like you, first side was really sketchy. Second side was much better. Still I am quite concerned on whether it will be less flexible compared to the originals. I guess I will print extras just in case.
HawaiiRHello, i used this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G567THO?psc=1
there is noticeable improvement on overall sound specially on the bass and i didnt do any bass mod yet except from changing earpads