Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
I also tried my stock HE-400 pads (pleather donut pads) since I had upgraded my HE-400 to Focus Pads long ago. -Bass is the best yet and pretty much where I like it -About the same detail and separation as the Velour Pad -Still some harshness in the upper mid and treble -Softer/more comfortable than the Velour Pad -Pleather is unpleasant for me, however -Adding a gap behind my ears still yields more bass but it's almost too much with these pads
After reading some of the mod tips on Super Best Audio Friends I decided that the shelf liner mod might help out the harsh mid/treble. -Shelf liner makes the headphone darker (in line with other comments) -Cleaned up the harsh upper mid and treble -Still plenty of treble detail and crispness to keep me engaged -Makes the overall sound much smoother and refined
I have more pads I could try (by removing them from other headphones) but I ran out of time last night. The other hopeful candidates would be my Brainwavz oval Hybrid, Shure 1840 velour, and my HE-400's Focus Pads (not the A). Although, I have expectations that everything that's wrong with the Focus Pad-A will be wrong with the Focus Pad. I'm a little tempted to try the Velpad because it's cheap but reading what it does to the 400S I'm thinking it will kill the bass. I'm also worried that pads that seal too well will kill the bass for me. I know some used the Dekoni Beyerdynamic leather pads but I would prefer velour (velour > leather > pleather) and I know Dekoni has a regular velour and elite velour Beyerdyamic pad options but I don't want to kill the bass. Has anyone tried any of the other Dekoni Beyerdynamic pads besides the leather? I have also seen the Ori suggested and I might be interested in the suede option when it comes out but that's getting to be a lot of money for a non-returnable pad. I know Brainwavz also has a round velour and sheepskin pad that would fit HE4XX, I think. Also, has anyone had a similar bass experience as me with the HE4XX? Or do I just have a weird head/ears? Anyway, to sum up, after doing some tweaking/pad rolling, the HE4XX is a great deal for $169+pad cost. Lots of detail and clarity with some good speed and nicely textured sound. If I was given them without knowing anything about them I would probably put them $250-$300 after a pad swap. I paid $300 for my HE-400 and have zero regrets, despite its flaws. Anyways, questions are welcome and any pad advice would be appreciated!
EDIT 6/4/18: I totally forgot about this post. I was going to update it when I found pads that worked. I had Focus Pads (not the A) on my HE-400 so I ended up putting the Focus Pads on the HE4XX and the Focus Pads A on the HE-400. This gave the HE4XXs much better bass for me (I don't have to add a gap to increase the bass like the A pads) and it didn't ruin the sound for the HE-400 either, although, to be honest, they don't get much head time since the HE4XX is pretty much better than the HE-400 in every possible way. At ~$200 ($169 + pads) I feel these are the best deal in headphones right now. So, to sum up, I put shelf liner in mine and changed the pads to the Focus Pads and that fixed the harsh treble and lack of bass respectively. The Super Best Audio Friends post with images of both version of the Focus pads as well as how the apply the shelf liner is on this page (about 2/3 of the way down the page). http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/massdrop-x-hifiman-he4xx-measurements-and-impressions.4815/page-5
As with all audio advice, YMMV. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
With all of that being said, I think the HE4XX is a better buy over all due to the law of diminishing returns (unless you are a total bass head, then the M1060+EQ=Killer Bass). Is the M1060 worth 2x the price of the HE4XX? Not in terms of raw sound quality.
If you want better padding on the 4xx you might want to look at getting a pilot pad or something similar. Of course, you could do my M1060 mod on a 4xx. You would just have to sew it together while on the headphone.