Anybody had the Brainwavz XL pads? I am wondering how they compare to Dekoni and ZMF pads which are much more expensive.
One I am thinking about trying is the Brainwavz micro suede XL pads on various hifiman round cup headphones.
Anybody tried all of these pad manufacturers and have preference? How are they different in terms of comfort and material and build?
I have two pairs currently installed, both Suede XLs one on my M220s and one on my K240DFs, and at least two that are just in my pad rolling arsenal. They are basic and not nearly the premium/lush feel of ZMF and the better Dekonis, but they are well made and comfortable. They seem to last for quite a long time too. The last pair that I replaced had to be replaced because the foam had finally compressed too far after a few years of pretty constant use for many hours, but the suede material and the seems were still very much serviceable. The XLs also happen to fit on a ton of headphones both modern and vintage and because of that, their relative affordability, and the fact that they seem to be pretty well made, Inlook at them as a must have in a pad rolling collection.
I’ve had a few of the Brainwavz a couple ZMF pads and a lot of dekoni pads
material wise you get what you pay for some of them are solid but compared to premium pads they certainly can fall behind in quality
sound wise if you get the same material type pads then it wont be a huge difference but there is some as they use different foams etc (I compared Brainwavz suede and ZMF suede on a couple headphones at one point and didn’t notice much of a difference)
I just got these two pads in today and I like them so far. I have them on my ATH AWAS headphones. They seam to be built very well.
The Brainwavz micro suede XL pad is a great pad. It’s really comfortable and it’s great sound isolation as well. The sound diff from the stock pads of the awas is night and day better. The sound stage is pushed out and really brings sounds I could not hear with the stock pads with it putting your ears so close to the drivers with the stock pads. The pad gives in with the memory foam but just the right give and it seals really well.