Great review! I totally agree with this. From my limited experience with Gradoās so far, I just feel thereās some āheftā to the music and I canāt put the headphones down.
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I got one of those accessory house padded headbands for my SR80e and it arrived today.
This is a great comfort upgrade as the stock headband is basically just for looks and provides no real padding. The quality is rather nice for $25 and the padding is more than enough for such light weight headphones. The leather is not as nice as the stock leather headband that came on my Hemps but is still leagues better than the vinyl that these come with. Itās either pleather or real leather, I canāt tell, but either way itās either pretty nice pleather or decent leather. The pading is a bit softer than the beyer padding for reference and is not memory foam, which I think is good since this foam is lighter and wonāt make the headphones top heavy.
The one reservation I have about recommending this headband, or any Grado upgrade headband, is how difficult it can sometimes be to remove the metal band from the rod block to install the new headband. Iāve removed three rod blocks so far, two from my Hemps and one from these, and I only managed to get one off in one piece. The first one I broke was my fault as I did not know what I was doing, the second one I got off in one piece with no real damage, the third one I had to split open with a screwdriver and hammer. It seems like my pair of SR80e had the entire slot for the headband filled with supper glue so no matter how hard I pulled, twisted, or worked the headband, it would NOT come out, even with the assistance of tools like pliers and vices to get better grip. I putt the headband in a vice so the jaws where closed just enough as to stop the rod block from fitting through but not gripping the metal band and pulled down with my full weight with a pair of pliers on the headband and it still didnāt come out. I had to use the one I got off my Hemps in one piece to replace the one I split off the SR80e. The headband is much nicer, but the process to install it can be a bitch if you are unlucky like me.
If you are willing to take the risk, which will cost you $50 for a set of aluminum rod blocks from Shipibo if you break the stock ones (at least thatās the only option I found that doesnāt require a 3d printer), then this is the process to remove the metal band from the rod blocks.
Hold the head band near the rod block and twist the rod block side to side. You should hear a snap/crack sound of the glue breaking. Next, rock and twist the headband back and forth while pulling (hard). If your lucky it will come apart easily enough.
A possible indicator that you may have problems removing a rod block is if there is an excessive (and I mean EXCESSIVE) amount of glue on top of the rod block and on the end of the headband.
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With all the positive comments about the geekria pads, I picked them up as well. Thanks all for the recommendation!
Why are yours open to the edge of the driver? Mine cover about half of the outer holes as you can see in previous pictures. Did you put them on backwards?
Also is that a blue tooth mod?
Edit: I just tried reversing my geekria pads but they are too stretched out to fit correctly that way.
Lol good catch, I did. The sound was not good, theyāre on the right way now. I didnāt take a new picture.
(I wasnāt sure which way they should go at first.)
I added mmcx connectors a few months back, and thatās a bluetooth cable from aliexpress.
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I just got a set of TTVJ deluxe pads today and they are thankfully identical to the stock pads of the Hemps. While I doubt Iāll need to replace them any time soon, its nice to know that these are the same pads and have a set.
The TTVJ pads do fit the SR80e, unlike the Hemps pads, so it seems that the Hemps larger cups did indeed strech the pads out. Since they do fit the SR80e I tried them out, and they are very good. The comfort is the same as the Hemps when new (my Hemp pads definitely broke in and softened up) and the sound is a perfect middle ground between the geekria pads and the earzonk L crush pads. The bass is less than the geekria but more than the earzonk. The highs are clearer or more present than the geekria but less so than the earzonk. A perfect middle ground. Even the comfort, less worth that the geekria but more comfortable than the earzonk. If only they didnāt cost so damn much. They are probably the ābestā sound overall, being balanced and clear with good comfort, but they cost too much to recommend for the SR80e when the other two options are less than half the cost combined.
Overall I like them on the SR80e but Iām not going to use them. Iām just going to keep them as replacements for my Hemps and stick with the geekria and earzonk pads for my SR80e. I do have some misodiko pads showing up tomorrow so Iāll report on those for both my Hemps and SR80e.
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Good to know about the ttvj, now very curious about the misodiko, thanks for taking all this time and effort
Donāt thank me. Iām just feeding my pad swapping addiction.
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The misodiko pads just showed up. Iāll post pics and thoughts in a bit. They seem like they are going to be comfy. Letās hope they sound good.
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Initial thoughts, these are a competitor for the geekria and earzonk pads. They sound more like the earzonk pads but they seem to be more comfortable (they are a similar material to the geekria pads, but more firm). I still need to do more listening but so far I like them.
Geekria pads
Earzonk pads
Misodiko pads
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@A_COC0NUT Do the Misodiko pads bring the low end to life like the Geekria pads, as well as being more comfortable? That might be the solution for me if so.
Sadly no. They sound about the same as the earzonk pads, so a leaner and clearer sound. Also I find the misodiko pads less comfortable than the geekria pads since they have a larger diameter, so they press on my temples. They are definitely an option, but it all come down to comfort and sound preference.
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I gotcha. No worries. Appreciate your pad swapping and shearing. Iāve gotten more out of my Grados because of it. 
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Iām going to properly break in the misodiko pads and see if the comfort improves. Thus gas happened with all the other pads so these should be the same (hopfuly). As they stand right now, they are more cushiony than the earzonk pads but like I said, they press in my temples a bit. Sound wise the seem to be about the same as the earzonk as well. The bass is less than the geekria pads (particularly sub bass) and the treble is greater, but still not to much. There is a difference between the earzonk and misodiko pads, but I have yet to identify it it. Maybe a change in the mids, but Iām not sure.
If youāre curious, give the misodiko pads a try. They fit well, seem well made, are fairly comfy, and sound at least as good as the other options. Plus they are still around $10 like the other two.
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I think Iām ready to give my final thoughts on the misodiko pads. They are probably going to be the most comfortable option for most, but for me they press on my temples and I donāt think break in is going to change that.
Sound wise, I think the misodiko pads are basically just slightly inferior earzonk pads. The upper mids are a touch more shouty and the highs seem a touch less clear, but the bass is a touch more. Overall these are still good, but I prefer the other options.
So my (hopfuly) final rankings for pads for the SR80e are the Geekria hole punch pads and Earzonk L style pads tied for first. They each do somthing different that I feel justifies getting them both. Behind them are the Misodiko L bowl pads. They are good but I donāt like them as much as the others. YMMV.
I think Iām going to stick with the earzonk pads since I can get an even better version of the geekria sound from my Hemps.
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Just got the āSodialā G cush replacement ear pads from China after 2 and a half months (thanks covid)
Comfort 5
Sound 5
Wow factor 5
My Grado SR60e on my Loxjie P20 listening to good old Dire Straits is eargasmā¦
Thanks to everybody suggesting this mod!
Next task is to try it with my KPH30i
Just thought Iād give everyone a quick warning.
DO NOT GET THESE PADS!!!
Treble murder. Just pure treble murder. And thatās coming from a NOT treble sensitive person. The bass also suffers and I couldnāt stand them long enough to analyze the mids. They are also made very poorly (you can see the places where they glued the layers of foam together) and they are scratchy and uncomfortable.
To clarify, these are not the same as the geekria pads I talked about in my last post. Those are like a hole punched S-cush while these are the L-cush style.
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Damn, there are so many of them. Iām probably going to get a pair of Gradoās next month and Iād like to get a headband and some cushions, where I live the only stuff I can easily get are the geekriaās. Have you tried the g cushion variant from Greekria? I was thinking of getting the one (or both) of the following ones:
And the geekria headband for the gradoās.
I have shipibo alum rodblock and gimbal and shipibo leather headband on mine. Not sure if you can get those but they feel awesome. The wood cups are from wabi sabi custom.
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Not without customs having a say about it. That would be a very costly exercise Iām afraid.