Best compact headphone listening solution?

[Jasonovich]

I think it has to be worth a go for the £30-odd it costs for a set of new pads.

What I found was that switching to a "less breathable" material better resolved both ends of the frequency spectrum and didn't seem to affect soundstage. So it was like the extremes were better defined but somehow the soundstage remained expansive - reviews of the FT7 do seem to imply that the fabric pads take the edge off any treble issues that some ears pick up with the FT7s. Maybe my ears prefer a tuning that some people might consider bright, because I don't experience any sort of harshness at all.

I was reading other peoples review on different types of pads, you're right perforated fabric ones take the edge of the treble, leather sheepskin one's without the perforation are better for bass. Sheepskin one with the hole's sit between fabric and full leather.
£30 is worth the experiment and you also have spare at hand, when the other ones wear out 🙂

 

[RTHerringbone]

Tomorrow will be my first full day of listening to the Stealth's while I WFH. My initial feeling is that the stock pads could be a bit warm (maybe not at this time of year), so I'll see how they are after a good few hours of use tomorrow.

Super headphones though - thanks for the recommendation @Jasonovich . They're a really capable and invisible set of headphones; they just let the music do the talking.

 

[Jasonovich]

Tomorrow will be my first full day of listening to the Stealth's while I WFH. My initial feeling is that the stock pads could be a bit warm (maybe not at this time of year), so I'll see how they are after a good few hours of use tomorrow.

Super headphones though - thanks for the recommendation @Jasonovich . They're a really capable and invisible set of headphones; they just let the music do the talking.

I'm game!
Shame about the Spurs match though🤣

Got these real sheep skin pads for my Hexi's (AliExpress). Less than £30, keep them as spares if I don't like them.

 

[RTHerringbone]

I'm game!
Shame about the Spurs match though🤣

Got these real sheep skin pads for my Hexi's (AliExpress). Less than £30, keep them as spares if I don't like them.

Are you a Spurs fan? Oh dear 😆 Frank seemed to turn up with a plan to defend set pieces and then nothing else!

Let me know how those pads feel. I do feel the stock ones could get a little toasty, but actually they've been fine today for a prolonged spell. I can't quite comprehend how stand-offish these headphones are. They just deliver the music and don't intrude at all, but make sure that any outlying frequency issues don't appear. I don't see how they could be better.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Yeah, they're pretty extraordinary. I find that Electronic dance music tends to stress Hi-Fi setups the most as it's so dynamic and can cover the whole frequency range. One of my favourite albums from the 90s is "Travelator" by The Egg and it's just handled with no fuss. Lovely.

 

[Jasonovich]

Are you a Spurs fan? Oh dear 😆 Frank seemed to turn up with a plan to defend set pieces and then nothing else!

Let me know how those pads feel. I do feel the stock ones could get a little toasty, but actually they've been fine today for a prolonged spell. I can't quite comprehend how stand-offish these headphones are. They just deliver the music and don't intrude at all, but make sure that any outlying frequency issues don't appear. I don't see how they could be better.

I am a long suffering Spurs fan. I knew we were going to be smashed.
My nephew and friends at work are Gooners.
I think I'll work from home for five days this week 😀.
That's what I like about them, it's almost like they're invisible.
The seller was claiming the leather pads improves the soundstage and lower frequencies, I'm hoping there isn't a too much of a trade off with the upper frequencies but we'll see.
I'll feedback to you as soon as I try them on 😊

 

[Jasonovich]

Yeah, they're pretty extraordinary. I find that Electronic dance music tends to stress Hi-Fi setups the most as it's so dynamic and can cover the whole frequency range. One of my favourite albums from the 90s is "Travelator" by The Egg and it's just handled with no fuss. Lovely.

They're a class act.

 

[Jasonovich]

They're a class act.

Also, try listening to vocals and jazz or blues, they're mesmerising!

 

[RTHerringbone]

I do wonder if there's a lack of bass impact. "Willow" from that The Egg album has some bass that you can feel ordinarily, but I didn't get that with the HE1000 Stealth's first time round. I need to listen to a few more tracks.

EDIT: Maybe I've just heard that bass more boomily before. It's there, but it's different.

 

[Shrek]

Thats lot to spend on headphones im not sure i would go that far you could get a very good set of speakers for that money even though i do like my headphones but not that much .

 

[Jasonovich]

I do wonder if there's a lack of bass impact. "Willow" from that The Egg album has some bass that you can feel ordinarily, but I didn't get that with the HE1000 Stealth's first time round. I need to listen to a few more tracks.

EDIT: Maybe I've just heard that bass more boomily before. It's there, but it's different.

It could be you were hearing fuller bass on the FT7s?

 

[RTHerringbone]

It could be you were hearing fuller bass on the FT7s?

Maybe. It's the same on Telegraph Road (Alchemy version) by Dire Straits at about 1:45 when the bass kicks in . They're a little underpowered there.

 

[Jasonovich]

Maybe. It's the same on Telegraph Road (Alchemy version) by Dire Straits at about 1:45 when the bass kicks in . They're a little underpowered there.

My cheaper Edition XS seem to have more developed bass but lacked tamper and resolution of Stealths.
It could be a design trade off, possibly?

 

[RTHerringbone]

I think it's fine - it's super marginal and I'd argue that the mid-range is better represented with the Stealth's, and that's the vast majority of the track. I think it's good that these differences are tangible and you can compare one thing to another critically and constructively.

 

[Jasonovich]

I think it's fine - it's super marginal and I'd argue that the mid-range is better represented with the Stealth's, and that's the vast majority of the track. I think it's good that these differences are tangible and you can compare one thing to another critically and constructively.

Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a shortfall though, dynamic headphones do tend to home on the bass better but to my ears doesn't sound natural and they tend to mess up on everything else.

 

[RTHerringbone]

Yeah, I wouldn't say it's a shortfall though, dynamic headphones do tend to home on the bass better but to my ears doesn't sound natural and they tend to mess up on everything else.

Don't forget that the FT7s are Planars too, but I think in general you're right - it's a tuning choice rather than a shortfall. I can "feel" deeper bass with the FT7s marginally more, but not to the extent that it's necessarily better, just different.

The Stealth's are so, so clean. I'm onto more 90's Electronic Dance stuff now with Becoming X by Sneaker Pimps and it's exquisitely clinical, in the best possible way. Crisp as anything.

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

it's a tuning choice rather than a shortfall. I can "feel" deeper bass with the FT7s marginally more, but not to the extent that it's necessarily better, just different.

As well as needing to keep my music to myself, that's another reason I like closed back.