HD800S stock pad mod

I know a common complaint that many other folks have regarding the stock pads being thin and "going flat" rather quickly. Non-oem pads change the sound signature...

Well this could be a simple and cheap fix to that. What I did was simply find some 1/4" nylon rope that I had lying around, and cut it to the right size. Used a lighter to heat the end of the rope to keep it from fraying (use a piece of cloth or paper towel to reshape the end to keep the end the same size as the rest of the rope). Then just pushed the rope from inside the driver housing underneath the stock pad. There is a lip there so the rope stays in place.

I took a picture of what I did, unfortunately it looks like this forum requires some voodoo to link an image in a new thread. I made the image my avatar for now. This change gives more support to the stock pad, and returns that firmness to the original.

 

Perceptibly, I don't notice a reduction in brightness. I don't have the equipment to validate that, but given how changes like these evolve I kind of expect someone to chime in as to a better acoustic material to use, how much of a difference it makes, etc.

I see folks doing all sort of weird things underneath the pads that are more likely to cause a change in sound than this I would think. Considering if you have some rope handy it takes about 10 minutes to do, I'd imagine its only a matter of time before someone validates the degree that it alters things.

This is just clean, easy to install and reverse, and easier to make uniform than anything else I have seen done.