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Brainwavz Angled HM5 Pads - Suitable for Many Over-Ear Style Headphones

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General Information

The Brainwavz Replacement Angled Earpad is designed for comfort and style, the outer material is made with high quality pleather and the inside cushion is a made from high grade memory foam.

These Earpads are suitable for use on the Brainwavz HM5 headphones as well as many other large over the ear headphone models.

Latest reviews

JoeDoe

JoeDoe

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Value, Comfort, Versatility
Cons: Nope
The HM5 Angled Pads are an affordable, versatile, and comfortable pad for the Brainwavz HM5 and most large circumaural headphones. I was offered a review sample from Brainwavz and have the following to say regarding these and their stock counterparts:
 
1. Comfort: Both the pleather and velour pads are exceptionally comfortable. The memory foam is very soft and pliable and distributes weight very well. Even though the Brainwavz HM5 is a bit of a clamper, the lightweight and soft design of the pads alleviates most of the discomfort making these great for long listening sessions. I'll go ahead and make note here however, that the HM5 cups don't swivel too much, which may mean some seal issues for some users if you plan on using these with the HM5.
 
2. Sound: (this section will be very similar to my writeup on the non-angled version of this pad)
  1. Velours: Compared to the (angled) pleathers, the sound is a touch more neutral. This may be a weird statement as I consider the HM5 a pretty neutral can as is. Here's the reasoning: A little bass impact is lost coming from the stock pad, but that's to be expected as velour is gonna be more porous than pleather. On the Snarky Puppy and Alice Russell tunes, the kick drum loses a little juice, but certainly nothing drastic enough to cause any dislike or feeling of bass lack. It also bears mentioning in the same way, the velours can take a little more volume to achieve the same levels as the pleathers. Once again, I would assume a little more sound leak is the culprit. 
  2. Pleathers: As aforementioned, the most noticeable difference coming from velours to pleathers is bass quantity and sound leak. Pleathers seal a little better and therefore don't have to volume up as much. You could probably predict that they also retain a little more bass impact. 
  3. Both: I'd say the most appreciable difference between the angled pads and their flat counterparts is the presentation of soundstage. It definitely gets kicked up a notch in width with the angled pads. Depth doesn't change too much, but the shape is certainly more enjoyable. Going back to the flat pads makes everything feel a little more congested.
  
3. Adaptability: As you can see in these pads' review section title, they fit a ton of over-ear headphones. Even those that don't natively have the same cup shape as the HM5 (i.e. HE500, DT880, MDR V6, even Grados!) are being fitted all over head-fi with mixed results. This time I'm able to try the Sony MDR 7506 and my HE500s (velour only). With the Sony the fit is a little unorthodox, but they will stay on. I didn't like either pad a lot with the 7506 but that's not to say you won't. I just didn't feel like the changes were improvements. For the HE500, only the velours would sit normally on the mounting rings, so I can only comment on them. In a word: Plush. The comfort is killer. I imagine the comfort of the LCD Vegan pads is similar (albeit, much more expensive). With regards to sonic changes over the FocusPads, the bass is a hair less defined, but the treble is crispier. Weird I know, but I checked on several of my test tracks and that's how I'm gonna describe it. This change works really well with the 500s, since their stock sound might be described as 'relaxed' in the treble range. YMMV.
 
Gear used:
 
Test Songs (all ALAC either 16/44 or 24/96):
 
Best for Last - Adele - 19
For a While - Alice Russell - To Dust
Limit to Your Love - James Blake - James Blake
Thing of Gold - Snarky Puppy - Groundup
Hide and Seek - Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself
Prelude from Cello Suite #4 - Yo Yo Ma
 
Source:
MacBook Pro > JRMC 20 > Audio-gd NFB 10.33 > Brainwavz HM5, Hifiman HE500, & Sony MDR 7506
 
I'm definitely digging the angled pads from Brainwavz. Much like their flat friends, they are the most comfortable pads I've ever used. That's saying something as the DT880 and Focus Pads are both pretty dang comfortable. The sound changes are minimal when used with the HM5, but if searched, head-fiers form all over have reported lots of sonic changes when using these pads for other headphones. The flats became the first pad I recommended to users looking to replace stock pads, and now the angles will be for anyone looking to try out ear-facing drivers on the cheap! Kudos to the people at Brainwavz who continue to make quality products that are affordable and versatile!
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solblack
solblack
I bought them for my MSR7 :)
Lorspeaker
Lorspeaker
Great review!

Hm5angledvelorpads a good pairing with Yamaha mt220 tomyears:wink:
Gino
Gino
I am enjoying the Focuspads on my HE-400S. More bass, enhanced mids. Will these angled HM5s be better? 
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