Interesting idea, ev13wt. Thank you for sharing.
My main concern with this approach is that the lip on the earpads is made of a rather cheap plastic/vinyl material. And it might get too stretched out, or possibly torn over time with a technique like this.
After trying a few different techniques, I sort of came up with my own method which essentially involves holding the cup and one edge of the earpad in place with my left hand, and then using my right hand to basically stretch the earpad toward me just enough so that the lip can go over the other edge of the cup. I do that by grasping the side of the earpad that's closest to me with my thumb and index finger, and then simply pulling it toward me (almost like a rubber band). While holding the cup and other side of the earpad in place with my left hand.
At the same time that I'm doing this, I will also use the middle finger of my right hand (that's the long one btw) to help work the lip over the edge of the cup, by pushing it out from inside the cup. If you aren't careful though, you could potentially damage the drivers by pushing too hard on the earpads from inside the cups, to work the lips over the edges from that angle. So this approach also does require a bit of practice, care and coordination to do as well (which is why I haven't mentioned it until now.)
After you've done it a few times though, it also goes quite fast. Fwiw, I have changed the pads on my DT-770's probably a dozen or more times in the last few months. And have only torn them once so far, using a less sophisticated method of installation.
Your approach seems to require less skill and coordination though.
So it might be a good alternative for some folks. I would just try to use some extra care when flipping the lips of the earpads inside out, and then back again. Because that plastic material can become torn pretty easily.
The standard replacement pads for the DT-770 and similar models are only about $30-40 a pair btw. So they aren't that expensive to replace, if you damage them.
