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Reviews
You can find the original post here
I came home from CanJam SoCal 2021 with a lot of fond memories and one item; the Dekoni Audio/SKB Headphone Hero Heavy Duty Travel Case. This is a godsend for any Personal Audio reviewer or any headphone lover who travels. Based on the SKB 3i 1309-6 the Headphone Hero was purpose-built for use with headphones. Made from the same durable hard plastic used in the high-end travel cases designed to protect musical instruments and professional electronics, for security the Headphone Hero is fitted with TSA-approved latches and metal reinforced padlock loops.
Uniquely Dekoni’s Headphone Hero has a special pressure valve that allows pressure to be equalized while maintaining an IP67 water-resistant seal. Inside you will find a custom high-density foam Omega headphone stand that locks into the high-density foam cutout ensuring that your headphones are safe and secure while providing a convenient perch to place your headphones on while on the road. The center of the headphone stand has a cut-out for cables, DAPS, and accessories to prevent them from bouncing around and possibly damaging your headphones when placed in the case. The lid contains a layer of softer eggshell foam to accommodate oversized items.
As an added benefit, unlike a travel bag that must be carried with you at all times or stuffed into your luggage to take up space and possibly be damaged, the Dekoni Headphone Hero doesn’t identify your headphones as what they are so that they can travel in safe anonymity. Having traveled with audio gear for decades I can assure you that a hardshell case like the Headphone Hero is not only more convenient, but safer than transporting your headphones in their original packaging. A fantastic product that gets a wholehearted recommendation.
Manufacturer’s Website: https://dekoniaudio.com/product/dekoni-audio-x-skb-headphone-hero-heavy-duty-travel-case/
Price: $149.99
You may find the original post on Head-Fi.org
Intro / CanJam
In the headphone hobby, we are always seeking to try the next best thing in order to find the Goldilocks sound we perpetually search. In this pursuit, we are required to take our personal headphones out into the community either to try them with new source gear or compare to other headphones. This was my exact predicament this year at CanJam SoCal 2021. I wanted to bring my Arya V2 to compare the new V3. The only problem was, in it’s manufactured configuration, the Arya does not come with a case for travel. I would have to take my headphone around exposed and unprotected to any potential harm. Enter Dekoni Audio.
For transparency, Dekoni Audio provided this unit for review. I am not being paid or coached to provide a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.
Dekoni / SKB
Dekoni Audio is a purveyor of fine audio products, most-notably their wide selection of high-quality earpads designed to fit several different headphones. Among their products are two headphone case products, the Savior V2 and Hero. This review will focus on the Hero; their heavy-duty travel case created in collaboration with SKB Cases.
Based out of Orange, CA, SKB Cases is an industry veteran in the making of transport cases. They specialize in transport cases for pro audio, sports (bow/rifling), and even military applications. Suffice to say, they have the experience to craft a product effective in protection. SKB’s offices are are located only 11 mi from Irvine, where CanJam SoCal was held. I definitely have a local pride in SKB Cases as products, like their Hero, were conceptualized here in SoCal.
Features and Specs
- TSA approved latches
- Trigger release latch system
- Automatic pressure valve
- Snap-down rubber grip handle
- IP67 water resistance
- Reinforced holes for padlocks (x2)
- High-density foam padding for protection inside
- Soft eggshell foam padding inside case lid
- Removable Omega stand
Dimensions 14 9/16 x 11 9/16 x 7 5/16 in.
Weight 5.2 lbs
Hero is based on SKB’s 3i 1309-6, which typically comes with cubed foam lining, but the Dekoni collaboration comes with a killer feature exclusive to Hero, a removable Omega headphone stand. This is a perfect addition that any headphone hobbyist would truly enjoy, especially in environments that don’t offer any soft surfaces to place your headphone on. For example, the desk in my hotel room at the Marriott had a granite surface that I wouldn’t want to place my headphones on. Thankfully the Omega stand comes in clutch for this type of scenario.
A notable feature among those listed above, are the TSA approved latches and automatic pressure valve, which make it safe for airplane travel. No longer would you be required to place the case in a suitcase or luggage due to the latches. You could simply stow it overhead or under your seat. The automatic pressure valve will regulate the ambient pressure in the case. This should alleviate any concern about any pressure-related damage to your headphones.
Living with Hero
Returning back to CanJam, it was now the moment of truth to see if Hero could accommodate the taller stature of the Arya. Thankfully, it works! The case had just enough headband space. No cuts to the foam are necessary to accommodate the Arya.
Lugging the Hero around for the weekend, I could get a sense for the ergonomics. With the handle disengaged from the locked position, the handle has some play which help reduce arm fatigue when walking with it. The comfort is helped by the rubberized material on the handle and it’s rounded shape. Hero touts fantastic ergonomics.
At home, I was able to try fitting different headphones in the case. All of my large headphones fit, but with a caveat for one. The LCD-GX was only able to fit if the omega stand was removed. Although the space inside the Hero is larger than Audeze’s Premium case, the omega stand required the GX’s cups to be pulled apart, thus making the GX’s overall profile wider. This extra wide profile just barely prevented the headphone from fitting in the case. In order to fit the GX and the omega stand together, one may be able to cut out a small space from the foam in order to fit that last bit of the yokes that’s causing the obstruction. Of note are pictures in a user review on Dekoni’s website that shows an LCD-XC with the old Audeze-style headband that seems to fit perfectly in the case with the stand.
LCD-GX with Extended Rods at a mid position
LCD-GX with Extended Rods in the Hero sans Omega headphone stand
LCD-GX with Extended Rods at max position
ZMF Verite
Hifiman Arya with two cables
Save for an Abyss AB-1266, Hero can virtually any headphone.
Comparisons
I got to make better comparisons with all the cases I own once I was home. For comparison to Hero are the Audeze LCD Premium Travel Case and ZMF Seahorse Headphone Case. I’ve obtained the following measurements using the only measurement device available to me, my Fibit Aria bathroom scale. I took measurements of myself, then myself holding each case, repeated measurements three times over, then calculated the averages for each.
Measurement Averages
Me: 169.5, 169.4, 169.2 = 169.4 lbs
ZMF: 173.5, 173.4, 173.3 = 173.4 lbs
Audeze: 174.0, 173.9, 173.7 = 173.9 lbs
Hero: 174.6, 174.5, 174.8 = 174.6 lbs
Weight (Approximate)
ZMF: 4.0 lbs
Audeze: 4.5 lbs
Hero: 5.2 lbs
Dimensions (L x W x H)
ZMF: 13 9/16 x 10 6/16 x 6 4/16 in.
Audeze: 14 4/16 x 11 15/16 x 6 10/16 in.
Hero: 14 9/16 x 11 9/16 x 7 5/16 in.
From heaviest to lightest, Hero is definitely the heaviest of the three cases for comparison at about 5.2 lbs. It’s followed by Audeze’s case at roughly 4.5 lbs, then ZMF’s Seahorse case at about 4 lbs. Notably, my ZMF case is lined with a velvet material that adds roughly 150g to the weight. There’s about a 1.2 lb difference between Hero and ZMF, but the Hero was perceptually more comfortable for travel due to the more ergonomic handle. It’s larger overall size might make it slightly more difficult to stow away. I personally didn’t have any issues placing Hero with my luggage and ZMF case in my trunk with its measly 25.7 ft³ of space.
Latches are a notable topic to examine as well. The following ranking is in order of most secure to least secure for latches: ZMF, Hero, then Audeze. ZMF have latches that require a turn of the locking mechanism in order to lift the latches. Hero comes with a trigger mechanism that needs to be engaged to lift the latches, otherwise the latches will not budge. Audeze’s latches, on the other hand, can easily be lifted as it’s trigger mechanism encompasses the entire lower part of the latch. This latch has the greatest potential to snag onto something and open easily, not that there’s really a great possibility of it happening in the first place. With that being said, all the cases compared here all seem secure overall and I would feel comfortable traveling with any of them.
Summary
In collaboration with industry veterans SKB, Dekoni has created a winning product in their Hero as it offers optimal protection and it’s exclusive creature-comfort feature, the Omega headphone stand. Normal retail price of $199.99, but can currently be found at Dekoni’s website for $149.99. It may be found for $139.99 on Drop. This package offers an excellent value for the headphone enthusiast seeking the utmost protection and convenience.
https://dekoniaudio.com/product/dekoni-audio-x-skb-headphone-hero-heavy-duty-travel-case/
Hey, Dekoni Fans! It’s Dylan, the Product Manager for Dekoni Audio. Time has come and gone, and another CanJam is in the books! Nestled in the middle of the industrial district of Irvine, California, we experienced a show for the history books. With audiophile juggernauts duking it out on the show floor with their new flagships, the impressions grabbed at the show will be talked about for months to come.
Meze Elite
Unfortunately, our friends at Meze Audio were unable to attend CanJam due to travel restrictions. Thankfully, our friends at Headphones.com and Bloom Audio, had the Elite available for listening. Located at the next booth over from Dekoni sat a Meze Elite and as you can tell, I couldn’t resist the urge to take a listen. I had just ten seconds and holy warmth Batman! The low end was there and in force. If I had to choose though, I would grab an OG Empyrean over the Elite as my Meze headphone of choice just based on first impressions.
Dan Clark Stealth
As someone who personally knows Dan Clark, he’s definitely got an interesting brain to pick. He is always coming up with something new that benefits the headphone industry as a whole. At Dekoni we personally use his patent pending reusable adhesive for our Aeon Flow ear pads. With the Stealth, he hasn’t stopped innovating. I took about a two minute listen to these babies at the Headphones.com booth.
When you first pick up the headphone you can’t help but look into the ear cup to see the shape of the metamaterials resting on the dust cover. Taking that first listen, I noticed the phenomenal detail emerging from the sound signature. Unfortunately, the sound signature of the headphone is not exactly for me as the mids were recessed, and I felt the vocals of the test track were hiding behind the overall mix. It could have just been the track, but I hope to order these headphones soon and get on with a pad rolling adventure.
Audeze LCD-5
Let’s talk about the most sought-after headphone at the show. Audeze had two listening stations for the LCD-5 and throughout the entire day, both of them always had a line. People were lined up thirty minutes before the show started on day two since it was so hard to get a listening session in on day one.
Fortunately for myself, I had an exhibitor badge. This allowed me to sneak up to the Audeze booth before the show opened and grab about two tracks of listening. To preface this impression, Planar technology is very mature in the headphone market at this point. I believe Audeze has kept up with their formula and has taken the time to refine the headphone shell that houses their planar driver. It sounded like an LCD and the real standout was just how much lighter it was than previous versions of their LCDs. If you know what an LCD sounds like and appreciate it, definitely grab yourself an LCD-5. For me, I’m happy with our modded LCD 2C for the time being.
Audeze CRBN
Not pulling any punches at the show, Audeze also brought their entirely new Electrostatic headphones. The CRBN is based on a headphone specifically designed for UCLA for use with MRI machines. This was definitely my favorite headphone of the show. Bruno Mars, 24k Magic…
The imaging of the track was outstanding, it was detail rich, and most important of all; It did not lack low-frequency content. I was in bliss with the CRBN and hope to thank Sankar personally for developing such a great-sounding headphone. It one hundred percent fits my ears’ frequency response.
Dekoni Booth Overview
Okay now that we got the flagship drooling out of the way, let’s talk about the show in general.
Since the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour is still going on, everyone thought the attendance would be lacking severely. I can confirm, it wasn’t as small as everyone thought it would be. The Dekoni Audio booth stayed busy for the most part both days. People enjoyed listening to our extensive collection of audiophile favorites.
The star at our booth this year was the Sony Z1R, it’s surprising how many people haven’t heard the headphone personally. Sony I’m gonna call you out on this one, get your flagships into the hands of the people, you won’t regret it. Pad preference on the MDR-Z1R varied greatly, but overall the Hybrid and Sheepskin were the most liked sound signature.
The second favorite at our booth was the Sennheiser HD800, commonly mistaken by attendees as being the HD800S. Sorry guys! Maybe I will trade our HD800 for the HD800s, but today is not the day. Most people agreed that our pads on the HD800, Elite Velour being the style I had attached, made the sound signature significantly better by reducing sibilance or piercing high-frequency content. Also cited was the increased comfort offered because of the increase of depth and the memory foam we use inside of our ear pads.
Other notable feedback from people stopping by was the head-turning blue flannel pads I had on display. I had brought our limited edition holiday prototype to the show, and the reactions were overwhelmingly positive. People liked the idea that we are exploring new options for materials and colors. As the industry leader in ear pad tech, I expect our competitors to follow the leader when we release these for the holiday. The headphone industry will be better off for it. Available for the holiday season will be our red & green as well as blue flannel styles. We are only manufacturing two hundred and fifty sets of each color and once they are gone, that’s it! They will be in our almost universal Beyerdynamic DT style which can also fit a wide variety of other headphones.
Learning From our Customers
Trade shows aren’t always just us teaching the convention goers but alternatively, it’s enthusiasts teaching us. Interesting headphones always flow past our booth but most interesting of all was the Sennheiser HD540. This baby doesn’t have much support anymore and owners of this legendary headphone are always scrounging for new ear pads. Well, today I’m happy to announce that our round Hifiman and TH900 ear pads fit the mounting ring for the HD540 and bring new life back to these cans.
DMS Reigniting the passion for the Sennheiser HD540
But wait there’s more! Number one on our list of requested ear pads, drum roll, please… The Audioquest Nighthawk. If you are going to talk about cult followings in the headphone industry, this is it. We receive dozens of requests to make aftermarket ear pads for the Nighthawk. Well, could you imagine it? A customer engaged me about the Nighthawk, and this man exclaimed that he owns not one… not two… but THREE of them. The Nighthawk has eluded our collection for the time being but this man is itching to get life back into his collection of Nighthawks that he will be sending us his pads to develop new styles for these cans. I hope we can have something available for this crew of hardcore Nighthawk fans next year.
Zreviews on the AudioQuest NightHawk. Do I even need to say this? Viewer discretion is advised.
Recently we picked up an advertising spot at GoldenSound.audio. I appreciate the Golden One’s work and the attention to detail he provides when offering up free education resources to the audiophile community, so I had to grab a sponsor spot on his website. When you subscribe to his Patreon he has a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about all things audiophiles and where he will answer questions you have regarding equipment and the likes.
Just one of the many educational videos from Golden Sound
Well, that community also dragged me into a hotel room filled with thousands of dollars of Headphones, Amplifiers, and DACs. I was able to have my first experience with the Abyss 1266, and right when you pick it up your first thought is “This is going to be interesting”. Hopefully, the guys at Abyss will hook us up in the future with some pads, because I want to see how pad rolling affects this beast of engineering. The adventure will be extremely fun especially with the different sound signatures available just by adjusting the distance between drivers.
Have you seen this video of Linus from Linus Tech Tips crying?
What really blew my mind was when I got handed an Audio Technica AD900X. I have access to the AD900X in the office, and had always felt, it’s just not a headphone for me. Not until it was attached to a tube amp did I get on board with how interesting it sounded. If you haven’t tried it, now you should because wowzas. Seriously, shout out to the Golden Sound community! If you are headed to CanJam NYC the group is already planning their stays in the Midtown area. Join up and get connected with like-minded people!
TekSyndicate on the AD900X
Wrap Up
What an intense show! Despite all of the negativity in the world, a group of headphone enthusiasts came together and made this show possible. Thanks to Ethan, Jude and the entire Head-Fi team. We hope to see you all at CanJam NYC, our hometown show. You can expect the entire Dekoni team at the show, where we will be answering questions and letting the crowd experience audiophile favorites.
See you next time!
See you space cowboy
CanJam SoCal was a blast and the coverage is slowly pouring in. Our friends at Headphone.Guru stopped by at the Dekoni Audio booth to say hello. Here are the impressions we left.
You can find the original post HERE
Dekoni
Probably the most respected manufacturer of custom ear-pads, ear-tips and, accessories is Dekoni, and they were on hand with a host of items for demonstration and sale, including a stunning pair of blue plaid ear-pads, as well as a pair of their famous Dekoni Blue Headphones ($299.99). One really exciting product was their new Headphone Hero ($199.99) hard shell travel case. Designed in partnership with SKB the Headphone Hero sports an automatic pressure relief valve and TSA-approved latches with an IP67 water-resistant seal allowing them to be safely stored with the baggage on an airplane without needing to be placed inside a suitcase. It also features a removable protective insert that can be used as a portable headphone stand.
You can find the original review here.
One of the most intimate contacts any music lover has with their equipment is with the earpads of their headphones. But what if you love the sound of headphones A, but don’t much care for their feel on your head. Can you do something about it?
Well, there’s a good chance that you can with Dekoni Audio products. Dekoni makes a bunch of accessories – and even sells a set of Dekoni-branded planar magnetic headphones, which are a modified model from Fostex. But the great bulk of its lines are replacement earpads for quality headphones. Amongst the brands they cover are Beyerdynamic, Focal, HIFIMAN, Audeze, Sony, Audio-Technica, Technics, AKG, Fostex, Sennheiser and even Beats.
Here I’m trying out three different types, at three different prices points, with the Astell&Kern AK T5p 2nd Generation Closed Headphones, which I reviewed here.
tl;dr
- Well made replacement earpads
- Available with a range of fittings compatible with several different brands of quality headphones
- Dekoni Elite Velour earpads for Beyerdynamic DT770/880/990 series use a “tight” velour that is acoustically similar to leather – $74.95
- Dekoni Elite Hybrid earpads for Beyerdynamic DT770/880/990 series use a velour surface for comfort, a sheepskin outer ring and a fenestrated sheepskin inner ring – $109.95
- Dekoni Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin earpads for Beyerdynamic DT770/880/990 series use fenestrated sheepskin for all soft surfaces, allowing for cooler wearing – $119.95
- Fenestrated means perforated
- Very comfortable to wear. The increased depth of the earcups compared to the stock ones provided on the Astell&Kern AK T5p 2nd Generation Closed Headphones does result in a different listening experience.
A bit more information
Why the A&K headphones? Well, for one thing, as I pointed out in my review, they are great headphones. But also, they are physically compatible with the Beyerdynamic DT series, since A&K worked with Beyerdynamic in developing them.
Above I focused on the comfort element of replacement earpads. But there are other reasons why you might want new earpads … even if your headphones are new. For example, you might want to grab some now and just put them away until the original earpads – which are the parts of a set of headphones, perhaps apart from the cables, most subject to wear and tear – need replacement. Some brands have demonstrated that they will keep replacements in stock for at least a couple of decades, but that’s a long time and you don’t know what the future holds.
And then there’s the matter of sound. We tend not to think to much about it, but the earpads are a significant part of the dynamic system that constitutes headphones. The volume of air they contain between driver and head, their compliance or “springiness”, change the way that the driver works. Resonances are altered, perhaps ameliorated, or maybe introduced. Different frequencies may be absorbed more by different materials.
There are plenty of head fi enthusiasts who tweak their headphones with different pads, sometimes purchased and sometimes home made, in order to adjust the character of the sound.
Fitting the pads
I will confess that I hate fiddly tasks like removing and fitting new earpads. Let’s face it, headphones are not designed to have their pads changed all the time. Makers expect you to change them somewhere between never and two or three times over their lifespan. So they haven’t typically spent a lot of design time on making the task easy.
That said, with the A&K headphones the fitting wasn’t particularly onerous. There’s a narrow channel around the circumference of the earcup. At the back of each earpad is a flat ring made of a rubbery material – the ring is around 6mm wide – which can be stretched over the end of the channel to fit inside it. Once you get it started, you align the overlap with a notch in the channel, and then just rotate until the ring is entirely in the channel. The result is neat. With all three of these earcups, there were no visual clues that they were not factory fitted.
The stock earcups on the A&K headphones feature a material that feels like soft leather, although I would have expected A&K to have mentioned this if it were. The profile of the cups are rounded, so that they are like half a donut, and there is no backing material across the open space inside the cup.
All three of the Dekoni earpads are more cylindrical, with a flat face on each and with a fine black material covering the driver side of the hole. Apart from that covering and the profile, the other marked difference from the stock pads is that they are much deeper. The supplied pads, uncompressed, are 20mm thick, while all three of the Dekoni ones are 30mm.
Listening
Well, that was an interesting experience. Despite the considerations I outlined regarding the effect of earcups on sound, I was honestly not expecting to hear much of a difference. One reason why was that rapid A/B testing was impossible. Even though the fitting system is reasonably effective, it isn’t fast.
In general, I thought that the headphones sounded pretty much the same with all three of the Dekoni pads installed, although a touch brighter with the Elite Velour and Hybrid Velour than with the Fenestrated Sheepskin ones.
But the differences between all three and the stock earpads were marked. First, they were all noticeably quieter. That is, the music was quieter when the Dekoni earpads were installed. I’d say they lost at least three decibels in level. I suppose that’s because their greater thickness moves the drivers a centimetre further away from the ears, and the greater air volume takes more energy to fill.
Increasing the volume to account for that, I felt that the treble was a little more prominent and the overall presentation of the sound somewhat less weighty, with a more constrained bass. There was a slight increase in “air” – remember the A&K headphones are closed-back models – but a corresponding loss of immediacy and focus.
Comfort-wise, I found the Velour and Hybrid models tighter on my head than the stock ones, thanks to the extra depth holding out the yoke of the headphones a little wider, and thus increasing the force of their spring. This was less apparent with the Fenestrated Sheepskin earpads. They seemed to have a bit more give in them.
Conclusion
The Dekoni Audio earpads are well made and well designed. On my head with the Astell&Kern AK T5p 2nd Generation Closed Headphones, I preferred the original earcups.
On your head with a pair of Sennheisers or Focals or ATs? Who knows? That’s part of the fun when you depart from stock headphone fittings. Experiment and see what you think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OAzdVllyvo
Watch his Youtube video below or head over to his website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqYPwY97nCs
Dekoni Sennheiser HD 600 Series Fenestrated Sheepskin Earpads And Hybrid Elite Earpads Review – Bold Statements
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin earpads and and Hybrid Elite earpads offer outstanding workmanship and comfort. However, they alter the characteristics the Sennheiser HD 600 have been known for and may therefore not be for everyone.
INTRODUCTION
The Sennheiser HD 600 headphones have been standard staples with audiophiles since 1997. They are characterized by a stellar, natural sounding midrange, great treble extension, and a somewhat poorly extended and slow low end. Their characteristic sound is generated by the combination of driver and earpads.
But the stock earpads have a wear-and-tear, they will loose tension over time and cause the HD 600 to sound “wrong”. Because of the large distribution of the Sennheiser HD 600/650/6XX “( the “HD 600 series”), it has become lucrative for companies to offer after-market earpads. We have recently reviewed the Competiors Pads that failed our test on grounds of tonality. It is obviously difficult to break into Sennheiser’s market as they had enough time in the last >>20 years to optimize the sound of their HD 600 series models.
Dekoni Audio is an American company out of New Jersey that offers high-end headphone accessories for a number of popular models. For the Sennheiser HD 600 series, they boldly offer six different kinds of earpads, ranging from $50 to $80.
The company also offers measurements of all their ear pads relative to the Sennheiser stock pads [here]. The Dekoni Audios ear pads for these Senns show a different degrees of midrange recession (“V-shape”) compared to the stock pads.
I selected the two with the least such recession, the “Dekoni Audio Fenestrated Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads for Sennheiser HD 600 Series Headphones” and the slightly more V-shaped (graphing) “Dekoni Audio Elite Hybrid Replacement Ear Pads for Sennheiser HD 600 Series Headphones“.
PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY
Dekoni Audio claim that their pads are cooler and more comfortable than the stock pads. I tested them in the cold Canadian winter and leave the temperature judgement to testers in warmer regions. They are comfortable and have a lower elastic rebound than the stock pads.
The Fenestrated Sheepskin and Elite Hybrid have identical shapes with straight walls and flat tops. Material wise, the Fenestrated Sheepskin pads (fenestra, latin: window) feature the same material all around (sheepskin leather with little “window” holes). The Elite Hybrid feature velour on top, leather on the outer wall and Fenestrated Sheepskin leather on the inside.
The quality of these two ear pads is impeccable. I particularly like the Fenestrated Sheepskin that remind me of high-end leather seats in a luxury vehicle – compared to the Sennheiser stock pads resembling used back seats in a New York cab.
In terms of size, the Dekoni pads are narrower and 1-2 mm deeper than the stock pads and they have a slightly larger opening. The Dekonis also have a slightly smaller opening and a bigger contact area on the head owing to their flat top. The Sennheiser pads may have a bigger surface area but it is curved, and the inner walls are not straight either.
In terms of strength, the Dekoni pads (I assume they have the same fill) are firmer than the stock pads and the also have the much slower elastic rebound. I found the Dekoni pads very comfortable over longer listening periods. I leave the fit discussion to co-blogger Kazi and will focus on the most important thing: the sound.
Installation: You find lots of videos on how to replace Sennheiser HD 600 series pads on YouTube or on the Dekoni website. It is easy. You essentially rip the pads off and click the new ones into place.
TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES
Follow these links for some background information:
My tonal preference and testing practice
Equipment used: MacBook Air; Earmen TR-amp, Sennheiser HD 600, Dekoni Audio Fenstrated Sheepskin and elite Hybrid pads.
The two types of Dekoni earpads do alter the sound of my Sennheiser HD 600 in that they make it darker, bolder, weightier – at the expense of the lean original signature. The stage becomes slightly deeper but less airy. The Fenestrated Sheepskin pads alter the sound less than the “bassier and more recessed” Elite Hybrid pads.
Fenstrated Sheepskin Pads
After my bad experience with the competitors earpads, which pulled the weight too far down in the frequency spectrum, the Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads came as a somewhat pleasant surprise.
The Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads do not alter the bass quantity however reduce the frequency spectrum from the upper bass up. This translates to slightly perceived bass boost, a recessed midrange and less treble extension (compared to the Sennheiser stock pads). Such recession is adherent to all Dekoni models and is least evident in the fenestrated sheepskin pads, which probably makes them the most recommendable ones.
The reduction in upper and lower midrange has positive and negative effects. The good is that the shoutiness reported by many users has been essentially eliminated, which thickens the vocals and adds more note weight to them. The bad is that the midrange loses energy and air, and becomes darker. Some may perceive vocals as duller than before, others may welcome the increased note weight.
And yep, the treble extension the Sennheiser HD 600 has been known for certainly has been tamed to some extent and caters more to treble sensitive listeners. Cymbals have become more subtle but without losing definition.
Technicalities such as timbre, soundstage, separation and layering have been largely untouched. The HD 600 have never been known for their soundstage, Dekoni claims their pads increase it because of their bigger depth relative to the stock pads. The stage may have become a bit deeper but that difference is insignificant for daily use. Soundstage with the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads is fine.
Elite Hybrid Pads
The Dekoni Elite Hybrid earpads are only different from the Fenestrated Sheepskin pads through their boost below 300 Hz. When playing music without bass, both models sound essentially identical. The extra-boosted low end (with respect to the stock pads) appears to turn my HD 600 into an HD 650.
Since an earpad does not change the driver speed, the boosted low end amplifies its weakness and makes it sonically fuzzier and thumpier than with the stock pads.
In the mix (the human ear hears the whole frequency spectre in context), the boosted low end pushes the vocals further back (than the fenestrated sheepskins) and can somewhat congest the transition bass-midrange. It also pushes the treble further back.
IMO, the Dekoni Earpads Hybrid earpads push the weight too far down towards the bottom of the frequency range. But all it does is bloating it as the HD 600 is not basshead material because of the driver’s limited articulation down there.
I therefore much prefer the Fenestrated Sheepskin pads of the two models.
In comparison to the Dekoni pads, the HD 600 with the Sennheiser stock pads may sound leaner and they have more air, but a shallower stage. Everything with the stock pads is more subtle and it is bolder with the Dekoni pads.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Dekoni Audio earpads tested are superior over the Sennheiser stock pads in terms of build and haptic – they are also pricier. The Fenestrated Sheepskin pads produce a thicker/weightier but less energetic sound than the stock pads on the Sennheiser HD 600. The sonic differences between the stock pads and Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin pads are, however, not earth shattering – and may be not be a dealmaker/breaker. However, they do alter the characteristic sonic signature of my HD 600 probably too much to please purists.
The Elite Hybrid, on the other hand, very similar to the competitors pads, add to much weight to the bottom of the frequency spectrum imo that is missing in the midrange and on the top. I would not recommend these to listeners who treasure the original sound of the HD 600.
Until next time…keep on listening!
DISCLAIMER
The earpads were provided by Dekoni Audio through their Head-Fi campaign – and I thank them for that.
Catch the original post on Head-Fi.org
Pros: Super lightweight. Great feeling material. No micro phonics. Portable length. Sturdy connectors
Cons: No options for cable length. Huge competition from all over the place for the 58X/6XX series of Sennheiser headphones. No other connector options for other headphones.
I tend to avoid cable reviews since I find the sound quality side of cable reviews to be super subjective to a point. Plus that’s not usually why I opt for aftermarket cables. Luckily for me, Dekoni’s new Cablez doesn’t claim to be a special cable that improves sound. I was interested in their new offering since this seems to be new territory for them. Plus I like the way it looks. The Cablez comes in at a length of 1.2M and comes in 4.4mm Pentaconn. It is a fairly standard 5N copper cable.
Shoutout to Dylan from Dekoni for sending the Cablez in for review. While I always appreciate the chance to test and review products sent in from manufacturers, it never affects the rating of my review.
The Cablez can be picked up here https://dekoniaudio.com/product/dek…nnheiser-hd600-series-headphones-1-2m-length/
Gear used
IPhone 12 Pro, SMSL SU-9/SP400, iFi NEO, custom tube amp.
Looks and feel
When I got the Cablez in I was quite surprised since these had a material pretty close to my stock audeze cables. It’s hard to explain the feel of the cable material but it has a silicon/grippy feel. This material made for zero micro phonics when it was plugged into my 6xx. The cable is lightweight and didn’t tangle easy when I used it so I was pretty happy about that. It does require some effort to get them plugged into the headphones but I didn’t feel like I was breaking anything. They will wear down with time if for some reason you cable swap a lot. The cable is on the shorter side which was perfect for me. I tend to either be at my desk or relaxing on the bed/couch. This will of course be an issue if you have a setup where the amp is far from you. The other issue is that Dekoni(as of this writing) doesn’t offer any longer lengths. I hope that if the Cablez sells well, that some cable length options are added. The Cablez is also only offered in the 58X/6 everything series connectors. No options as of yet for other headphones.
Sound thoughts
Dekoni claims the cablez won’t do any magical sound changes and they’re correct. In my testing I noticed no difference from the stock cable and the Cablez(ran through a single ended adapter). The few balanced cables I tried for the 6xx all gave a slightly wider soundstage and the same thing happened with the Cablez as well.
Cost
I can hear a lot of people screaming “WHY WOULD I PAY $120 FOR A CABLE FOR MY $170 58X?!”. Well it depends on a few things IMO. Of course you can pick up some cheaper cables of unknown build quality off Ali or amazon but here you get a really nicely made cable with no micro phonics that’s lightweight for a “middle of the cable road” price. It also depends on what headphones you plan to pair the Cablez with. If you attach it to a 58X the price is a little harder to swallow. If you throw the cable of a normal HD650 or 660s then the price of the Cablez doesn’t seem that bad. Dekoni is already running a deal on the Cablez as part of its launch so I recommend grabbing one now vs later if there is an interest in trying their new Cablez.
Overall thoughts
Like I stated in the beginning, I try not to do cable reviews as I like to avoid the subjective side of what a cable does to the sound quality. I usually buy an aftermarket cable because I have a need for a balanced cable. Looks and feel are important to me and I really like the new Dekoni Cablez. For those with the original HD600/650 and the 660S, I do recommend the Cablez! It was a blast to use and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Those with the 58X and 6XX will wanna determine if the price is worth it for the features of the cable. Thanks for reading.
*Side note* I had planned to finish this review by grabbing my pair of 6XX from work and taking pics with the final production version of the Cablez. I’ve had the cable in for quite some time waiting for a release. I usually leave my 6XX in my cube at work since I’m the only one from my team going in currently. Someone was nice enough to take my headphones out of my cube while I was out of the office but left the custom tube amp that was worth way more behind. So unfortunately there won’t be any pics of it attached to my now missing 6XX.
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