Brainwavz Audio is at it again with their signature Earpad products but this time around they have another trick up their sleeve in the form of their new “Micro Suede” material. I’ve had my fair share of using suede from Puma’s suede sneakers and DC’s skate’s shoes as well and they were some of the most comfortable sneakers I had, in and out, but isn’t the most durable as well. This would however be my 1^st encounter of suede being used on an earpad surface. What we have now to realview is the new Brainwavz Oval Micro Suede with Memory Foam earpads, thanks to Marlon for providing this pair in exchange for an honest review. It is currently priced at $26.50 with free world-wide shipping and a 12-month warranty, you can check it out at the Brainwavz official site, Brainwavz Audio, they also have this statement to claim for the Oval Microsuede Earpads “extra comfy pads are pure indulgence, providing our softest and most comfortable pads to date, designed to give extra relief for longer extended use.” We would put that to the test then.

Brainwavz Oval Microsuede dimensions:

       Thickness: 30mm

        Height: 110mm

        Width: 90mm

        Inner Hole: 45mm x 70mm

Packaging and Build Quality

The packaging is the same Brainwavz signature packaging for all their earpads or maybe just for the one’s I tried, it is a minimalist translucent plastic ziplock pouch with a built-in hanger and the Brainwavz Earpads printed on them. No manuals are included whoever more information about the Brainwavz company and their vast earpad offerings are included in the form of a paper insert, their social platform links are also provided for future contact with their support group which is great. It is great that they kept in mind the minimal packaging so as not to increase production costs and be environment-friendly. Right out of the pouch, the earpads was very soft and smooth to the hands, nowhere near the suede that I am used to which is a bit stiff. The stitches are well-spaced and no loose ends which may lead to breakage with constant remove/install of the pads.

Form factor

As the name implies, these are made for Headphones that possess the oval earcups which they also made a list of headphones these supports such as the following;

• Brainwavz HM5
• AKG 701 Q701
• Audio Technica ATH-M50 (and all other M50 sub models)
• Shure SRH 440
• Koss DJ100 / DJ200
• Takstar HI 2050 and Pro 80
• Ultrasone HF 580 / SH 1 Pro / HFI 780
• Sony MDR V6 / ZX 700
• Fostex T50RP T50
• M-Audio Q40
• JVC S500S

Those who have 2^nd thoughts are free to reach out to the dedicated Brainwavz Support team, Brainwavz Audio Support,  for more information. After having personally used these, the actual dimensions are indeed an estimate as the leather silhouette that is being used to attach to the earcups itself is flexible and can undergo quite some force of stretching to fit your headphone’s although the leather used is a bit thick and for headphones which uses slim lines for those earpad outlines like the Meze 99 Neo’s might find themselves struggling and eventually not fitting these but for headphones with wider earpad outlines and is near the advertised dimensions, you are good to go.

Comfort

The Brainwavz Oval Microsuede is plush and fluffy to the hand and that is very evident when used with your favorite pair of headphones, I was able to squeeze out around 3-4 hours of use with the Sony CD900ST’s on them. The included memory foam also conforms well to any individuals head after letting some of my friends try out the headphone’s attached with the Oval Microsuede’s. Using it on a room with air-conditioning can push the 3-4 hours to 4-5 hours of use with occasional adjusting yet no great build-up of sweat however on a room with no AC on, comfort is still great yet build-up of sweat would already appear after the 2^nd hour of use. It is a really comfortable pair of earpads to use which if you factor the stock earpads of the CD900ST which only lasted at a maximum of 30 minutes of use and that Is pushing it already.

Sound Changes

Haven’t I mentioned that these pads are thick? No, right? Well, they are! They might be fluffy and soft however they create a totally big gap with your ear-to-headphone driver gap ratio which tames the upper frequencies a great deal. The signature emphasized upper frequency and treble presence of the CD900ST was pushed back and replaced with a multitude of sub bass presence which reverbs on the gap created by these pads. It was however a welcome signature change in a way for the CD900ST which still allows the treble hits and peaks cut through occasionally.

Conclusion

The Brainwavz Oval Microsuede replacement earpads is another well-built and well-though product from Brainwavz. It hit all the right spots with the comfort and build quality aspects which is already to be expected from a company like Brainwavz and anything inferior will be considered a flop. The materials used on the Oval Micro Suede scream premium which is most likely to stand longer sessions of wear and tear. They have also stood their ground for their claims for these earpads. The sound changes however is a thing to note when considering these pads, be sure that the stock pads or the one’s you are used to using and replacing also has the similar ear-to-headphone driver gap ratio so as not to throw you off your preferred sound preference.