I took a look and they don't appear to be broken or defective in anyway. Few pictures I took.

That's the one that's uneven.

That's the normal one.

Here's what they look from behind.

Now for the life of me... I can't figure how to go about putting them back on. And until I figure that one out, if there are other angles/shots people would like to see, let me know.

One pad definitely looks thicker than the other. The thinner one doesn't really look angled, though, which I think it should. Probably trying to mimic Stax pads which are also thinner in the front and thicker in the back. Well, some of them.

I took the pads of your HPs penger - real flimsy design imo. To get them back on just line them up, place a little pressure and twist ( a little like the AKG but nowhere near as sophisticated )

If I could have opened them without damaging the wood/housing, I would have. Great potential there ..dB

That back of the earpad on the HE5 is a bit different from the one I have.