Situation update 3½ years later: the silicone ear cups still work, without degradation. I've been too busy to record and publish a video on how to cut out and install previous earpads' inner foam baffles into the silicone earpads, but it seems possible, as today I have done so for one of the two earpieces now. Maybe if there is enough demand I could do the other ear and record a video tutorial about that.
The foam in the center would help in dampening the sound evening it out and clearing some noise so it wont sound too raw. It has the same function as placing foam on a microphone to remove wind/room noise when you speak into it. It makes a huge difference but not something a non-audiophile would notice.
That gutter thing is like a clipon disc. If you remove it carefully you can slide it in the sponge and then clip it back on. One of my headphones has this feature. But I don't have cushioning that fits on it. Manufacturers should take care of it.
With brand new earpads such as these, use an airdryer to eat up the plastic lip to get it hot and soft (please use caution - just a little hot, please do not burn/melt the earpads). Then it will be easy to get them into position. The foam is there for a reason - it protects the driver from dust and moisture, and it also filters out a very tiny amount of treble (depending on the foam).
You can purchase actual sheepskin leather replacement pads for those headphones. Leather pads should not have the problem of deteriorating in the same manner as those pleather ones where the outer skin flakes off, though I don't know whether or not they will eventually fail at the seam in the same way as the original pads. They cost a bit more, but it might be worth the investment if you want effective replacements that offer comfort and don't have the same drawbacks as silicone pads.
Actually, it has nothing to do with the "pleather" itself, because "pleather" has been a very durable leather substitute in car seats for over a decade now. Its just planneed obsolescence from Bose, Sony and Co by making the ear pads extra bad.
@@maxschmidt666 Its actually due to it being pleather, not specifically because its pleather, but because of the manufacturing processes needed to achieve the qualities desired. Thin, smooth, soft, stretchy, low cost, good sealing ability, etc. All those together result in a pleather that is less durable over time. Thicker pleather's don't require the same qualities, and so can be made using techniques that result in them being more durable, and perhaps you could make headphone cushions more durable, but they would either cost significantly more, meaning the product would be less affordable, or would not be as comfortable, meaning consumers would be less inclined to purchase your product over someone else's that is more comfortable. Sometimes you have to pick your battles.
@@ixamraxi Thank you very much. I'm not a pleather expert, what what you say about the thickness seems perfectly reasonable. Also, it seems reasonable to me that thicker pleather on ear pads might feel less comfortable. That said, I think if Bose, Sony and Co. would want to make their ear pads more durable without loosing on comfort, they could do that with not too much effort. Maybe it would cost them a dollar more. But at the end of the day, they want to get more money from the consumer. Have a great day :)
There is always a difficulty when you are not used to building, making, play and doing things with your hands. 2nd, Visualize what you want and imagine the result. A beautiful story of this is Nikola Tesla building the induction motor. He envisioned it, built it in his mind, watch it run, watched it break and modified his design BEFORE he ever built the motor, did this twice and then when his design looked right in his mind, he built the motor. There has been alsomost no change to that motor for 150 years, Yes, some production and bearings got better but the concept never changed. Embrace your mind's ability to see what you want. Go watch a baby try to dink from a glass, NOT a sippy cup but a glass. All learning is mistakes. Take time to envision what you want. Mistakes are wonderful, they show you That Does Not work!
My problem is every ear pad does not hold the headphone speaker panel (?) far enough away from my ear. I am getting some tubing to slide under the earpads of my SONY WH-1000M3 and now I know I can buy the silicone pads for like 13€ on ebay. I have some Mpow "over the ear" which do not fit over my ears at all. I am not sure I care how they look as long as the work well.
Well the sound quality seems fine/identical to me, I'm not enough of an audiophile to be able to really tell the difference, or don't have a standardized test I can compare with that would eliminate placebo effect :) also as soon as I cut the foams filters to insert them inside, I wouldn't really be able to compare 100% accurately with the foam earpads anymore... Also, glad you enjoyed the video's style. I spend way too much effort on these for random life tips and discoveries :)
I'm glad I wasn't the only one to consider gel pads from hearing protection pads for my headphone, although yours seem to be both easier and harder to work with than mine (it has lips, sort of, whilst mine don't have any). I don't understand why there aren't any kind of "universal gel pads" yet.
The gel pads you purchased are somewhat similar to the kind you can find for David Clark's aviation ear pads. And they also sell inner foam layers if you wanted to add it. I am no audiophile, but I do believe having the foam is still better than having nothing at all. Otherwise, the parts inside are directly exposed to environment hazard.
Use a bicycle tyre removal tool. That's what I use and works every time. Make sure to buy a plastic one, so you don't scratch the headphones. Leaving the inner covers isn't a good idea, as it protects your hearing somewhat, acting as a dampener.
Any material between your ears and the drivers WILL change the audio. Just like changing from lether to velvet earpads. Silicone earpads will change the audio too.
The foam protects those metal parts from moisture buildup, and your ears from those metal parts. I'd like to hear how silicone pads turned out in the long term.
I'm still using them today, the earcups have not degraded, but I've been too busy and time-constrained to look for the old foams, cut them out, and install them inside the silicone earpads.
unfortunately i can't find silicone pads which fits the headphone models i have (one arctis 1, one soundcore q10 and one soundpeats space). even if i found one miraculously, i don't think they will have the shipping opition for my country. but i'm absolutely fed up with degrading pads, because i have a condition and i sweat excessively (very excessively). they all wither away in a couple of months. hell, f*** the silicone gel even, if i could do DIY, i would have make titanium pads for my headphones, that's how much i'm fed up with flaking and tearing earpads.
Thank you for this guidance. On a tangent: Is there actually a range of these sorts of headphones with durable ear cushions that won't flake that you could recommend? My JBL Tune 750BTNC "pleather" cushions and headband flaked out on me - literally and metaphorically after one year of use.
You didn't even bother to listen to your headphone before ending the video. Now we won't be able to know the changes it will make to our own headphones. We can ignore your mistakes with ear pad cutting. I can even stomach the fact that you didn't even put them on to check for comfort and feel. But NOT giving your viewers any feedback regarding sound? That's downright horrible, sir.
Thank you for your concern/interest 😉 in the last 2 years I've just been very busy with my businesses, clients, and open source projects I contribute to... I'm not really an improviser, so every video tends to take a lot of work (at least those that would be better than this one), so I haven't been able to dedicate time to making new/better ones (I hope to get back to this when I can). Also, it's sometimes tricky to have a solid idea of a topic to present that I think the public would find interesting and hasn't been covered by everybody else already ;) what would you like to hear about?
Hi Jeff! I have an Audio Tecnica msr, similar to yours Sony headphones, and my stock earpads are destroyed. It seems to me a good idea. How does the new ones affect the sound? Are they confortable over the time? Where did you by them? Thanks.
The sound quality seems fine/identical to me, I'm not enough of an audiophile to be able to really tell the difference :) They're comfortable enough that it doesn't bother me, though keep in mind that my studio is at a constant 21-23°C; I could imagine that if someone was to use this in a very warm and humid climate (like Hong Kong or elsewhere), this might get warm.
@@JeffFortinTam that's what I'm trying to figure out, what's best, there are 6 main types of earpads, 1. perforated(usually comes with cheap leather) 2. ice silk(it has a 3mm layer of cooling gel on top the foam) 3. valour 4. protein leather 5. sheepskin(most expensive) 6. leather like(cheapest) I wonder which one is best for hot climates and long sessions
Yes the foam that sits against the driver provides a small amount of acoustic impedance, it's very important to tame the resonant treble peaks. Maybe you like the changed signature, but it is a change, and in most headphones, it ends up much worse without than with tuning foam. But i hate this video because you were just fiddling with the pads for 10 minutes and haven't made an audio comparison assessment, your personal impression, or even comfort assessment. Because pads change sound, particularly the bass conveyance, even regardless of the filter foam. Why does this video exist? Why do 100000 videos exist where people just fiddle with pads for 20 minutes and then nothing?
cool )). this gel pads are very soft? how they are comfort to wearing h/phones with eyeglasses? no any hard pushing on head ear bone and get pain? and what about sweat? the cushions has not fiber coverage.
I've been useing my headphones everyday 8 to 12 hours a day and mine still look perfect been 4 or 5 years now how do u even manage that and it's not high end either just some tritton Kani
@@jurgenunterbergful also they could be poorly made. I have a pair of Klipsch noise cancelling headphones that the pads split wide open just sitting in a closet. What's worse is no one sells replacement pads for them so I have a nice $300 paperweight.
I can recognize silicone gel when I feel it. It's definitely not foam inside, it compresses differently, the gel exhibits much more resistance at the far end when compressed, and it reacts differently depending on the pressure zones than foam would.
Earpads are probably the second most important part for sound. You just changed the tuning of your headphones without even knowing about it. Changing earpads, even swapping old ones for identical new audibly changes the tuning. Same goes for the filter foam that reduces high frequencies.
So make us a video about this don't just tell us No No, Tell us How to tune the headphones. I roast my own coffee and then add what I like and my "nose in the air coffee sniffers" tell me what I am doing wrong but I fucking hate Their coffee. So How are earpads important? I have 5 sets of earphones. 2 actually fit Over my ears and do not push the cartilage of my ear but all Press on my ear because they are NOT deep enough and my ears are not some amazing sticking out ears. I have two cheapos Doqaus and Mpow that are just too small. My Sonys WH-1000M3 touch my ears from the speaker cover, my Xiberia do the same. Then pads are large enough but both...make that all 5 are shallow enough. So Mister nose in the Air Audiophile how exactly do I "tune my headphones". My sound canceling Sonys definitely cancel sound but I do not hear a real difference between the 5. My LG sound bar running ATMOS is much nicer because my ears a physically unmolested. 8-D
Situation update 3½ years later: the silicone ear cups still work, without degradation. I've been too busy to record and publish a video on how to cut out and install previous earpads' inner foam baffles into the silicone earpads, but it seems possible, as today I have done so for one of the two earpieces now. Maybe if there is enough demand I could do the other ear and record a video tutorial about that.
The foam in the center would help in dampening the sound evening it out and clearing some noise so it wont sound too raw. It has the same function as placing foam on a microphone to remove wind/room noise when you speak into it. It makes a huge difference but not something a non-audiophile would notice.
That gutter thing is like a clipon disc. If you remove it carefully you can slide it in the sponge and then clip it back on. One of my headphones has this feature. But I don't have cushioning that fits on it. Manufacturers should take care of it.
With brand new earpads such as these, use an airdryer to eat up the plastic lip to get it hot and soft (please use caution - just a little hot, please do not burn/melt the earpads).
Then it will be easy to get them into position.
The foam is there for a reason - it protects the driver from dust and moisture, and it also filters out a very tiny amount of treble (depending on the foam).
Great work Sir... !!! 👏👏👏
You can purchase actual sheepskin leather replacement pads for those headphones. Leather pads should not have the problem of deteriorating in the same manner as those pleather ones where the outer skin flakes off, though I don't know whether or not they will eventually fail at the seam in the same way as the original pads. They cost a bit more, but it might be worth the investment if you want effective replacements that offer comfort and don't have the same drawbacks as silicone pads.
Actually, it has nothing to do with the "pleather" itself, because "pleather" has been a very durable leather substitute in car seats for over a decade now.
Its just planneed obsolescence from Bose, Sony and Co by making the ear pads extra bad.
@@maxschmidt666 Its actually due to it being pleather, not specifically because its pleather, but because of the manufacturing processes needed to achieve the qualities desired. Thin, smooth, soft, stretchy, low cost, good sealing ability, etc. All those together result in a pleather that is less durable over time. Thicker pleather's don't require the same qualities, and so can be made using techniques that result in them being more durable, and perhaps you could make headphone cushions more durable, but they would either cost significantly more, meaning the product would be less affordable, or would not be as comfortable, meaning consumers would be less inclined to purchase your product over someone else's that is more comfortable. Sometimes you have to pick your battles.
@@ixamraxi Thank you very much. I'm not a pleather expert, what what you say about the thickness seems perfectly reasonable.
Also, it seems reasonable to me that thicker pleather on ear pads might feel less comfortable.
That said, I think if Bose, Sony and Co. would want to make their ear pads more durable without loosing on comfort, they could do that with not too much effort. Maybe it would cost them a dollar more. But at the end of the day, they want to get more money from the consumer.
Have a great day :)
There is always a difficulty when you are not used to building, making, play and doing things with your hands. 2nd, Visualize what you want and imagine the result. A beautiful story of this is Nikola Tesla building the induction motor.
He envisioned it, built it in his mind, watch it run, watched it break and modified his design BEFORE he ever built the motor, did this twice and then when his design looked right in his mind, he built the motor.
There has been alsomost no change to that motor for 150 years, Yes, some production and bearings got better but the concept never changed.
Embrace your mind's ability to see what you want.
Go watch a baby try to dink from a glass, NOT a sippy cup but a glass.
All learning is mistakes.
Take time to envision what you want.
Mistakes are wonderful, they show you That Does Not work!
Maybe put the foam so dust and whatnot can't get to the speakers, good video mate!
My problem is every ear pad does not hold the headphone speaker panel (?) far enough away from my ear. I am getting some tubing to slide under the earpads of my SONY WH-1000M3 and now I know I can buy the silicone pads for like 13€ on ebay.
I have some Mpow "over the ear" which do not fit over my ears at all.
I am not sure I care how they look as long as the work well.
Update? Come on man don't leave your viewers hanging. How is the sound quality? Thanks for the video, it was oddly entertaining in a good way.
Well the sound quality seems fine/identical to me, I'm not enough of an audiophile to be able to really tell the difference, or don't have a standardized test I can compare with that would eliminate placebo effect :) also as soon as I cut the foams filters to insert them inside, I wouldn't really be able to compare 100% accurately with the foam earpads anymore...
Also, glad you enjoyed the video's style. I spend way too much effort on these for random life tips and discoveries :)
I'm glad I wasn't the only one to consider gel pads from hearing protection pads for my headphone, although yours seem to be both easier and harder to work with than mine (it has lips, sort of, whilst mine don't have any).
I don't understand why there aren't any kind of "universal gel pads" yet.
The gel pads you purchased are somewhat similar to the kind you can find for David Clark's aviation ear pads. And they also sell inner foam layers if you wanted to add it. I am no audiophile, but I do believe having the foam is still better than having nothing at all. Otherwise, the parts inside are directly exposed to environment hazard.
Use a bicycle tyre removal tool. That's what I use and works every time. Make sure to buy a plastic one, so you don't scratch the headphones. Leaving the inner covers isn't a good idea, as it protects your hearing somewhat, acting as a dampener.
That's a genius idea! I'm making a note of it in my memos :)
Any material between your ears and the drivers WILL change the audio. Just like changing from lether to velvet earpads. Silicone earpads will change the audio too.
Just go the the equalizer then (:
The foam protects those metal parts from moisture buildup, and your ears from those metal parts. I'd like to hear how silicone pads turned out in the long term.
I'm still using them today, the earcups have not degraded, but I've been too busy and time-constrained to look for the old foams, cut them out, and install them inside the silicone earpads.
unfortunately i can't find silicone pads which fits the headphone models i have (one arctis 1, one soundcore q10 and one soundpeats space). even if i found one miraculously, i don't think they will have the shipping opition for my country. but i'm absolutely fed up with degrading pads, because i have a condition and i sweat excessively (very excessively). they all wither away in a couple of months. hell, f*** the silicone gel even, if i could do DIY, i would have make titanium pads for my headphones, that's how much i'm fed up with flaking and tearing earpads.
the foam is to protect the driver from hairs and other dirt. Iv'e had a hair recently stuck on one driver and it makes it sound awful
Thank you for this guidance. On a tangent: Is there actually a range of these sorts of headphones with durable ear cushions that won't flake that you could recommend? My JBL Tune 750BTNC "pleather" cushions and headband flaked out on me - literally and metaphorically after one year of use.
I just removed the flaking stuff, and washed them, now i use them since 3 jears now...
You didn't even bother to listen to your headphone before ending the video. Now we won't be able to know the changes it will make to our own headphones.
We can ignore your mistakes with ear pad cutting.
I can even stomach the fact that you didn't even put them on to check for comfort and feel.
But NOT giving your viewers any feedback regarding sound? That's downright horrible, sir.
Refreshing genuine comparted to what I usually see on TH-cam.
What happened to this channel and to you Jeff? I think the foam also would help to protect the speaker.
Thank you for your concern/interest 😉 in the last 2 years I've just been very busy with my businesses, clients, and open source projects I contribute to... I'm not really an improviser, so every video tends to take a lot of work (at least those that would be better than this one), so I haven't been able to dedicate time to making new/better ones (I hope to get back to this when I can). Also, it's sometimes tricky to have a solid idea of a topic to present that I think the public would find interesting and hasn't been covered by everybody else already ;) what would you like to hear about?
Have you ever tried dekoni suede ear pads for being cooler and less sweat prone?
does it fit Boltune BT-BH010?
I think a better approach when handling earpads that wont fit is to attach them with adhesives instead
Sheepskin cushions are The Best Sir... !!! 🙏
Hi Jeff! I have an Audio Tecnica msr, similar to yours Sony headphones, and my stock earpads are destroyed. It seems to me a good idea.
How does the new ones affect the sound? Are they confortable over the time? Where did you by them? Thanks.
The sound quality seems fine/identical to me, I'm not enough of an audiophile to be able to really tell the difference :)
They're comfortable enough that it doesn't bother me, though keep in mind that my studio is at a constant 21-23°C; I could imagine that if someone was to use this in a very warm and humid climate (like Hong Kong or elsewhere), this might get warm.
@@JeffFortinTam that's what I'm trying to figure out, what's best, there are 6 main types of earpads, 1. perforated(usually comes with cheap leather) 2. ice silk(it has a 3mm layer of cooling gel on top the foam) 3. valour 4. protein leather 5. sheepskin(most expensive) 6. leather like(cheapest) I wonder which one is best for hot climates and long sessions
ah silicon ear sauna, what is that sony headphone model?
It is a pair of MDR-7506 🧐
how did this last you?
I'm still using them today :) the earcups have not degraded.
Yes the foam that sits against the driver provides a small amount of acoustic impedance, it's very important to tame the resonant treble peaks. Maybe you like the changed signature, but it is a change, and in most headphones, it ends up much worse without than with tuning foam.
But i hate this video because you were just fiddling with the pads for 10 minutes and haven't made an audio comparison assessment, your personal impression, or even comfort assessment. Because pads change sound, particularly the bass conveyance, even regardless of the filter foam. Why does this video exist? Why do 100000 videos exist where people just fiddle with pads for 20 minutes and then nothing?
cool )). this gel pads are very soft? how they are comfort to wearing h/phones with eyeglasses? no any hard pushing on head ear bone and get pain? and what about sweat? the cushions has not fiber coverage.
You might have had less trouble if you had heated the pads, no ?
Possibly! Seems like a smart idea, I hadn't thought of that.
Just use 2 popsicle sticks they are flat 🤔
Gotta put the pads in warm water for a few minutes first
The quality of the earpad can affect the sounds.
I've been useing my headphones everyday 8 to 12 hours a day and mine still look perfect been 4 or 5 years now how do u even manage that and it's not high end either just some tritton Kani
is that leather?
Do u live in humid areas?
Mostly gets damage if you let someone else use it. Since the acidity on our sweat is different per person.
@@jurgenunterbergful also they could be poorly made. I have a pair of Klipsch noise cancelling headphones that the pads split wide open just sitting in a closet. What's worse is no one sells replacement pads for them so I have a nice $300 paperweight.
Probably different headphones, different materials. The very thin polymer layer on these off the factory is very susceptible to degradation.
what are you doing???? nooo 😂😅
thanks to the low wage the factory labors., they struggle for thousnd of this everyday
The fact that headphone cushions are more expensive than my headphone. Bruh
Video make me laugh
Those pads he got are not gel pads just pads designed to look like gel pads
I can recognize silicone gel when I feel it. It's definitely not foam inside, it compresses differently, the gel exhibits much more resistance at the far end when compressed, and it reacts differently depending on the pressure zones than foam would.
@@JeffFortinTam oh, I assumed they were foam seeing as I know someone who had gotten pads like those but it turned out it was foam and he got scamed
@@bored_key yeah, I can see how that could happen, they can be hard to tell apart visually depending on sellers' thumbnail pictures!
@@kevinchrist1658good point
better Sennheiser !... Sony too poor quality ...
My earphones only cost £13 - £25 :)
Earpads are probably the second most important part for sound. You just changed the tuning of your headphones without even knowing about it. Changing earpads, even swapping old ones for identical new audibly changes the tuning. Same goes for the filter foam that reduces high frequencies.
So make us a video about this don't just tell us No No, Tell us How to tune the headphones.
I roast my own coffee and then add what I like and my "nose in the air coffee sniffers" tell me what I am doing wrong but I fucking hate Their coffee.
So How are earpads important? I have 5 sets of earphones.
2 actually fit Over my ears and do not push the cartilage of my ear but all Press on my ear because they are NOT deep enough and my ears are not some amazing sticking out ears.
I have two cheapos Doqaus and Mpow that are just too small.
My Sonys WH-1000M3 touch my ears from the speaker cover, my Xiberia do the same. Then pads are large enough but both...make that all 5 are shallow enough.
So Mister nose in the Air Audiophile how exactly do I "tune my headphones".
My sound canceling Sonys definitely cancel sound but I do not hear a real difference between the 5. My LG sound bar running ATMOS is much nicer because my ears a physically unmolested. 8-D
Sure Karen😂😂