Wear and tear of headphones (photos)

[sprellemannen]

It can be difficult for a reviewer to say something about how good headphones are regarding wear and tear.
This thread is meant to make readers aware of such things (bad or good) documented by photos.

 

[sprellemannen]

Below are photos of my Pioneer SE-Monitor5. I bought them 3 years ago. Their retail price was $ 1000. The headphones have been nicely used (under no hard conditions etc.).
The faux leather of the headband is obviously of bad quality.
I have had no other issues than that with them (for instance, I find the ear pads' quality as good as new).
Note that Pioneer's home page says nothing (to my knowledge) about spare parts for them.
I have decided to give them (for free) to a friend.

 

[mononoaware]

I think this kind of thing also depends on the climate, and how your personal hygiene is. . .

e.g. humidity, room regularly aired out (open windows) and how often you wash your hair/face/hands before you touch your headphones.

I do not regularly air out the room (maybe open windows once every 2-3 months), but I wash my hands and face often, wash hair if any signs of oiliness/itchiness.

I do not own many "headphones"/portable audio (just 2 over-ear headphones and 1x IEM), but I have owned them for 3+ years and never had any issue with degradation/wearing out that most others mention.

Regarding frequency of use I would put myself in the "average" category, most nights I will use them for after hours listening.

Model I have used most: Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R.

I think its not worth taking a picture since they look brand-new, if a tiny bit dusty (I try to keep the dust off as well by going over them with a tissue once in awhile).

 

[restorer-john]

I think this kind of thing also depends on the climate, and how your personal hygiene is. . .

e.g. humidity, room regularly aired out (open windows) and how often you wash your hair/face/hands before you touch your headphones.

I do not regularly air out the room (maybe open windows once every 2-3 months), but I wash my hands and face often, wash hair if any signs of oiliness/itchiness.

I do not own many "headphones"/portable audio (just 2 over-ear headphones and 1x IEM), but I have owned them for 3+ years and never had any issue with degradation/wearing out that most others mention.

You've clearly not owned enough headphones.

The soft touch skin-like coating on earcups and headbands disintegrates regardless of climate, hygiene whatever. It has done since the damn stuff was created 30+ years ago. Foam fails too. Nothing you can do to stop it.

 

[mononoaware]

You've clearly not owned enough headphones.

The soft touch skin-like coating on earcups and headbands disintegrates regardless of climate, hygiene whatever. It has done since the damn stuff was created 30+ years ago. Foam fails too. Nothing you can do to stop it.

Hmm maybe I am spoiled by Beyerdynamic. . . they do use suede type pads, the headband pleather is fine though like brand-new.

The main complaints for suede seem to be:
- accumulate dust easily
- compress quickly over time (I have not had this issue, clamping force is just right though on 300 R)
- get filthy quickly overall (sweat + oil + dust I think) (I have not had this issue either)

I even looked up replacement Beyer pads, due to the feedback I read, but didn't buy any spares since they were costly (turns out I didn't need them anyway).

My second pair is a set of Creative SXFI Air wireless headphones.
They have had some feedback regarding the pleather degrading quickly on pads and headband.
But I have not experienced any of this, they have strong clamp too, they block a surprising amount of ambient noise.
They are only about 1+ year old though. . . I will update with pictures if I have issues. . . but based on the way Beyer pleather is doing, I do not think it will happen too soon. . .

If one goes for a jog/breaks a sweat doing some work and puts the pleather on skin later on in the day, I can absolutely see the pleather falling apart quickly.

Edit: or maybe your greasy fingers from that cheese pizza OP is about to consume.

 

[Johannes AU]

Oil from the head ....

 

[restorer-john]

Oil from the head ....

Maybe he blew a head gasket?

 

[mononoaware]

Oil from the head ....

Ha-ha. . . this comment was funny. Straight to the point.

 

[Johannes AU]

Ha-ha. . . this comment was funny. Straight to the point.

It is always a good practice to wipe clean head band, earpads, earbuds after use, as you said, hygiene.

 

[mononoaware]

Here are some images.

Edit: Just looked at the photos on my phone in a dark room, I could have increased exposure. . . photographing habit of under-exposing. . . sorry.

1. Pretty ordinary angle, showing the exterior.

2. Headband looks worse than it is, iPhone was used as a torch to get handheld shots. . . harsh light so the "scales" are more visible, you can see the scales on the outer band as well, they are just less noticeable since it is pulled tight.
No peeling or visible damage (from nails/scratches etc), some dry skin in places which makes it look like its damaged but I brushed that off after the photo. . . The next photo will explain the odd bunching shape in the middle.

3. I keep the headphone on a 3M hook, it is easy to access and put back in the dark. The middle part of headband bears the weight (which works out fine since when wearing the pressure goes to the areas either side of that area).

4. Pads are a bit dusty/some skin flakes, unavoidable really, it builds up slowly on other stuff in the room, a bigger fuss to remove from suede material.
Not certain of this, but I heard the 300 R shares suede pads with another Beyerdynamic model, they are hard to compress so that probably helps with holding their shape.
Pretty good for 3 years of use I think. . .

 

[mononoaware]

It is always a good practice to wipe clean head band, earpads, earbuds after use, as you said, hygiene.

I avoid "oil/sweat/moisture/dust" to begin with so I only have to do minimal cleaning of dust/dry skin from scratching head.

I posted some photos above, no wiping done after use. Never wiped headband.
Around once a month I will gently remove dust with a tissue paper.

 

[Johannes AU]

Old tooth brush is a very good tool to remove dirt from suede material. Sometimes we forgot the old way to remove dirt and dust from a wool coat.

 

[mononoaware]

Old tooth brush is a very good tool to remove dirt from suede material. Sometimes we forget the old way to remove dirt and dust from a wool coat.

Thanks for the advice I will try it next time, although I am worried about bacteria from "used" tooth brush, I am sure I can find something similar (brush material).

 

[Johannes AU]

Old tooth brush is a very good tool to remove dirt from suede material.

Thanks for the advice I will try it next time, although I am worried about bacteria from "used" tooth brush, I am sure I can find something similar (brush material).

Clean the old tooth brush with detergent before you use it, it should be good, after you brushed something dirty or oily, flush it again in warm water with mild detergent and clean water afterwads.

 

[mononoaware]

Clean the old tooth brush with detergent before you use it, it should be good, after you brushed something dirty or oily, flush it again in warm water with mild detergent and clean water afterwads.

Ok thanks.

 

[Johannes AU]

Ok thanks.

You are always welcome.

You know, some hotels and airlines will offer some cheap tooth brushes, I always collect it for cleaning purpose, such as clean the dust on the iPhone earpiece, gaps between parts, dried car wax remains on trims edge after polish, etc etc .....

 

[Vini darko]

My Philips uptown headband has shed most of its skin. Super cheap knit cover is essential.

 

[3125b]

How long something may last really depends on the material choice, but a big point for me is repairability and parts availability. If something is easy to repair and parts are readily available, bad material choices may not be so damning.
One of the best headphones in that regard is the Sennheiser HD 600 family. Can be taken apart almost completely without tools and all matter of original and third party replacement and modification parts are available. Plus the only thing really failing on them over time is the foam in the pads, but that goes for almost all headphones over time.
Here is my HD 600 with a new headband pad, it's about 20 years old:

 

[Trell]

I've two pairs of Beyerdynamics 880 Edition, 250 Ohm, that I've used for 8+ years in the home office for mainly listening to music and movies. One pair for me and one for my wife. The headband looks nice, but used, if you look closely. The cups have been changed recently, though, and wish I did that earlier. The ear cups is a standard replacement part.

No pictures, you've got to trust me on this, but it's nowhere as bad as the OP pictures. Not even close.

 

[Helicopter]

Run the old toothbrush through the dishwasher before repurposing it. All my old toothbrushes that are set for other duties go through this.