From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

Hi,

I have a pair of earphones Sennheiser brand. HD 450BT. The sound is
fantastic, but the earpads degrade very fast. I bought replacement
earpads or cushions last November, and now they are degraded - see photo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aXfhUni2DqMnfvZj6

In two weeks it will be much worse. I am using them daily (with sporadic
use, they degrade in two years).


What can I do?

Maybe buy some other good earphones via BT with more durable ear pads?

In summer, the TV room has a very noisy small AC, so earphones with
noise cancel are a wonder.
--
Cheers, Carlos.
ESEfc-Efc+, EUEfc-Efc|;

--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 2026-05-27 05:51, Carlos E.R. wrote:

Hi,

I have a pair of earphones Sennheiser brand. HD 450BT. The sound is fantastic, but the earpads degrade very fast. I bought replacement
earpads or cushions last November, and now they are degraded - see photo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aXfhUni2DqMnfvZj6

In two weeks it will be much worse. I am using them daily (with sporadic use, they degrade in two years).

What can I do?

Maybe buy some other good earphones via BT with more durable ear pads?

In summer, the TV room has a very noisy small AC, so earphones with
noise cancel are a wonder.

You might take them to the shoemaker (I assume you folks still have
those) and get some made from lambskin.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs
--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC / Hobbs ElectroOptics
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

http://electrooptical.net
http://hobbs-eo.com

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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 2026-05-27 19:59, Phil Hobbs wrote:

On 2026-05-27 05:51, Carlos E.R. wrote:

Hi,

I have a pair of earphones Sennheiser brand. HD 450BT. The sound is
fantastic, but the earpads degrade very fast. I bought replacement
earpads or cushions last November, and now they are degraded - see photo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aXfhUni2DqMnfvZj6

In two weeks it will be much worse. I am using them daily (with
sporadic use, they degrade in two years).


What can I do?

Maybe buy some other good earphones via BT with more durable ear pads?

In summer, the TV room has a very noisy small AC, so earphones with
noise cancel are a wonder.

You might take them to the shoemaker (I assume you folks still have
those) and get some made from lambskin.

There maybe one or two somewhere...

Amazon has several earpads by several makers for this model. I tried one
the previous time. Dunno how durable it be. Certainly cheaper, but worse
sound insulation.

They are not easy to attach, either.
--
Cheers, Carlos.
ESEfc-Efc+, EUEfc-Efc|;
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Wed, 27 May 2026 11:51:22 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

What can I do?

I have the same model. Yes the ear pads degrade. The only thing you
can do is replace them and trying different brands or styles( fuzzy vs
smooth, pleather vs plastic vs real leather) until you find ones that
can survive your usage case.
ME
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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On Wed, 27 May 2026 11:51:22 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

Hi,

I have a pair of earphones Sennheiser brand. HD 450BT. The sound is >fantastic, but the earpads degrade very fast. I bought replacement
earpads or cushions last November, and now they are degraded - see photo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aXfhUni2DqMnfvZj6

In two weeks it will be much worse. I am using them daily (with sporadic >use, they degrade in two years).

What can I do?

Maybe buy some other good earphones via BT with more durable ear pads?

In summer, the TV room has a very noisy small AC, so earphones with
noise cancel are a wonder.

Welcome to early death by design, timed self destruction, short life
warranty, planned deterioration, etc. Few companies can afford to
design products that last a lifetime. Instead, they want you to
replace their failed products with nice new products that also fail.
Forget about repair as parts are usually hard to find and expertise is
scarce. I especially like companies that make minor changes to their
plastic parts solely to discourage buyers from cannibalizing old
devices to fix new devices (i.e Philips/Norelco shavers).

Instead, I suggest that you sew your own headphone ear pads.
Instruction videos are available on YouTube: <https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sew+your+own+headphone+covers>

Most headsets use open polyurethane memory foam to reduce the pressure
on the ear.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_foam>
The foam takes a set and shapes itself to the shape of your ear,
resulting in much less pressure on the ear by uniformly distributing
the pressure.

Having the plastic cover deteriorate in 2 weeks indicates that you're
either washing your hair in toxic solvents or the plastic cover was
improperly polymerized. Easy fix - don't use a plastic cover.
Instead, I suggest 100% cotton. Cotton might need to be washed
occasionally, but it's not going to fall apart. If you don't want to
learn sewing, make something from an elastic cotton sock. It's not as comfortable, but it does the job. <https://www.google.com/search?q=cloth%20headset%20ear%20covers&udm=2>
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272 AE6KS 831-336-2558

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From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 2026-05-28 01:04, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Wed, 27 May 2026 11:51:22 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:

Hi,

I have a pair of earphones Sennheiser brand. HD 450BT. The sound is
fantastic, but the earpads degrade very fast. I bought replacement
earpads or cushions last November, and now they are degraded - see photo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aXfhUni2DqMnfvZj6

In two weeks it will be much worse. I am using them daily (with sporadic
use, they degrade in two years).


What can I do?

Maybe buy some other good earphones via BT with more durable ear pads?

In summer, the TV room has a very noisy small AC, so earphones with
noise cancel are a wonder.

Welcome to early death by design, timed self destruction, short life warranty, planned deterioration, etc. Few companies can afford to
design products that last a lifetime. Instead, they want you to
replace their failed products with nice new products that also fail.
Forget about repair as parts are usually hard to find and expertise is scarce. I especially like companies that make minor changes to their
plastic parts solely to discourage buyers from cannibalizing old
devices to fix new devices (i.e Philips/Norelco shavers).

Not the case, you can buy the pads, there are lots of them. The brand
ones are expensive.

Instead, I suggest that you sew your own headphone ear pads.
Instruction videos are available on YouTube: <https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sew+your+own+headphone+covers>

Most headsets use open polyurethane memory foam to reduce the pressure
on the ear.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_foam>
The foam takes a set and shapes itself to the shape of your ear,
resulting in much less pressure on the ear by uniformly distributing
the pressure.

Having the plastic cover deteriorate in 2 weeks indicates that you're

Half a year, with daily use.

either washing your hair in toxic solvents or the plastic cover was improperly polymerized. Easy fix - don't use a plastic cover.
Instead, I suggest 100% cotton. Cotton might need to be washed
occasionally, but it's not going to fall apart. If you don't want to
learn sewing, make something from an elastic cotton sock. It's not as comfortable, but it does the job. <https://www.google.com/search?q=cloth%20headset%20ear%20covers&udm=2>

--
Cheers, Carlos.
ESEfc-Efc+, EUEfc-Efc|;
--- Synchronet 3.22a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: sci.electronics.repair

On 27/05/2026 10:51, Carlos E.R. wrote:

Hi,

I have a pair of earphones Sennheiser brand. HD 450BT. The sound is fantastic, but the earpads degrade very fast. I bought replacement
earpads or cushions last November, and now they are degraded - see photo.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/aXfhUni2DqMnfvZj6

In two weeks it will be much worse. I am using them daily (with sporadic
use, they degrade in two years).

What can I do?

No idea. I have some Koss Pro4AA headphones I bought in 1972. I don't
use them much now, but used to. They still have the original earpads
which are fine (they were gel-filled for close fitting). The problem was
the weight and that they were very hot after only a few minutes of wear. They'd be very uncomfortable to wear in hot weather.

They still make them:
<https://koss.com/products/pro4aa>
--
Jeff
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