[CJG888]

... the lesson is: check all foams regularly, and remove/replace once they BEGIN to deteriorate. Never wait until you are left with dust....

 

[CJG888]

I haven’t touched the foam inside the cups (behind the drivers). Presumably it is also toast, but I’m just hoping that it will be stable if left alone....

I really don’t want to have to take them apart, and I have no idea where to source replacement foam for the backs. I presume it has a role in damping the drivers (or, at least, the cans have been voiced with it).

 

[Tachikoma]

Don't worry about it, the foams don't matter that much.

Also, the disintegrated foam most likely got under the grill that separates your ear from the driver, not the actual stator. The stator is protected by another layer of wrinkly mylar. In other words, relax, you haven't damaged your headphones.

 

[CJG888]

I tested them today (with what’s left of the pads). They seem to sound fine, and the annoying squeal on the left channel (the reason why I put them in a drawer for the last 10 years) has gone! Maybe gentle vacuuming has helped remove whatever was in there ...

Incidentally, I’m driving them with an SRM-212 with a Custom Hifi Cables DC2 linear PSU.

 

[CJG888]

New pads are on the way, of course!

I did do one rather silly thing though: when I saw the state of the foams, I ripped the pads of the cups before I noticed that they are angled. Unfortunately, I don’t remember which way round they go! Should the fatter end of the pad go at the back (so that the drivers are angled in front of the ears)?