[ronmtorres]

Hi Guys,
I would just like to know how you clean your headphones. Also, what materials and solutions you use to clean and maintain your headphones to make them look good and new. Thanks!

 

[audiofreak7]

Uhhh...a damp cloth?!

That's what I use on all of my electronics.

 

[krmathis]

A soft cloth. Sometime damp with some warm water.

 

[Zorander]

Wipe surfaces with cloth dampened with cleaning alcohol. Where possible, I take off the pads and wash them in detergent water.

 

[ronmtorres]

Thanks for all the help guys! more suggestions are welcome

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wipe surfaces with cloth dampened with cleaning alcohol. Where possible, I take off the pads and wash them in detergent water.

Zorander, how do i know which pads can be washed with detergents? can my stock pads in my 280 pros be washed? Thanks

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorander /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wipe surfaces with cloth dampened with cleaning alcohol. Where possible, I take off the pads and wash them in detergent water.

isn't this a bit harsh - especially the "cleaning alcohol" part? typically instructions for keeping electronic equipment clean is dusting and, if need be, using a slightly damp soft cloth. i follow this rule but usually find that dusting is all that i need to do. for the earpads of my cans, i fine they collect hair and/or lint mostly (i'm talking velour pads) and use a travel size lint roller. i treat my stuff with kid gloves. personally, i feel light constant maintenance is better than once in a while major wipe down and wash.

 

[Duggeh]

Keep it all dusted. But no MR Sheen or other polishes. Abotu 1ce a year, give things like amps, with grilles and heatsinks, a careful gentle hoovering out.

For headphones themselves, fabric pads can be washed, and shoudl be when they need it, they do get smelly if you sweat into them after all. Pleather and Leather pads shoudl only be wiped with a wrung out damp cloth if they really need it.

 

[ericj]

Beyerdynamic velour earpads can be tossed in the washing machine with your linnens and benefit from liquid fabric softener. I've laundered the pads on my dt-770's four times that way.

AKG fabric earpads are probably also durable enough for the washing machine, but pleather earpads generally are not up to the abuse. This is one of the many reasons why i hate pleather earpads. They get greasy and there is nothing you can do to get them really clean. AKG K3/4/50x pleather earpads are torn to shreds by a washing machine.

A friend tells me that Sony MDR-V600 pleather earpads can survive the gentle cycle but they will lose the foam on the back of the fabric that covers the drivers. Not that anyone here seriously uses the V600's. V6's have real leather, iirc, at least the old ones did.

I tend to buy used and even very old headphones, which are sometimes filthy. I use a small brush to clean out dirty vents, and I find that armor-all "cleaner wipes" do a good job of cleaning up grungy plastic. And yes, they do impart a small amount of armor-all, which doesn't hurt at all.

I do sometimes wipe them down with alcohol, owner's manual recommendations be damned. But again, I'm talking about 20 year old headphones that were rescued from the dog's bed and vacuumed off before listing on ebay.

But for headphones that aren't very dirty, a damp cloth really ought to do the job.