[1Tbps]

Hey guys, so I just washed the earpads of my Utopia by dipping them into water with some detergent.

The problem is that there were residue of some kind of adhesive on the back of the pads, around the outer circumference of the plasic earpad mount thingy. Even after washing them briefly it wouldn't go away.

Is it alright to use them as is? I'm more afraid of ruining the pads since Focal pads aren't cheap.

 

[boxster233]

Hey guys, so I just washed the earpads of my Utopia by dipping them into water with some detergent.

The problem is that there were residue of some kind of adhesive on the back of the pads, around the outer circumference of the plasic earpad mount thingy. Even after washing them briefly it wouldn't go away.

Is it alright to use them as is? I'm more afraid of ruining the pads since Focal pads aren't cheap.

have a picture?

 

[1Tbps]

have a picture?

 

[boxster233]

That’s very unusual. I’d use them as is and not worry too much about it.

 

[scottcocoabeach]

This is an old thread that I found a google search. I wanted to add to it in case anyone else comes across it. It looks like an adhesive used in the construction of the pads is water soluble. I would not recommend to anyone that they submerge the pads to clean them and I wouldn't repeat it for the OP as it could cause further damage.

My recommendation would be to use water based baby whites (unscented) to gently wipe down the pads to clean them periodically if needed, being careful not to get the earpads wet, but simply wipe them down a bit.

Once ear pads get to a certain point, they need to be replaced. I realize this is a costly proposition with Focals, but sometimes necessary. I recently replaced the earpads on my Elears with ones from Drop.

 

[scottcocoabeach]

I recently purchased used Utopias and the plastic is disintegrating. From the above post I originally thought it was the adhesive being used, but now that I have experienced it myself it’s the plastic. I used Blu Tack to remove any residue from the headphones and ordered new pads.

If you’ve ever had plastic products that start to “sweat” and get tacky that appears to be what’s happening. The old ones are going in the garbage. Luckily I had some Dekonis to put on while I wait for replacement pads to arrive.

 

[Alu]

I actually noticed the very same thing today - I wanted to clean out my Utopias a bit (as I did before), but I noticed that there was a gluey substance which ultimately turned out to be the plastic disintigrating.
I stuck them back on for now and ordered replacement pads - they obviously still sound great - no change there.

And just for reference I've been using them pretty much all day since I purchased them new early 2017.

I'll be using some tissue paper with a touch of water to wipe down the headphone side, while being extremely careful not to overdo it, but the stuff seems to come off rather easily on the headphone side.

In any case, this is pretty disappointing for a premium product like this.

 

[scottcocoabeach]

Yes, it disappointing, especially when the pads themselves were fine. If other Utopia owners see this thread I recommend periodically checking this as you don't want any damage to occur by having any of this make its way into the drivers.

 

[Ikhemsek]

Just adding on to this in case anyone stumbles across this on a Google search as I have, the issue persists even on the updated 2022 Utopia, much to my chagrin. The plastic mounting ring on the back of the earpad is coated with a soft rubber/plastic-like material that has a tendency to liquefy, not unlike the rubbery coating you'd find on cheap earbuds or electrical wiring of yesteryear after prolonged periods of storage. I first noticed it as a weird oily substance or goop like the others here have described, which kept leaking out no matter how much I'd wipe down the earcups, so I took out the pads and wiped them down too but noticed they'd eventually start leaking again as well.

As such, I've gone for the nuclear option and used isopropyl alcohol and a sharp implement to completely scrape off the soft outer layer (leaving the harder plastic with the connectors needed to reattach the pads to the earcup frame) and so far there hasn't been any recurrence of leakage, though i would advise care when using water to wipe down the cups after you've removed the soft layer since the stock Utopia pads are fenestrated leather and I'm a bit concerned that the moisture has overly-softened the memory foam underneath, which may change both the fit and possibly sound characteristics of the pads (they feel a little less firm than from before the cleaning).

I'm hesitant to get replacement stock pads from Focal given the outrageous price ($250) coupled with the known defect of the melting mounting ring layer, but I'm not too sure how well 3rd party stuff like ZMF or the Dekoni pads maintain the Utopia's sound signature.

Honestly still not entirely sure what triggers the whole melting thing to begin with- I started noticing the breakdown after about 2 years of regular use as a daily driver, and the environmental heat and humidity may have played a role.