[thesouthazn]

Hi,

Just being safe, sorry if this is a stupid question.

I have a Koss UR40, and although it is very comfortable, there's this felt fabric in the center of the earcups/pads that makes my ears warm and itchy after lengthy listening (Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the ear pads. It's the fabric that directly touches your ears -- the earpads are situated in a circle around this fabric and around your ears). Is is okay if I just cut out this felt fabric and let my ears rest on the metal/plastic in front of the drivers when I'm listening to them? Has anyone else tried this with any headphones? Is the felt fabric there for any reason, like blocking out radiation from the drivers or something?

Thank you, and sorry again if I'm just being stupid here.

 

[Kayito-san]

Can you remove the earpads entirely? If you can, and they're replaceable, go for it, and if you're unhappy with the effects, you can always replace them.

 

[nikongod]

I wear my headphones raw.

Quote:

[Oh, ****, you can't even sing.] Hey, baby, I like it rawww... Yeah baby, I like it RAWWW!!! Ooh, baby, I like it raww... Yeah baby, I like it RAWWW!!! Sh... Verse: Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay, Gimme the mic so I can take it away. Off on a natural charge, bon voyage Yeah, from the home of the Dodgers, Brooklyn squad Wu-Tang Killerrr Bees on a swarm! Rain on ya dollar's ass, disco dorm! For you to even touch my skill, You gotta have the one Killer Bee and he ain't gonna kill. Now My producer slam, my flow is like bam! Chop that down, pass it all around! Lyrics get hard, quick cement to the ground! For any MC in any 52 states, I gets psycho killerrrr Norman Bates! My producer slam, sharp like bam! Jump on stage, and then I dun-daaaah! [I like the way you come] Hey, baby, I like it rawww... Yeah baby, I like it RAWWW!!! Ooh, baby, I like it raww... Yeah baby, I like it RAWWW!!! Reverse Verse: First Verse repeats

Ooh, removing foam and that sort of stuff....
It changes the sound of some headphones. Try it out if your curious.

 

[thesouthazn]

Kayito-san, the felt part isn't connected to the earpads. It's attached to the plastic/metal housing in front of the drivers, so removing the earpads isn't necessary (but I will have to be careful not to cut them!). And really, I don't think I can replace the felt fabric if I cut it out, so it's all or nothing -- if I don't like it, tough luck.

nikon-god, thank you for your input. I'm glad to know there's someone else wearing headphones raw, so it should be okay right?

Well I'm planning on cutting them tonight, unless I get another post until then advising me not to. Thanks guys.

 

[zmd]

It's there mostly for comfort, so your ears don't grind against the plastic of the driver housing. Maybe you'll like that.

 

[SillyHoney]

So your Koss have thin earpads right?

Because with thick earpads as these of D7000, my ears don't touch the fabric

 

[Meliboeus]

Since the pads of my cheap computer headset have disintegrated, i've worn it "raw", and i'm still alive

 

[Scrivs]

Dont think that the felt fabric is there for nothing, it will probably have some sort of function and purpose to it
On the other hand, I never tried it myself so I wouldnt know for sure.

As said earlier, if your pads are replaceable, just give it a go and see if you like it better without the fabric, if its not then just replace the pads.

 

[thesouthazn]

zmd, yeah, that's what I figured, but I just wanted to be safe and ask the community if the fabric had any special radiation blocking purpose or whatnot. I hope there won't be any sharp edges or anything once I remove the felt.

SillyHoney, Actually the Koss UR40 has thick earpads, a quick google image search will show you, but the pads are so big that my ears fit snugly inside the pads so its true circumaural. So yes, my ears do touch the fabric.

Thanks Meliboeus for your input. I understand about crap fabric on cheap headsets, but I guess I wouldn't call the Koss UR40 cheap, but we may have two different perspectives on what's cheap or expensive. The UR40's $40 retail, $30 on Amazon, and I lucked out with $11.50 from ebay. and yes, I've always worn cheap, $3 headsets raw, but the UR40 seems just so much more powerful, and I was just worried about radiation n stuff.

Scrivs, yeah, the fabric isn't attached to the earpads at all, they're fixed to the headphones, so once I take them off, there really is no replacing it.

 

[MomijiTMO]

I prefer to sauté my headphones with olive oil. Much better than raw.

 

[Bazzman]

Don't forget that bit of fabric also keeps dirt and hairs away from the driver.

 

[NimbleRabit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO /img/forum/go_quote.gif I prefer to sauté my headphones with olive oil. Much better than raw.

In general things taste much better if you saute with butter, although not as healthy.

And yes, you can wear them without it safely. In some headphones it's there to protect stuff from getting inside, so that might be a concern.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Of course but I'm the healthy type

.

 

[XLR1]

I would be cautious. My Grado RS-2i do not have fabric over the drivers. There is a screen. I found the screen irritated my ears and I added fabric over the screens. I found the fabric greatly improved the comfort when wearing the Grados. (First I used thin Rat Shack pads behind the Grado pads. Then I switched to Senn 414 yellow pads. Much, much more comfortable with, IMO, a very, very slight decrease/smoothing of treble.)

 

[thesouthazn]

Bazzman, I wish I read your comment just a few minutes earlier. I don't know where the hell my common sense was. It's already done, and you are absolutely right =(

Although it is less itchy and more comfortable, the felt was definitely there for a reason. The drivers are now REALLY exposed to any dust, dirt, hair, etc (there are these 4 big half-oval holes, I could touch the magnets...). So I'll just have to be more careful to keep my headphones clean, maybe putting them in a plastic bag when not using them, and cleaning my ears before using them, lol.

And it may just be placebo effect, but it does sound a bit clearer.

What I did learn in the process is that the previous owner of these headphones already took the foam out behind the drivers (I took the pads off in order to rip off the fabric, and in order to put the pads back on, I had to unscrew open the driver enclosure, so I took a peek inside), so they truly are open headphones now. So now I know why the leak SO much sound, but maybe because of this they sound better?