Is the Aeon #padgate finally coming to an end?

[audioandy]

The Aeons (all models, as far as we know) have a well known issue with the pads. The foam under the leather of the pad rolls out of shape, causing the pads to bulge in unexpected ways.

If it's not clear what you're looking for: look for the sharp seams in the leather that don't line up with the stitching on the pads. This is the block of foam inside the pad twisting around. The pads should also look like they're extruding straight of the cups, look for bulging or weird angles of the pad.

This is a pretty bad design flaw, because:

• This changes the pad shape, affecting comfort and seal, which can affect the sound
• The change can be permanent
• The change happens unusually quickly to Aeons, some buyers have reported this happening out of the box! For others the permanent pad deformation can happen as fast as 1-2 weeks of use.
• All headphone pads degrade over time, but no other headphone I've owned has bulging pads due to the material inside the pad rolling around, and never this quickly. This is a uniquely weird design flaw.
• The Aeons are sold at a luxury price point, making this an unacceptable design flaw. No one cares about crappy Audiotechnica pads, because they don't cost $500. Also Audiotechnica pads don't have this issue lol.

For some users it's particularly bad, affecting both cups:

It's also pretty common to see one cup bulge worse than the other. The seams/bulging also appear in random places, as the foam twists unexpectedly. Cups no longer sit flush, and the headphone sits unevenly on your head.

If you're curious, it also affects the Dekoni replacement pads:

In fairness, a minority of users (based on images I see online) get lucky and don't have pad issues. Also some users don't mind the rolling, even though it can affect comfort and seal. Some users even flat out deny this is a real issue, which is funny, because Dan had to make a video explaining how to try to fix this issue. (By the way, myself and others have reported this fix doesn't work, and the foam rolling can be permanent).



Some users report they have to roll the foam back into place every time they use their Aeons. To me, this is an unacceptable design flaw for "high end" headphones. This issue affects all Aeon pads, even the nearly $900 Noir.

Except! Something happened recently!

Dan recently posted this comment in response to a user complaining about the pads after their replacement pads started bulging immediately:

We have added an adhesive to reduce roll of the foam and also increased foam density within the fabric, both of which should help with longer term stability.

After years of claiming the pad issue is "within tolerance," DCA finally decided to acknowledge and address the core issue! Is #padgate finally over?

I have some questions about this:

• When do the corrected pads become available, on what Aeon models, and how do we know if we're ordering the defective pads or the corrected ones?
• Even though DCA claims the pad rolling is "within tolerance," they clearly acknowledge it's a warranty issue if you email them, and send you replacement pads (you should do this if you're affected!). Since this is a warranty issue, are existing Aeon users eligible to get a free replacement of the new pads?
• Does this mean we SHOULDN'T leave glue bottles at the DCA booth at CanJam to encourage Dan to fix an issue that doesn't affect any other known headphone pad?

 

[helloh3adfi]

Keep me updated. Fostex TH900 pads also have similar issues, but what do you want? Soft pads or hard edges?

 

[audioandy]

but what do you want? Soft pads or hard edges?

Having pads where the core material doesn't drift from the outer leather is not mutually exclusive with soft pads

 

[ahmonge]

I'm also affected, cans bought in june!

 

[helloh3adfi]

Do you also experience this problem with newer pads aka replace pads from DCA?

@ahmonge
Maybe your headphones still have the older revision pads? You could ask DCA about replacement. I think it should be within the warranty.

 

[ahmonge]

Maybe your headphones still have the older revision pads? You could ask DCA about replacement

I hope they are. I’ll follow your advice, thanks for it!

 

[blaked]

Interesting. I noticed this in mine, but it didn't seem to be causing a big problem for me, so I ignored it. After watching his video, the technique of twisting the foam and pulling the cover over actually worked for me. We'll see if it stays. If it gets to be a serious issue I'll contact them, but so far I'm not too bothered.

Thanks for posting the video. That helped.

 

[iPaintCode]

I've had four sets of pads on mine because of this, two were replaced for free, and two I had were on my dime. I've considered picking up a pair of Aeon 2 Noire but not with the pad issues these have. I think it might have to do with the pleather. It's very soft, and it seems like it could cause the foam to roll as it has no stabilizers on the side.

 

[ahmonge]

the technique of twisting the foam and pulling the cover over actually worked for me

In my case, twisting and pulling don’t work, as if the memory foam inside the pad has a wrong shape.

 

[Raketen]

This was frustrating w/ the AFC, not fixing the pads each time tended to result in channel imbalance (which in my experience is already a bit tricky with planars- seem sensitive to head positioning due to the weight, diaphragm size or something). Wasn't a dealbreaker for me, but did ease my decision to move on (though still'd like to try the Aeon 2 some day).

I wonder if the Dekoni pads are better, anyone tried those?

 

[P007]

Thank you for the update @audioandy, and I really hope these new pads work as the headphones are otherwise great, and supremely comfy. I have not used my Noire's for months, and was going to sell them since the pad issue was super irritating and caused my ears to rub against the drivers when they otherwise did not.

Has @mrspeakers said when these new pads will be available to buy? (perforated, for Noire)

The pad rolling started almost right out of the box for me....and while the video from Dan helped a little, I basically had to use a few mins to do this every time I used the headphones, as the bottom of the pads started rolling as well. I also had some paint issues, but the customer service at DCA is amazing, and got this issue quickly sorted out.

I think that your frustration (and mine) has been fairly warranted given the price for these headphones, but as I feel DCA is a great company they are still fairly boutique and it can be hard to just change your production lines and absorb the costs. Big companies with longer product lines like Beyer, etc. can probably afford to do better QC testing from the start.

If these new pads avoid this issue to the extent it has been happening, then I would absolutely recommend the Aeon line. Of course no one expects pads to be perfect forever, but I feel you should at least get a year or two of decent use before needing to replace pads.

 

[audioandy]

I wonder if the Dekoni pads are better, anyone tried those?

They are worse, see the image of my own Dekoni pads in the first post. I think DCA collaborated with Dekoni on the pads. Dekoni also forces you to ship back defective pads on your dime to get a "free" replacement, so when they warp and bulge, you lose your time and money because they want their garbage back as a deterrent for doing free replacements.

 

[Raketen]

They are worse, see the image of my own Dekoni pads in the first post. I think DCA collaborated with Dekoni on the pads. Dekoni also forces you to ship back defective pads on your dime to get a "free" replacement, so when they warp and bulge, you lose your time and money because they want their garbage back as a deterrent for doing free replacements.

d'oh! sorry, must've skimmed past that part-
I like Dekoni, but yikes @ premium aftermarket pads that don't address an almost universal complaint from the stock pads

 

[wayeward]

My Aeon 2 closed is also experiencing a channel imbalance. I recently found out the imbalance might be due to the pads, the left pad is similar to the pictures in this thread and that is the earcup that seems to have lost bass and 2db of everything else. It might be the nail in the coffin for me with DCA, because while I liked the sound of these a lot everything else with them has been frustrating. They are not comfortable for me, the suspension strap slips all the time, requiring readjustment every few minutes, and they seem to hang on the tops of my ears causing fatigue rather than use the suspension strap to stay in place. It might be my large head, I don't know. Now it appears the distrbutor in my country may not honor the warranty. I also suspect it isn't just the pads causing this issue, as I have heard the left channel completely cut out at times. So I wonder if anyone has had repairs done after warranty expired and what it cost? I worry they might not be worth fixing...

 

[David A Silva]

@wayeward - can't help with the channel cutting out. The slipping suspension strap is an easy fix. There is a phillips head screw where the bottom of the strap attaches. Tighten the screw on each side. Your position adjustments should hold.