[HyperFnord]

... through the washing machine!

And they sound fine!

I had unwittingly left them in a sweater pocket in their little fabric case. It's a good thing this is a sweater that does NOT go through the tumble dryer, as I only noticed them in the pocket after checking the sweater's dryness a day later as it lay flat.
The 'phones were obviously totally soaked... the colour of the silicone on the earpieces is now much foggier than it used to be and I could see a bit of condensation on the inside. I seriously thought I had finally destroyed my reliable Etys after two years of abuse.
However, I let them dry for a day out in the open. I then took a can of compressed air and used the little red spray nozzle extension to aim air into the earpieces through the small opening at the base (where the cable enters). Compressed air (the computer duster type) is great for drying things off, as it vapourizes water.
So needless to say, after a bit of drying off the earphones sound great, dare I say better than they did before (thanks to degreasing, I imagine). I haven't even replaced the filters yet.

Does anyone else have any fun headphone near-death/irresponsibility stories?

 

[bellsprout]

haha they are tough buggers aren't they?

when i first got them (6i), i thought they were flimsy as hell and unimpressed with the build quality, and the cable looked like tearing any minute. over time, i found out it is actually really durable and there's hardly any complaints of them going wrong

 

[radioactive28]

I imagine you'd want to replace the filters. I think water-soaked ones might do something to the bass.

And using compressed air didn't seem like such a good option until you posted. I thought the drivers were supposed to be sensitive to these things.

 

[HyperFnord]

Quote:

Originally Posted by radioactive28 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I imagine you'd want to replace the filters. I think water-soaked ones might do something to the bass. And using compressed air didn't seem like such a good option until you posted. I thought the drivers were supposed to be sensitive to these things.

True that, I will definitely be replacing the filters.
And the trick with the compressed air is to apply it *gently.* You need just enough air flow to blast the water out, and in such an enclosed space not much is needed. Because yes, as you observe, one doesn't want to damage the drivers.

 

[eruditass]

if you are worried, soak in alcohol and let dry for days

 

[mrdeadfolx]

At work, I use Shure E3C's (my boss allows me to use them instead of standard earplugs, because my work environment is so noisy, even someone yelling 5 feet away is at times barely audible). Since there is a ton of flying debris in the air at all times (protein powder to be exact), I always just tuck the last 6 inches of cord and tips into my shirt collar where nothing will get to them when Im not using them. I constantly bend down to lift things at work, and have the phones fall out of my shirt, only to have me not notice and walk right over one of them with my full weight. If I had a nickel for every time I've done this, I could replace my E3C's with UE10's if they were to break, but the tough little buggers have always stood the crush test, none the worse for ware.

 

[Cakbar]

I have heard on another site of someone that tried swimming with 6i's. He said that they had no damage afterwards and worked perfectly. I would think that as long as you give them enough time to dry properly, then the occasional bath won't hurt them. I work out with them and sweat a lot. I'm sure that at least some of that sweat is getting into my 6i's now and again.