[jazzychu]

I hope this is the correct forum where I can reach to K1000 owners, current or former.
 
Basically what I need is the replcement pads, or sometimes refered as "temple" pad here by some Head-Fiers.
 
There are two pads (right-front and left-rear) come off the housing.
 
The base of the right-front pad is beyond repair which means the leather is torn from the plastic backing.
 
Accoring to AKG US distributor located in southern California, the part numbers are listed below, and the cost of all four is just above USD 100, although I don't have to purchase the whole set.
 
(2) 2500 M 0201 - Large Cushions
(2) 2500 M 0202 - Small Cushions
 
My questions are:
 
1. Is there any other kind of pad replacement out there, instead of the AKG parts?
2. How long will this AKG pad last in general?  Do I need to order more while they are still available?
3. Do any of you have extra pads and are willing to sell at reasonable price?
4. How are these pads attached to the housing?  Is there any special glue to be purchased, so the plastic housing will not be damaged, for future pad replacement?
 
5. This is the most confusing part.  Why are there large and small cushions?   I measured the housing and both are measured at 19.3mm by 31.2mm.  Are they talking about height?
 
Response to any one above will be greatly appreciated.
 

 

[ford2]

 
 
i believe that they are the only source and compared with the cost of new drivers the pads are cheap.

 

[stang]

The pads on the K1000 I have currently are in about 10x worse shape than that. About 3x as less stuffing (?) in them and most of the leather is worn off. One fell off the other day too, so I just stuck it back on right away. Not wiling to purchase new ones, as the grilles on these are in bad condition anyway. I can buy these K1000 like they are at only $550 if I want. I am not paying $230 (roughly) for new grilles and earpads. Might as well just get a good condition pair in the first place.
 
The K1000 are a masterpiece and if I were you, I would just get a par of new pads for them. Keep them in good condtion for as long as you can. If you would rather not, try figuring out a way of putting them back on, while still looking professional. I would just use double sided sticky tape for this pair, as they are pretty much destroyed as it is (the red parts of the headband are a very light shade now). If you know who Patrick82 is, you will understand. These are his.

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Yeah they get pretty expensive as a whole set
 
- I believe they are attached with fabric glue or something like that, not very strong it seems.
 
- I think that as long as they are well maintained they will last for years.  Making sure the sliding temple pad adjustment is being used puts a lot less strain on the pads.
 
- Maybe your pads are worn down but the "front" pads do not stick out as much as the rear pads do, hence they are smaller.  Think skinny triangle versus fatter triangle.

 

[krmathis]

1. No, at least not identical to them. You may find some foam or similar that will do the task, but they sure will look different.
2. Several years, but how long depends on how much and how hard you use them.
3. I have two complete spare sets, but not willing to sell.
4. Some sticky glue., but no idea what make/model. Some double sided tape may do the job
5. Correct, they differ in height.

 

[mrarroyo]

If the foam is in good shape just re-glue with contact cement. If the foam is in bad shape using high density foam cut two wedges and insert inside the leather covers (after removing the old foam) then re-glue with contact cement. Good luck.

 

[ford2]

 
 
If all else fails pull all the pads of and stick a Beanie on your head,Where the pads were will be resting on the lip of the Beanie,you will look cooler,your head will be warmr and your hair will stay in place.
 
Not to mention the fact that a beanie is a lot cheaper than the pads.

 

[jazzychu]

I have been thinking a little more on this.
 
According to K1000 document, the thinner pad (smaller one) is on the front (close to the hinge) while the thicker pad is on the back (the one that slide).  why is that?  I can not figure how this design is related to the shape of our head, or even remotely to improve our listening.
 
What I'm getting at, is whether to discard the thinner ones and put all four thicker pads to help alliviate the pressure to the head, just above the ears?  Or what if I swap the position of these two types?
 
Judging by what I have, I suspect my K1000 has all four "thicker" pads on, but I am not sure because some of them are worn/depressed already.
 
Has anyone noticed this or done something to the pads?

 

[Uncle Erik]

You could probably DIY the pads pretty easily.  It looks like they're a piece of plastic as the backing with foam on top and a leather covering.  You could reuse the backings or cut new ones from pieces of acrylic.  An upholstery shop will have a hot wire cutter and can shape the foam for you.  It'd probably be under $5.  The upholstery shop could probably also sell you a scrap of leather for a few bucks, or maybe just give you some leftovers from another job.

 

[stang]

The back pads would be thicker because our skull is not a cube. It dips in at the back, therefore the back pads need to be thicker. 

 

[ford2]

 
Quote:

The back pads would be thicker because our skull is not a cube. It dips in at the back, therefore the back pads need to be thicker. 

Considering that are skulls are all of varying sizes and shapes I hardly think that a 1-2mm difference is going to have any affect at all.
 

 

[stang]

Added comfort? idk. just trying to answer a question.

 

[ivanrocks321]

Hey guys just called AKG for a full set of pads and they lowered the prices a little. The large pads got about 6 dollars cheaper. Unfortunately I bought the last of the small pads. 

 

[analogsurviver]

Hi everybody! 03570 reporting. 
 
This particular pair has an interesting history - more about it perhaps some other time.
 
I have had K1K for some years now and although I consider it by far the best thing one can possibly put on his/hers head in order to listen to recorded music, particularly anything acoustic, it had enjoyed less listening time than my Stax Lambda Pro. Reason? Comfort - temple issue. As I am a recording engineer and have to use earspeakers/headphones for prolonged time, this was very frustrating. If I had K1K on my head for more than 3 or so hours, the discomfort grew so large I had to stop using them - in effect had to stop working, as one does not change headphone while deciding on mic positionng, final mix etc. And if I tried using them another day, the pain returned within minutes. To be honest - they spent most of the time in box.
 
One possible solution would be to use memory foam instead of regular foam and replace the rather hard leather of original pads with some thin chamois leather - the thinner the better. Memory foam could be obtained from matress manufacturer - quantity needed would be scrap to them, you would get it probably for the S/H fees.
 
Better said than done - I never was a knitting/sewing type of guy. Yet it hurt me deeply not to be able to use my most beloved cans.
 
Then - CLICK !
 
I was visiting my friend and his little daughter got really pesky after a while - constantly popping noises coming from her room, and you all know how annoying is anything like this when you are trying to listen really carefully for something with  K1K that offer zero insulation. We went to ask her what was she doing and it turned out she got bored and was popping some bubble wrap. GIANT BUBBLE wrap. Size of a single bubble? 30 mm in diameter.
 
I luckily got the remaining sheet, some 20 bubbles still unpopped, in return I brought some sweets next time I was around. Back at home I carefully trimmed 4 bubbles   (OK, maybe double that amunt to get 4 good ones). I removed the original pads that are what they are after all this time and carefully cleaned the coresponding mounting holes on K1K frame.
 
I glued the mushroom shaped bubble(s) to the frame with the flat circular surface facing the frame. I used neoprene based glue - it sticks well to both plastic materials and does not dissolve any. And it is easily removable, should any of the bubbles burst in the future. Double sided tape is not as good, as surface of the appropriate surfaces on the frame are anything but flat and offer very low surface area for the glue to hold well in the long run.
 
Result? Well, you will never believe how these bubble wrap temple pieces increase the wearing comfort of K1K until you try it. Truth to be told, it does not look professional or pretty - bubbles tend to be "semi inflated/deflated" and just look broken/demaged when they are not loaded/compressed by the headband tension against your temples (or head shaped headphone stand). But they conform to the shape of one's head better than anything I can think of - absolutely no sore points as on original foam/leather pads ! And they stay put - now you can tend to your shoelaces without fear of K1K falling off.
 
It necessitates getting used to placing and removing the K1K fitted with bubble wrap temple pads. They are fragile and rubbing them while putting on or off one's head usual style will quickly burst a bubble or two. One must be careful with fingernails too for the same reason. I learned to hold the K1K for the red frame pieces and "stretch" it just enough so that I can put them on my head without bubble pads touching temples before releasing the tension of the red frames. I put them off in reverse order of operation.
 
For all those of you with aesthetic/visual objections:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx83eIVkKyo
 
@2:01
 
AKG K 1000 is not something you could use outdoors anyway !

 

[randytsuch]

FYI, I just called AKG (Harmon) spare parts, and he said they don't have any pads left, they ran out over a year ago.
 
May have to try this bubble wrap thing?  Or try to make something comparable.
 
Randy