PXC 450 - Remove Clear Plastic Ring?

[JonC]

I've got what I'm sure is a stupid question.  I recently purchased a pair of Sennheiser PXC 450.  After wearing them for a few hours, I noticed that there was something poking the back of my ears.  After feeling back there, I noticed an edge sticking out from under the pads.  Further investigation noted that it was a clear plastic ring directly underneath the pad.  I gave it a light tug and it came out very easily.  At first, I thought it was just packing material to keep the shape of the pads during shipping, and that may be correct, but then I started to wonder if it was a structural part of the headphones that should be left there.  For reference, I looked at my son's HD-428's and noticed a clear plastic ring, too, but it was way deep down and appeared to hold the fabric over the driver and wouldn't pull out easily.  
 
So, does anyone know if that ring on the PXC 450's was for packing and should be removed or should I have left it?  A picture of it is below:
 

 

[JonC]

Bump - hoping someone with some PXC 450's sees this and takes a look at theirs.

 

[REB]

I took a quick look at my pair and there seems to be a clear plastic ring under the pleather earpad. Hard to tell really, because I didn't remove the pad, but i think it's there and supposed to be there. Can you replace it? Or take it back to sennheiser. It wasn't supposed to be sticking in your neck, I guess.

 

[JonC]

It sounds like I shouldn't have pulled them out.  I am able to get them back in with a little damage to the plastic rings.  I put one back in and left one out and don't notice much difference initially.  It looks like it gives the ear pads some extra support and maybe keeps that part of the driver that sticks out from touching your ear.  To me, it seemed like that piece of plastic or cardboard they put in the collar of a shirt at the store, so it seemed natural to pull it out.  I'll probably call Sennheiser tomorrow to get their input.  I guess I can see the purpose of the rings, but they're made of the same material as the clear packaging and sure seem like something that should be thrown away...

 

[JonC]

 
Just in case anyone is curious, I thought I'd update this thread. I spoke with Sennheiser CS and they stated the ring was structural and I should put them back in. I've been wearing them with one side with a ring and one without and don't notice a lot of difference (I slightly prefer it without as pad is more flexible). The CS person stated the purpose was for long term support. So, I guess without the ring, the pads must get mis-shaken over time.

 

[REB]

Thanks for the update. So are you going to put them back? Or are you going to defy Sennheiser CS

?

 

[JonC]

Thanks for the update. So are you going to put them back? Or are you going to defy Sennheiser CS

?

 


I'll put them back in - I assume Sennheiser had a good reason to put them there.