[Justin Lam]

I bought a pair of AKG Q 701's last month, and now I'm studying abroad in Shanghai. I was wondering if I have to take an special measures to keep them in good condition? The weather here is pretty adverse; right now its pretty cold (mid 40's during the day, high 30's at night) It's going to be raining a lot for the next week or two so the air gets a little damp as well. I've been trying to keep the heater on as much as possible to dry out my room but it's not going to be possible to keep it on 24/7. Also my heater/AC is pretty weak.
 
In a month or two it's going to be extremely hot. I'm not sure how humid it will be, but will the humidity combined with the heat pose any problems to the headphone itself?
 
Any comments about this would be appreciated.

 

[Amorgan]

Buy a headphone case?

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Just wash the pads every now and then to prevent mold.
 
Keep the headphone in an area where there's good air flow.
 
And don't worry about it.
 
Very best,

 

[Justin Lam]

Quote:

Heya,
 
Just wash the pads every now and then to prevent mold.
 
Keep the headphone in an area where there's good air flow.
 
And don't worry about it.
 
Very best,

How exactly to you wash the pads? Just wipe down with a damp cloth and dry it out?
 

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

How exactly to you wash the pads? Just wipe down with a damp cloth and dry it out?
 

You can literally wash them like any other fabric. Let air-dry. Or blow-dry it.
 
Very best,

 

[obobskivich]

I agree with the air flow suggestions - as far as washing the pads; they detach very easily from these AKGs. Just wash them in something like a bowl (I use a CD-R spindle lid) with either your shampoo or your clothes detergent (I use clothes detergent because it suds less) and then rinse them thoroughly, dry them after (you can do this in a clothes dryer if you're careful, otherwise air dry them or use a hair dryer). 
 
Personally I don't use my headphones in extreme heat, it just gets uncomfortable, but if I had to use headphones in heat, I would prefer velour/escaine pads over leather/pleather; I'd also be washing them probably seasonally due to the sweat (or more, if you use them more; to quote the Beats By Dre Pro manual: "heavy usage can require heavy cleaning").