[mingyang]

Hey guys,
 
A friend of mine who's based overseas recently passed his Senny HD700 over to me to get his headband pad replaced.
 
I went ahead and ordered the headband pad without realising that is extremely difficult to take the headband apart to replace the pad.
 
So once the headband pad arrived I took it to the local head-fi store and get it replaced, which they did but broke the left side of the headband's adjustment system in the process (the left side of the headphone slides out without locking.)
 
I've asked them to sort it out for me and they responded that they have sent it back to the local Sennheiser distributor and pretty much the only option is to replace the entire headband, which the store is not willing to take up the cost. 
 
The entire replacement is pretty costly so since the only option is to incur cost and get it replaced, I'm thinking if there's anyway to attempt some repair myself.
 
I've scoured the internet for some guides, like video or images but couldn't find anything about taking apart the HD 700's headband, and I'm hoping some of you here could help show me how to take it apart and fix the damn thing.
 
In any case, many thanks in advance.

 

[John Sabella]

I too was perplexed as to how to remove and then replace the Sennheiser HD700 headband cushion.
I had replaced one on my Sennheiser HD600 with ease, due to that model has a removable end clip which pops out with a tiny flat screw driver. You simply slide out the old one and slide back in a new one. Snap the end clip back in place and your done. Now the Sennheiser HD700 does not use this same simple method. It looks like the two end clips are removable, but as the person you hired found out, they indeed do not pop out.
If some has a better method, I also would like to hear it too.
I was able to replace mine but there are some words of caution. The silicone grey upper cover wraps around and is close to the headband cushion area. It rips very easily so take caution when doing this repair. I used a tiny flat screw driver to pry up one end of the headband cushion. Once you pry up about a half an inch, you can grab it and slide out the headband cushion out of its track. That's the easy part. I then placed the new headband cushion in place assuring it was centered in the channel. The key here is to have one side of the new headband cushion shoved into on side of the track that holds it in place. The new headband cushions backing is pretty ridgid but does have a bit of flexibility. Using the small flat screw driver, I started to push the other side of the headband cushion a small bit a time and slowly keeping pressure downward to prevent that side from slipping back up. When I got to the other side, I found that I couldn't get that last bit to slide under those end clips that aren't removeable. So what I was able to do was to pull up about a half inch and bent over that last half inch like a flap. By doing this, I was able to have that last piece slide under that end clip. Carefully check you have assured that both sides of the headband cushion is neatly in its channel. Be extremely careful with the upper silicone grey cover which over laps that area near that headband cushion track. It rips quite easily and mine did slightly but I was able to put a dab of high strength silicone glue to reattach the part that ripped loose. It took quite a bit of time but once it was in place,it looks great. Again, if any one else has a better method, I also would be interested, but if not you can use my method until then.

 

[SpanishGuy]

I too was perplexed as to how to remove and then replace the Sennheiser HD700 headband cushion.
I had replaced one on my Sennheiser HD600 with ease, due to that model has a removable end clip which pops out with a tiny flat screw driver. You simply slide out the old one and slide back in a new one. Snap the end clip back in place and your done. Now the Sennheiser HD700 does not use this same simple method. It looks like the two end clips are removable, but as the person you hired found out, they indeed do not pop out.
If some has a better method, I also would like to hear it too.
I was able to replace mine but there are some words of caution. The silicone grey upper cover wraps around and is close to the headband cushion area. It rips very easily so take caution when doing this repair. I used a tiny flat screw driver to pry up one end of the headband cushion. Once you pry up about a half an inch, you can grab it and slide out the headband cushion out of its track. That's the easy part. I then placed the new headband cushion in place assuring it was centered in the channel. The key here is to have one side of the new headband cushion shoved into on side of the track that holds it in place. The new headband cushions backing is pretty ridgid but does have a bit of flexibility. Using the small flat screw driver, I started to push the other side of the headband cushion a small bit a time and slowly keeping pressure downward to prevent that side from slipping back up. When I got to the other side, I found that I couldn't get that last bit to slide under those end clips that aren't removeable. So what I was able to do was to pull up about a half inch and bent over that last half inch like a flap. By doing this, I was able to have that last piece slide under that end clip. Carefully check you have assured that both sides of the headband cushion is neatly in its channel. Be extremely careful with the upper silicone grey cover which over laps that area near that headband cushion track. It rips quite easily and mine did slightly but I was able to put a dab of high strength silicone glue to reattach the part that ripped loose. It took quite a bit of time but once it was in place,it looks great. Again, if any one else has a better method, I also would be interested, but if not you can use my method until then.

With all your explanations I assume that the most delicate part is not to damage the silicon band so thinking in do the less force I can what do you think if I, because the old padding is not useful anymore, cut carefully the all pad and plastic all along the headband by the center of the headband padding so take it apart could be easier and dontd need to do pressure near the silicon part. Do you think it could works? And with your experience, what's after the headband padding on the headband? Is it metal or hard plastic or what?...

 

[pbui44]

For future reference:

 

[Piegoodman]

Hey guys,

A friend of mine who's based overseas recently passed his Senny HD700 over to me to get his headband pad replaced.

I went ahead and ordered the headband pad without realising that is extremely difficult to take the headband apart to replace the pad.

So once the headband pad arrived I took it to the local head-fi store and get it replaced, which they did but broke the left side of the headband's adjustment system in the process (the left side of the headphone slides out without locking.)

I've asked them to sort it out for me and they responded that they have sent it back to the local Sennheiser distributor and pretty much the only option is to replace the entire headband, which the store is not willing to take up the cost.

The entire replacement is pretty costly so since the only option is to incur cost and get it replaced, I'm thinking if there's anyway to attempt some repair myself.

I've scoured the internet for some guides, like video or images but couldn't find anything about taking apart the HD 700's headband, and I'm hoping some of you here could help show me how to take it apart and fix the damn thing.

In any case, many thanks in advance.

Can I just say, that's a terrible shop. I hope you left them a negative review - broke your headphones and won't even pay to fix them.

Thanks for the video; about to attempt to do this myself.

 

[trollchu]

Going to drop this here, it's a step by step cup disassembly down to HD700's driver.
https://www.changstar.com/www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,2627.msg78989.html#msg78989

Edit
One more tidbit of information for any future souls hoping to restore their HD700.

Best price on pads and headband or just OEM parts currently:
https://www.audiosanctuary.co.uk/index.php?dispatch=products.search&q=hd700&subcats=Y&status=A&pshort=``&pfull=``&pname=Y&pkeywords=``&search_performed=Y

Clear layout of parts disassembled:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd-700-impressions-thread.612502/post-11551017

Also, while waiting for an HD700 headband to import, I decided to test swap an HD600 pad onto the HD700's rubber head piece thinking the softer material would work (they share identical measurements), and it fits fine, in application, just be mindful of the grooves in the yokes; place it the same way the HD700 pad would be inserted.

7/10/22 Update: Ordered OEM pads and headband, the replacement parts have a different finish than the original cloth velour ones that has a finish more like the velour found on the HD820's hybrid pads. In restoring my HD700, I found that the HD600 pad was a better fit for the HD700 than the replacement HD700 pad because the replacement OEM pad is slightly more plump than the original pad.

Spoiler: New Pads

7/20/22 Final edit: The spares seem to yield a less flat bass response with a slightly richer sound than the original, and warm against the skin about as much as Focal's Alcantara pads, yet change nothing else. They're a definite upgrade over the original velour pads. 10/10 would recommend, the added (or better isolated) bass definition is a complete win.

 

[Death_Block]

What a pile of scrap that shop employs