[kn19h7]

God catch kn17h7. Still, the correct positioning of the foam might be tricky. Wonder if there are some markings which could help with this.

If no instructions provided, what I would do is to have the earpad installed first then push the replacement foam into its place, guess it can't be too off position that way

 

[shabta]

Following reply from Austrian Audio.
Not very helpful.
"It is attached with adhesive tape and has never come loose without force during our tests. If the headphones arrived like this, the damage must have occurred at the dealer. This foam (with adhesive tape) will be available as a replacement part from specialist dealers - but at the moment these parts are only being rolled out. I would not glue it on because glue IN the foam can have an unfavorable effect on the acoustics."
I cannot see any adhesive tape.

What they are saying to you is quite polite. They are saying that the damage is not due to normal use and without blaming you, ask you to take it up with the dealer. They are suggesting that because among other reasons, it is the dealer who can resolve the issue by acquiring the replacement foam.

 

[Nomax]

Plenty of people objected to your posts there. You just forgot as you boarded your next hype train.

It's strange that there haven't been that many hype trains in the last few years
Yes, I have a very special way of expressing myself....positively but only when I am ️personally️ satisfied

And man you don't have to like me, don't worry...but take note of me and what i think and hear

NOMAX

 

[RuslanG]

It seems the tape should be removed when replacing, foam spare set should come with tape attached.

 

[shabta]

There are several issues here that could be better disambiguated. I write this as someone who is satisfied with my purchase of the Composer.

First the malfunctioning of the pad, which does not appear to be something that one needs to worry about in normal use.

Second, like all headphones, this one will need new parts. The foam will be a pain to replace. There is an open question about the how quickly the sound will degrade over time. This is a problem on every headphone. The pads and damping material change slowly every day, and so does the sound.

Third, the headphone while have many great features in terms of industrial design, also has some bugs. It is unually lightweight compared to the competition. Does not need a powerful amp to run it. The sound is sublime. The headphone doesn't work very well for people with small heads or ears that stick out (kind of a big minus on the industrial design front). I had a friend with a normally smallish head, and the lowest setting on the headphone was still way too big. The clamp force is too much for some people. I was vice president of software engineering in a multi-billion silicon valley company, founded a user design group, and I can assure you this headphone may be good for the audiophile headphone world, but it is not a great example of superior industrial design. Even for audiophile headphone, while being far from the worst, still made some errors.

Fourth, Nomax has some communication quirks that cause some people to go off the rails. This has nothing to do with the headphones, austrian audio or whether or not it is worth purchasing the headphone. But for lots of reasons it adds a lot of noise to this thread. I am thinking of starting a new thread.

Despite a few design quirks, compared to most other headphones on the market, at any price, The Composer Rocks!

 

[plakat]

It depends my Audeze LCD2 is still going strong and currently counting it's 13th year anniversary. I don't mind filters as I owned Cascade and tried Aeon, but never seen such a thick layer of foam stuck to the driver. This would improve bass and tame brightness by quite a large margin. On it's own I bet composer sounds brighter then Grados.

Either way If you adore the sound that's whats matters most

I would really like to know what happens when that foam is removed. It’s form is giving me second thoughts about what it’s there for.

I also own some rather old headphones where the pads are still working just fine. Foam does loose structure over time, but I think, depending on the specific foam chosen, it might not be a problem in the near future. And if something achieves vintage status with active interest… there will be some solution to that aging problem.

 

[plakat]

I actually noticed the adhesive tape in your photo before seeing this post, can look at the red circle spots where its more obvious

You have a sharper eye than me. Yes, those spots do look like tape.

 

[plakat]

There are several issues here that could be better disambiguated. I write this as someone who is satisfied with my purchase of the Composer.

First the malfunctioning of the pad, which does not appear to be something that one needs to worry about in normal use.

Second, like all headphones, this one will need new parts. The foam will be a pain to replace. There is an open question about the how quickly the sound will degrade over time. This is a problem on every headphone. The pads and damping material change slowly every day, and so does the sound.

Third, the headphone while have many great features in terms of industrial design, also has some bugs. It is unually lightweight compared to the competition. Does not need a power amp to run it. The sound is sublime. The headphone doesn't work very well for people with small heads or ears that stick out (kind of a big minus on the industrial design front). I had a friend with a normally smallish head, and the lowest setting on the headphone was still way too big. The clamp force is too much for some people. I was vice president of software engineering in a multi-billion silicon valley company, founded a user design group, and I can assure you this headphone may be good for the audiophile headphone world, but it is not a great example of superior industrial design. Even for audiophile headphone, while being far from the worst, still made some errors.

Fourth, Nomax has some communication quirks that cause some people to go off the rails. This has nothing to do with the headphones, austrian audio or whether or not it is worth purchasing the headphone. But for lots of reasons it adds a lot of noise to this thread. I am thinking of starting a new thread.

Despite a few design quirks, compared to most other headphones on the market, at any price, The Composer Rocks!

Well said.

Having lived for some years and having had contact with many many consumer and pro products, there’s no such thing as perfect for everyone. So I don’t expect that (anymore?). I do expect that the given mix of features (comfort, build, sound, price in this case) works for me. If so I might consider buying it. If not, obviously I’ll pass. Which doesn’t mean it won’t fit someone else’s expectations.
That being said I’m still very happy with the Composer and listen to it almost every day. Not because I have to justify the expense — I’ve paid more for less satisfactory results

 

[dynavit]

Anybody here, who asked, if there will be spareparts in 20 years, before buying his last mobile phone or his last car?

 

[bfreedma]

Anybody here, who asked, if there will be spareparts in 20 years, before buying his last mobile phone or his last car?

If my mobile phone had foam (or any part) that was likely to deteriorate over it's likely use time, I would have.

 

[ThanatosVI]

If my mobile phone had foam (or any part) that was likely to deteriorate over it's likely use time, I would have.

So you mean like batteries?

 

[plakat]

If my mobile phone had foam (or any part) that was likely to deteriorate over it's likely use time, I would have.

Battery?

 

[bfreedma]

So you mean like batteries?

Batteries are replaceable and available for many years through vendors and 3rd parties. No one knows about the availability or repair options for the foam.

And again, I think most people see the lifespan of a pair of high end headphones exceeding the typical ownership window of a phone.

Edit: AA may have plans for this, but I would need to hear it from them, not from a "non MOT"

 

[shabta]

If my mobile phone had foam (or any part) that was likely to deteriorate over it's likely use time, I would have.

People who love a piece of audio gear expect to be able to use it for ten to 20 years. No one really expects their phone to last that long. And with a car, you do consider long term maintainance costs, and plan on it. So the only issue hear is that the foam and pads will need to be changed. And if Nomax hadn't made over the top and frankly unreasonable claims about industrial design, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's clear that Nomax has oversold the design of the headphone. But it is better than some other models that cost the same or more, and you don't have those threads polluted by endless speculation about it. The manufacturer has made it clear there will be parts available.

 

[KarlStromberg]

I guess someone with unlimited access to the factory wouldn't be worried about repair viability. For the rest of the current and potential owners...

The rest of us would simply do the same thing, everyone with a broken product under warranty would do...contact their dealer and ask for repair/replacement