[greenhorn]

Let me proceed on the assumption that this is a serious question and not an attempt to troll. Regarding comfort, it is all subjective. ZMF is about the only manufacturer that ships you multiple sets of pads that can you can switch between - thus making a fair comparison possible. Here is comparison of various pads for the Atrium and this user rated the the Universe Suede pads (which are vegan) the most comfortable of the lot. I have read tons of ZMF headphone reviews and I have yet to read one which complained about the non-leather pads being less comfortable.

As regards how long they last, the only comment I have is that it would not matter to me even if I had to replace the pads more often. Given how much I am spending on this hobby, buying a few extra pads will not make much of a difference.

No trolling.

I was comparing just « regular » genuine leather vs « regular » artificial leather (« regular as opposed to suede, nubuck, daim…). And without even taking into considerarion velour, alcantara etc.

Personally I am not a fan of feeling artificial « regular » leather on my ears. It sticks, makes me sweat and gets my ears hot. I feel like having to take them off once in a while. This doesn’t happen with genuine « regular » leather - or much less.

 

[jorcorex]

Hi all,

Found another brand in the sub 500$ category, Austrian Audio.
Just checked with them and their headphones do not use real leather. Their reply:

Hi Jorge,
our headband and our earpads are made of synthetic leather

Now, they have a wireless model too but despite having synthetic leather ear pads and headbands, I would not consider these a vegan option due to lithium batteries containing animal parts. As for the other models, all safe for us

 

[bequietjk]

Hi all,

Found another brand in the sub 500$ category, Austrian Audio.
Just checked with them and their headphones do not use real leather. Their reply:

Hi Jorge,
our headband and our earpads are made of synthetic leather

Now, they have a wireless model too but despite having synthetic leather ear pads and headbands, I would not consider these a vegan option due to lithium batteries containing animal parts. As for the other models, all safe for us

When I emailed them about their products they said they "could not confirm" that their products are vegan, just to note.

 

[jorcorex]

When I emailed them about their products they said they "could not confirm" that their products are vegan, just to note.

Hate it when companies do that...
Thank you for the heads up.

 

[bequietjk]

Hate it when companies do that...
Thank you for the heads up.

Yeahhh X/ I was planning to grab the Hi-X65 and emailed them only to find that out. Same thing with the AEON RT Closed, wanted them soooo bad but.... Moved on to DT 700 Pro X

 

[jorcorex]

Yeahhh X/ I was planning to grab the Hi-X65 and emailed them only to find that out. Same thing with the AEON RT Closed, wanted them soooo bad but.... Moved on to DT 700 Pro X

Never tried them but they look sooo comfy

 

[xSDMx]

I might have missed this in the thread, but does anyone know if the Audeze Maxwell is vegan friendly? Searching around, it looks like it may use synthetics.

 

[eobet]

When I search this thread for "mushroom leather", I'm very disappointed that not a single post comes up.

Has really no manufacturer attempted this yet?

There seems to be a number of suppliers to choose from already (Mycotech Lab, MycoWorks, Bolt Threads, etc) and certain high-end fashion brands have already tried it.

Vegan leather is still planet habitat destroying fossil fuel based plastic.

 

[bequietjk]

When I search this thread for "mushroom leather", I'm very disappointed that not a single post comes up.

Has really no manufacturer attempted this yet?

There seems to be a number of suppliers to choose from already (Mycotech Lab, MycoWorks, Bolt Threads, etc) and certain high-end fashion brands have already tried it.

Vegan leather is still planet habitat destroying fossil fuel based plastic.

Perhaps its best not to as I may try to eat it

 

[raghumani]

When I search this thread for "mushroom leather", I'm very disappointed that not a single post comes up.

Has really no manufacturer attempted this yet?

Frankly, there is no way we can know the answer to this. For all we know, some are already using sustainable leather alternatives rather than the fossil fuel-derived stuff. The problem is that no manufacturer publishes this stuff on their website. There are perhaps a couple of manufacturers that explicitly state that their products contain no animal ingredients, maybe a couple more that explicitly offer a vegan option on their headphones. There are probably others that have vegan options but do not explicitly say so on their website. For instance, Audeze still does not explicitly say whether the "leather-free" option on their website uses animal ingredients or not - it turns out that they don't but that required somebody emailing them to find out. I am fairly sure that the synthetic leather used on all Hifiman headphones is animal-free but they do not explicitly say so on their website. When even this basic information is so hard to come by - I think there is next to zero chance of finding out which leather alternative they use.

 

[Jayden16]

I might have missed this in the thread, but does anyone know if the Audeze Maxwell is vegan friendly? Searching around, it looks like it may use synthetics.

For anyone interested, I reached out to Audeze regarding the MM-100, and they responded with the following:
"The head strap is made from PU leather, but the earpads are authentic leather. We don't currently have plans to offer a leather-free variant, but the MM-100 will be compatible with Maxwell earpads (although they are foam and not gel filled like the MM-100 earpads) which are PU leather, and we anticipate some third parties will offer further options."

They gave some insight when I asked about the MM-100, but it might be worth reaching out to ask about the Maxwell directly. Nothing stands out to me as non-vegan though.

 

[csch92]

i think the meze 109 pro can be added to the list too.

 

[smodtactical]

New addition guys. The new HEDD 2 headphone is Vegan friendly ! Word on the street is the CEO of the company is vegan himself.

https://headphones.com/products/heddphone-two

 

[smodtactical]

i think the meze 109 pro can be added to the list too.

Sorry for the delay, added.

 

[robo24]

Interesting to read today that Apple has eliminated all animal leather from their products due to the high carbon footprint.