About repairing my headphones
September 23, 2024
Written by: Matthew Oyan
(archived from V1 of the website.)
No doubt my Anker Soundcore Q45s has serviced me well, but it not immune to disrepair, especially as someone with (undiagnosed) hiperhidrosis—it’s a condition that causes one to sweat more than most people. Thus, sweat has always invaded the earpads of all headphones I’ve used, and one of the main reasons why I switched to IEMs a while back, but IEMs just didn’t come close to the sounstage of a nice old pair of headphones, even closed-back ones.
The original earpads were very comfortable and soft, wrapped in nice vegan leather, but I didn’t expect it to last as long as it did—I bought these cans in March, just as when the hot Philippine summer season started. The first signs of disrepair came in the form of small blisters, often where my ears and head secreted sweat. Then the blisters tore open, but I think its mainly caused by the repeated taking in and out of the cans from its protective case.
I decided to replace it with some ostensibly “cooling” earpads with gel on them, but upon testing they don’t do much. The fabric does absorb more of my sweat however, so it’s less irritating.