Repair or replace flaking pleather on headphones

November 1, 2023 11:31 AM

I have an affordable pair of noise cancelling headphones from Monoprice and the pretty tan pleather is flaking off on the insides of the ear cups and the bottom of the band. How can I repair or replace these? Product page no longer online, but here is a picture
posted by advicepig to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Best answer: They can be mended! Check out some of the fixes others have done, here.

You may also be able to buy a sewn (or crocheted) cover with some elastic on it to go over the ear cups. Etsy is one source, for example.
posted by hydra77 at 11:59 AM on November 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This happened on my AudioTechnicas after a few years. I bought replacement earpads from Brainwavz, which are incredibly comfortable and have held up well. They make pairs to fit pretty much any model. I went for the hybrid design, with soft fabric (velour?) on the face of the ear cups and pleather on the outer edges. But there are also all-fabric options, or real leather.

For the top band, I scraped the flaky pleather off and wrapped it in matte black electrical tape, to fit the black design. It looks fine.
posted by Klipspringer at 12:00 PM on November 1, 2023

Often the padded bits will twist off and you can get generic replacements on eBay.

When my favourite headphones that had fixed ear pads went flaky though, I bought a pair of no-show shoe liners and fitted them over the headphones.
posted by essexjan at 12:04 PM on November 1, 2023

For my Bose I was able to buy cheap replacement ear covers on Amazon. I've replaced them a few times now.
posted by kbanas at 1:42 PM on November 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The pads on my Sony headphones had seriously deteriorated and following a recommendation from someone in a different AskMe I ordered a pair of replacement pads from Wicked Cushions and they've been good so far.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:47 PM on November 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

I too have bought generic replacement covers (forget if it was on Amazon or eBay). They don't have to be an exact exact fit - if the shape looks right and the measurements are close, you can probably make them fit.
posted by mskyle at 1:53 PM on November 1, 2023

Often the padded bits will twist off and you can get generic replacements on eBay.

or AliExpress. Just got a set for a B&O Form-2, and they look as good as the originals did, way back.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:38 PM on November 1, 2023

Best answer: The generic replacements will "probably" fit
posted by kschang at 4:06 PM on November 1, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks all. I'll drop a pair of replacements on my holiday wish list for the in-laws!
posted by advicepig at 8:55 AM on November 2, 2023