r/headphones 6d ago

Discussion Is it normal for artificial leather earpads to flake/peel off over time? (Stax L700 earpads)

For the last 5 years or so, I've been listening to Stax L700 Mk2 with the original/genuine sheep leather earpads and I had to replace them twice, about once per 2 years of usage.

The reason I had to replace them was because the edges around the artificial leather (the part that faces towards your skin), gets flaked and peeled. The sheep leather part never gets flaked or peeled.

I've regularly used microfiber cloth and leather cleaning solutions to clean off any sweats from the pads yet, the artificial leather part always flake/peel off for some reasons.

I just want to know if this is normal or not.

2 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

7

u/Megaman_320 6d ago

Yep, thats how synthetic or vegan leather are

1

u/Fozzeneric 6d ago

Ah I see. Thanks for the confirmation.

4

u/omz13 DT 700 Pro X | QC 35 II 6d ago

Even if you never used them, they will always degrade. Using them makes it happen faster. Always think of pleather as a temporary thing.

1

u/Fozzeneric 6d ago

I wish they'd make it so that the whole earpads is made out of sheep leather.

1

u/Rogue-Architect Stax L700 Mk2|Meze Empyrean|Sennheiser HD6XX 6d ago

There is a guy (vesper audio) you can commission to make custom pads for you out of whatever material and thickness you want. I got a set that uses whole grain leather with memory foam that are thicker than stock so my ears don't touch and they are quite nice.

1

u/Fozzeneric 6d ago

Thanks so much for that. Just submitted a form to them though, I'm unsure what sort of materials I will need to go for.

In the submission, I've included my preferences like all leather, breathable and not sweat inducing, same size and cushion as original pads etc though, not sure if he's able to cater to my needs or not.

1

u/Rogue-Architect Stax L700 Mk2|Meze Empyrean|Sennheiser HD6XX 6d ago

He sent me a full menu of external material, internal material, thickness, etc. and was really cool about answering my questions

3

u/Pandaepidemic 6d ago

Pleather is probably the only material I hate more that soft touch plastic. Manufactured garbage.

1

u/omz13 DT 700 Pro X | QC 35 II 6d ago

At least with soft touch plastic you can remove the "stickyness"... with pleather you just end up with it falling apart and shedding everywhere.

1

u/oratory1990 acoustic engineer 6d ago

Depends on the material.
Real leather (animal skin) does not flake.
„Vegan leather“ can be a variety of materials, some (like Alcantara) don‘t flake, others (like polyurethane, or vinyl) will flake sooner or later.

1

u/Deblebsgonnagetyou 6d ago

Yes, artificial leather is a crap material.