AKG K371 Warranty Question

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
1

Hi, everyone!

Recently, I noticed that the audio in my headphones has started cracking in both channels when moving my head around.

I figured out that it was my cable that was causing this issue, as moving it in some ways caused the audio to crack.

Before this, I’ve noticed that the cable had a few cracks in it which I immediately covered with an insulating tape to prevent any damage to the wirings, and so far there were never any issues after I did that.

Now all of a sudden, my audio started cracking depdending on how I moved the cable, even with the insulating tape on it.

I quickly switched out the straight cable (the one which had the problem) with a coiled one, to confirm if the problem was really in the cable or if it had to do with my headphones.

As expected, as soon as I plugged in the coiled cable, the problem was gone.

Now, however, I am stuck using the coiled cable which is kind of pulling my headphones, as it’s length is not long enough, so I’d prefer to get a new straight one.

Another problem that I have, is that the earpads have started to degrade and fall off, so I would like to replace them as well.

Seeing how my headphones are still covered by warranty, I wanted to see if I can send them to have the straight cable, and earpads replaced.

I still have the original packaging and receipt, so I was wondering if anyone here knows if the warranty covers this type of problem?

Currently, this is how the cable looks now without the insulating tape on it: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

And, this is how the pads look: Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Since these are my first headphones, I wanted to ask if anyone here knows how does the warranty procedure work, since I’ve never done this before, so I wanted to ask if the AKG’s K371 warranty covers issues like these?

2

First off, welcome to HFG!

As for the warranty claims, ear pads degrade over time and are replaceable so I don’t believe AKG is going to cover them under warranty because that’s not a defect, but I could be wrong. The cable, on the other hand, likely would be something they would replace under warranty assuming the damage isn’t from misuse.

Either way, get in touch with the company and see what they say. That’s the only way to get a certain answer.

3

Thanks for the reply JA!

As for the warranty claims, ear pads degrade over time and are replaceable so I don’t believe AKG is going to cover them under warranty because that’s not a defect

Ah, that’s a shame if it’s true. Although, I will give them a call, and see what they have to say about it.

By any chance that they confirm that they don’t cover earpads, would replacing them with new ones be hard?

I’ve never done something like that before. The cable is something I can live without since I have the coiled cable, but the earpads are what worries me if I have to replace them myself.

I fear I might screw up somewhere and end up causing more harm than good :frowning:

1 Like
4

Replacing the earpads is really easy. If you search on YouTube, Dekoni (a popular aftermarket earpad manufacturer) has a video that shows just how easy it is to swap them out. I’m sure there are others as well. It’s a process that just takes a couple minutes. For those of us that collect headphones or that have been using them for years, changing ear pads is just part of owning a pair of headphones. There are plenty of aftermarket/third party ear pad options or you can order the originals from AKG. I actually wish some of my other sets were as easy to change as the AKG pads are. Generally, manufacturers have gotten better at making pad changes as easy as possible and AKG has been good at making headphones with easily replaceable pads for longer than most.

5

It’s nice to hear, that changing earpads won’t be difficult on AKG headphones :slight_smile: Thanks for the advice JA!

One more thing, should AKG decide not to replace my earpads and I’m forced to buy aftermarket ones, which brand and model would you recommend?

I’m not sure how to measure how long the earpads are on K371, but anything of that size would be a good recommendation.

6

I didn’t do any pad rolling during the brief time I had the K371s so I can’t tell you what would work best. I can say that I’m a big fan of Dekoni pads in general because they’re good quality and they last a good long while though they can be a bit expensive. Brainwavz and Geekria are two brands you can also look for on Amazon that are less expensive, but still offer some good quality in my experience. I currently own pads from all three of those manufacturers and I have been happy with all three.

As for measuring, you shouldn’t need to do that unless you’re looking to see if some universal pad models or models meant for other headphones will fit your K371s because you can just search for replacement pads for K371s and find a bunch of options that are specifically made to replace the pads on your K371s.

Maybe someone else who still has the K371s or who did some pad rolling while they did own them can tell you what the best pads they came across were.