"Scratching" noise on iSine?

Just received my iSine 20, and the left side is making some sort of “scratching” noise when I put them in or twitch my ears, even with the cables detached.

If I have to describe them in more detail, they sound like hairs in my ears scratching against them, at least that’s what I thought at first. Then I tried putting on the right side (to my left ear) and there was no such sound. But when I put the left side to my right ear, the scratching sound is there.

I don’t think it’s the drivers because they are not connected to anything. I’ve tried different sized tips as well. Any ideas?

Got a response from Audeze. They reply faster than I thought.

Thanks for your inquiry. Regarding the sound you mentioned: since air is trapped between your ear canal and the diaphragm it creates a pressure zone, and as the headphones shift with movement you may hear a slight crinkling sound from the diaphragm. This is a normal occurrence with planar magnetic drivers and is nothing to be concerned about, it’s the sound of the thin diaphragm moving back and forth with the changes in air pressure.

Sometimes as the driver film stretches slightly with age, the sound can become more apparent, and sometimes it may also lessen again. This is mostly influenced by factors in your environment (such as temperature and humidity), and we don’t have control over whether or not this occurs.

We recommend exercising certain cautions when handling planar magnetic headphones: trapped air can create high pressure and sudden pressure changes could damage the diaphragms, and this is not covered by warranty. When you put the headphones on or take them off, it’s not a good idea to press/pull them hard and fast into/out of the ear canal, so we recommend slow and steady movement to allow the air pressure to stabilize.