The pads exploded. Your headphones look like they've been in hand-to-hand combat. Yeah, we've seen this before. This is unfortunately one of the eternal problems with synthetic leather pads, and it's not just us – it affects practically every pair of headphones with protein leather cushions. But unlike most manufacturers, we're not going to tell you to bin your headphones and buy new ones.
Why do the pads fall apart?
Synthetic leather is a great material – for about 12-18 months. After that, sweat, skin oils, temperature changes and plain old normal use start doing their thing. The material dries out, cracks, and eventually starts flaking like a sunburnt back in July.
This is normal wear and tear, not a manufacturing defect. Warranty covers clear material defects, but pad deterioration after a year or two of use is just physics and chemistry. There's nothing we can do about it – unless someone invents eternal synthetic leather, in which case that person deserves a Nobel Prize.
If your pads clearly fell apart in under a year of normal use, that's a different story. Get in touch and we'll assess the situation case by case.
How to fix it
Good news: VMK20 headphones are designed to be repaired. Swapping the pads is a straightforward operation.
- Take a photo of the situation – show us what the pads look like so we can assess things
- Dig up your order number – you'll find it in your order confirmation or in your Valco webstore account
- Send both to us at info@valco.fi
- We'll let you know the repair kit price and send you instructions for posting the headphones to our service centre in Kajaani
The old pads twist right off. The new ones go back on the same way. Jasse and the rest of the service team will sort it out, and you'll get your headphones back practically good as new – at least as far as the pads are concerned.
What if you want new headphones while you're at it?
A lot of VMK20 owners have asked about the VMK25.2 in the same breath. Totally understandable – if your headphones are three years old, the new model is tempting. You can absolutely do both: get the VMK20s repaired as a backup pair or a gift, and grab the VMK25.2 for daily use. Gotta fund those alimony payments and Death Star instalments somehow.
Mention both things in the same email and we'll sort everything out in one go.
If that doesn't help
If there are other issues on top of the pad problem – say, stereo sound has turned into mono or one channel is cutting out – tell us about that too. In service, we can go through the whole device and fix everything at once. No need to send your headphones back and forth three times.
Shoot an email to info@valco.fi with a photo and your order number, and we'll get the ball rolling.
Headphones get repaired, not binned. That's the whole point here.
